In the center of Dnipro, on “Executive Committee” Street, stands a building that was constructed in 1867. For decades it contained several floors of meeting rooms, a synogogue, and a basement apartment for the rabbi. When the Germans attacked the Soviet Union in the Second World War, Nazis bombed this building… but the rabbi had gathered members of the congregation … Read More
“Lady Wine” in Liberated Kherson
As Russian forces made their hasty retreat to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, they destroyed as much of Kherson’s infrastructure as they could: power lines, the water system, cell phone towers, bridges, parts of the grid. So those left behind – the liberated Ukrainians of Kherson – were no longer living in abject terror, but they were very … Read More
Open arms and hot soup in Eastern Ukraine
In the city of Zaporizhzhia – the first major stop for refugees fleeing Mariupol and other war-torn towns in southeastern Ukraine – we met Nella, who became a local guide, bringing us to refugee centers and hospitals, opening doors around town. On our second visit, she greeted us with homemade Ukrainian perishke, savory donuts stuffed with mashed potatoes, that she … Read More
Breakfast with the Batallion
We headed out in the early hours to visit one of the newly liberated towns surrounding Kyiv. The area was one of the first targets of Russian forces in late February and early March as they tried to encircle the capital and take hold of some air fields. That advance was largely unsuccessful, and Ukrainian forces are now clawing back … Read More
Food on the Ukrainian Frontline
It’s below freezing in the Ukrainian trenches, dug just a few hundred yards away from Russian-backed separatists. There’s regularly a ceasefire violation around here – sniperfire or mortar rounds shot at the troops wearing blue & yellow patches, the flag of Ukraine, on their shoulders. They run regular rotations into the trench to peer across no man’s land… and then … Read More