photo: Ukrainian Freedom News
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It’s been a week since I arrived in Ukraine and it took till last night to get a real sense of the realities of life over here. Around 4 am, I heard my first explosions.
They occurred about 30 miles from where we are, and at first it resembled more the sounds of thunder to me. But they were missile strikes, and as of this writing, 35 people died from it.
Hearing about the deaths and hearing the explosions, after a few days of calm in this peaceful and serene city, it hit me: I’m in a war zone.
Around 3:30 am the alarms for an air raid went off. Around 6:30 the explosions were heard. Around 8:00 we got the signal that all was clear and I could sleep peacefully back in bed again.
Around 10 I got up with the intention to go out and get a feel for the city and how its people reacted, now that, after two weeks of Russia’s war on Ukraine, explosions were getting closer. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I know didn’t expect what I saw.
I saw peace and I heard the beautiful sounds of a church choir nearby. I tasted Turkish coffee at a cat cafe on a date with a local woman and I felt the calmness of the city as I walked through the crowded mall.
As others were buying the latest trends, I was out trying to find sleeping bags for my team. With bombings so close nearby, you never know when you’re gonna have to pack up and leave on a moment’s notice.
Jeff Praul
While at the cat cafe I couldn’t help but be reminded of how much cats are unphased by life. The people of Lviv: they also seemed to me like cats. They were living in the same way, outwardly unphased despite the horror swirling around. It was nice to see how normal everything felt, but I also couldn’t help but wonder if this was the calm before the storm.
Despite the calm demeanors of the people I saw, I knew the reality: Hardly anyone had slept, due to the explosions and the hours in shelter. In the middle of the country, a US journalist was shot and killed today, the first foreign reporter to lose life since this began. The airport near the city I traveled to yesterday, Ivano-Frankivsk, was bombed.
We look around and see renaissance statues covered up and windows boarded up. We see military with AK-47s walking all over and a high amount of police, always on the lookout for Russian spies. This is very much a war zone, and we have hints of it all around us. And yet, the city is calm. I am unsure of what to make of it all.
Today, with a beautiful woman standing next to me, I watched the sun set over the beautiful city of Lviv that I could easily see myself living in for a year or two. Moments later I watched two dogs greet each other with their tails wagging and kids being kids on the soccer field.
All was good and all was calm today, after the early-morning strike. The sun set in peace tonight, and the sun will rise tomorrow in Ukraine. I’m hopeful that the strength of the Ukrainian people will see to it that no storms come with it.
I hope that what I see here is the calm before the calm. I believe Ukraine will be strong enough not let to let the fight reach Lviv. But if the storms do come, as we heard the thunder last night, we will be ready to adjust our sails. The sight we see and course we steer towards will not be denied. Calm will come again.
By Jeff Praul, source: Ukrainian Freedom News
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Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.