Ruins, cold, and stoicism: What US writers saw in the de-occupied territories

The delegation of PEN America arrived in Ukraine on December 1, 2022. Given the fundamental principles of PEN — the fight for human rights and freedom of speech — this visit is quite logical. After all, the Russian occupation is incompatible with freedom of speech, and Ukrainian writers, like other citizens of the country, have become direct victims of the war. Some, like Volodymyr Vakulenko, even lost their lives. In Kyiv, the delegates presented analytical reports on the losses to Ukrainian culture after February 24, 2022, and then went on a two-day tour of the most affected areas in the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions to see the effects of the war firsthand. Chytomo joined them on the first day of the tour.

The delegation, in addition to PEN’s leadership, included experienced war reporters visiting Ukraine for the first time.

Peter Godwin, PEN America’s chairman in 2012-2015, is a native Zimbabwean, participant in the Rhodesian civil war, graduate of Cambridge and Oxford, correspondent for The Sunday Times (covering conflicts in Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe), correspondent in Eastern Europe during the fall of communism, correspondent in Eastern Europe during the fall of communism, director of a movie about the Thai sex industry, author of several books, including the rule of dictator Robert Mugabe, and more.

Barbara Demick is a war reporter who covered the Balkan and Chechen wars, headed the Beijing bureau of the Los Angeles Times, and is the author of three books on different cases of siege: Sarajevo, North Korea, and Tibet.

The bus with the delegation departed from the Golden Gate towards Chernihiv. While crossing the Dnipro River over the Metro Bridge, the Americans from New York were surprised enough to ask if we were going to Queens, New York because the landscape reminded them of their home.

The first stop in Chernihiv region was the village of Yahidne located on the outskirts of the regional center.

Yahidne played a strategic role for the Russians because it is located near a transport junction, but this hardly justified the atrocity committed by the occupiers against the locals. The Russians forced about 350 people, from the youngest to the oldest, into the cramped basement of a school (without electricity, heating, or water) and set up their military positions around it. Thus, the villagers became human shields, held in inhumane conditions for a month.

Though the village was heavily damaged during the hostilities, volunteers have restored most of the destroyed buildings. The only reminder of recent horrific events is the school basement.

On the doorframes of the cramped rooms, you could still see the number of prisoners (adults and children recorded separately) marked by the occupiers. The school basement was by no means designed for so many people, which meant not everyone had the opportunity to sit down, let alone lie down. In one room, there were children’s drawings with the words “No war”; in another, there was a schematic drawing of a village with a meteorite in the sky. Presumably, this was how parents explained the sounds of artillery to their children.

On the walls, you could also find several calendars used by the villagers to count the days in these inhuman conditions. The most terrifying calendar had, on its left, the names of villagers who were shot dead in the street by the Russians and, on its right, the names of those who died of inhumane conditions in the basement.

The Americans asked about life under occupation. As people tend to think in terms of text and written sources, they were interested in whether anyone kept a diary documenting these terrible events in detail. They were happy to hear an affirmative answer.

After Yahidne, we drove across the pontoon bridge to Chernihiv and visited the City Library, which was badly damaged by shelling. The second floor of the library was unsafe without intact windows and heating. Nonetheless, the library has remained open even in winter. The children’s and adult books were moved to the first floor, and electric heaters were switched on in the coworking space. Ukrainian conversation classes took place there. Several American authors were very interested in the language topics, so course attendees spoke to them through an interpreter.

The city library was reopened despite the extremely difficult conditions, but the regional youth library, unfortunately, was not. This picturesque building from the early twentieth century was located near the stadium on which the Russians dropped powerful aerial bombs in their hunt for territorial defence troops (luckily, unsuccessful). After this attack, the youth library was half destroyed and made unsafe for use, but the city authorities are preparing to conserve the historic building. 

After the libraries, the delegation visited the northeastern outskirts of the city, which the Russians bombarded mercilessly in an attempt to break through to the center.

Next to the ruins of private homes, modular houses were set up for those who were unable to rebuild their homes before the winter.

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Finally, we went to a residential area next to the cardiology clinic on Chornovil Street. There were no military objectives nearby; however, at noon on March 3, the Russians dropped eight powerful free-fall aerial bombs on the quarter, killing 47 people.

One of the multistory buildings that suffered significant but non-critical damage was being repaired. The local guides who showed us around the site admitted they have visited this place many times since the attack. With each visit, they grew more used to the sight until finally all emotions had subsided and faded away.

On the way back, I had the opportunity to talk to Peter Godwin and Barbara Demick. I was interested in the impressions of these experienced reporters.

Barbara followed journalistic standards, saying that it was difficult for her to make generic statements after spending only a few days in Ukraine talking to the authorities and guides: “I’m a street and coffee shop reporter.”

Chernihiv reminded Barbara of Sarajevo in some ways.  The enemy army also did not have enough strength to capture that city and instead resorted to terrorizing the civilian population. Several of the characters in her book about Sarajevo were severely injured while queueing for water, and there were similar stories from Chernihiv.

Given the pervasive theme of siege in her books, Demick is considering writing about Ukraine, but this would require her to stay in Ukraine for an extended visit and immerse herself in the topic.

Peter Godwin was more outspoken. His visit to Ukraine happened to be his first trip abroad since the coronavirus lockdowns, but he encouraged himself with his own reporter’s credo: fear is a function of distance: 

“Everything seems scarier from a long distance than it really is, because the media focus on drama, showing only destroyed buildings, even if 95% of buildings survived. If you watch the news, you might think that everything is destroyed in Kyiv, but it is not.“

At home, Godwin had been closely following our war. From his own experience, he knows that many conflicts draw their energy from the death of an empire, and we should not confuse two different stories: the end of one and the beginning of another. In Godwin’s opinion, our war is precisely the end of the Russian empire. He also believes  Russia is a very overrated empire. Its economy is barely the size of Italy’s and its army is not as powerful as they have been trying to convince everyone. On the contrary, its spirit is terribly archaic.

In Ukraine, he was surprised by the widespread stoicism, how people did not complain about the situation they lived in, and how everyone is united by a common goal:

“I’ve only been here for a few days, so these are superficial impressions, but I think Putin has seriously miscalculated, because with his poorly planned operation he has formed a powerful Ukrainian national identity that could have taken decades to create… After Vietnam, Americans are very reluctant to become an active party to conflicts, but Ukraine can fight effectively using the little support that it got. The first months of the large-scale war surprised many Americans, and Ukraine earned the right to receive more aid because it showed determination and resilience. I’m only worried about one thing. If you are hit by a car and end up in intensive care, you have the maximum attention of medical staff, relatives around you, and adrenaline in your blood. But when your condition is stabilised and you are transferred to a ward, your adrenaline level drops, attention to you wanes, and you can get depressed. This challenge is of a different level. Support is also important here.”

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Godwin and Demick were shocked by the Ukrainian supermarket they went to for coffee because it was cleaner, more comfortable, and had a much better selection than supermarkets in New York. Both authors wondered how a country that has been at war for almost a year could have a better supermarket than the peaceful Big Apple.

It’s hard to surprise such experienced reporters, but Ukraine managed to do so rather quickly and casually.

Images: PEN Ukraine

Translation: Tetiana Mykolenko

Copy editing: Matthew Long, Terra Friedman King