- Ambulances, donations and Super Mario. Helping refugees in the district of Goslar and in their home country.

The life of 97-year-old Raisa Vasylivna Golub (née Bahaziy) is a small mirror that reflects the path Ukraine has traveled over the past century.

My people are tired, 
They suffer
All the horrors and crimes of the executioners.

When the war started, both mentally and physically, I was ready. I had just finished a tough training session with friends, so I was in good shape. Life didn’t change drastically for me; before, I was already accustomed to challenges, leading an ascetic life, with part of my time dedicated to serving others. This was a new challenge where all my training and mental strength could be used in the right way.

Andriy Sosnov is a singer and musician. He was born on August 1, 1973 in the city of Makiivka, Donetsk region, just like his twin brother Igor. At the age of 8, the twins first heard Vladimir Vysotsky's songs and fell in love with the music. The brothers also wanted to sing. Andriy learned to play the guitar, and Igor the flute, so they began to accompany each other.

It all started 24th of February. No one in my family expected that kind of situation. We were scared and confused, did not know what to do next. At first we stayed in our city, but my family decided to leave after a dangerous condition at the nuclear station. 

When hostilities began in the east in 2014, I was 11 years old and I asked: "Mom, won't this happen here?"

Since my childhood, I have loved sports. And especially football. It has a special place in my life. It is the game in my heart. 

This day started with the news. My friend Zhenya's husband was killed at the front. This is the first thing I saw in my newsfeed. In the morning, when I went to the cemetery to visit my husband's grave.

In 2022, when the tragedy in Olenivka occurred, I did not immediately understand what had happened. It hadn't even been six months since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. So I guess my brain didn't know how to react to such catastrophes. 

I will start with recent events. Forest fires are raging in many places in Ukraine. This abundance of fires is explained by strong winds, which spread the fire, and mine detonation, which intensifies the flames. But more and more often many Ukrainians are thinking about deliberate arson. And these suspicions are confirmed: it has already become known that occupants drop cans of flammable liquid from drones. Also people have seen motorcyclists scattering burning torches.

How does it feel to know that your hometown is destroyed?

–painting and story by Irina Pharion 

For the first six months in Germany, I was afraid to be out in the open. When I had to go outside I tried to walk as close to the buildings as possible - so I didn’t feel like a “target”. At night I dreamed of shelling: a recurring dream of a plane dropping a bomb on my house. My last thought was always “this is the end”.

At first, you simply believe that everything is fine, that your relative will contact you soon. And you wait what seems like forever: a day, two, three.

27.05.22