Wednesday News Day: The Ukraine War One Year Later from the Point of View of the Children and the Medics.

Yegor’s neighborhood by Lynsey Addario-NYTimes Magazine (2023-06-26)

There are times when I wonder if our species is incapable of being at peace with each other. Several stories have popped up in my feeds from the Ukraine War and all I can do is shake my head. War is so costly on so many levels that you wouldn’t imagine doing it unless your civilization’s existence was at stake. You certainly wouldn’t do it to distract your people or out of boredom or because your ego was bruised.

The first story, by New York Times journalist Lynsey Addario, is a look into the life of an 11-year-old boy named Yegor who lives in the Donbas region of Ukraine about 4-miles from Russian held territory. No running water and spotty electricity, Yegor lives with his mom, Lena and half-sister Angelina, and nine cats and four dogs. Mom works at the hospital while Yegor attends class online courtesy of two smart phones, one for the class and another on mute to play Standoff 2, a war game where special forces fight terrorist. Mom doesn’t feel like they have enough money for her to leave her job and flee to the west where it’s safer.

***yegor attends online class by Lynsey Addario-NYTimes Magazine (2023-06-26)***

Yegor’s school is still there but it’s been hit several times by missiles and artillery, so it’s abandoned and empty. Yegor misses his friends and his life. Every day he visits his mom at work and is learning how to sew up wounds with one of the military medics. He can also tell by sound the difference between incoming and outgoing artillery. Watching his mom help work on the wounded soldiers he said, “It’s scary. I feel bad for the guys. They are young. I feel bad.”

By late May mom knew it was becoming too unsafe to stay and took a 10-day leave from her job so that she could get Yegor to someplace safer in the west. Leaving Yegor with friends, she came back to earn or borrow enough money to rent an apartment in the west and help the half-sister, Angelina move west too. The dad, Sasha, was stuck behind Russian lines taking care of the family farm near Mariupol.

Days after getting Yegor to the west the hospital where mom works got shelled several times. Mom gathered up the animals and things and Angelina and joined Yegor in the west. They have no idea if or when they will return home.

Yegor's mom, Lena, with the animals and things by Lynsey Addario-NYTimes Magazine (2023-06-26) — ***Yegor’s mom, Lena, with the animals and things by Lynsey Addario-NYTimes Magazine (2023-06-26)***

For the full story (with videos and more images), please click the link: A Boy’s Life on the Front Lines by Lynsey Addario/NY Times Magazine (2023-06-26), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/26/magazine/ukraine-war-childhood.html

The next story is also about how this war has effected the lives of Ukrainian children, but in this case, these are children who were among the 700,000 who have sought refuge in Germany. Posted on the PBS Newshour YouTube channel, from July 5, 2022, Ukrainian children who fled to Europe struggle with psychological trauma:

Ukrainian children who fled to Europe struggle with psychological trauma

The final story is also from the New York Times, where several reporters spent a week inside a military field hospital with Ukrainian medics and doctors working on the wounded. This is over a year after the conflict began. They are tired and they are understandably angry. Unfortunately the video is only viewable on YouTube (or the NYT link). Please click the link to see this story.