Ukrainians are answering bullets with peace

Ukrainians are answering bullets with peace

Web Desk
July 31, 2022

Ukrainians are answering bullets with peace

Zaporizhzhia is a Ukrainian city that is within 18 miles from the Russian Front.
People are adjusting to normal life five months after Russia’s invasion of the country.
Residents still go to work, walk their dogs, and spend time with their kids in parks.

Ukraine: On the Dnieper River’s banks, parents relax on the sand while their kids play in the cool, energizing water.

A busker on the boardwalk is beating his drum to the beat of a pop song as a female dances, twisting and turning in the sand.

The atmosphere is comparable to that of many popular summer destinations in Europe, with bars and cafes buzzing with activity.

However, a vacation here would be odd. These are snippets of daily life in Zaporizhzhia, a Ukrainian city that is within 18 miles (or 30 kilometers) from the Russian Front in the country’s conflict.

The scenes I saw on my trip to this city three months ago are in sharp and unsettling contrast to the current situation.
Many Ukrainians are adjusting to normal life five months into the conflict. Even now, people still go to work, walk their dogs, and spend time with their kids in parks.

Two months had passed since Russia’s invasion at the time, and the majority of the city’s businesses were closed and many residents were on the run.

The convoys of vehicles that had been fleeing across Ukraine’s western border while many had the word “children” posted to their windows are no longer visible.

Instead, despite the proximity of the front lines and the constant danger from long-range artillery bombardment raining death from above, living in this country at war may seem quite calm.

Even now, people still go to work, walk their dogs, and spend time with their kids in parks.

“We’ve gotten used to this. And it is horrible that we’ve gotten used to it,” said ballerina Katryna Kalchenko, as she goes up for a performance at the old opera house in Odesa.

The startling contrast between the madness of war and the banality of daily life is present here as well, in this port city on the Black Sea.

Odesa used to be referred to as the “Pearl of the Black Sea” of Ukraine and a famous vacation destination for artists, writers, and musicians.

Although occasionally disturbed by Russian attacks, such as the two Kalibr cruise missiles that struck only hours after Moscow and Kyiv signed a grain export agreement mediated by the UN, it nonetheless has much of its appeal even today.

Because the entire orchestra and dance company had just been forced to seek cover due to an air raid alarm, ballerina Kalchenko was forced to warm up in the opera house’s basement.

But after a few breaks, Kalchenko and her fellow dancers returned for the opening act with enough composure and calm to hold their audience transfixed. That is, until the fear of an additional Russian missile attack brought an early end to the performance.

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