Morning from Ukraine. The night was calm in Kyiv. I feel… I don’t know how I feel. Just had a big cup of #warcoffee. Yaroslava Antipina.
Yaroslava Antipina
Yarosalva Antipina lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. Yara, as her friends know her, enjoys coffee and hates war. Two years ago, she became a witness heard round the world to Russian devastation in Ukraine. She writes daily on X (follow her here), shares her photography on Instagram, and writes a weekly summary about life in Ukraine, along with pictures, videos and coffee.
We want our readers to be informed of what her and Ukrainians face daily. This her writing, shared with permission from March 3, 2024.
Yesterday, while I was at an exhibition in Kyiv, rescuers in Odesa were looking for people under the rubble. The exhibition was dedicated to Ukrainian children. Meanwhile, the bodies of a 3-year-old boy, a woman and her 4-month-old baby were found under the rubble.
I was looking for a chair to sit down. It was one. Good. So I sat there, looking at the people with their children, listening to the sound of children’s smiles, and cried.
In this letter, I will show you the paintings from the exhibition and the works of the artists I discovered there. So, Odesa and children. Let this Sunday letter be titled like that.
I will shortly summarize the tragedy caused by Russian drones in Odesa. You probably read and listened to a lot about it in the media.
So, a part of a multi-storey building collapsed in the city of Odesa on the night of March 1-2 due to a Russian Shahed drone attack, killing ten people (later, I will find out that eleven).
Children in Ukraine
Among the ten killed were four-month-old, eight-month-old and three-year-old children. Eight people were injured, including a three-year-old girl.
Search and rescue operations continue.
Due to the attack, Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper announced a day of mourning on March 3.
My thoughts are a bit chaotic right now. Maybe these jumps can show you my true feelings. Killed children, shattered memories of the children who saw the war, reflections of the adults about the hell we all live in here… sometimes I want to hide from it and unsee. But I cannot. So I make another cup of strong #warcoffee, take a deep breath and write.
Probably, I should end the letter. Covered by the thick blanket of sorrow, I ask you again not to forget about Ukraine. You can share this letter with anyone you want and wherever you want.
Before I let you go to live your life, I want to mention the words I wrote yesterday in my diary:
Honestly, I don’t know how to put this pain into words. They all seem trivial and empty. Someone’s loved ones died. Someone now has no mother or father, or daughter or son.
Read Yaroslava’s full letter and see more paintings here.
You can give to support humanitarian work in Ukraine. Details and how to join Bob and friends in raising $70,000 for Ukraine. Pray for Ukraine.
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