Day 308: Ukrainians Undercover in Russia
It’s kinda sick how you wake up checking air-raid alert maps like most people check weather forecasts.
28 December, day 308 of war: Below is my daily video report from Ukraine on Chicago’s WGN Radio, with guest host Wendy Snyder sitting in for Bob Sirott. I spoke from Lviv, not long after the all-clear had been issued.
“Joseph Lindsley’s reports are enlightening, frightening, heart-wrenchingly and
poetically descriptive.” —a listener to the daily Ukraine report on Chicago’s WGN Radio
Please forward to friends who might be interested in daily stories from life in wartime Ukraine. We welcome your financial support via Paypal (to sustain our operations) or U.S. tax-deductible donations (for supply-delivery and reporting missions) through our friends at Ukrainian Freedom Fund.
Topics in this episode:
(1) A traditional Ukrainian song covered by Pink Floyd and Ukraine band Boombox
(2) What’s going on in Bakhmut, where the fighting is brutal, the likes of which people have only witnessed by reading stories of World War I
(3) It’s kinda sick how you wake up checking air-raid alert maps like most people check weather forecasts. Is there a storm coming from Canada = Are there orc cruise missiles coming in from the Caspian sea?
(4) What kind of Christmas do people have in Ukraine?
(5) The cheerfulness of Ukrainian soldiers, despite what they have seen
(6) Russia offers gimmicks to get soldiers to fight.
(7) Meanwhile, four brave Ukrainians gave their lives working covertly on enemy territory. They were:
Yuri Gorovets "Svyatosha". 34 years old.
Maxim Mikhailov. “Non-drinking Cossack". 32 years old.
Taras Karpyuk. "Tarasiy". 38 years old.
Bogdan Lyagov. "Apollo." 19 years old.
(8) … and it seems their work is paying off …
In BAKHMUT, invincible people live and fight in an unfolding nightmare
I was in Bakhmut in the summer, just when the arrival of HIMARS from the USA helped stopped what had been weekly Russian captures of new cities. The Ukrainians have held the line here but the Russians, frustrated with their failure to advance, have shelled the hell out of the city day and night.
I have several warrior friends and colleagues who have been injured in the intense fights here.
Here our friend, reporter Witold Newelicz, shows you Bakhmut. Watching from Lviv, I do not recognize the city that I saw in the summer.
And yet underground there is life continuing. In the last video above, a cheerful volunteer brings you to “the Food Court,” the underground canteen where volunteers and some of the few remaining citizens live while the battle rages above.
More stories about Bakhmut, at the dangerous edge of the free world:
‘This is the Realest Thing I’ve Ever Done’: Two Ohio Musicians Play a Concert in Bakhmut Amid Shelling
Zelenskiy’s Visit to Bakhmut: Like the Pope Going to a Shrine
Merry Christmas from Ukraine
In Ukraine, both the Orthodox (affiliated with Constantinople) and the Greek Catholics (loyal to Rome) tend to celebrate Christmas on January 7. Here’s a taste of Christmas in Ukraine:
ABOUT US: Ukrainian Freedom News: The wild story—so far—of free people standing for democracy, faith, dignity
"Joseph Lindsley's reports are enlightening, frightening, heart-wrenchingly and poetically descriptive." —a regular listener to the daily report from Ukraine on Chicago's WGN Radio with Bob Sirott
American journalist Joe Lindsley, in Ukraine since 2020, leads the Ukrainian Freedom News team of Ukrainians and foreigners on a mission to share real talk and real life in war-time with the world. Every weekday since late February 2022, he has reported live from Ukraine on Chicago’s WGN Radio with host Bob Sirott. You can listen to all episodes at UkrainianFreedomNews.com or via our YouTube channel.
Spread the word and join us in sharing the reality of democracy and culture in Ukraine, which Russia is seeking to destroy.
We welcome your financial support via Paypal (to sustain our operations) or U.S. tax-deductible donations (for delivery of supplies and reporting missions) through our friends at Ukrainian Freedom Fund.
Follow us across various social media via UkrainianFreedomNews.com.
UKRAINIAN FREEDOM NEWS
Truth to the World | Supplies to Ukraine
Joe Lindsley, Editor-in-chief
Pavlo Vitenko, Chief Reporter
Anton Hutyriak, Associate Editor
Jean-Baptiste Besson, Hot-Spot Editor
Beata Szrom, Operations Director