y name is Artem and I’m a Ukrainian translator and media/communication specialist living in Kaunas, Lithuania. When I left, I never imagined that I would never be able to again see places from my childhood in blossom and unbroken as they used to be – but now I’m afraid I will only find ruins if I return home. Because of this fear, I spoke with Ukrainians on the ground in three cities and bring their stories to the rest of the world.
”Sumy feels pain and hatred”
That’s how a colleague – who asked to remain anonymous – in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy described the situation there. He called the events around Russia’s invasion the most tragic time since the beginning of the 21st century. I could hear the stress and pain in his voice, and it appears the city and region are in desperate need of immediate aid.
What did you see or hear in Sumy?
On February 24, the enemy entered the city and then engaged in a battle with the forces of territorial defense. The territorial defense force managed to damage the enemy’s howitzer, gas tanker, and truck. In response, the Russian army surrounded Sumy and arranged the checkpoints for leaving and entering. Squads of infantry with APCs were checking civilians. An armored vehicle convoy drove toward the city and assaulted, but was unable to take it. Today a Russian truck and gas tanker convoy were attacked by the soldiers of territorial defense. They hit the vehicles and took a captive. The city is still blocked, but the territorial defense unit is still in action.
I heard about the kindergarten hit in town Okhtyrka of Sumy region which caused casualties among children and the missiles targeting other towns of the regions. Do you know any details?
There was an unsuccessful assault on the city, after which the Russians sent a missile salvo, even though people were hiding in the kindergarten’s shelter. The watchman was killed, a woman was injured, and one child of 10 years old got serious injuries and later died in a hospital. Later another salvo was performed, leaving the entire neighborhood in ruins since the artillery hits everywhere. As a result, we have 70 injured people and dozens of fatal casualties, according to the town mayor... In nearby town of Konotop, residential buildings were damaged, and the fights are going on around the city. There was information that the Kyiv-Moscow highway is fully controlled by the Russians, which is quite bad because it blocks the supply of goods to the region.
What do you feel, and what would you like to tell media from other countries?
I feel fear, pain, hatred. I could never imagine that this could ever happen. If this tragedy does not stop, Ukraine’s entire population of 40 million people will suffer soon from a humanitarian catastrophe. People just won’t have anything to eat and any medicine. Starvation could occur in two weeks, and hospitals won’t be able to operate either. It would be much more tragic and serious than after the war in Syria. This is why we need a no-fly zone and an immediate provision of weapons to the Ukrainian army. The enemy is becoming more and more insane!
Editors’ Note: To bring these interviews to you as accurately and fully as possible, Diplomatic Courier is publishing Artem’s interviews in three parts. All interviews have been edited for clarity but are largely unaltered. These interviews were transcribed on March 3, 2022, and reflect a situation which may have evolved significantly in the following days.
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Ukraine’s Stories as Told from the Ground – Sumy
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Sumy, Oblast, Ukraine. Photo by Ivan Hrytsai via CC.
March 11, 2022
In the second of a three-part series of interviews covering the situation on the ground in Ukraine amid Russia's invasion, Artemy Ponomarevskyi spoke with a colleague to about what's happening in Sumy, highlighting the devastation and fear faced by residents of the northeastern Ukrainian city.
M
y name is Artem and I’m a Ukrainian translator and media/communication specialist living in Kaunas, Lithuania. When I left, I never imagined that I would never be able to again see places from my childhood in blossom and unbroken as they used to be – but now I’m afraid I will only find ruins if I return home. Because of this fear, I spoke with Ukrainians on the ground in three cities and bring their stories to the rest of the world.
”Sumy feels pain and hatred”
That’s how a colleague – who asked to remain anonymous – in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy described the situation there. He called the events around Russia’s invasion the most tragic time since the beginning of the 21st century. I could hear the stress and pain in his voice, and it appears the city and region are in desperate need of immediate aid.
What did you see or hear in Sumy?
On February 24, the enemy entered the city and then engaged in a battle with the forces of territorial defense. The territorial defense force managed to damage the enemy’s howitzer, gas tanker, and truck. In response, the Russian army surrounded Sumy and arranged the checkpoints for leaving and entering. Squads of infantry with APCs were checking civilians. An armored vehicle convoy drove toward the city and assaulted, but was unable to take it. Today a Russian truck and gas tanker convoy were attacked by the soldiers of territorial defense. They hit the vehicles and took a captive. The city is still blocked, but the territorial defense unit is still in action.
I heard about the kindergarten hit in town Okhtyrka of Sumy region which caused casualties among children and the missiles targeting other towns of the regions. Do you know any details?
There was an unsuccessful assault on the city, after which the Russians sent a missile salvo, even though people were hiding in the kindergarten’s shelter. The watchman was killed, a woman was injured, and one child of 10 years old got serious injuries and later died in a hospital. Later another salvo was performed, leaving the entire neighborhood in ruins since the artillery hits everywhere. As a result, we have 70 injured people and dozens of fatal casualties, according to the town mayor... In nearby town of Konotop, residential buildings were damaged, and the fights are going on around the city. There was information that the Kyiv-Moscow highway is fully controlled by the Russians, which is quite bad because it blocks the supply of goods to the region.
What do you feel, and what would you like to tell media from other countries?
I feel fear, pain, hatred. I could never imagine that this could ever happen. If this tragedy does not stop, Ukraine’s entire population of 40 million people will suffer soon from a humanitarian catastrophe. People just won’t have anything to eat and any medicine. Starvation could occur in two weeks, and hospitals won’t be able to operate either. It would be much more tragic and serious than after the war in Syria. This is why we need a no-fly zone and an immediate provision of weapons to the Ukrainian army. The enemy is becoming more and more insane!
Editors’ Note: To bring these interviews to you as accurately and fully as possible, Diplomatic Courier is publishing Artem’s interviews in three parts. All interviews have been edited for clarity but are largely unaltered. These interviews were transcribed on March 3, 2022, and reflect a situation which may have evolved significantly in the following days.
