Ukraine鈥檚 rise-from-the-ashes resilience
Rebuilding the country in the midst of war was thought crazy. Yet look at how one city devastated by Russian atrocities is rebuilding.
People sweep a street in Bucha, outside Kyiv, March 30, the first anniversary of its liberation from Russian occupation.
REUTERS
The wonders of Ukraine鈥檚 resilience never cease to amaze. The latest example is the flotilla of boats rescuing some 16,000 people stranded in floodwaters after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper River. 鈥淲e are strong, we are resistant,鈥� one rescuer, Svitlana Plokha, told The Guardian, explaining that 鈥渆veryone got together when the invasion started.鈥�
The massive response has inspired the humanitarian work of Martin Griffiths, the United Nations emergency relief coordinator. 鈥淭he people of Ukraine have shown extraordinary resilience 鈥� our urgent humanitarian task is to continue to help them,鈥� he said.
Ukraine鈥檚 economy shows 鈥渞emarkable resilience,鈥� states the International Monetary Fund. The Ukrainian military keeps bouncing back on the battlefield. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy鈥檚 highly visible leadership almost defines the spirit of recovery.
鈥淗e proved to the whole world that we stand up for our values,鈥� Andriy Shaikan, a university rector in the president鈥檚 hometown of Kryvyi Rih, told Agence France-Presse.
The country鈥檚 ability to spring back helps explain why world leaders will soon gather in London for the second Ukraine Recovery Conference. Even as the war with Russia rages, President Zelenskyy insists the country begin to rebuild. Donors and investors are eager to listen to the government鈥檚 plans. 鈥淭he Ukrainian people are not going to allow themselves to be broken,鈥� said the United Kingdom鈥檚 foreign secretary, James Cleverly, host of the June 21-22 event.
The best example of an unbowed nation is the phoenixlike rebuilding of Bucha, a suburb of the capital, Kyiv. In the early days of the invasion, Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians and left much of the city in ruins. Bucha became a symbol of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Now Bucha is a reconstruction site, with a new hardware store to help residents rebuild. Malls have reopened. Famed philanthropist Howard Buffett is building Ukraine鈥檚 first kitchen factory. Some Israeli investors, after discovering a high demand for gyms in Ukraine, are investing in a sports complex for Bucha. 鈥淯krainians are trying to get back to normal and rebuild their lives, partly through sports,鈥� one investor told The Jerusalem Post.
Bucha鈥檚 rise from the ashes helps show Ukraine can win the war. It has turned out that the country鈥檚 most valuable resource is the bonds of affection among the Ukrainian people. As Oleksandra Azarkhina, deputy minister of infrastructure, told The Guardian, 鈥渞ebuilding is also part of our resistance.鈥�