Hello. I have a desire to write about life and volunteering in the city of Chernihiv (Ukraine).
Russian troops were repulsed from the northern regions of Ukraine, and the city is gradually beginning to heal the wounds that were inflicted by artillery, aircraft and tanks of the invaders. Since in the new conditions it is too risky to produce and sell children’s toys, as before, since civil aviation does not work in Ukraine during the war and there is no way to quickly deliver goods to the USA and Europe, and this is important since toys were often bought as a gift by a certain date . I decided to try my hand at making digital cartoons from photographs, which you can use as a digital greeting – a postcard for friends or relatives on your birthday, wedding, anniversary. I can add any caption to the photo.
You can see more examples of cartoons in my store:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtPanel/
You helped me a lot during the period of active hostilities in Chernigov, for which I am immensely grateful to you. I will also be grateful to you if you help in the development of the store by placing an order in it or share with friends and acquaintances the link in which I collect orders for the manufacture of cartoons:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1281911883/
A local Chernihiv artist made drawings for me, on the basis of which I made puzzles on the Ukrainian theme.
Her house was badly damaged. I shot this video when I came to pick up another order from her:
Active hostilities continue in Ukraine, which take place in the east and south of the country, but the Kremlin terrorizes almost the entire territory of Ukraine with ballistic missiles. It’s good that Russian aviation is afraid of flying deep into the country. Our air defense has learned how to effectively shoot down Russian aircraft.
In Chernihiv, air raid alerts sound regularly day and night. Sometimes you can hear the roar of jet engines. This is how rockets fly over the city. The sky for civil aviation is closed for the period of the war. You can hear how the air defense works, trying to shoot down missiles. The threat of an attack by troops from Belarus in the Chernihiv direction remains. The Kremlin continues to adhere to the policy of the state-terrorist.
In my previous letter, I spoke about a family of elderly people from Gorlovka: Aleksey and his wife Lyudmila, who have come under fire from Russian artillery and aircraft for the second time. They were forced to leave their home 8 years ago to escape the war. Now shells have arrived in their new home in Chernihiv (a rented apartment).
A photo of the destruction of their house was shared with me by Aleksey, the spouse of Lyudmila:
Thank God they were in a bomb shelter at that moment. This saved them. Lyudmila then moved on crutches. Her wheelchair was destroyed in the apartment. I managed to get her a new wheelchair, which was paid for by the Vostok SOS charity organization:
And this is the cake that Lyudmila baked for me. It was very tasty )))
We also managed to buy essential items for Olga and her daughter. Her house was completely destroyed by Russian artillery in the village of Novoselovka, not far from Chernigov.
In the video, what remains of her house:
At a time when it was difficult to get medicines due to problems with transport, until the process of paying pensions was established, I was engaged in the distribution of medicines on demand. I rode a bicycle, because public transport did not work at that time and it was very difficult to find fuel for the car.
Here is a photo report of those times:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqVAI9boiN4
At that time, it was difficult to buy even essential goods in a store, it was impossible to pay with a card and the problem was to withdraw money from your bank account. Then there were long queues for humanitarian aid in the city:
https://youtube.com/shorts/etV0ecUPylU?feature=share
Now hospitals and transport have started working and social issues are being resolved through state institutions. The city is returning to a peaceful life and no longer needs volunteers as much as before. Vostok SOS finances assistance to victims in places of active hostilities.
Life in the city, of course, has changed a lot compared to life before the invasion of Russian troops. On the road you can meet cars with traces of fragments:
People find fragments from artillery shells on their personal plots of this size:
Explosions are often heard in the city from demining shells by the service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but they have too much work now, so in places of former hostilities you can find such warning signs:
This is a photo of some of the schools that suffered from shelling when Russian troops were stationed under the city:
It is not uncommon to see shrapnel marks now on playgrounds:
Often traces of shells can be seen on churches:
The historical part of the city was also shelled, where excursions for tourists were often held. There are cannons of the 16th-18th centuries, which are one of the symbols of the city’s defense. Chernihiv is a city with a rich history.
A pontoon bridge has now been opened along the E95 highway, along which the offensive took place and a road bridge was smashed by Russian aircraft. Now you can again travel directly to the capital of Ukraine.
Along these and other routes, you can find a lot of burnt fragments of Russian equipment:
The Ministry of Emergency Situations took a very creative approach to information work with children. From a dog that is trained to search for mines and ammunition, named Patron, they made an informational hero :). He has a personal page on social networks. Dog Patron is filmed in educational cartoons, in which they are informed about the dangerous items that accompany the war.
He is often brought to meetings at the highest state level. 🙂
There was a meeting of the kids with the dog Patron in Chernigov in the shopping and entertainment center:
Children’s events are always charged with positive 🙂 . Here is a video from this event:
Based on the drawings of the artist I wrote about above, I made several puzzles that can be found in my store.
best regards, Artem
