днем захисника - Defenders Day

1 October is a public holiday in Ukraine, in honour of veterans and fallen members of the Ukrainian armed forces. Around 2,000 foreign combatants have been killed fighting for Ukraine (confirmed open‑data sources) and on Saturday I will be going to Kyiv for the memorial service of one of those brave people, who died fighting in the International Legion, aged 22.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/01/people-think-they-know-what-war-is-heres-what-i-learned-in-seven-years-on-ukraines-frontline This in-depth Guardian article is worth a read. It chronicles the lives of ordinary people, living close to the shifting frontline since 2014, describing both the horrors and the mundanity of life. It includes a short documentary. One paragraph particularly struck me:

"Most people think they know what war is. We’ve seen it thousands of times in movies and news coverage: tanks, soldiers, explosions, crying women, pitiable refugees. These images are so familiar they’ve become trite. But most of the time, war does not look like this. Most of the time, it seems too normal, too much like peace to catch the eye of journalists and film-makers...Yet, this seeming normality of the abnormal, this integration of horror and the mundane, is what tells the truest story of war."

This is relevant to Kharkiv, which is only 30 km (19 miles) from the Russian border. Many of the volunteers who come here expect to witness a constantly bombed, shutdown city, as it was in the months following the full invasion in 2022. When I was delivering aid that winter there was almost nobody on the streets, and barely any cafes, bars or shops open. But, as Ukraine resisted and areas were de-occupied, people returned and Kharkiv gradually returned to being the beautiful, vibrant city that it is now, where people throng the parks on sunny days and the streets are crowded with young people on weekend nights. The rubble of bombed buildings and boarded up windows remain, but somehow are part of the scenery, a testament to both the brutality and resistance; some of them are shrines.

But life is never 'normal,' in the conventional sense of the word. In Kharkiv it's been relatively 'quiet' for several weeks, whilst Kyiv has borne the brunt of the seemingly indiscriminate bombings and civilian deaths. But sirens continue to wail regularly, day and night, and there is always the uncertainty of whether or not the missile, guided bomb or drone launches that have been detected will hit the city. A week ago there was an attack at night by 18 kamikaze drones, sent by Russia. The main targets were energy infrastructure facilities, which caused some electricity cuts. Fortunately, no-one was hurt. Yesterday evening, eight people were injured in a combined missile and guided aerial bomb attack by Russia, on Kharkiv and its outskirts. At least three guided bombs hit the city. In Kyivskyi district, they damaged the Barabashova market, one of the largest in Europe, causing a fire that spread across an area of 2,800 square meters. A  friend and I visited this market recently. It had already suffered significant damage and was eerily quiet, although still functioning.

In my last post I wrote about my friend's daughter in Chernihiv, who is desperate to move out of Ukraine with her 3-year-old daughter (born in a basement during the Russian occupation). Chernihiv, also close to the Russian border, is frequently targeted by Russian drones and missile attacks. A recent attack left it without water and electricity. Chernihiv is a small city and I imagine those attacks must be even more frightening than they are in a large city like Kharkiv. Thanks to a sponsor in the village of Trawden, where I previously lived, Lilya and Myroslava ('myr (мир)' means peace in Ukrainian) will have a safe home, as soon as the visa application process is completed and travel arrangements made. I cannot give enough thanks to Helen and her husband, who have already hosted two mothers with a young child, one from Kharkiv.

Thank you, also, for the continued support from people in Trawden and the surrounding area, which began with families opening their homes to Ukrainin refugees in February 2022, and continues with a collection box in the community shop and a craft stall in support of Ukraine. Mary, a community volunteer, continues to knit tiny teddy bears, which I believe still sell like hotcakes, all proceeds to Ukraine. Sometimes these teddies make their way to Kharkiv, via UK volunteers. Recently, teddies were given out by the charity Adults for Children, which supports families displaced by war, along with a donation of books and stationery from a Hell's Kitchen volunteer.

Recently, I had the opportunity to make bread rolls in a new bakery outside Kharkiv, established by a church voluntary organisation that gives aid to villages in Kharkiv region. The pastor, who is known to the Kitchen and sometimes donates items, 'borrowed' a dough recipe from one of the head bakers and wanted some help to make the bread, so two volunteers and I went along. It just so happened that the method for making dough that Pastor Ivan borrowed is the one I use every Saturday when I'm "head baker", so I knew what I was doing. Although the pastor has practically no English, the word 'professional' came up a number of times and he pointed out that my rolls were the best! The other Ukrainian volunteers spoke no English at all but we managed to get by very well, with a lot of laughter. 

It was a very fun, beautiful day in the country - one that I will remember, even lunch, which mainly consisted of salo (cured pork fat), and also, fortunately fresh-grown tomatoes!

Thank you for all donations.

To donate to the regular 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 donation to go, including whether or not you wish to support a civilian only cause; otherwise I will send the money where I think the need is greatest. You can also make a donation to shelters for animals abandoned because of the war.

Adults For Children supports families displaced by the war, and also local soldiers.

Hell's Kitchen cooks daily, nutritious meals and bakes bread, for hospitals, wounded soldiers and others in need.

Franklin, Hell's Kitchen foreign volunteer coordinator, supports soldiers and medics on the frontline.

Inya runs a small group of volunteers who make camouflage nets, ghillie suits and stretchers.

Слава Україні

Слава Героям

Glory to Ukraine

Glory to the Heroes