Four glide bombs, two ballistic missiles, fifteen Shahed drones...and one new bench

When I was a social worker I sometimes used a communication technique called the "good news sandwich," whereby negative feedback was delivered between two positive statements, the idea being to soften the impact of the negative feedback. So I will begin with something positive. About a week ago my landlady's mother came round with a workman, at least in his 70s - to make a bench for me, she said. She must have noted that I like to sit outside and that the only current bench consisted of one rickety plank! The bench maker didn't start until dusk and he finished well after 10 pm, when it was completely dark! During this time there was an air alert but this did not deter him. In the morning it was a surprise to see what he had constructed and, at the end of the day, there was a coat of creosote. I christened the bench with a glass of prosecco, as it was also a celebration for 'passing' the security interview for the annual renewal of my temporary residence permit. 

But it wasn't the end - a coat of paint has been applied and now the finished (I think) bench is placed in front of my kitchen window. So it really feels like mine. It's one of many generous gestures from Kharkiv residents, who really seem to appreciate us foreign volunteers being here.  

A little over a week ago we had a terrifying night (July 25 - 26) of bombardment that lasted over 3 hours and consisted of 4 guided aerial bombs, 2 ballistic missiles and 15 Shahed drones. I spent the night in my basement. Residential high-rise buildings and other structures were damaged, and five people were injured, including three rescuers during a second strike. Debris litters this sports complex...

Drone attacks on Kharkiv city have continued - on average, every other day. And in Kharkiv region the attacks are relentless. A couple of nights ago there was a massive drone attack on Losova, the region's second largest city after Kharkiv. There were 34 strikes over a half hour period - the main target was railway infrastructure. Two people died, one a railway worker, and 13 were injured, including children. The railway station, locomotive depot and traction substation were significantly damaged, as well as a preschool and residential buildings. 

The Mayor of Lozova said that this was the biggest attack on the city since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, another of a growing list of grim records being set. Kyiv Independent News (August 2) reported that Russia launched a record 6,129 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in June, beating the previous month’s record of 5,337. Russia is now capable of launching as many drones in a single night as it did over an entire month in early summer 2024, according to Kyiv Independent. These bombardments intensified in June and July, with mass attacks becoming more frequent and more deadly, such as the attack on Kyiv on July 31, which killed at least 31 people and injured 159. Our huge flag in Kharkiv flew at half mast the following day

The Kyiv attack left only two survivors on the first floor (= ground floor in the UK) of a nine-storey Soviet-era residential building, which began to collapse as soon as a missile hit. These 9-storey apartment buildings are ubiquitous in Ukraine, covering large city districts. They often seem to be in a dilapidated condition, even without the war, such as this block in Saltivka district, Kharkiv, targeted by Russian attacks since the beginning of the full invasion. These apartments tend not to be in wealthy areas; they seem to be frequently hit and the people who live in them usually don't have recourse to shelters.

Following on from my last blog, which focussed on stress caused by the war, I recently heard an account from one of the permanent foreign volunteers. He was in a shop or café, when there was a nearby explosion. A little child, who was with her mother, immediately reacted by crouching in a ball under a counter, covering her ears. This war, which has been going on for nearly three and a half years, is all that young children here will have experienced in their lives. It shouldn't be like this but it is. 

However, now it's time for the other side of the good news sandwich. We have a busy, frequently changing group of enthusiastic foreign volunteers, currently a very international group - from Spain, Norway, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, USA and England. Volunteers are expected to fulfil different tasks: rolling dough balls, cleaning/preparing vegetables and washing dirty kitchen pots. But there are always jobs that they may not have signed up for, such as. making meatballs!

At the end of every month, on a Saturday, we have a volunteers party after the work for the day is done. The last party was special because it was Yegor's birthday and Liuda, his wife, the main kitchen organiser, wanted it to be special. As she put it, "So many people joined in to organize Saturday's Team Party! Someone went to the region for straw, someone looked for cheaper white sheets for our straw couches, someone baked sweets, someone polished glasses until they shined, someone made signs and decorations in the yard, someone drove 150 km to bring food from McDonald's, someone fulfilled all my whims so that the cucumbers were arranged just so, and the cheese was on this plate, and the onion buns and lula kebabs on skewers and olives in tartlets...and I haven't even listed everything..."

Yes, you read correctly, one of our resident foreign volunteers drove to Poltava, nearly a 300 km round trip, to buy burgers and fries from McDonald's (closed in Kharkiv). Some people were very excited by this!

Some of the volunteers in the bakery got creative, although the snake had a rival in Franklin's whale!

A few days ago I saw this article in The Guardian online news.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/aug/04/poetry-pulled-me-out-of-the-abyss-keeping-culture-alive-in-kharkiv-picture-essay

Ostensibly, it's about about Kharkiv's cultural life but it also gives an insight about what life is like in Kharkiv. Look out for the reference to 'punctiliously maintained' flowerbeds and then look at the photos below for an illustration!

There is also reference to the choices people make to remain in Kharkiv and the risk this involves: "Air defences in Kharkiv are few, and Russia is near. By the time the air-raid alarm sounds, often the missiles are already falling." The screenshot below is taken from the English-translated Radar Kharkiv app.

"5 - 10 minutes to shelter" is the advice to Kharkiv region , but the time between the specific warning to Lozova and the missile exploding - 1 minute.

But to end on a positive note, last Friday I had the first social gathering in my new apartment, which was another Carpathian holiday reunion, at least of the Kharkiv contingent. I tried my best to make cucumber lemonade, using Liuda's recipe, and it was said to be a successful part of a lovely afternoon/evening. 

Thank you for your donations; however small, they are always effective, e.g. Adults For Children bought tea and sugar for a drum school, where children can take free lessons once a week, a nice opportunity for children here in Kharkiv, where nearly all lessons are online.

Thank you, also, for comments on my blogs, which I always read, although I don't have the technical knowledge to do anything with them! This is nice:

"Dear Fiona, and your friends! I am infinitely grateful for your support. Ukraine was, is and will be!!!"

Anna and her son, who used to live in my previous house in Trawden, East Lancashire, are returning for a visit to to their home in Kharkiv region. Anna took this photo on her journey across Ukraine - one of the best views here under the Ukrainian blue sky. 

To make a donation to the causes I support, please open PayPal and, when asked for email, enter sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk

You can specify where you would like your money to go, otherwise I will send it where I think the need is greatest:

Adults For Children supports families from Kharkiv region, displaced by the war.

Hell's Kitchen cooks daily, nutritious meals and bakes bread, for hospitals and other people in need.

Franklin, Hell's Kitchen foreign volunteer coordinator, supports local soldiers and medics.

Fabric for camouflage netting, ghillies and stretchers/seamstress costs.

If you would like to donate to a charity that support animals - Animal Rescue Kharkiv.