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Maximum no of participants are 20. This what I have said and written. 6.10 Suddenly she came to meet me at the ferry terminal. I recognized her from a previous tour to Ukraine. But you were supposed to travel in April, I said . She had a different idea. Since 1975 I have arranged tours, but never this. OK, it was difficult to say no. Boel worked on her phone and managed to book a seat on two Polish trains. I called the tour guide Asya, who after 10 minutes triumphantly wrote

A big thank you to everyone who has sent me a contribution. From a few hundred Swedish kronor to several thousand, though not as much as before. I hear from many organizations, both here in Sweden and in Ukraine, that it has become harder to get support, meaning money. Many people have grown tired of sharing after nearly five years of misery. The Ukrainians are even more exhausted but have to continue, enduring constant air raid alarms and bombardments of the cities. Some die

Oleksii is taking care of us in Mykolaiv 9 days left until we go again. Plannnig is done; hotels and train tickets are booked and our tour leader Anastasiia is ready. Still there may be last minute changes and and on the spot while on tour. This time, the risks may seem higher than before. After all, we are going to Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv, all exposed to intensified Russian bombardment in recent weeks. And no one has canceled in the last month despite the horrors reported

The tour in October is now fully booked. 20 people, of which 8 are from countries other than Sweden. BUT from (bad) experience I know there will be cancellations. If you want to join that tour, you should apply NOW and you will probably get a place. Our previous tour leader Iryna Prokopushin is expecting a baby in November. I got to know that only at departure from Kyiv Railwaystation in April. Since then I have been searching for her replacement. Only last week it was decid

We paid a visit to volunteer organization Glory UA With some of effort, me and Boel have managed to get all the figures for how much money we spent in Ukraine (not in Poland) during our tour in April. The figures are in SEK. Some figures are rounded Payments in Ukraine 79,491 Donations during the trip 45,380 Participants’ personal expenses and donations 433,000 Donations after the trip 88,100 Total left in Ukraine 558,000 SEK. (50 700€ or 59 500$ or 2,604,000 HRV) This

The Monument at Independance Square, Maidan. Photo Richard Bilhaut Children of Heroes "The Heroes" are men and women who have died at the front. This organization provides financial support to the heroes' children. This is a large nationwide organization that last year had a turnover of 11 million dollars. 95% have lost their father in the war. Currently, they support 17,000 children aged from one week to 18 years. The number increases each time we visit them. Most children l

29.4 Yesterday we went sightseeing in the city. The problem is that Kyiv has so incredibly much beautiful, interesting, and important to offer. The churches are breathtaking, but they make me wonder how previous rulers spent the country's resources to please God and thereby secure themselves a fast track to Paradise. Next year I want to have more time to see all the wonders. And there is certainly much more than the churches. The Museum of Contemporary History shows the count

27-28.4. Volunteer organization Dobrobat supports the military hospital in Chernihiv. They arranged a tour with the chief physician. He is an eye specialist and the one who operated on Artem, whom we had met the day before. Crowded and a lot of people who rushed inbetwen different tasks. We peeped into the hospital wards with about ten beds in each. A doctor earned €500 a month, a nurse €200. Boel and I chose to walk back to our hotel along river Desna. Longer than I thoug

26.4 Just after five, I woke up to a loud bang. Sounded like a anti-aircraft gun. The fligh alarme was blaring outside our hotel. A projectile had hit next to a multistorey building. No injuries, but all windows were shattered. Later in the morning, we met Artem Rakitin. Known, famous, and heavily decorated in Ukraine for having evacuated 25,000 women and children during the Russian siege of Chernihiv. He was also one of the commando soldiers who retook Snake Island from the

25.4 The train departed Lviv punctually at 23:18. By then, I had already made my upper berth. Making the bed is a bit problematic when four people are supposed to make it. The carriage swayed a little at the beginning, then I don't remember anything until just before we punctually arrived in Chernihiv around 10 am. Checked in at Hotel Prydesnyansky. We were welcomed by Stanislav, who participated in the defense of Chernihiv when the Russians attacked in February 2022. Here h

24.4 Social drone is a one-man project and Mykola is the spider in a network of some 9000 more or less active volunteers. These people assemble drones at their kitchen tables. The parts they buy online from Ali Express in China. They glue and solder according to instructions. Then send it to Mykola who tests them before they move on to various army units. There they are equipped with what that particular unit needs at the very moment. The larger drones take 1.5 kg of explosiv

23.4 I´ve come this way several times, but there still this special feeling when leaving a relative zone of comfort and beginning something less predictable. I´m not the least scared, but there is a difference when entering a Ukranian train that soon willl cross the border and drop me in L´viv. L´viv This slogan was placed in each railway car In L´viv our tourleader Iryna (Ira) met on the platform as she has done so many times. After leaving our luggage at the hotel we went o

Writing on the train on the way to Przemyl, a Polish border town. Right now we are passing Zaczarowanej (Polish is a wonderful language). Yesterday we left Nynäshamn with 14 participants with Gedansk as our destination. Nice sunset through the archipelago. The shipping company offered a three-course meal and breakfast the next morning. Curt Sörmark, is one of us, this is his fourth tour with us to Ukraine. At home he works with Ukrainian refugees in Jönköing. He says that som

Now we are 18 participants. Many more applied for the tour, but later cancelled or just did not pay. Most of the reasons given was that a spouse or children said NO, you must not go, it is too risky! I can understand that attitude. On TV news they show sudden events, and those sudden events are almost always terrible events. They do not report on everyday life. BUT Ukraine is the largest country in Europe (besides Russian Empire) and in most places life goes on as usual. Peop

We are now getting close to again travelling to Ukraine. Tour no 7. Focus will be on the city of Chernihiv and the deoccupied villages to the south. You find the day-by-day itinerary on the start page. We are 19 participants and I would be happy to get one more member...! You? I have also spent the last money from the profit of the tour in October, 1000€. Two generators for the 33th mechanized brigade, Unmanned Systems Battallion arrived at the frontline 5 days after I sent

VERY INTERESTING... A British expert on translations has analysed the Trump peace plan with the help of Chat GP to see if it looked like a translation from another language and if so from what language. This is her report: Below is a linguistic/logistic analysis of the text, focusing on (1) whether it appears translated and (2) the most likely source language if so. ⸻ 1. Overall Impression The document is comprehensible, coherent, and grammatically correct in English, but sev

Tour expenses in Ukraine 137 000 SEK Accomodation, transport, guides, tourleader Private spending by 19 pax 247 000 SEK Food, souvernires and donations Surplus from the tour 115 000 SEK Total money left in Ukraine 499 000 SEK A result that we we together have created. I am proud - you should be proud. And thank you to all! Not least to Boel who keep the accounts in order. At our visit to the comunity project in Vyshograd we donated >15 0000HRV. Later I sent 1000€ for the

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the most important monastery in Kyivan Rus 15.10 Stuart from USA said; I knew that Kyiv was a magnificant city, but this was really beyond my expectations We walked the streets and visited some of the most prominent sights. I can post many eyecathing picktures, but you can as well see them on Wikipedia. I only post pictures which comes with a story. Like this one; Peopels´ Friendship arch built in 1982 by the Sovjet regime. Instead of tearing it down the

14.10 Woke up early. Longed for fresh air. Me and Boel found trail into a big forest dominated by huge elm trees. The trail took us down to river Desna when the sun just penetrated the tree tops on the opposite side of the river. Later when taking breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Stanislav and a friend from last year, Gregorii, came to see me. I Wanted to spend some money as compensation for our stay in the villages. Lodging and two meals for 19 people, the vodka unaccounte

People turn up at our departure from the village. They all want tell their story Leaving Lukashivka 13.10 Breakfast consisted of food left from yesterday's dinner + coffee. Almost everything we see in the house is new. When the Russians left at the end of March 2022, all the houses were emptied of everything that could be removed. "They even took my wife's underwear," Valery said with a mocking laugh. When we are about to leave, a neighbor, Hryhoriy Tkachenko, arrives. He wan