The one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Sunday January 15 2023 Kyiv, Ukraine
The one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is approaching. They invaders crossed the border on February 24th 2022. I arrived to the city of Przemysl, Poland early March of last year and will have spent a total of over 9 months in Ukraine on the anniversary date. I’ve returned home twice since I first came here knowing that the time back home would be brief. My work in Ukraine was unfinished and beckoning. Today I am in a hotel just outside of Kyiv. The power has been off for a few hours and it is getting colder in my room. No matter. I’ll be leaving soon to go into the city and load humanitarian aid supplies for the people and animals in Kherson. There will be just two vehicles in this convoy. Mine and another operated by Ukrainian volunteer members. Everyone is Ukrainian except for me. The language barrier is there even though we all use google translate which is not very reliable at accurately describing what one has said. We leave tomorrow morning for Kherson and enter the city 7 hours later. Deliver the supplies to the military. Say our hellos, embrace, wish each other good luck then depart. I’ll be going to Dnipro from Kherson. The others back to Kyiv. I’ll reach Dnipro that night and get some rest before I reload the next morning for Bahkmut. Bahkmut is a city in Eastern Ukraine under attack by the Russian military and the Wagner Group mercenaries. It is a “meat grinder” for the Russians. They are losing significant numbers of soldiers attempting to capture the city. There are civilians with their animals that have chosen to remain there in Bahkmut. All hoping the Ukrainian military will be able to hold off the Russian advance and save what is left of the city. Those are the ones we are bringing the humanitarian aid to.
1/16/2023. Kherson is in the rear view mirror. We finished unloading during a Russian rocket attack. I went to visit a British friend, that is currently living in Kherson, before leaving for Dnipro. As we sat in his apartment the rockets came often and close. I could see people running rather than walking to wherever they were going. No point hanging anywhere too long. Another rocket struck and debris from the strike hit the building. Time to for me to go. As I was leaving Kherson I received a message that the trip to Bahkmut was delayed a day. Good news. I don’t need to drive to Dnipro during the night.
1/17/2023. I arrived to Dnipro this afternoon and went to the Ukrainian volunteer organization to load supplies for Bahkmut. 500 loaves of bread, 500 cans of beans with meat, 540 kg of animal feed and other humanitarian aid supplies. I met a French Bulldog there that was rescued from the Kharkiv region earlier in the war. Jessica. Meeting rescued animals always makes the day better for me. I meet a lot of rescued animals. I’m currently sitting in a mechanics garage having contaminated steering fluid flushed and refilled. It’s not warm here either. Thinking about tomorrow and what it will bring.