NOTe meet Mykhaïlo, sixty years old, in Izioum, in eastern Ukraine. He welcomes us in front of his old house, a five-storey building destroyed by a Russian strike. On March 9, 2022, Russian troops dropped a 500 kg bomb on this building. As a result of the impact, an entire entrance to the building collapsed, creating a huge hole in the place of apartments, furniture, living.
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Mykhaïlo lost seven members of his family in this attack: three grandchildren (aged 3, 10 and 15), his daughter and her husband, his wife and his wife’s aunt. At least fifty-two people died that day, almost all of them were in the basement of the building.
His neighbor, an elderly woman, was screaming very loudly. She was crushed and stuck in the middle of the debris. No one could do anything. The fighting continued: it was impossible to call the rescuers, the police or any other service. The survivors, including Mykhaïlo, gave him water until he died. After long weeks of waiting, Mykhaïlo was able to find the remains of his relatives – this only happened on April 12, more than a month after their death. He was finally able to bury them decently, in a cemetery.
evil unpunished
The man made his odyssey from Izioum. He passed through the occupied territories, certain Russian regions and the Baltic countries to return to his country. He was reunited with his son and his family in central Ukraine, then returned to his hometown after his release in September 2022. Like Ulysses, he had a long journey, and like the Phoenix , he tries to be reborn from his ashes, in front of the ruins of his house which remind him of the unpunished evil.
Like Mykhailo, Ukraine is returning to the unoccupied territories. She tries to live again in devastated villages and towns barely recovering from their wounds. Nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory still remains to be liberated.
The Ukrainian people are neither weary, nor tired, nor helpless. But the further you get from the devastated lands, the more virtual the war becomes. It is embedded in the screens of smartphones and televisions. The further one moves away from the field of war, the more, on the other hand, one hears of war fatigue. The louder the voices calling for the aggressor to be appeased as quickly and cheaply as possible.
Speculations
We have heard calls to stop supplying arms to Ukraine, on the pretext of not fueling hostilities. We also heard pacifist calls to end the war immediately, as if that were possible. We are now hearing speculation about the upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive: it must be decisive and put an end to the conflict. It’s now or never, we are told: Ukraine will have no other chance, because the armaments are starting to run out among the partners too.
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