It's already been a month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. Over 2 million people fled Ukraine have to Poland. I also welcomed to my apartment in Toruń a mother and a daughter from Kherson, Ukraine. The mother, Ekaterina, is a sculptor. And her 10-year-old daughter, Masha, is a promising figure skater who had finished first in the Ukrainian Junior Cup.
The southeastern city of Kherson, where they are from, was attacked by the Russian army shortly after the war and is now occupied by the Russian army. Residents are besieged by Russian troops, unable to escape, and humanitarian aid cannot be delivered to Kherson. Russian troops have repeatedly fired at unarmed demonstrators of civilians who left behind the city. There is also a serious food shortage in the town. Kherson is in a serious humanitarian crisis.
Fortunately, Katya and Masha sensed the danger on the first day of the war and evacuated to a village in the west of Ukraine. That allowed them to escape from the occupiers. However, in the rush of escaping, Masha's figure skating shoes are left at a house in Kherson.
After spending the next three weeks in a village in western Ukraine, the risk of the war became close. They decide to flee Ukraine to Poland. Toruń's skate club arranged shelters for Ukrainian figure skaters. Katya and Masha have arrived at Toruń after a long three-day trip.
トルンで行われた反戦デモにて。マーシャと娘
Masha, who participated in the practice at the skating rink in Torun from the next day, cried with joy, "I came back to my place ...". But unfortunately, she doesn't have skates. The coach also gave spare skates every time a new child arrived from Ukraine, so there were no more used skates left as well. So far, Masha's training is done without skates.
How many Ukrainian children had to give up their lives and dreams after being robbed of their hometown by the war.
Please help Katya and Masha, who have fled to Poland, to continue their dreams.