By: C. William Hanson Jr.

Images from the front this month have strikingly varied.  On August 6th at 5am Ukrainian forces surprised both the free world and the Russians by launching an attack into Russia.  

One of the reasons for Ukraine’s action is to secure a buffer zone to protect villages on the Ukrainian side of that border.  

Currently in Ukraine on the eastern front, Ukrainian forces strive fiercely to defend Petrovsk, a city whose pre-war population numbered more than sixty thousand, a city currently serving as a key Ukrainian military hub.   Russian forces are shelling and approaching the historic smaller city of Selydove, about eleven miles to the south-southeast.

The trip planning website Travopo.com, in a paragraph written prior to the war,  describes Selydove as “a hidden gem nestled in the heart of the Donetsk Oblast region,” and adds, “This beautiful town offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural beauty, making it an ideal destination for travelers seeking an off-the-beaten-path experience. Selydove is renowned for its idyllic landscapes, with rolling hills, lush forests, and the serene Kalmius River flowing through its midst” (“Fun Things to Do in Selydove: Travel Guide-2024:Best Places to Visit.” Travopo, 25 Feb. 2024, travopo.com/travel-guides/ukraine/selydove/).

Prior to the onset of war in February, 2022, according to  the Ukrainian census, Selydove had a population of more than twenty thousand, of whom 59% were ethnic Ukrainians,  37% ethnic Russians, and the remainder were of Greek, Tatar, and Belarusian ethnicity.  Many of those classified as ethnic Ukrainians speak primarily Russian, however.   Shelling of the city by the Russian Armed Forces began  early in 2022; high rise buildings and the central city hospital were targeted.   Exodus of the city’s population began.  

Selydove currently

While Selydove might possibly fall to the Russians, I find that Ukrainian forces mount highly effective defenses.  Any advance which the Russians achieve in the east comes at an appalling cost in Russian lives.  One month ago I wrote that Russian forces had entered the strategically important, high-ground village of Chasiv-Yar, twelve  miles from Kramatorsk, the city I visited earlier this summer.   During this month of August Ukrainian forces have succeeded in holding 92% of this village, with the Russian forces confined to a peripheral area lying east of a canal,  which serves as a defensive barrier.

Above: prewar Chasiv-Yar; below: Chasiv-Yar today

In June before traveling to Kramatorsk, I stayed some days in Kyiv. There I met an Uber driver, Roman, who works in order to support himself while studying mathematics at one of Ukraine’s top five universities, the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (the counterpart of MIT in Cambridge).  From my hotel taxi service was chancy.  Taxi’s did not tend to circulate nearby, and intermittent blackouts disrupted both electricity and internet or phone service.  Routinely to rely on taxi would be to risk missing an appointment or a train departure.  Meeting Roman solved the problem.  We scheduled my rides in advance and he always showed up a few minutes ahead of schedule.  When my train from Kramatorsk arrived back in Kyiv, he was waiting on the platform, ready to help with my luggage.  He also liked to chat.

After I returned to the USA,  he sent me a photo from his holiday in the Carpathian Mountains with a couple of other students, his friends.

He also wrote to me, telling me of the impact of the war on his life:

When the war started, it was a lot of stress. Nobody understood what war was, how to behave. I had to study at the university remotely. Classes were often interrupted by air raid sirens, tests were postponed. It became more difficult to study and teach. But over time, everyone adapted and adjusted.

The war opened my eyes to what is really important to me – the family I grew up in. I began to value all my loved ones with special love. I began to understand that life is not eternal, that I can lose the one I love at any moment.

In general, the war puts pressure on me morally. I understand that people are dying all the time, it worries me. I understand that it will be very difficult for Ukraine to recover from the war, and I plan to live in Kyiv.

I have also become more stress-resistant. I am trying to keep myself busy with work, to become independent. The war drives me and shows that every day needs to be appreciated, spent usefully.

Ukrainian students like Roman inspire hope for the future, which Ukrainians know will look bleaker if Trump returns to the White House.

A woman holds a Jewish Students for Palestine placard at a pro-Palestine rally at Old Main on the campus of Penn State University. Penn State Students for Justice in Palestine, in collaboration with other organizations, organized a day-long Popular University for Gaza, featuring teach-ins, sidewalk chalking, and a rally at Old Main. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Back now in State College, Pennsylvania, a college town with a population of a quarter million in its  metropolitan area and a student population numbering roughly 40,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduate students, I have joined the effort to “keep Pennsylvania blue.”  My focus is to turn out the college vote.  Pennsylvania with twenty electors is the largest  among the swing states.  If the states classed as red and blue line up as expected, and Trump carries both Pennsylvania and Georgia, which is currently leaning Republican, even if Harris carries all the other swing states, including North Carolina, Michigan,  Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona, Trump will have 270 electoral votes, enough to win the election.

Our next issue, to be published on October 1st, will provide you with an interim report on the Presidential campaign here in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, in hopes of adding to your fun this Labor Day weekend, we provide a link to Randy Rainbow:

Reader Comments:

Carolyn and I are impressed with your temerity to help the Ukrainians and report from near the front
-Ben Hogan

As always, your engagement is very much appreciated. We look forward to any and all engagement going forward. -Jack Hughes, Associate editor