It is two years since that February morning in 2022 when life changed in Europe and beyond, and the world found it had to rethink its relationship with the Russian Federation. But in this piece we shall not be looking at the effects of the war, we shall present the emotional stories of life in wartime, of two women – Bessarabian Bulgarians. One is a film director and the other – a schoolteacher, what they share is their love of their country – Ukraine.

“There is not a single person who has not lost something or someone,” says film director Tetiana Staneva in an interview with Radio Bulgaria and adds that the number of people who are feeling dispirited is growing at an alarming rate:

“I stayed in Ukraine and I travel to Bulgaria when there is work to be done on some project, but I live in Ukraine. My family is there, and for me things have not changed radically, because the war started in 2014. I have always loved the land, Ukraine, my village and the war has only amplified that. The stories I know from friends who had to leave their homes and will never return… Tell me, how do these people feel and how can they have any hope of a new life…”

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Many of her friends left the country and often had to start an entirely different job just to put food on the table and to help their families. Many of Tetiana’s film projects are also on pause, or are lost entirely, but despite all difficulties she is not giving up.

The death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny evoked a mixed reaction among Ukrainians, but Tetiana says it signals one thing:

“This regime is going to hold on to its power, as we have seen so many times before – with Boris Nemtsov and Anna Politkovskaya, and now with Navalny. There is no hope for change in Russia. We have seen that over centuries, and some people started realizing it after 24 February, 2022. Since 2014 everyone tried to somehow talk to him, to come up with economic schemes that will make him give up the war. And what happened? They just fed the monster and it grew bigger,” Tetiana Staneva says. “We’ve run out of people! That is what I want to say. Politicians in Ukraine keep fighting amongst themselves because there is no one left to mobilize. They take people away from their jobs, but someone has to work. The economy is in ruins, and as a state structure we won’t hold out if everyone goes to war.”

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Nina Bikovska’s personal story is also directly connected with the war as her husband is an officer. The start of the war found him in Eastern Ukraine, and he has been there ever since. His wife communicated with him via messages. She remembers that in the days around 24 February, 2022, it was really difficult for her to comprehend what was happening, but she quickly came out of her stupor and started her volunteer campaigns:

“We collected clothing, food, medicines,” Nina remembers. “People would bring money and we would buy everything our boys needed, and we would transport it, with special permission, to designated locations. We still buy them things, and now it is easier because we now have a bank account where people can transfer money.”

Her eldest daughter and her brother live in Bulgaria – in Sofia and in Varna, and they too raise and send money needed for clothing and other items. “With the money they and their colleagues raised they were even able to buy a drone,” Nina explains. But she has been encountering difficulties with the local authorities in Bolhrad:

“We asked them for specific help. The boys needed drones, cars, other equipment. We asked the mayor and he said they wouldn’t buy these things. That is why we are relying on people who understand what we need.”

Other than being a volunteer, Nina Bikovska is a school teacher in Bolhrad, where she also teaches at a kindergarten. But war is something you can never get used to, it “consumes” humanity and hope!

More:

• We must preserve the bond with our students around the world, say Bulgarian teachers from Ukraine
• Andrey Nikolov: Ukraine as we knew it in 2021 and before is no more
• Bulgarians are afraid of the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East
• Ukrainians and Bulgarians demonstrate side by side against Russian aggression in Ukraine
• Bulgaria will always be a home from home to Ukrainian refugees
• Volodymyr Zelensky meets with PM Denkov, Foreign Minister Gabriel and President Radev
• Art in wartime
• Heart-shaped glass shards, or what the real face of war looks like – start of International Ethnographic Film Festival OKO

Translated and posted by Milena Daynova

Photos: EPA/BGNES, BGNES