Of course, there are the power cuts that plunge eighty percent of the city’s streets into total darkness. Of course, the Russians made the most of the winter fog to penetrate a couple of buildings. Of course, there’s Pokrovsk and everything that comes with it. But our driver — a Jewish sergeant from Vinnytsia — is such a joy to talk to you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. I know Shakespeare is over-quoted, but I can’t help thinking that the famous line from Henry V — “we few, we happy few, we band of brothers” — has never made more sense than it does now.

Photo: Nighttime drone delivery somewhere near Kramatorsk, November 11, 2025, 7pm. ©ddn