21/06/2024, Vulhedar.
Natascha
The first time I ran into Natascha was on October 2, 2022, two days after the liberation of Lyman.
Coincidentally, I saw her a second time in March 2023. This time, I am intentionally looking for her.
In brief, her story is that she was living in Crimea when the war broke out but was visiting Kiev at the time,
where her documents were stolen. This made it impossible for her to return to Crimea.
After many wanderings, she ended up in Lyman, where the war was raging fiercely.
We quickly learn that Natasha usually hangs around Lena's grocery store. Lena tells us that last week,
as often happens, Natasha was talking to herself and then suddenly stood up, started shouting, and left.
The driver of the postal company next to the store came to ask Lena that same afternoon what Natasha
was doing at the intersection 10 kilometers away. There, we are told that she has been wandering around
the next intersection for two days. A woman selling roasted bacon at that intersection tells us that Natasha
walked towards Bakhmut on foot about half an hour ago. I ask this woman how it is that everyone can tell
us exactly where Natasha is. "In a war, you learn to pay attention to each other."
A few hundred meters further, we find Natasha at a bus stop.
In the first photo of Natascha, almost two years ago, I had written that she had a mild mental disability.
It is immediately clear that she is now much worse off. She rambles incessantly. Since talking with her is
no longer possible, we return to Lena in Lyman to ask if she knows why Natascha has deteriorated so much.
And whether it might have something to do with the war. "Of course it does," says Lena, "she's certainly
not the only one in that situation. But Natascha has to endure the war completely alone. She refuses all help
from us. For a long time, she slept in an entrance hall where other people also lived. But she became
increasingly dirty, and those people asked her to go elsewhere. Since then, she sleeps in a burned-out,
completely charred building. At night, it's pitch dark here. The city looks even more eerie then.
And with an enemy only 10 kilometers away who, though not daily, still keeps shelling us.
Natascha never takes shelter during a bombardment. She's just been very lucky to still be unharmed.
I have no idea how she got through the period of occupation. No one went outside then; she must have been
the only one on the street. She understands very well that there is a war going on here.
But she refuses to talk about it. If you bring it up, she immediately walks away.
22/06/2024. Konstantinivka. At this stabilization point, wounded soldiers fighting in Chasiv Yar are prepared for further transport to hospitals spread across the country.
Kupiansk has a lawnmower again. In September 2022, the Ukrainians drove the Russians several kilometers out of the eastern town of Kupiansk. During their retreat, the Russians plundered the entire city depot. In total, they took 27 service vehicles, including all the garbage trucks, cherry pickers, and tractors. They also loaded up smaller equipment. As a result,
the Kupiansk parks department has been without a lawnmower for two years. In the meantime, they had to make do with a hand scythe. Until today. Alexander is testing the first lawnmower the city has purchased again, and if he is satisfied with it, the city plans to buy more. (19/06/2024)
Anastasia will have to choose. Anastasia shares her hospital room in Charchiv with five other women, three of whom, all much older than her, were injured in bombings in their village near the front line. She herself was admitted a few days ago for a stomach illness. Her hometown of Melitopol, in the south of the country, was quickly occupied by the Russians. On the very day the war broke out, she left her city at her husband’s insistence. Her mother fled with her, while her father and sister stayed behind. At that time, Anastasia was a few months pregnant with their first child. To her surprise, her father is now pro-Russian. When Anastasia tells him over the phone that the Russians are committing terrible acts in Ukraine, he downplays it, saying that such things are a part of war. According to him, everything is fine in Melitopol and they are lacking nothing. Anastasia knows very well that this is not true; she hears different stories from other acquaintances. Her mother remains aloof from hese conversations, as she still loves her husband and hopes to return to him one day. Her husband, meanwhile, has joined the Ukrainian army as a medic and is almost always near the front. He somewhat understands why Anastasia keeps in touch with her father. He also sees that her father still cares deeply for her, even having sent them money several times and is very eager to meet his granddaughter, whom he has only seen in videos. However, he will never say more than a simple hello to that man. Her mother would, if she followed her heart, like to return to her husband in Melitopol. For her husband, returning there while the Russians are in control is, of course, not an option. Anastasia realizes that there ill likely come a time when she will have to choose between her parents and her husband. “Although there’ s little choice,” she says, “what can I do other than choosemy daughter and my family?”
