the times | Wednesday April 13 2022 13
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anticipation of a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine
Y
esterday I met a family
from Saltovka, the most
heavily shelled area of
Kharkiv. Their apartment
had been hit by the
Russians and they had moved to the
home of one of their relatives. On
Monday that house was also
demolished by a rocket.
They had to pack what they had
left, take their old dog and come to
live in our bomb shelter, as our
district is supposed to be safer. They
plan to spend a few nights. We’re
happy to share what little we have
with them. Then they will move to
Poltava, a city in central Ukraine. I
hope they will find a safe place there.
I believe that soon the whole
country will be safe again, and it will
be a credit to all the Ukrainians who
are working together and helping
each other. But we still have some
way to go. Last weekend brought us a
new wave of unrest and anxiety. After
a few days of relative silence, Russian
troops decided to resume the round-
the-clock shelling of Kharkiv. Each
break between the air-raid sirens was
shorter than half an hour. I heard
explosions close to my house.
I had thought my area was safer
because it’s on the opposite side of the
city from where the enemy is camped.
Now the situation has changed. On
Sunday, I came home after working in
the volunteer headquarters and heard
a loud boom, like from heavy artillery,
followed by what sounded like the
crackle of machinegun fire. At first, I
thought it was an “outgoing” volley of
our guns, possibly a new weapon, the
sound of which is not yet familiar.
My friend called and told me it was
a Russian attack. A house down the
street was burning. I heard
emergency vehicle sirens and saw
smoke from burning houses over my
neighbours’ roofs, but I didn’t know
for sure what was happening.
A few hours later, we received the
official information. Russian troops
had attacked us with cluster bombs.
Several houses burnt down and about
a dozen more were damaged. Two
people died and three were wounded,
including a child. The next day, I
found out the names of the dead. One
was Ivan, who I had known sinceEach new dawn in
wartime Kharkiv, I
feel my heart bleeding
childhood. Before the war, we would
meet every morning at the bus stop
on our way to work.
I thought I was used to hearing
about civilian casualties, but when
someone you have known for most of
your life dies, it is that much harder.
Every new dawn in wartime
Kharkiv, I feel my heart bleeding. My
wonderful city is being reduced to
rubble. Yesterday 11 people died.
Today different parts of my city were
under attack again. A two-year-old
boy died from shrapnel wounds. I
can’t even imagine what his parents
feel, and I don’t want to imagine it
because I’m not sure I can deal with
such horrible pain.
For the past two days, specialists
have been examining our area
because parts of the cluster bombs are
scattered over a large area and
threaten the lives of civilians. They
look innocent, like chocolate bars. I
admire the work of the State
Emergency Service (SES). Every day
they risk their lives to save civilians,
combing through the rubble of
destroyed buildings and neutralising
unexploded shells.
According to official statistics,
Kharkiv is hit by a Russian
bombardment between 30 to 70 times
a day. These are against residential
areas, schools, kindergartens,
hospitals and places of distribution of
humanitarian aid. The employees of
the SES have more work than can
ever be done in a day, but they have
saved hundreds of lives.
I have the great honour to know
one of these people, Alexander. We
met at the volunteer headquarters
when he came to pick up cargo to
deliver to people living in the subway.
Many of those people have been in
the subways since the start of the war.
At the volunteer centre, we collect
food and clothing for them. One
elderly lady, who lives near by, bakes
pies for them regularly, and another
knits socks. Alexander delivers these
to those most in need. Sometimes he
has to do it while under fire.
Some of my friends help people
move to other cities. They drive them
from Kharkiv to the central and
western regions for free. Other dear
friends send money so I can buy
medicine for soldiers and refugees.
We have a saying in Kharkiv:
“When you fight for our freedom, I
will stand behind you and give you
bullets.” We can see that Russia is
massing its forces in the east, ready
for battle to take the Donbas region.
So, we ask you again in Europe: if we
fight for your freedom, will you stand
behind us and give us bullets?As cluster bombs rain
down on her home city,
Aliona Noha asks: If we
fight for your freedom,
will you give us bullets?
The former Archbishop of Canterbury
is visiting Ukraine with other faith
leaders “to demonstrate solidarity and
friendship with those affected by the
war”.
Lord Williams of Oystermouth joined
figures such as the Minister General of
the Franciscan Friars and the Greek
Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateira and
Great Britain to comfort war victims and
sustain morale.
The visit coincides with reports that
the Vatican was considering whether
Pope Francis would fly to Israel for a
meeting with the Russian Orthodox
Patriarch.
The Vatican is studying the possi-
bility of extending the Pope’s trip to
Lebanon in June so he can fly to Jeru-
salem to meet Patriarch Kirill, two
sources told Reuters on Monday.
Kirill, 75, the patriarch of Moscow,
has backed Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The initiative for the visit on which
Williams, 71, is taking part came from
Rabbi Dr Alon Goshen-Gottstein, the
director and founder of the Elijah Inter-
faith Institute in Israel.
Before a visit yesterday to Chernivtsi,
close to Ukraine’s border with Roma-
nia, Williams told the Church Times
Kharkiv has suffered from round-the-clock shelling from Russian heavy artilleryPHOTOGRAPHS: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS/REUTERSEx-archbishop on ‘solidarity mission’
that the participants wanted to ensure
Ukrainians knew they were not for-
gotten. Williams said: “The purpose is a
very modest one: we want to affirm our
solidarity with victims of this appalling
war, and express thanks for the courage
shown by the Ukrainian people.
“We also hope to learn a bit about
conditions for refugees in the area we
are visiting, and more generally about
how people on the ground are viewing
the situation.”Williams, a Russian speaker and an
expert on Orthodoxy, had previously
backed calls for the Russian Orthodox
Church to be excluded from the World
Council of Churches, because of to its
stance on the war in Ukraine.
Kirill has given his full blessing for
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a position
that has splintered the worldwide
Orthodox Church and unleashed an
internal rebellion that theologians and
academics believe is unprecedented.Kirill on Sunday called on Russians
to rally round the authorities as Mos-
cow pursues what it calls a “special
military operation” in Ukraine.
Williams said: “Anecdotal informa-
tion suggests a small but significant
number of Russian clergy, especially in
larger urban contexts where western
news still permeates, are deeply con-
cerned and very unhappy with the
patriarchal position, but apprehensive
about speaking up, given the draconian
sanctions threatened to anyone who
questions the official Russian account
of events.”
A public meeting with refugees and
faith representatives would be live-
streamed “across Ukraine and around
the world”, the coalition said.
The meeting would be “with homage
to the bombing of Mariupol” while
being hosted from Chernivtsi’s previ-
ously closed main theatre.
Rabbi Goshen-Gottstein said: “To
the best of my knowledge, this is the
first time ever that an interfaith dele-
gation has undertaken a mission of
friendship and solidarity, in entering a
country at war. This is all the more
remarkable considering the high level
of religious representatives.”
Putin sees Ukraine war as a spiritual
mission, Roger Boyes, page 30Charlie Moloney
Lord Williams said
he wanted to learn
about conditions
for refugees