What Volunteering with ENGin Taught Me About Ukraine, Resilience, and the Human Cost of War
- Grant Foxon
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
In September last year, I joined the ENGin programme, in which I assist Ukrainians seeking to expand their English vocabulary by simply talking to them. One such person I have the pleasure of speaking with is Natalia.
Meeting Natalia Through ENGin
As well as discussing the U.K. and British politics, we would discuss Ukraine. I had been passionately pro-Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in 2022. In our discussions, I learned her story, about how even days before the full-scale invasion, like many people, Natalia didn't think the Russians would do it…how life in Ukraine is a massive struggle, especially in recent weeks with the huge attack on the energy infrastructure, the extreme cold making those very vulnerable babies, the elderly, lives dangerously shorter.
Ukrainian Culture, History, and the Long Shadow of the Holodomor
Natalia has taught me about Ukrainian poets and playwrights, sadly these artists are still much overlooked in the west. The 100-year treaty between the U.K. and Ukraine must surely lead to closer cultural ties.
I have seen the pain that even mentioning the name of Russia can cause on her face, even before the invasion, even before 2014, Natalia like many Ukrainians were aware of the Holodomor, (the Soviet genocide against Ukraine orchestrated by Stalin) her grandmother had experienced it, she would tell me how as a young girl she would witness her grandmother hiding food, just in case the Russian's came back, a fear at the time the early 90's with a nascent and independent Ukraine, seem like the curious eccentricities of an old woman, who sadly proved to be correct.
Russia's Imperial Fantasy and the Cost to Its Own People
A new generation of Ukrainians has learned a lesson: Russia will never let Ukraine go. Despite the incredibly poor quality of life Russians lead (Natalia told me a story about a friend of hers who briefly lived in St Petersburg and the water would come out the tap brown), still Russia pours money on imperialist fantasies, Russia's economy once you remove the corruption which takes a lot of the finances, then military expenditures, there is not much left for the people who live a life of misery that Emilie Zola would immediately recognise. For what? So the regime leaders can cosplay that they're still a global superpower and not as political commentator Malcolm Nance so wonderfully observed 'a trailer park with nukes'.
Ukraine's Indomitable Will
Most Ukrainians have lost someone they know, Natalia is no exception, and yet despite the daily onslaught of the terrorist nation that attacks them, their will is indomitable, they will never surrender, no matter how brutal Russia gets, because the alternative is so much worse, the liberation of Bucha, and the massacres and war crimes committed there are a sobering wake up call to any YouTuber or politician who gullibly and foolishly accepts the Kremlin line.
Democracy Thriving in Ukraine
The only time Natalia felt really down was when the corruption report was published that the government tried to suppress, the report talked of military contractors taking a cut of the money 15% illegally for themselves, I told Natalia, the fact that this report, a report the government tried to suppress was published, demonstrated that democracy is not only working in Ukraine its thriving, this kind of report would never be allowed to be published in Russia.
One Voice Among Millions
Natalia is one person amongst a nation of 37.86 million who share this experience every day. They are struggling, they are battered, bruised, mourning, but they still stand. Ukraine will fight to the very end, the terrorist nation will eventually give up long before Kyiv falls to the aggressor, it's just such a shame that a country that has already experienced so much heartache and pain must continue to.
