“There is still enough food, but there are problems with bread”. How Ukrainian cities live today

Residents of these regions pay special attention to refugees from the eastern part of Ukraine. Many volunteers find accommodation for them and organize hot meals, suggest routes that can be the easiest way to get to the border with Poland or Romania. This means that in military conditions, all the contradictions between the two parts of Ukraine are forgotten - the people found strength in themselves and united in the face of danger.

But in the immediate vicinity of the Russian and Belarusian borders, military operations are expected.

Journalist Viktor Timoshenko, who lives in the ancient Polissya town of Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, located just three dozen kilometers from Belarus and in close proximity to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, writes:

“During the day I went to pharmacies, shops, and then traveled all the outskirts and roads by car. Ovruch was empty, there was no one except rare passers-by and people armed with machine guns at the crossroads - territorial defense. Over the past 30 years, Ovruch has “grown” with the village (the military and the Jews left), which is why, in a troubled time, people dispersed to their native, tribal villages. Now (17.30) the air raid signal is heard. People obediently hide in basements and bomb shelters. The stores have something to buy, problems with bread. Buyers are trying to take “in reserve”, organize strategic food storage in the house, primarily long-lasting and non-perishable: cereals, canned food. "People of the earth" hunger, shortages are not threatened. Cellars, pantries, and povets in the villages are crammed with gifts of the past summer. Traffic lights do not work - they unmask, especially at night! All commercial advertising has been suppressed. There is no street lighting, the "night Belarusian-Russian falcons" have nothing to catch visually. Mobile communications, internet, water, gas, electricity work! Glory to God, the mayor of the city of Korud and thanks to everyone who provides these pleasures of civilian life in these troubled times of war. Stood in line. I will note the following: the people of Ovruch are very frightened by the war. This is manifested in everything: in the style of conversation, increased volume and tone, harshness of judgments, search for the extreme, fear for children, rejection of other people's opinions. Individualism, collectivism won, in fear - every man for himself! And most importantly. there are no smiles on their faces, and this is the main difference between a peaceful life and a premonition of a big war.

Today, at 10.10, I saw in the window the ZhEK's car, into which a man threw garbage from the street with a shovel. And my poor human heart was touched, rejoiced at this event. This means that we, in spite of anxieties and fears, remain human beings, the "human" in us wins and remains. In peacetime, I would not even pay attention, but now this is a whole humanitarian event! PS I regret that I didn't have time to take a picture of that heroic guy with a shovel! Hooray for our mayor".

Olga, a resident of the town of Koryukov, the Chernihiv region bordering Russia, adds her touches to this picture:

“In our city, stores have set a norm for the sale of products, especially bread (1 pc each). No one objects, they treat with understanding. There are queues, but people are disciplined, they even comply with anti-covid measures. One agricultural enterprise sells milk for 5 UAH/l, 8 liters per person (everyone takes less), the second distributes it for free, but 3 liters per person. Today is the day of the Koryukovskaya tragedy of 1943, the Germans burned our city to the ground, 7 thousand people died..."

And here is what Natalya M., a resident of Kyiv, writes to her Moscow relatives, whom her neighbors who left for Poland and Slovakia left 18 dogs:

“We leave our house and drive away from the first line, which, as it turned out, is the most dangerous. We drove under the edge of the forest while putting things in an empty unfinished building. Here, all the trees along the edge of the forest are cut by mines, so it is not known whether it will be safer here. Animals are with us, they are terribly nervous. Reports are bad - our area is surrounded. Hope only for good luck. There are fighting on all approaches to Kiev. A friend from Bucha told by phone that yesterday some people in military uniform drove people out of their houses, putting them on knees and forcing you to crawl like that ... It's all so beyond that the brain melts. We were given the keys to a house in the village, in the middle of Pushcha! ", strange soldiers came out. When they returned for dogs (and we will live in two families with 18 dogs and several cats), then these Luhansk disguised people have already tied up. In the village for the first time I felt relative calm. We are still transporting things and living creatures..."

Russian historian Mark Solonin, now living in Kiev, is broadcasting live video. The people of Kiev, according to his observation, are slowly getting used to the military situation, and with the curfew, there is no noticeable panic. He draws attention to the fact that despite the complexity of the situation, the exchange rate of the Ukrainian hryvnia rose slightly: from 32 to 40 hryvnia per dollar. Among the saddest news of the past day, Solonin names the hit of a live shell in the memorial cemetery of Babi Yar, where tens of thousands of Jews who were shot by the Nazis in 1941 are buried.

Anton, an IT specialist from Kharkiv, writes in his blog that his hometown has been under crossfire for the sixth day, but he is convinced that Kharkiv will not surrender:

“The siren sounds more often during the day than at night, when it is relatively calm. The night before had been calm. The siren sounded from ten in the evening until midnight, and then at eight in the morning. The so-called shelter is a simple basement, unsuitable for protection from heavy artillery fire. The Fraternal Cemetery and that's all... It has no independent ventilation and several exits. Our city has always been very beautiful in the evenings - everything was lit up, but now the city is plunged into darkness, there are no lights in the windows either. During the day, several shops and pharmacies operate in the city. During the day on the street you can see abandoned dogs left in a hurry by the owners who left the city, and this is also very sad..."

Odessite Nikolay Antipov reports that to raise the spirit of his fellow citizens, a brass band walks through the streets of the city. Tonight in Odessa passed quietly: “You no longer pay attention to such trifles as air raid alerts. A lot of work. Kharkov - we are with you! thanks to everyone who helps! There are a lot of us!”

True, the brass band, judging by the letter to the editor from Valentina from Odessa, helps few people:

“Dear journalists, I am from Odessa, Ukraine,” Valentina writes. “We are being bombed from tanks and hailstones at homes, schools, zoos. ships from the Crimea. I'm Russian, my mother was born in the Kemerovo region, I'm not a Bandera woman, I'm from Odessa. It's scary when you listen to every sound so that you can run away to shelter in time and not have your arm or leg torn off".