Eleven
We hit the ground running in Krakow. A late arrival meant just enough time to grab dinner and a beer, then catch a few hours of sleep before our sunrise slog to Kyiv. This is the first time I’ve traveled to Ukraine without hitching a ride on a convoy from Amsterdam. As time wasn’t on our side, I hired a private car to take us over the border and on to Lviv where we’d link up with a couple volunteers who would drive us the rest of the way to Kyiv. Next to me was my American friend who has been supporting my team and me since the first days of the full-scale invasion. It was his first time visiting Ukraine. He helped us buy a life-saving medical device that we would soon hand off to one of our best Doc’s who has been working on the frontlines for some time. The next two nights were mostly spent walking around Kyiv, catching up with friends over a drink or one of the many amazing, and unique, culinary offerings Ukraine has to offer.
And on the third day, we drove again. This time to Kharkiv. I’m always a bit nervous to take the uninitiated to the East. Things go boom there. A lot. It’s so close to russia and they love to use jets to huck 550 and 1,100 pound glider bombs at it from just over the border. As these are old Soviet era munitions that they’ve strapped wings to, they’re not terribly accurate so they often slam into civilian infrastructure and cause an incredible amount of damage. While Kharkiv is never not under attack, the levels of intensity do wax and wane. Fortunately, it wasn’t too wild while we were there so we got to get on with our job with relatively little drama. Due to obligations at home, after a few days it was time for my friend to venture back west. At the onset of this trip, it was “I just want to see what it’s like and how it works” and as he was leaving, it was obvious it was too soon and that he wanted more. The strength and resolve of the people, the serious and satisfying nature of the work, it’s all quite intoxicating. Ukraine gets in your bones in a hurry. I don’t know anybody who’s gone and not went back.
After putting our friend on a train, we ventured from Kharkiv to Odesa for two very important events… Maslo’s birthday and the cinema debut of our friend’s documentary about the team and the first days of the full scale invasion in the East. Despite attacks on the city by dozens of Shahed drones and a couple ballistic missiles, it was a relatively relaxing few days in a stunning old city on the edge of the Black Sea.
And while the trip wasn’t over for me, the remainder of my time was spent mostly doing more of the same. Helping out friends, enjoying their company, and all the great things Ukraine has to offer. I spent a couple more nights in Kharkiv, then in Kyiv, and then on to Lviv to shoot the Superhumans Center for a special project that I can’t tell you about yet… but stay tuned. I’ll be sure to post as soon as the embargo expires.
Thanks for tagging along… I’m going try to write stories about previous trips to help fill in the gaps for the past couple years.
For the camera nerds: This trip was quick and dirty so I wanted to keep things light. I took my Leica M11 and shot everything with a 28mm Summicron or 50mm Summilux. I think I put on my 90mm for one quick photo but I could have easily done without it. While the M11 is a delight, I wish had my SL3 (autofocus) for shooting the action shots at the Superhumans Center but the old rangefinder go the job done.