Ukraine: War and Wonders

Pippi Longstockings, and a Destroyed School in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Books in the rubble of Kharkiv Gymnasium No 47. Photo: the author (Mike Pole)

In a pile of rubble in the destroyed Gymnasium No. 47 in Kharkiv (Харьковская гимназия № 47), Ukraine, I picked up a book. The school was, fortunately, not open when it was destroyed by Russia in the early hours of July 04, 2022 (See the archello website and Kanal 24 and Infociti website). It was… Continue reading Pippi Longstockings, and a Destroyed School in Kharkiv, Ukraine

Ukraine: War and Wonders – Ukraine’s Womanly Face of War

T-34 tank from World War 2, outside the museum, central Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was on the outside of tanks such as this one, that some Red Army female medics, went to battle. Photo: the author (Mike Pole).

Svetlana Alexievich’s book ‘The Unwomanly Face of War’ is one of the most impactful I’ve ever read. The book is a series of interviews with surviving women who fought in the Soviet Red Army during World War Two. Most (not all), of these women were medics and snipers. There are first-person tales of incredible stuff… Continue reading Ukraine: War and Wonders – Ukraine’s Womanly Face of War

The Invincible Children of Kharkiv – Musicians in the ‘City without Windows’

The band Teenager Stars, in Kharkiv. Ten year-old Daniil is singing, to his left, Lisa is on the drums, and to his right, Iryna is on the organ. The organiser, Yuri Mischenko, is in the back, playing the drums.

Kharkiv, in the far north-east of Ukraine, has been described as ‘a city without windows’ (Mayor Ihor Terekhov in a Twitter post of June 27, 2025). The city’s location, just a twenty minute drive from the front line, had seen it occupied early in the Russian invasion, then liberated by the Ukrainians, but it remains… Continue reading The Invincible Children of Kharkiv – Musicians in the ‘City without Windows’

Ukraine: War and Wonders – Cats and Dogs.

The Lviv Cat Cafe. Photo, the author (Mike Pole)

Today is the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On that day, pandemonium struck. People fled with a few belongings, often, only what they could carry – and typically their pets. Despite leaving their homes, perhaps for good, and having to absolutely prioritise – countless people chose to include their cats… Continue reading Ukraine: War and Wonders – Cats and Dogs.

Ukraine: War and Wonders – The Dnipro – Ukraine’s ‘National River’

The view across the Parkovy Pedestrian Bridge to Trukhaniv Island in the Dnipro River, Kyiv.

Rivers, big rivers. They can be political borders – think of the Rhine – when it marked the ‘civilised’ Roman Empire to the south, from the dark world of the ‘barbarians’ to the north. Or big rivers can become the arteries of countries. Think of the Mississippi. They can flicker back and forwards between these… Continue reading Ukraine: War and Wonders – The Dnipro – Ukraine’s ‘National River’