Cztery kobiety, ofiary Henryka Czyżewskiego, zginęły przez uduszenie na terenie województwa legnickiego. Janina Kalińska mieszkała w województwie legnickim. I też zginęła przez uduszenie. Zapraszamy n...

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Środa przynosi ładny miks nowości i wyprzedaży. ## 100 książek do 10 zł **** **100 e-booków i audiobooków do 10 zł** w Publio do 22 czerwca. Np. * Wodecki – Kamil Bałuk, Wacław Krupiński (10 zł) * Księga zachwytów – Filip Springer (10 zł) * Wojna polska – Wojciech Dutka (10 zł) * Dary bogów – Witold Jabłoński (8 zł) * Filip (bez cenzury) – Leopold Tyrmand (9 zł) * Szczelina – Jozef Karika (9 zł) Sporo książek z wydawnictw Agora, Stara Szkoła, MG czy Lira Publishing. … czytaj dalej »

Środa przynosi ładny miks nowości i wyprzedaży. ## 100 książek do 10 zł **** **100 e-booków i audiobooków do 10 zł** w Publio do 22 czerwca. Np. * Wodecki – Kamil Bałuk, Wacław Krupiński (10 zł) * Księga zachwytów – Filip Springer (10 zł) * Wojna polska – Wojciech Dutka (10 zł) * Dary bogów – Witold Jabłoński (8 zł) * Filip (bez cenzury) – Leopold Tyrmand (9 zł) * Szczelina – Jozef Karika (9 zł) Sporo książek z wydawnictw Agora, Stara Szkoła, MG czy Lira Publishing. … czytaj dalej »

Środa przynosi ładny miks nowości i wyprzedaży. ## 100 książek do 10 zł **** **100 e-booków i audiobooków do 10 zł** w Publio do 22 czerwca. Np. * Wodecki – Kamil Bałuk, Wacław Krupiński (10 zł) * Księga zachwytów – Filip Springer (10 zł) * Wojna polska – Wojciech Dutka (10 zł) * Dary bogów – Witold Jabłoński (8 zł) * Filip (bez cenzury) – Leopold Tyrmand (9 zł) * Szczelina – Jozef Karika (9 zł) Sporo książek z wydawnictw Agora, Stara Szkoła, MG czy Lira Publishing. … czytaj dalej »

Today, tens of thousands of Ukrainian women, men, and non-binary people have experienced the pain of loss. Some have lost their beloved, some their relatives, and some their friends. Relatives at the graves of fallen soldiers at the cemetery in Lviv on Ukraine’s Independence Day. August 24, 2023. Photo: Roman Baluk But despite the pain and grief, many remain socially active, creating support communities and helping the army. Read the article to learn how women who have lost loved ones in the war continue to help others. “I have to continue his work” Karina Boiko started volunteering at the university. She created a volunteer department to help military students (even before the full-scale invasion, active military personnel entered Ukrainian universities — ed). It was at the university that she met her husband, Oleksandr. He led an active social life, participated in protests and was a member of the cultural union Avangard. From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Oleksandr took part in defending Kyiv, performing combat missions in the Kyiv region, and participating in the de-occupation of Bucha. Later, Oleksandr joined the 78th Separate Air Assault Regiment. In March 2024, he was killed in the Avdiivka sector. After Oleksandr’s death, Karina Boiko set up a patronage service for the unit her husband served in. The Patronage Service is a part of the unit that helps wounded soldiers, organizes funerals, and takes care of the families. “On the eve of my husband’s death, we discussed how I could continue his work after his death. He said he would like his unit to have a patronage service (not all Ukrainian Defence Forces brigades currently have one. First, it was introduced in the Azov Brigade, then in the Third Assault Brigade, then in the 93rd “Kholodnyi Yar” Brigade, etc. — ed.). I talked to Oleksandr’s commander about it, and he agreed,” she said.  Karina Boiko is currently setting up procedures for working with the wounded and creating a community for wives whose husbands serve in this unit, where they can receive psychological support and talk to those who understand their experiences. “It is important that my husband’s work does not die. Sometimes I joke that [fate] took away my personal life so that I could have more time for social causes,” Karina says. Photo from personal archive While setting up the patronage service, she is in contact with the families of fallen soldiers. She plans to create a handbook with the necessary services they can contact. She also organizes various family activities, such as art therapy or joint training. “We have young girls whose husbands are serving. This is their first such experience. They need to speak out, talk to those who understand them, and ask for advice. That’s why we meet and communicate. Every Sunday, we also attend events to support prisoners of war,” she says. Karina Boiko also has an idea to organize training for young people who want to join the army. Her husband used to run similar courses for the Avangard organization. “So that a woman and children could wait for their defender to come home” Before the full-scale invasion, Ivanka Shmyr-Tenenska worked as a waitress and started a family with her new husband, Petro. They met as children at the wedding of Ivanka’s older sister. Their shared childhood games and activities did not develop into a relationship right after. Petro went to live with his grandmother in Spain, while Ivanka married and had a daughter. However, the marriage did not work out, and Petro soon also returned to his native Ternopil region. The young people got back in touch, but their relationship was purely friendly, until one day, Petro came to Ivanka with a ring and asked her to marry him. The woman was stunned, so the couple decided to go on a date first. Eventually, it all ended with a wedding and the birth of their daughter. In November 2024, they would have celebrated their fourth anniversary. Photos from personal archive On the first day of the full-scale invasion, Petro received a draft notice from the village council, and on February 25, he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He had previously served in the army and had the rank of senior soldier. Petro insisted that the family go abroad. But Ivanka could only bear to be away for six months. “I didn’t want to leave him. I think it’s nice for a person to know that they’re always expected at home, at any time,” Ivanka says. Photo from personal archive Petro served for two years and two months. He fought on the Izium, Kupiansk, and other axes. He died in the village of Shevchenkove, Okhtyrka district, Sumy region. At the time, the couple’s younger daughter was ill, and the fact that Petro did not respond to messages confirmed Ivanka’s suspicions that something had happened. Ivanka took the news of her husband’s death very hard. She didn’t even want to live, but her children made her pull herself together. “Whenever I have to make a decision, I always turn to my husband in prayer. Tell me what’s best, come to me. And then I come up with the thought of what is the right thing to do. He’s always with me.” Ivanka decided to live for her children and focus only on them. She seemed unwilling to help the military without her husband, but that changed. She couldn’t remain indifferent to the announcements by volunteers about collections for the needs of the military that she came across on the Internet. So far, the most significant thing Ivanka has done for the Armed Forces since her husband’s death is to donate Petro’s car to their needs. “I thought, let them fix the car and take it. It will be useful for them (the military — ed.). Maybe this car will save someone’s life. So that a woman and children could wait for their defender to come home.” “If you are in the rear and not helping in any way, then you are not living but merely existing” Viktoriia Voronina is an English teacher. Before the full-scale invasion, she volunteered at music festivals and met her future husband, Vladyslav, at one of them.  Photo from personal archive During the first week of the full-scale invasion, her husband was involved in humanitarian work in Dnipro and the region. Viktoriia’s husband and his best friend set up a whole humanitarian headquarters in the city. After a few weeks, however, Vladislav decided to join the Military Law Enforcement Service, as he was a lawyer in civilian life. Vladyslav’s friend continued to provide humanitarian aid for some time and then joined the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Magura”. In April 2023, Vladyslav Voronin joined this brigade as well and took part in the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region in the summer of that year. On July 7, Vladyslav’s friend was killed.  “It hit my husband hard. They had been friends since university,” says Viktoriia.  At the end of the summer, the 47th brigade was transferred to the Donetsk sector. On November 9, 2023, Vladyslav was killed, but the family was not officially informed of his death until December 21: the positions Vladyslav and his brother-in-arms held were in the grey zone, and it was impossible to retrieve his body.  Now, Viktoriia Voronina volunteers her time by organizing fundraisers for the military’s various needs, such as cars, charging stations, etc. She opened her first fundraiser in October 2023. At that time, her husband and his brothers-in-arms needed a vehicle to carry out combat missions. The fundraiser was completed in three weeks. Photo from personal archive Photo from personal archive “I didn’t want to do it again because my husband no longer needs it. But two weeks after my husband’s death, I started the money collection again. At that time, I stayed home because I could not do anything. I had a lot of anger then and needed to channel it into something useful. That ‘useful’ turned out to be volunteering,” says Viktoriia.  So, she started actively organizing fundraisers and collecting aid funds. In particular, she helped a friend start a collection for medevacs, which transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield to stabilization centers.  Today, Viktoriia helps her friends, the 47th Brigade and the Third Assault Brigade. She is convinced that Ukrainians should now actively support the military.  “If you are not at the front but in the rear, and you are not helping in any way, then you are not living but merely existing,” she says. Written by Anastasiia Kondrat, Marharyta Yukhymenko Translated by Taisiia Blinova The post Continuing the work of their loved ones: How Ukrainian women help others despite the pain of loss appeared first on Russia’s war in Ukraine .

Graves of fallen soldiers at Lviv cemetery on Ukraine’s Independence Day. August 2023. Photo: Roman Baluk Ten years of war have changed Ukrainian society. Starting as a country with a relatively undeveloped military in the early 2000s, Ukraine has become a place where the memory of soldiers, defenders, and freedom fighters is now sacred. Walking through Lychakiv cemetery, even a casual observer will be overwhelmed with the scope of national loss: beside the hundred-year-old historical mausoleums, endless fresh graves lie beneath Ukrainian flags waving in the wind. The stones display the names of the military men and women who refused to back down, who stood as a wall against Russian terror. Be it sun, wind, or rain, the cemetery is never empty. There’s always someone there to visit and pay their respects. “ In some ways, such a beautiful place, and in some ways, such an awful place. You see the scale of loss… there are hundreds and hundreds of graves. ” – British journalist David Knowles on visiting Lviv military cemetery . This famous historical graveyard in Lviv has become something of a symbol among international journalists and observers. Its monuments and gravestones are striking, and its atmosphere is somber. It’s a place where nobody can deny both the pain and the strength of a country defending its right to exist. On some weeks, Lychakiv sees daily military funerals. One after another, as if they may never stop. But for Ukrainians, this place is simply one of a thousand others where memorials, vigils, and wakes have become a fact of everyday life. Ukrainian mothers cry for their children. Ukrainian civilians stand in the streets to honor their protectors. The fight for freedom continues. Public dates and grassroots initiatives Servicemen and local residents honor the fallen defenders in Lviv on the Day of the Armed Forces. The cemetery is filled with blue and yellow national flags and historical battle flags. December 6, 2023. Photo: Lviv Military Regional Administration Similar to the United States, Ukraine has more than one major public date honoring the men and women protecting their country:  Memorial Day (or the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine fallen in the struggle for independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine) on August 29; Defender’s Day (akin to Veterans Day in the U.S., honoring both living and fallen soldiers) on October 1; Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (which started as a professional holiday) on December 6. Ever since the initial Russian invasion in 2014, these dates have become increasingly important, as it became clear that the only thing protecting peaceful civilians from illegal occupation and violence was a well-supported and strong military. Prominent examples like the battles for Donetsk airport, where a handful of Ukrainian troops held out against much larger Russian forces for 242 days, made Ukrainian soldiers into unmistakable national symbols of defense, sacrifice, and courage even before the full-scale invasion of 2022. Today, Ukrainian culture places a strong emphasis on recognizing these aspects of society and history. The wife of a fallen soldier receives the national flag during his funeral in Lviv. December 8, 2023. Photo: Roman Baluk The Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was previously seen as a professional holiday, is now a day of grief, respect, and remembrance as well. No longer celebrated but instead — somberly honored. The Day of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes (February 20) is a time when people come to lay flowers to monuments of the heroes of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv. Civilians and soldiers alike acknowledge that they made Ukraine’s modern fight for liberty possible from the very beginning. Both civic and governmental efforts strive to highlight the importance of memory and societal respect for the country’s defenders. Since March 2022, Ukraine honors the fallen with a daily minute of silence at 9 AM, a tradition instituted by President Zelenskyy. Projects like the Memorial Memory Platform are civil society initiatives that aim to keep the record (both cultural and legal) of civilians and soldiers who have fought and fallen for Ukrainian freedom. Residents of Stepove village kneel in honor of their neighbor Volodymyr Pritchenko who died defending Ukraine. June 2023. Photo: Suspilne News At the grassroots level, kneeling vigils have now become a common occurrence, especially in smaller towns and villages, where neighbors tend to have strong ties and connections. The sight of a military convoy draped in Ukrainian flags, people kneeling along the road, rose petals strewn on the concrete — it’s a ritual of gratitude, a tribute to the bravery of the sons and daughters of the community. When these funeral processions ride through the quiet city streets, local residents bow their heads in respect. To them, it’s not an abstract idea of war or politics. It’s a personal gesture of pride and thanks. An acknowledgment that someone has fallen so that they may live and fight on. Modern Ukrainian society also places strong emphasis on national emblems: the blue and yellow flag, the trident (national coat of arms), and the military insignias of units that defend Ukrainian lands. Ukraine has seen the rise of the importance of such symbols through the prism of military heroism. The national flag has become especially strong as a universal attribute. It now serves many important functions in society:  a symbol of courage and pride, a symbol of military valor, a symbol of nationwide unity, a throwback to historical roots, culture, and folk tradition. Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv, July 2023. Photo: Jose Hernandez  The blue and yellow banner has become ubiquitous across the entirety of Ukraine. A source of strength, a unifying visual message. From a sign of partisan resistance in temporarily occupied territories, to a spirit-lifting badge on the clothes of regular civilians, to the sacred colors on the sites of remembrance. The Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv hosts a permanent installation of hundreds of its tiny replicas. What started as only 55 flags for the defenders of Mariupol is now an entire field of yellow and blue. The memorial has no name. Instead, hundreds of names are written on the flags themselves. In a grassroots impulse, people bring flowers, candles, and photos to Kyiv’s central square as a sign of gratitude and respect. A generation of bravery A son holds the portrait of his father that died defending Ukraine during the full-scale Russian invasion. August 2023. Photo: Roman Baluk It’s impossible to ignore the horrific impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Ukrainian society. Akin to the tragedy of World War II, it has introduced a wave of personal and collective loss that hasn’t been seen in Europe for decades. European scholars, media, and public officials have spent years coming to terms with the consequences of large-scale conventional warfare. Broken families, orphaned children, brutal war crimes — all this has taken years to unpack and understand. Today, Ukraine is living through similar consequences. Yet it has to grieve and remember at the same time as fighting a war of survival. This has given rise to a movement of honoring individual sacrifices as well as collective ones. Left to right: poet Maksym Kryvtsov; pilot Andrii Pilshchykov; paramedic Yana Rykhlitska; decathlon champion Volodymyr Androshchuk. Ukrainians live with the knowledge that war is taking the country’s best and brightest, men and women alike: writers, doctors, scientists, actors, athletes. A heartbreaking array of dazzling personalities that previously elevated Ukrainian society and culture. Each life is an unrecoverable loss for Ukraine and for the world. The 33-year-old poet Maksym , 30-year-old pilot Andrii , 29-year-old paramedic and IT-recruiter Yana , 22-year-old decathlon champion Volodymyr — all of them are now remembered among the thousands of others who served in the armed forces and gave their lives for Ukraine’s survival. Many such heroes are highlighted widely in Ukrainian media, society, and public discourse. Mural of Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Matsievskyi in Kyiv, by French artist Christian Gemi. Photo: ArmyInform The wartime culture of respect and remembrance has even changed the toponyms and aesthetics of Ukrainian cities. Streets, metro stations, public spaces, and parks have been renamed to honor individual soldiers, significant events, and entire military regiments. One of the central subway stations in Kyiv is now called the Square of Ukrainian Heroes. Hundreds of alleys, avenues, and boulevards have become markers of national memory. A mural by French artist Christian Gemi now decorates one of the parliament buildings in the capital, honoring Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Matsievskyi that was killed in Russian captivity and is seen as a hero for his unbroken spirit and defiance. A centuries-long fight for freedom Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena honor the Heavenly Hundred and the fallen soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 24 August 2023. Photo: Presidential Office of Ukraine From the Ukrainian struggle against the Russian Empire in the 17-19th centuries, to the Ukrainian cultural protests and dissidence in the Soviet Union, to the sacrifices of the Revolution of Dignity, to the current-day bloody battle for the country’s freedom — Ukraine has a continuous history of fighting for its independence. This drive is ingrained deeply in Ukrainian mentality and culture. It has now been even more solidified by modern traditions of honoring fallen soldiers, volunteers, and freedom fighters.  “ Against the unarmed Heavenly Hundred they sent bullets. Now it’s rockets, drones, and armies. But we held the line ten years ago, and we’re holding it today. This Hundred and hundreds more — they are the earthly and heavenly defenders of our right to exist. ” — President Zelenskyy’s address on the Day of the Heavenly Hundred Hundreds of candle-lit soldiers’ graves in Lviv cemetery. November 2023. Photo: Roman Baluk The Ukrainian government has made many such traditions official. Similarly, Ukrainian historians and civic activists have drawn numerous parallels between past struggles for independence, past traditions, and current ones. War has made society seriously reflect on tragedy and sacrifice. All that we can do today, both in Ukraine and in broader Europe, is to ensure that the legacy of the brave men and women that rest in Lychakiv cemetery and all over Ukraine is not forgotten. Ensure that their sacrifice for Ukrainian freedom and European peace was not in vain.  The post Memorial days, vigils, and wartime traditions — how Ukraine honors its fallen defenders appeared first on Russia’s war in Ukraine .