Ukraine war
“We will stop the monster”
Dina Wonh from the Chernihiv region is a TV presenter and journalist. She left Chernihiv on March 15, 2022. Today she is a soldier.
© Anastasia Potapova
In our five-part series on the Russian war of aggression, five Ukrainian women have their say. Today: Dina Wonh, 30, who tells everyone who lives in peace: Appreciate what you have.
On February 24th I had Covid. It was the fifth day of my illness, I was weak and slept a lot and deeply. No wonder I didn’t hear the air raid sirens and explosions. A friend woke me up with the words: “The war has started here.” It was clear to me for a long time that war would come to us. Since 2014, many people have known that what other countries are doing The conflict in eastern Ukraine was called war in its purest form. And it was only a matter of time before it spread further. In 2022, media reports of a possible imminent full-scale invasion increased. In February, the number and urgency of such reports continued to increase. It was obvious that we had been warned. But no one expected it to be so terrible. Because you only understand what war means when you meet it yourself, face to face.
War – that is the constant noise of artillery fire; this is the sound of airplanes flying past that makes many people jump almost to the point of cardiac arrest; these are suicides out of fear; this is death due to lack of medical care – because doctors simply could not come because of the shelling and hospitals were destroyed by the enemy; that is death by a grenade, bomb or bullet. War is hunger because there was practically nothing to buy in the shops; that is constant thirst and dirt on one’s own body because the Russians damaged the water supply in Chernihiv, so people had to seriously think about what is more important now: taking a drink and quenching their thirst or washing their hands.War – these are abandoned and frightened animals. Hungry and unhappy. War – that is the smell of rotting corpses, because the morgues had no electricity and it was not always possible to bury people. In addition, the Russians even bombed the cemetery, which is why Chernihiv residents were also buried in the forest park. And many people were unable to properly say goodbye to their loved ones. War – that’s constant fear for your loved ones, so much so that you almost go crazy when they don’t answer the phone or respond to messages.
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PS: War is extremely terrible, disgusting and dirty. The Ukrainians did not start this war, but we had to accept it. We fight for our loved ones, for our lives, for our right to be independent and free. We defend our home, all of us as best we can.
If you only know war from news, movies, books and other publications, I will give you some advice. Appreciate everything you have. Tell your loved ones how much you love and appreciate them at every opportunity.
Take time to have coffee with friends. Do you travel. Don’t be afraid to make your dreams come true. Because at some point everything can be over. Someone might decide that you are living too well and need to be “saved” from it.
Ukraine is fighting desperately against this someone. And I believe that we will win. I believe that we will stop the giant monster that brings only death, destruction and evil.
After all, we understand all too well the importance of peace.
And at what price this peace is achieved.
Dina joined the army about a year ago and has been fighting in the east of the country ever since. Your tank brigade liberated the Chernihiv region from the Russian invaders. she writes Aurelie Bros, who collected these letters every week to let her know how she was doing. A deep friendship was formed in the horrors of war. “The fact that I protect my loved ones as best as possible gives me courage,” says Dina. “I’m fully focused on winning.”
The book
© PR
After the start of the war, Aurélie Bros was in Ukraine for an aid project that supports Ukrainian journalists. She asked 38 women to write letters about their everyday lives without peace and security. We present five of them in abbreviated form in this dossier. The photos were taken by Ukrainians Daria Biliak, Kristina Parioti and Anastasia Potapova, who now live in Germany. Aurélie Bros (ed.): “Like a ray of light in the darkness. Letters from women from Ukraine to the free world” (491 pages, 30 euros, Elisabeth Sandmann Verlag)