The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-08)

A10 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.SUNDAY,MAY 8 , 2022

AcrossfromStavitska’sbackyard,

its wetsoil freshlychurnedfromthe

impactofthe missilestrike, rescuers

searchingapartmentsfoundthe de-

composingbodies of several older

peoplewhohad diedof heartattacks

weeksearlier.

Stavitskasaidthatshe was physi-

callyunharmedby the impactofthe

strike, but as she shuffled throughthe

broken glass,squintingat the flooras

she triedto workout whichposses-

sionscouldbe saved,she felt sad.

Most of herneighborshadalready

gone. Thetelevisionwassmashed,

meaningtherewas nothingleft to fill

the silenceof her days.

Bundledup in her pinkcoatand

hat, she was shaking.She had called

the localcouncilfor assistanceand

wastoldthatsomeonewouldcome

whentheycould.

“I needhelp,”she said quietly.“Ido

have thingsin herethataren’t com-

pletely destroyed.”

Shewonderedwhereshe would

spendthispastSaturday, her 80th

birthday, even though shehad no one

to celebratewith.

Fightingfor theirchildren’s

country

On awarm springdayatthis obser-

vation pointnearthe easternfront

line,soldiersweretalkingaboutwhy

theyfight.

Druidwantedto meethis daughter

for the firsttime —she was bornjust

days before the war started.

Kinowantedto embrace his son,

whowasalsofightingforUkraineand

had beeninjuredin combat.

“This is verypersonal,”said one of

theircomrades.“The Russianswant

to wipeout our families.”

raid sirensringin theirearseven in

theirquietestmoments.

Somehave cometo the frontto

fight, someto bringfoodand comfort.

Others,especiallythe elderly,have

nowhereelse to go and hidein dank

basementshelters.Nothingwill ever

be the samefor anyofthem.

Ukraine,oncepartofthe Soviet

Union, hasalways treated Victory

Dayasaholiday. Butthisyear,itwill

be justanotherdaytotakethe fight to

the Russianarmy, justanotherdayto

survive.

Apoetinwartime

Beforeitbecamethe site of abrutal

Russian militarybombardment,

Kharkivwas acityknownfor poetry.

Itsmostfamousresidentis oneof

Ukraine’s mostlaudedpoets.

Even as the blasts have broken

windowson nearlyeverybuilding,

SerhiyZhadansaidhe never consid-

ered leaving Kharkiv,which is

Ukraine’s second-largestcityand just

25 milesfromthe Russianborder.It

has beenon the frontline sincethe

firstday of the war,ineasy rangeof

Russianartillery.

To him,Kharkivwas acityofyouth,

becauseof its 42 universities and

colleges. Nowmostofthose students

have left,and Zhadan,47,isfinding

ways to supportthose whohave

stayed behind.

“Why leave if there’s an opportu-

nitytobehere andbe helpful?”he

said.“And Ilove Kharkivverymuch.”

Zhadanis busiernowthanhe was

before the war.His headquarters is a

tucked-awaytheater downtown,

wherethe stageiscoveredwithfood,

clothingand otheraid. He deliversit

to the manypeoplewhohave spent

the pasttwo months livingin

basements,shelteringfromthe near-

constant shellingin the city.

Hisbed is amattresspad in the

theater,inaclosetofpuppetdolls. He

pays regularvisitsto Ukrainiansol-

diersposted nearthe frontline,to

takethemsuppliesand justlisten to

theirstories.They’vetold him about

Russianatrocities.Latelythe news

has beenbetter —Ukrainian forces

have expelled the Russians from

north of the regionand pushedback

theirpositionsnearthe city.

At aconcertfor patientsand doc-

torsatalocalhospital,Zhadanrecited

his poems.One was from2013, when

Ukrainewasstill peaceful. But the

sentimentwas relevant now,hetold

his audience.Oneline:“Itisworth

fightingandworth to getupagain,

even if you have to fall later.”

Elderlyand alonein the silence

In the ruinsof her home,Liubov

Stavitskawas alone.

Herhusbandandson diedyears

ago, and therehad beenatime when

the isolationhadfelt bearable.But

whenaRussianmissilehit her back-

yardon April30, she realizedthatshe

had no one left.Noone was thereto

witness how the blasthurled her

acrossthe livingroomthather family

hadwallpapered,or howthe shat-

teredglassfromthe windowsfilled

the air.

“Everythingwasshaking.Every-

thingwas fallingdown,”she remem-

bered.“I reallywas veryscared.”

Russian bombardment regularly

targetsthiscornerofeasternUkraine,

closeto the frontline. Rescue workers

saythose mostoften left behindin

otherwise abandonedSoviet-era

housingblocksare the elderlywithno

relativesto evacuate them.

RUSSIAFROMA

Soviet celebration just another day to fight

WOJCIECHGRZEDZINSKIFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST

HEIDILEVINEFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST

HEIDILEVINEFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST

FROM TOP:SerhiyZhadan, an acclaimed poet,performs at aconcertfor

patients andmedicalstaff at ahospital in Kharkiv,Ukraine. He alsohas

become avolunteer delivering emergencyfood and clothing. Liubov

Stavitska inspects the damageinher apartment after Russianstrikes hit

her neighborhoodinDobropillya, in theDonetsk region. Stavitska,who

turned 80 on Saturday and livesalone,was physicallyunharmedbythe

attack but left feeling sad.Olexi, a65-year-old soldier, standsnextto

rocketlaunchers in the kitchenof aposition close to the easternfront near

Bakhmut. Unlikewhenhewas aconscriptin the Sovietarmy, “now Iam

fighting freely for whatIbelieve,”hesaid.

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THE WASHINGTONPOST

Sources: Institutefor theStudy of War, AEI’sCriticalThreats Project