Photos: WITH RUSSIAN INVADERS AT THEIR DOORSTEP, A UKRAINIAN CITY'S CIVIL SOCIETY RISES
By Nolan Peterson | March 05, 2022
Since the war began, the lobby of a downtown building in Horishni Plavni has transformed into a workspace to produce camouflage netting. The place hums with activity each day while hundreds of volunteers, ranging from children to the elderly, cut strips of fabric and weave them into nets.
Photo by Nolan Peterson/Coffee or Die
For an outsider, the scene is striking. The Russian army is bearing down on this place, and yet, rather than submit to fear or focus on personal priorities, these Ukrainians are volunteering to help their community.
“We are full of energy and motivation and hope,” said Mykola Mokh, a displaced person from Kharkiv who is among the volunteers in Horishni Plavni. “I have no depression, and no fear of death. I’ll do whatever it takes to live in a free country.”
“We are helping our guys protect themselves,” said Raisa Klymchuk, the project director. “We are at war. This is our duty.”
Sitting alone at home, perhaps one could succumb to fear or depression. But those fears almost instantly fade when acting in concert with one’s community — and feeling useful.
“We are all united by our desire to help,” Klymchuk said. “And the most important thing is to have something to do.”
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91-year-old Liubov Pahoniuk brought volunteers her dress, which she sewed during exile in Vorkuta, to create a camouflage net for Ukrainian soldiers. Volunteers saved this dress and will donate it to the museum.
Picked note: “Let the camouflage net protect soldiers from enemies”
MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦
@MFA_Ukraine
