Easter Ceasefire

 

There was a ceasefire on Saturday 11 April until the end of the day on Sunday 12 April - Orthodox Christian Easter. Both sides accused each other of thousands of violations along the 1,200km (745-mile) frontline. But there was a welcome lull in Russian air raids, although the silence in Kharkiv felt strange over those 32 hours.

Orthodox Easter is marked by church services, including the blessing of the traditional paska Easter bread and dyed, decorated eggs. 

This is a video of the priest blessing the Easter baskets at one of the churches in Kharkiv. If you look closely, you'll see that people are being literally doused with water. It was a cold day, too!

Hell's Kitchen had its own Easter celebrations...

For Kharkiv and other cities close to the frontline, as well as having a religious significance, celebrations are a sign of hope and resilience amidst ongoing safety concerns and war-time restrictions, e.g. on midnight services.

As soon as the ceasefire ended on "Bright Monday," which follows Orthodox Easter, the sirens began sounding and drones appeared in the sky again

I recently experienced another brief period without sirens and fear of attack - 4 days in Chisinau, Moldova, accompanying my friend, Ed, on his journey to apply for his Ukrainian visa, which we have to do outside Ukraine during the war. It was an interesting, somewhat arduous, 16-hour bus trip from Kharkiv, changing buses twice, in Dnipro and Odesa. The first 2 were cramped, full minibuses, the passengers including 2 cats, one sitting in a box with its owner, let out occasionally, and the other miaowing frantically in the back of the bus amongst the luggage. We were on the back seat, which forced us to sit upright with almost no leg room. The last bus was large and comparatively luxurious, and the border crossing was the easiest I've experienced in Ukraine. The bus dropped us off at Chisinau Airport, an easy taxi ride from the city. 

Apparently, Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is the least visited country in Europe. We only experienced the capital, Chisinau, that has a fairly ugly landscape of high rise Soviet-style buildings on its outskirts. But the centre, where we stayed, is pretty, easy to walk around, clean and friendly, with a lovely park and church. The day after we arrived was Orthodox Palm Sunday so there was lots going on - dancing in the park, craft and cake stalls, and pussy willow bouquets sold in front of the church.

It could be said that the Easter decorations were a little over the top, particularly at night!

The main market in Chisinau was as interesting as those in Ukraine - we found ourselves looking at kitchen knives and plastic buckets that might be useful for vegetable preparation in Hell's Kitchen!

The military museum, which was free, was a fascinating exploration of the history of a small country (population just over 3 million), from early political and family rivalries and battles, which more than rival "Game of Thrones," to Stalinist Soviet repression (arrests, executions, deportations and labour camps) and the 1946-7 famine, to the fallout from Chernobyl.

In short, we thought Moldova would be a country worth visiting again and exploring more.

We managed to miss the return bus from Chisinau to Kharkiv, which is another story, leading us to spend 8 hours in Chisinau Airport, small, clean and very comfortable, from where the next bus left at 3 am!

Prior to us leaving Kharkiv the weather had suddenly turned beautifully warm, which was also the case in Chisinau. However, temperatures plummeted back down to almost freezing in both places. Since we returned we have had sleet in Kharkiv. Unfortunately, the city authority decided to turn the heating off in the warm weather! The only warm place, currently, is the Kitchen! As Franklin said in one of his posts to potential volunteers, "spring brings a mix of all kinds of weather from gorgeous, sunny days to wind and sleet. You just have to dress right, carry an extra sweater and brolly in your bag, and know the nearest cafes." !!

The weather remains a little on the cool side but that has not deterred a few of us hardier volunteers from attending a couple of Yoga sessions outside - thanks to Bill, one of  our volunteers, who comes from Bermuda and teaches Yoga there. Yesterday, the rain began spotting down on us through the trees so we had to retreat down to the Kitchen storeroom for the relaxation and meditation session!

We look forward to our last Yoga session tomorrow, when it is supposed to be sunny and 17 degrees C!

The subject of Orthodox Easter in Kharkiv continued in our English/Ukrainian speaking club yesterday. I learned a little more about the 3-day celebration this week, following Easter Sunday, which seems to consist of eating a lot of paska cake! Next Sunday, families visit the cemetery and leave cakes, sweets, decorated eggs and even glasses of alcohol for relatives who are buried there. Olena, one of our the Kitchen bakers and a pastry chef in her own right, made me the most delicious paska cake, coated in white chocolate!

Donations

Thank you, as always, for your donations; however small, they are always effective.

A special thanks, again, to the volunteer community in Trawden, East Lancashire, UK, which has supported Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full invasion. Jo and Helen updated the Ukraine stall in the community library, which looks wonderful. Children's drawings from Kharkiv will be rotated, with one being displayed each week.

The generous donation (over £200) from Trawden community shop's collection box this month has been divided amongst Hell's Kitchen, Franklin's frontline support and Adults For Children, who sent medicine to an orphanage.

Mary's bears, along with notebooks for children, will be sent to the orphanage

An individual donation went towards buying a roll of fabric for camouflage netting.

I sent some money to an apartment community in Kherson that I've supported since 2023, when I helped to deliver aid there. The situation continues to deteriorate in Kherson, where it isn't safe for anyone to go outside due to constant attacks by first person view drones. The person who helps to distribute aid, Anastasiia, won a a grant to convert a basement into a children's center. Anastasiia said that Kherson has been under heavy attack from the Russians for a week and there are a lot of corpses in the street. She said that she came within seconds of being a drone's victim herself. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and thanks, also, for comments.

To make a donation 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:

The Adults for Children foundation in Kharkiv supports children and families affected by war, through humanitarian aid, including food and medicine. They focus on psychological rehabilitation, educational initiative and creating safe spaces for children's development.

https://instagram.com/adults_for_children?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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

Franklin, Hell's Kitchen foreign volunteer coordinator, supports soldiers and medics on the frontline. PayPal: bearstateteacher1@yahoo.com

Inna runs a small group of volunteers who make camouflage nets, ghillie suits and stretchers. Paypal: moreman@3g.ua

If you would like to donate to a charity that supports animals - Animal Rescue Kharkiv. https://www.animalrescuekharkiv.org/