A letter from Ukraine: an insight into life during war
In this personal ‘New Year letter’, Dr Oleksiy Gryshchenko writes about his daily life in Kyiv.
About Dr Oleksiy Gryshchenko
Dr Oleksiy Gryshchenko is a Senior Scientist at the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences’ Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology. Over the years, Dr Gryshchenko has been a regular visiting research fellow to Professor Ole Petersen‘s group at Cardiff University, resulting in many joint publications. In 2016, he received Academia Europaea’s Burgen Award from Professor Sierd Cloetingh at the AE Annual Conference in Cardiff (photo left).
We thank Dr Gryshchenko for his permission to publish this letter.
Dear Friends,
We’re all in Kyiv and our life is more or less normal under the circumstances. At least, we are much better off than people in some other Ukrainian cities, constantly shelled by the Russians. We have regular (and irregular) electric power cuts and blackouts, which are becoming more and more frequent. They usually result in water and central heating cuts, and we’ve had several days without electricity, water and heating.
We are better off than my daughter though, because she lives in a house that’s all-electricity. When there’s a blackout, she can’t even make tea, let alone use other facilities. She comes to us sometimes, as we have gas and can cook and heat the kitchen with a big pot of boiling water.
Shops in Kyiv that have generators provide their visitors with free power to charge phones, power banks and other gadgets. They also sell pizzas, salads, tea and coffee. Cafes and restaurants provide elderly people with free dinners. People can come to these places just to get warm. We also have ‘invincibility points’ where people can charge their gadgets, drink tea, get warm and use the internet connection.
The internet connection is another problem, since internet providers are also affected by the blackouts. The majority of them depend on electricity to provide their services. At such times, the mobile connection “dies” or almost “dies”.
Repairmen are working round the clock to fix all the incidents. When something fails, we are patient and have faith that the problem will soon be fixed. And it is!
We are also increasing our awareness of the scarcity of natural resources, saving electricity and gas. During such hard times, people learn to value things they didn’t even notice in peacetime. And they are also learning to value other people and living beings.
Kyiv is regularly shelled and different regions suffer. There were several explosions in our region (in the neighbouring backyards) and the police and rescue crews removed the remains of the bomb (or whatever it was). Whenever this happens, windows in our house shake, but, thank God, we are safe!
We do our best to stay safe and healthy (both physically and mentally), despite all the atrocities of war. We have enjoyed every moment of joy and happiness we might find at present. My daughter was a bridesmaid at her friend’s wedding. The groom serves in the army and came to his wedding from the frontline. He didn’t even have enough time to buy the rings and the flowers. So he asked my daughter, and she helped. The groom is back at the front now, and we are all waiting for him to come home!
The atrocities of war spare no one. The building next to my daughter’s house was shelled in mid-March and looked like the first picture below. It has recently been restored (see second picture below) for the residents to return home! So have lots of other ruined houses all over Ukraine, if only the Russians do not attack them again!
On New Year’s Eve, we were very nervous. A bomb exploded just a couple of blocks away from our house. Unfortunately, there were casualties (one elderly man died, 17 wounded and hospitalised). The whole of Ukraine was severely bombed that night. There were many casualties, but we believe in our army and that we are one day closer to our victory!
My daughter decided to compare this year’s New Year tree in Kyiv with last year’s. Last year’s tree was three times as tall as this year’s. There was a New Year fair on Sophiivska Square which was not held this year, and you can also see the monument to Bohdan Khmelnitsky (on the right), now covered to save it from shelling, as are many other monuments in Kyiv. This year’s tree is decorated with last year’s decorations and energy-saving lamps, which need a generator to work. Decorations, lamps and the generator were offered by business. People could enjoy the New Year tree and charge their devices there.
There is one more thing that seems important to mention in this letter. These are the emotions and experiences we’ve had during these hard times. It was impressive to see how Ukrainians, and Kyivans in particular, immediately responded to the invasion during the very first days of war. They started to barricade streets and join the territorial defence regiments. They came with whatever weapons they had, like hunting rifles and knives. As time went on, orderly barricades were put up in critical places. The more hastily-built barriers were then removed, in order to unblock the streets and passages. The territorial defence regiments were organised more systematically and they are still protecting important objects. Public transport was restricted, although we could still commute. When the first tram moved in our region, we were impressed because we perceived it as a sign of returning to normal. Now, electric public transport has been replaced by petrol buses to save energy and they provide a regular service.
Life is adapting to the difficult circumstances. People are getting used to certain limitations because they understand the purpose. The Ukrainians are like bees in a hive – they peacefully live in their homes, bring up children and sometimes seem vulnerable. But when an intruder comes, each person, like a bee, turns into an independent warrior and stands up to protect life, homes and families.
These are the emotions we have had. It was the hardest year we have ever had. We wish for a better year in 2023, when we will enjoy seeing you all!