Olga and Sasha are two Ukrainian sisters. The first is 35 years old and a wine merchant in Paris, where she has lived for seven years. The second, 33 years old, lives in Kyiv with her parents and grandmother. The two sisters have agreed to keep their log for “M” since the beginning of the conflict. This week, Olga, who is on the news, is very worried about the bombings falling on her country. Sasha feverishly prepares to celebrate Malenka, the Julian New Year, and is moved by the deadly attack in Dnipro.
Also read: War in Ukraine live: Helicopter crashes in kindergarten in Kyiv, killing at least 16 people, including interior ministers
Tuesday, January 10th
Olga: The week starts quietly. My day is brightened up by some very strange news. Niue, a Pacific island of 1,600 people, has minted a $5 silver coin honoring the Azovstal fighters who resisted the Russian invaders at Mariupol. The coin features an engraved image of a warrior in armor and a view of the factory. A work by the Ukrainian artist Maksym Pavlenko. It’s incredible ! A tiny country thousands of kilometers away is watching the war and supporting us. Before this day I didn’t know this island, but one day I will go there to personally say thank you to its inhabitants!
Sascha: I come back from the Carpathians. night on the train. I have a fever, I can’t sleep. For the first time in my life the train broke down. Three hours in the middle of the fields. I have to postpone my classes, but my health is better. The fight in the Donetsk region continues, and the cold in Kyiv [Kiev, en ukrainien] becomes stricter. I feel lost, sick, not at all ready to start the year. I would have preferred to hide in the mountains and closed my eyes to reality. I heard from my friend N., her friend O. will be rotating in Kyiv for a few days. We wanted to see each other before he returns east. I can’t wait because I’ve never spoken to anyone on the front lines in combat.
Wednesday January 11th
Olga: Zelensky speaks at the Golden Globes ceremony. I am so grateful to the international bodies for giving him the floor. I still don’t understand why FIFA refused this during the FIFA World Cup. According to its leaders, it was too political. What hypocrisy! As if football had nothing to do with politics! I read in the media that the rachistes [contraction de « russes » et de « fascistes »] Commanders changed again. How many of their soldiers must die before their society understands them and takes to the streets? And will it really be possible one day? I don’t know how to analyze Russian polls [Olga et Sasha ont choisi de ne pas mettre de majuscule à « poutine », « russe » et « russie »]. Some say that 80% of Russians want Ukraine to be wiped off the world map. The others that there are millions of people who are against the war. But how many are there?
You still have 77.6% of this article to read. The following is for subscribers only.