“Ukraine is now going through something horrible”

Marketing Analyst for RISE with SAP and DSC

Sept 24, 2024

I don’t usually post here but I just want to share something personal as a reminder that Ukraine is now going through something horrible. I wish my LinkedIn connections from all over the world would never have to write anything like this.

Russia has now almost destroyed Kurakhove, a small town in the Donetska region of Ukraine, a place where I was born and raised.

I’m now experiencing a variety of new, odd emotions in regards to all this.
Lately the town has been bombarded with missiles, artillery and FPV drones almost every single day. There is no single building which was not yet hit by Russians. And it’s so weird to acknowledge the fact that your hometown will never be the same even if Ukraine manages to keep control of it and not let Russians occupy it.

Although I’ve been living in Kyiv for more than 12 years now and haven’t been visiting Kurakhove very much lately, the town still reminds of many great moments in my life and I think of it very warmly. I never imagined how much I valued having a place, a town which I could visit anytime to meet my close ones and enjoy being at home. The worst thing to think about these days is I might never get a chance to go there. I still might, but the high chances are I might not.

Two days ago, Russians killed the principal of the school where I studied. She was hit by a guided aerial bomb when she was gathering some belongings to take them with her to a safer city.

Starting today no one is allowed to drive to Kurakhove except evacuation buses and volunteers who are engaged in humanitarian aid. Public transportation stopped working weeks if not months ago.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine 10 years ago, there were 20k people living in Kurakhove. Today there’re only a few hundred staying there, majority don’t have anywhere else to go.

What I’m trying to say is the world we’re shaping and living in is still very-very fragile. A European country can still find itself amidst a full-scale war that no one has seen since the World War II.

There’s a very long journey ahead to make our planet peaceful and prosperous. Ukraine has got to get stronger to survive.