564 day of war

In the photo is our humanitarian hub 'YAMariupol,' which has become a focal point of our past life. We receive humanitarian aid here and also work on unloading trucks with food.

Hello, friends!

This weekend, we are observing how the sham elections are taking place in the occupied territories of Ukraine. There's no need to talk about the political aspect of these elections, in my opinion, there are no real elections in Russia for any position, and it's all just a formal spectacle. Although these elections do not affect us in any way, many people currently living in the occupied territories tell stories of how they are forced to vote. Cars with ballot boxes drive through villages, and they approach every house with loudspeakers, urging people to come out and vote, all under the supervision of armed forces. In essence, nothing changes; it's all held together by fear and weapons.

I don't have the strength to read the news anymore, let alone the comments on Telegram related to these news. Of course, the information war continues, and everyone tries to manipulate information for their own purposes, but the news is a separate kind of horror. Starting from daily rocket attacks and their consequences, to various statements by politicians regarding the supply of ammunition, lifting or imposing sanctions on Russia, and secretive negotiations about something. You can lose your mind if you believe every word written on the internet. If at the beginning of the war, the information environment in the country was somewhat reassuring, with people saying we would endure everything and that everything would be fine, over the past 1.5 years of the war, the information has become increasingly aggressive and manipulative

Right now, when our army has managed to advance through minefields to the front lines, there is hope that they can establish themselves there and continue, liberating cities. Minefields have truly become a significant problem and have greatly slowed down our advance. How they were have overcome will probably be told in movies later on. Teams of 20-30 people would take positions, sliding on their bellies through minefields at night, and hold their positions while another group of people cleared the area for tank advancement. The equipment for mine clearance and tanks are quite visible and slow targets, and if you don't divert attention from them - they are simply destroyed.

It feels like we are experiencing the same thing our grandparents did during World War II. And it's terrifying.

Now, autumn has arrived, and like every year, I feel it strongly. It brings a sense of oppression, anxiety, poor sleep, and constant headaches. It's a rather apathetic time, and I understand that it's increasingly difficult to perceive events adequately, that even a minor situation saddens me and lingers in my mind for several days. I know that this will pass with time, but for now, I try to hold on, distract myself with reading good books instead of news, and try to do something useful every day.

A long war is tough, living in historic times is also very challenging. I believe that we will endure all of this, and someday, peace and tranquility will come.

I would like to thank everyone for their support and assistance. I greatly appreciate it. Have a good day!