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Elena Kostyuchenko

All articles by this author

Sandbagging in Odessa

Sandbagging in Odessa

This is my city and I can’t abandon it

“I hope Putin will have the sense not to bomb Odessa. Why? Because it’s the only big Ukrainian town the Russians say they founded. How could they live with themselves? Catherine the Great built it. I think Odessa is some kind of sacred spot for them. Just the idea of it, right? Everyone in the world knows about Odessans and their sense of humor! If you kill them, it better be funny. How can they kill us? They won’t be able to process that. How could they do this? To go and kill Russian-speaking people, just like them.”

Rust

Rust

The largest oil spill in Arctic history

On May 29, 2020, the largest fuel storage tank at Norilsk Heat and Power Plant No. 3 (HPP-3) burst at the bottom and spewed 6.5 million gallons of diesel fuel into the Daldykan River. From there it seeped into the Ambarnaya River, Lake Pyasino, the Pyasina River, and finally into the Kara Sea. It was the largest oil spill in Arctic history.

Exodus from Ukraine

Exodus from Ukraine

Along the refugee route

I see them through the fence. The line doesn’t look like a line; there’s a thick crowd inside the holding area, more than a thousand people. Without exception, these are women and children. The crowd spills out into the back. Beneath these people’s feet is the bare earth, or dry old grass ground nearly to dust. Many have blankets around their shoulders. Even the smallest children stand beside the grownups, who hold the babies in their arms. I see a woman place a swaddled baby on top of a duffel bag. Another is crouched a little off to the side of the crowd, sheltering her infant between her knees and her belly.