Kramatorsk – supporting the front lines

A few days ago, on May 5th and 6th, I went from Chernivtsi over Kyiv to Kramatorsk with a full car of equipment for a military vehicle service station (at an undisclosed location) and medical supplies for the Kramatorsk City Hospital number 3. The NGO “Bukovynska Gromada” in Chernivtsi was kind enough to complete the order to help our army and medics.

On the road from Kyiv to Kramatorsk there were two of us: I and Dima Kornilov – a professional photographer for Visao, a Portuguese weekly magazine. He was also kind enough to share his shots for this article.

I chose the most direct route south of Izyum – where front line lies. It turned out to be the “path less travelled by” full of knee-deep potholes and, perhaps, that was a mistake that I came to regret later on in this trip on the way back, when the cooling fluid started leaking heavily. But the surroundings were quite beautiful in this part of Ukraine, where three regions meet: Kharkiv, Dnipro and Donetsk. Rolling hills reminiscent of Italy and endless fields some of which were perfectly yellow with a clear blue sky above but a haze on the horizon that puts this picturesque sight into a frame of war reality.

Rape fields & war haze, 2022 ©️ Dima Kornilov

With a haze above the horizon – the dispersing smoke from battles, explosions and burning fields and wood. Shortly thereafter we saw planes, our bombers flying over our head. Quite low – about 20-30 meters above ground. And different kinds of heavy rocket launchers rolling the roads, being relocated to new positions. (No pics of UA troop movements whatsoever)

Kramatorsk felt like a city with a huge area. The outskirts greeted us with single family homes, each with a decent (for a city) piece of land for some farming, a lot of gardens and trees, going for miles over rolling hills, scattered lakes, ponds and rivers. Closer into the older part of town there were five story buildings – looking more like a small city and not a village any more. But there were only very few people.

We arrived at the central train station. That’s the place where ruZZian terrorist cockroaches bombed refugees from Mariupol & other cities from the region and killed 52 people including children that wanted to board a train to get to safety. And that’s just one incidence of either random or deliberate civilian murders perpetrated by the ruZZians in this town.

There we met this guy, Vitya, who is homeless, who has lost everyone he knew and cared about during one of the recent blasts in Kramatorsk. He doesn’t care for much any more. He just wanted to speak with a living human being for a few minutes, to have a cigarette. Dima rolled him a smoke and listened to his story while I was coordinating the first drop off at the service base.

Vitya survived a ruZZian blast, but lost everything and everyone he knew, Kramatorsk, 2022 ©️ Dima Kornilov

The service station refurbishes vehicles acquired in combat from the ruZZian orcs, repairs Ukrainian heavy machinery and ambulances. The soldiers, technical specialists, manning the service are all on active duty with the *** batallion stationed locally on the front lines that are just a few kilometers away. That’s just enough distance to not worry about artillery fire. Still ruZZian rockets blast a few times daily around the city and however relaxed the guys try to seem it’s still obvious that tension is in the air and everyone expects another blast.

Over a cup of instant coffee they thanked us for the much needed supplies, told us about the situation in the vicinity, about the locals and about their personal stories. With all of the differences there are a few things they (we) have in common. One is deep care, an intrinsic belief that we must act, because if not we – then who?

Tools, equipment and food for the guys, 2022 ©️ Dima Kornilov

All the guys there had different plans for their lives and families. Some of them have served more than once since the beginning of the war in 2014 and now they are doing their best to contribute on the back end to make sure that our Army’s equipment works like a Swiss clock. Good logistics, supplies and service are vital for the survival of the Ukrainian nation and victory with minimal casualties.

Yet, there are casualties and there are lots of wounded Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. The ruZZian terrorist cockroaches really don’t care about humanity and life. They are a brainwashed, evil horde bringing death, destruction, hate, suffering and perversion in every thinkable and unthinkable form. You can find documented details of child-rapes, bloody gut ripping tortures, where Guantanamo’s waterboarding and other methods fade in comparison and seem like a kindergarten. It’s sickening. But back to Kramatorsk…

The Kramatorsk City Hospital #3 receives a lot of the wounded from the front lines north, east and south of the city. We were unloading – I saw ambulances and military cars drive in every couple of minutes with our defenders wounded in battle. Explosion-, shrapnel- and bullet-wounds, limbs torn apart or missing.

There have been calls to evacuate Kramatorsk and, thank god, many people left town, but the director and all the staff of the clinic stayed, of course, because they are aware of the vital role they play in this war. Both military and civilians rely heavily on functioning medical services. However, the logistical supply network hasn’t been as stable as the efforts of the medical workers. That’s where folks like myself, volunteers come into play and folks like You – donors, supporters, maecenas and art collectors.

Aleksei Yakovlenko, the GD of the Hospital told us that saving anyone nowadays would be practically impossible without the support of individual volunteers. The state supply network is a slow, fat behemoth that takes ages to adapt to a situation changing daily. But we deliver what’s needed right here and right now. We help save lives.

Learning to walk again, 2022 ©️ Dima Kornilov

This is possible THANKS TO YOUR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT! And I am grateful that you are a part of a widespread and growing international community of people that care and help. It takes immense resources to keep this running. And I hope that you continue donating and if you haven’t done so yet, join our effort.

My publications are few, but I hope they will shed light and provide an extensive picture every time, bring full clarity and transparency. Since this trip I’ve acquired and registered the car that You have donated for, got in debt a little deeper and this will be the topic for the next publication.

In the meantime, please donate and buy my art! I need funds at least for gas and inevitable repairs/service to keep this humanitarian aid project running and helping more people. This war is yet far from over and the excruciating pain and suffering are daily realities for many civilians and soldiers. So let’s help them as much as we can. This brings victory and lasting peace one step closer every time.

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Account with Institution
Bank – JSC UNIVERSAL BANK
City – KYIV, UKRAINE
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Details of payment – PRIVATE TRANSFER