During a couple of weeks in september, I have been traveling – from Sweden, where I took the ferry to Gdansk in Poland. From Gdansk I took the bus to Warsaw, where I spent the night. From Warsaw I took another bus the next day to Kiev in Ukraine, The journey spanned four days, from Saturday morning to Tuesday morning. Then I stayed for a week in Irpen, where I had been invited to participate in a harvest festival.
A little later in the fall a year ago, I was also there, for the same reason. On both of these occasions, I have been able to witness the progress of restoration work. It is my impression that Bucha was already heavily retooled a year ago. Irpen is a little behind, but even there the work is progressing. Gostomel is slightly behind Bucha and Irpen, but even there it is being restored.
These towns were among the first to be hit by the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Putin called a “special military operation,” and which began on February 24, 2022. The war is well into its third year, and the worst ground fighting is ongoing now in other parts of Ukraine, but the whole country is constantly threatened by air, drone and rocket attacks. The flight alarm sounds every now and then.
The Bucha Park
In 2022, the attackers came partly with long columns of combat vehicles through Belarus, partly by airplanes, helicopters, which landed troops at the military airport in Gostomel.
Some impressions from my visit: I took a walk in Kyiv – here, and – here, I listened to a love song on Krejtjatik. Here – I listened to a Christian song in an evangelical meeting, and – here – I was on my way back.
subsequent 