‘Ukrainians are Buying Generators Just to Heat a Kettle’

The head of Chatham House’s Ukraine Forum reveals how her fellow Ukrainians are preparing for winter, why she chose a career in international relations and why her son would love to live in Kyiv.

What inspired you to pursue a career in international relations?

When I graduated from high school in Ukraine during the last years of the Soviet Union, I didn’t know what I wanted to study. Then I saw an announcement in the newspaper about a new department of International Relations at Lviv State University.

My dad, who was a chemistry professor, said there were no female diplomats in Ukraine, why do you want to do this? We were living behind the Iron Curtain and were seeing some holes popping through it. I wanted to do international relations because it was a way to understand the world and how our future will be affected by it.

Eighty per cent of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity has been destroyed or damaged by the Russians. How are your friends and family there preparing for winter?

I meant to speak to someone in Ukraine today, but they said I don’t know if I can because there might not be any internet. So, there’s huge uncertainty and it’s very difficult for ordinary people and businesses to plan ahead. Lots of people are buying small battery flow generators just to have enough energy to heat a kettle and charge their phones. .

I know that some people are preparing to leave, especially those with children. But many don’t want to repeat the experience of fleeing Ukraine to live as a refugee, so they are preparing for a hard winter.

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Ukraine is still in the midst of war. Why is it important to forge ahead with recovery while the conflict is still going on?

If Ukraine waits until the end of the war to start its recovery efforts, then it will be in a worse-off position. One of the reasons Ukraine is able to resist such a large enemy is the reforms taking place behind the front lines; from strengthening the country’s weapons production, improving the transparency and integrity of institutions to modernizing the energy grid. This is also why Ukraine is pursuing market reforms and trying to become a member of the European Union. It’s a kind of safety net.

Since 2022 many Ukrainians have made homes elsewhere in Europe. How great is the fear they won’t return?

It is a concern, but Ukraine is a global nation and nations who haven’t had statehood for a long time have big diasporas. Ukraine was split between Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Polish dominations for several centuries. What is striking with Ukrainians is that, wherever they are, there is a strong Ukrainian church community, Sunday schools and the Ukrainian Scout Association.

My son, who studied and now lives in Britain, said he would love to go back and work in Kyiv because it is cheaper there. He works for a global company, so I think with the rebuilding efforts, there will be lots of opportunities for businesses.

But what the diaspora are doing for the country is also quite amazing. There is a civic initiative in the United States called Razom, which means ‘together’. They pushed Congress to approve the aid for Ukraine and are always out there protesting in Washington DC.

Is there a particular place in Ukraine that means a lot to you?

The most impressive place is Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. It is Ukraine’s oldest Orthodox cathedral in the Byzantine style and still has some original frescos preserved. It survived the purge of the Stalinist era when the capital was moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv and more than 100 churches were destroyed – that tells you about the strength of the Ukrainian national identity at the time.

What do you do to take your mind off work?

I force myself to read literature. The last thing I read was Stendhal’s The Red and the Black and I’m reading Jane Eyre, inspired by a trip to Yorkshire. It’s like time travel in a way, it transports me to a different place and helps take me mind off everything.

Orysia Lutsevych OBE, Deputy Director, Russia and Eurasia Programme; Head of the Ukraine Forum

Reprinted with Ms Lutsevych’s permission from The World Today.  See the original here.