‘All (not) Quiet on the Eastern Front’ by Oksana S.
Oksana S. lives in a small village about 30km east of Kolomyya. She has a degree in journalism and has agreed to share some of her electronic diary with MunichNOW.
Translated from the original by O. O.
Saturday, 11:15am, 01.03.2014, Ostapkivsti, Kolomyya Region, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine
I decided to begin this electronic diary now because admittedly I saw little reason before this. Everything was going so well in Kyiv. Everyone thought that it would end well with Yanukovych gone. It did for about a week. Now we are very worried.
Sunday, 8:20pm, 02.03.2014, Ostapkivsti, Kolomyya Region, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine
It’s very difficult to eat and be normal. I try my best for my two daughters. Our (Ukrainian) military reserves have been called up though we are not sure what that means exactly. We are very worried. This could mean that both my husband and brother will be joining soon. My father says he wishes he were still young enough to go.
The women in the village marvel at the sheer numbers of young men who have voluntarily enlisted in the army to fight the Russians from our village and area. By law, all able-bodied men from 18 to 45 are automatically reservists. Many of the older women in the village say that their fathers and grandfathers would have already left to fight the Russians.
Monday, 17:30, 03.03.2014, Ostapkivsti, Kolomyya Region, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine
The village seems very strange as there are so many more women now than men. Many have left or are busy supporting the movement in Kyiv. They are gathered in Kolomyya, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil or L’viv.
It seems as if I am reading some strange novel set in another time and place.
I read on the internet that America and Europe are thinking about imposing sanctions or other punishments on Russia. Most of us here don’t think that that will amount to much.
Editor’s note: Due to the sensitivity of the situation in Ukraine the names have been changed
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