An emotional an insightful presentation from Anna who is here on a short trip with her children and providing details on life in Ukraine present day. Introduced aby David Shave Anna is a history teacher and tour guide from Kyiv where she was born, she and her husband have 2 boys aged 3 and 7. Anna arrived 2 1/2 weeks ago and was taking time to tell her story across Melbourne after her husband was called up to serve - all males between 18 and 560 are required to serve in defence of their homeland. Herr husband is not a professional solider and is in fact and IT Programmer. So what did Anna tell us Born in Kyiv in 1988 during the time of Perestroika (collapse of the Soviet Union) Anna is 30 % Russian and 70% Ukrainian - her Grandfather was Russian and her mother is 50% Russian. Anna only started speaking Ukrainian at the age of 14. Anna gained her first diploma in 2009 and the focus was on the published press across the nation. It would surprise all to know that in 2009 97% of the printed press was in Russian - such a short time ago but reflected of the hold they had. She reminded us that we do not call the country The Ukraine as that is the term used to define it as a province of Russia not an independent nation - therefore it is simply called Ukraine. Anna gave us an idea of what day to day life was like but she commented emotionally on the fact that when the Russin army retreated from around Kyiv in April 2022 they left behind destruction and the horroes of war, scenes which have been observed from war zones across the breadth of time. Humanity's inhumanity to humanity many questions were asked by the enthralled audience - here are just a few Q. how do family's cope with the separation - A there is a lot of difficulty these days Q What's life like in Kyiv. A. constantly waiting or the next siren and missile strike - in May there an average of 26 strikes per night - the closest being 650 meters from her apartment. Q. you said that 30% of Ukraine is occupied - how much of this includes Crimea? A. sorry but I am not sure Thanks Anna for a heartfelt presentation. Our thoughts will be with you when you return to Ukraine in August stay safe
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