- Markovic is a former communications consultant for the International Finance Corporation and a foreign affairs reporter.
- But Ukraine has already been at war for nearly eight years.
- We got to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv safe and sound, but a few days later, Donetsk airport became the backdrop of a deadly battle between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army.
Those of us who live in Ukraine have been reading the news with bated breath in recent months, warning that war is approaching over our country. This is hardly surprising, given the presence of up to 100,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border as reported by CNN.
Occasional shootouts
But Ukraine has already been at war for nearly eight years.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and Russia-backed separatists took control of the eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Luhansk in an ongoing conflict that has claimed some 13,000 lives, according to estimates by the United Nations in 2019.
There were occasional shootouts in the city, and our security protocol forbade us from leaving the hotel.
When it was time to leave, our brand-new armoured truck brought us to the once-posh Donetsk airport, which had become an empty and gloomy place.
There were only a few passengers among men in unidentified uniforms and a tank nestled in a flowerbed, pointing its muzzle at the departing planes.
Localized war
We got to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv safe and sound, but a few days later, Donetsk airport became the backdrop of a deadly battle between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army.
The Ukrainian military localized the war, so most civilians (except for those living near the battlefield) did not feel the effects.
Odesa beaches, Kyiv restaurants and Carpathian ski resorts functioned as usual.
Now, in 2022, it has suddenly dawned on everyone in Ukraine that war can break out beyond the Donbas region and disrupt everyday life in the rest of the country.
According to the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, if there is a rifle on the wall in the first chapter, it must go off in the second or third one.
Alarming bell
This military build-up that was perceived as mere chatter a couple of months ago has since become a resounding alarm bell for Ukrainian society.
The recent answer that finally came from the Ukrainian president didn’t really help.
He gave a detailed prognosis for 2022: celebrate Easter in April, roast barbeque on May Day, plan summer vacation and so on.
Needless to say, this statement immediately caused panic among residents of Kharkiv, and the city’s mayor had to issue a statement pledging to protect it from possible Russian invasion.
Kharkiv is not the only target of potential attacks.
To the South, the Black Sea coast of Ukraine can’t sleep peacefully either, as these territories can become a potential target for attack from Russia-controlled breakaway Transnistria.
Survival rules
With no adequate top-down communication, many citizens choose to follow commonsense survival rules: stocking up on food and setting up meeting points with their loved ones in case communication is down.
Local authorities are auditing their emergency capacities and test warning systems.
Last month, Kyiv city authorities and the State Emergency Service checked the condition of the capital’s places designated as bomb shelters and updated their map on Kyiv city’s official website.
Yet, its capacity is limited to “hosting” about 200,000 people, which is not enough for Kyiv’s population of at least 3 million.
Some cellars designated as bomb shelters in 2014-2015 were later repurposed for civilian use to operate as bomb shelters in case of an emergency.
KGB hunt
People admit the uncertainty and the lack of clear emergency instructions are draining their intellectual and emotional resources, making it hard to focus on current tasks and their ability to make long-term plans.
This whole situation reminds me of an episode from Julian Barnes’ novel, “The Noise of Time,” a fictionalized biography of the famous Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
Amidst a KGB hunt on the intelligentsia, Barnes wrote Shostakovich was pretty much sure he would be arrested.
So, every night (usually the KGB conducted arrests in the middle of the night, to catch people off-guard), he would pack a small suitcase and stand in front of the elevator for hours, waiting for the KGB to come after him.
He even thought of bringing a chair to make his wait more comfortable.
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Source: CNN
