12 May 2022 – Bucha and Borodyanka

I couldn’t say it would be easy, but I will say I could go on and on this entire post about the sheer destruction of these two areas in Ukraine. Homes, businesses, recreation complex, shopping center, apartments, and the horrific stories of vehicles filled with families – moms desperately trying to flee with the children and if they had a few seconds, a few pictures, clothes, toys. Once I write this post, I don’t think I’ll ever revisit these scenes with my eyes. Liked the scorched earth, the horror is etched on my heart and in my mind forever. Driving down the still blood stained infamous road of Bucha brings my stomach up as I recall the blurred out images of bound civilians, elderly and children distorted in puddles of scarlet shown on news channels all over the world (except <lower case>: russia). Under other circumstances, the entire fields of livestock – cattle, pigs, goats, horses laying there on the ground, shot (for fun/sport/orders so locals would starve?) and left to bloat and stench the air would by itself be unspeakable. One hog remained, a reminder like historic statues, to remind all of what this place would forever be remembered for.

I spoke for quite a while with the owner of this house. He saw the tanks coming and firing at everything that moved, or was standing. He desperately tried to find “Udi,” but clearly the poor dog was scared out of his mind. With the tanks less than 100 yards away and actively firing, the man gathered his family and left with literally nothing but his hysterical family. Across the street lived a priest who stood in his front yard as the tanks rolled by, and fired upon this family’s home, bursting it into flames. Apparently because the tank crew “didn’t want to upset God,” they drove past the priest and his home. (Interesting wartime theology!) Shortly after they left, the priest scooped up the terrified, bloody and schrapnel injured “Udi,” and cared for him as best he could, until the owner returned, weeks later. I found a badly fractured pelvis and dislocated hip. An easy FHO surgery would help this poor creature immensely, but certainly not something I could do in wartime conditions. He’ll be just fine – If only his family had a house to live in.

“Udi”

Couldn’t figure how to flip this image to show dislocated hip.

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  Apartment where families like us lived
  

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