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
Tag: Ukraine
The Invincible Children of Kharkiv – Musicians in the ‘City without Windows’
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.
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’
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’
Desperately Seeking Cool Cafes in Odesa, Ukraine
My first impression of Odesa was not good. It was back in 2006 when I was merely transiting on the way to neighbouring Moldova and Transdnistria. From the train, I needed to jump almost directly onto a little shuttle bus. After an overnight trip from Kiev, the train pulled up to the platform in Odesa… Continue reading Desperately Seeking Cool Cafes in Odesa, Ukraine
Magic on the Night Train to Odesa, Ukraine
“Only First-Class!” Well darn, that wasn’t in the script – there were no other berths on the train from Poltava to Odesa. I had tried to be organised, and buy them earlier in New Zealand. Buying Ukrainian railway tickets on line is essentially quite straight forward. It was just that, after I had plodded through… Continue reading Magic on the Night Train to Odesa, Ukraine