Hi Tom, how are you? Do you notice a difference with previous visits?
“The city is dark. The streetlights do not work or work poorly, for many people the light is off. When night falls, people walk around with lights on their phones so they don’t trip over. Many traffic lights don’t work. This is the direct result of the Russian attacks on food.
‘Most places have electricity, but the grid operator also closes parts of the city to distribute the scarce energy. I just had to pay in a bar while we were still eating, because according to the waitress this neighborhood was about to be closed and pins would no longer be possible. Five minutes later the power actually went out and the waitress lit candles.
‘A full schedule can be found online indicating which roads are without electricity and when. However, this is not always strictly observed: it is sometimes said that you will not have energy for four hours, but in reality it is eight or even twelve hours.
“The air raid siren went off today too, but I didn’t notice much panic. This is because most drones and missiles land on critical infrastructure such as power plants, substations and water systems, which are usually located outside residential areas. In addition, anti-aircraft defenses are working better and better, thanks to the experience and new anti-aircraft guns of other countries. Ukraine says it is shooting down most of the missiles and drones, although I cannot control it. ‘
It seems to me a mixed feeling for the Ukrainians: success on the battlefield on the one hand and attacks on civilian targets on the other. How is the atmosphere among the residents of Kiev?
“A few months ago it was like being in pre-war Kiev, but the air strikes have brought back the tension. Today I spoke to two men who had told their refugee wives that it was better they didn’t return yet.
“Russia, however, fails to demotivate the Ukrainians. Rather, I have the impression that they are becoming more combative and angrier. They draw a lot of hope from the Kherson developments. Much is still unclear as to how that battle will unfold, but Ukraine appears to be winning. This is a completely different situation than this summer, when Ukraine lost more and more territory to the east. I noticed that the Ukrainians are not talking about the end of the war, but about the victory. Negotiation with Putin is not yet an option.
‘Only: it is still about 8 degrees here and the power cut is particularly inconvenient. In winter it can be 20 degrees below zero, so this is life-threatening. The water here is also distributed around the city with electric pumps, so there is often no water in the event of a power failure. In sub-zero temperatures, the pipes can freeze if the water stops. Under such circumstances, Kiev residents could be forced to flee. This is the doomsday scenario that the authorities are trying to prevent. ‘
Do you notice anything else about the war, for example that people make collections for the army?
“That never stopped. In cafes you can give money for Turkish Bayraktar drones instead of a tip. People make candles for the soldiers, because even on the front it gets dark earlier. Even food is still being harvested for the army. ‘
Yesterday you were in Butya, where the Russian army carried out a massacre of civilians during the occupation. How are the inhabitants?
At first glance, Butja appears to be an ordinary suburb of Kiev again. People go around with prams, the municipality sweeps the leaves and the shops are open. Here and there some windows are being replaced or someone is repairing a roof. In the meantime, the population has not yet elaborated what happened, I realized it when I spoke to a team of psychologists who work there.
“They described how families sometimes fall apart because the processing process is different for one person than for another. People with severe psychological disorders are still hospitalized. Ukraine is not a country where people go easily. psychologist and many people are only now discovering how much mental damage they have suffered. As a result, the demand for psychologists is increasing only six months after the release, quite remarkably. ‘
What do you plan to do in Ukraine in the near future?
“I want to join a group of war crimes investigators in the north of the country. All over Ukraine, all kinds of teams from home and abroad are busy documenting what is happening here. This is becoming the most documented war in history. My question is whether warfare will also be better documented: to what extent are these investigations aligned? Or do the witnesses have to tell their story over and over, which risks contradicting themselves in detail and the defense discrediting the entire eyewitness account? Also, I’m just curious how these teams work. What do they find, how do they do justice? ‘
