When my Mom, Maiia Mendel, 63, a children’s pediatrician in Kherson, went out of the patient’s room, the nurse told her that the volunteers to whom the hospital staff were donating money, clothes and medicine, visited again. But this time they did not take anything, but brought something unexpected instead. One of the gifts was from the Ukrainian Army’s 124th Brigade that is fighting in the Russian-occupied left bank of the Kherson region - and it was for my parents.
Since the liberation of Kherson and the nearby villages on the right bank of Dnipro River in November 2022, my parents, like almost every Ukrainian in the frontline city, have been constantly saying their gratitude to the soldiers and donating everything they could. The first thing my Mom did was to bake homemade goods. My Dad, Volodymyr Mendel, 64, a pathologist who retrained as a therapist during the war, has been bringing those delicacies to the soldiers in the region. In the first month, soldiers were overfed with homemade food that locals were cooking for them throughout the region: Ukrainian borshch, varenyky (dumplings with different filling), jams, pastries, pickles, bread, meat and fish — people were giving the Ukrainian troops everything they could to thank them for the liberation.
With time, the amounts of food cooked for the soldiers dropped, as did the mood of the local people, who have been constantly leaving under terrible Russian shelling.
In a month after the liberation Russian forces started shelling the city of Kherson and the villages nearby with artillery, missiles, air guided bombs and drones. Many citizens decided to leave. The city of Kherson that had a population of around 300 thousand people before the war, now has only 60-70 thousand of residents.
But my parents never gave up. They not only continue to cook food, but also donate financially to the 124th Brigade that is fighting on the frontline in the Kherson region (the salaries of the doctors in Ukraine are far from being high). They treat the wounded and send the soldiers medicine. This is their new reality that will change only with the end of the war.
Most of all my parents are afraid that the Russians will come back and invade Kherson again. They had stayed under Russian occupation for over eight months. But now they understand that they will not survive if this terrible experience is repeated. However, the Dnipro River, the major Ukraine’s river that crosses the country from North to South, has become a shield that protects them. The Russians are unable to cross it without establishing a firm bridgehead, which is a daunting task. Their sabotage groups that cross the river by boat are periodically caught - fortunately, they are not enough to destabilise Kherson.
Before Orthodox Easter, that is widely celebrated in Ukraine and in Kherson (May 5th this year), the 124th Brigade decided to make a present to Kherson volunteers. They sent a handmade work of art: an empty shell with patterns carved into its metal. The name “Kherson,” a cross, the name of the brigade, and the words “Slava Ukraïni!” Are carved on it.
Photos from family archive
This kind of gratitude creates a special connection between the soldiers and their devoted supporters. My parents made a video call showing the shell from every side, and their pride. It was extremely pleasant to see that the soldiers across the river spent so much time working on the shell to send to the Kherson residents.
These types of gifts can then stay in the family for generations and are quite peaceful by nature. More popular at the beginning of the war were gifts in the form of writing the donor's name on pieces of ammunition that were fired at the Russian army. It worked simply: someone donates money to a military unit, and the soldiers write their name on the munitions that are going to be used in combat. This type of gratitude still exists today, but it is more aggressive - and less durable. Whereas the hand-made souvenir with patterns is actually a memory and a lifelong connection.
Photo by Iuliia Mendel
This story from ordinary Ukrainians is my gift to you for Orthodox Easter, a holiday with a rather specific flavor during the war. However, today, as every year, I received hundreds of messages from Ukrainians with wishes of hope and peace. More and more Ukrainians want the war to end, even accepting temporary losses of territory.
To those who are celebrating Easter today, sincere congratulations!
Don't forget about The Fight of Our Lives - a great gift for anyone who is interested in modern history and in Ukraine.
Best regards,
Iuliia Mendel,
Knight-Wallace Fellow 2023-24
WCEE Distinguished Fellow 2023-24
Iuliia. A touching story in the midst of sadness. Thoughts are with your parents. Beautiful people.