KYIV, Ukraine — As we climbed into our trucks to leave Kyiv for the last time on this trip, snow was falling again. It was colder. Signs of difficult times ahead.
I was finishing my fourth trip this year to Ukraine. I have never felt such confidence in the people of this country in their courageous fight against Russia. I had never felt such premonitions.
It was the best of times and the worst of times.
There was absolute jubilation over the liberation of the city of Kherson from Russian control. Wonderful crying grandmothers and children jumping for joy grabbing Ukrainian troops arriving in cities and towns.
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Ukrainians are preparing for a harsh winter. (Photo: Fox News.)
(FoxNews)
The enthusiasm was felt throughout the country. We were stuck at a celebration in the center of kyiv.
“Why are you happy?” I asked a young man.
“Because Kherson is free!” he answered her.
“Kherson?” I asked a young girl.
“Ukraine!” She answered.
We visited a lady who showed us her apartment in a Kyiv building that had been destroyed by a Russian missile at the beginning of the war. She and her family were unharmed. Now they were rebuilding the place. Others in the place were doing the same.
“It’s my house,” he told us.
We explore the growing group of destroyed Russian vehicles in a central square in Kyiv. It was still an attraction. Visiting families, boys, girls, posed in front of the missiles and wrecked tanks. Some smiling, some grim, all determined.
Several gather in a Kyiv cemetery.
(FoxNews)
One Saturday afternoon we met up with our dear friend Sviat (Fox’s first Ukraine “fixer” in 2014; then the youngest member of parliament; now an icon of the early days of the war, seen in footage all over the world. world patrolling with an AK-47).
He took us to one of the hundreds of trendy bars, restaurants and cafes that are still alive and kicking in Kyiv. Young, well aware of the troubles swirling around them…but still…drinking, eating, laughing, holding hands.
The best of times… and the worst of times…
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For several mornings… then an afternoon… then early at night… the still terrifying droning of air-raid sirens echoed through the city. I once heard a distant explosion. On another occasion I heard a whole series of thuds.
It is Vladimir Putin’s new way of warfare. Explosion of civilian critical infrastructure. The electrical network. vital services. Electricity, hot water.
Underperforming Ukrainian soldiers, he now goes after Ukrainian civilians. Making them suffer. Trying to break them.
Greg Palkot reporting from Kyiv.
(Fox News)
We walk through the streets of Kyiv, once bright… now dark caverns.
We were with people huddled around charging points for essential mobile phones.
We saw lines of people waiting to fill up water bottles dispensed from public taps.
And I heard about 18-story climbs to apartments, elevators stuck because of power outages.
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Caught in the crossfire… or on target… we witnessed residential buildings hit by Moscow missiles. Huge holes in the sides of the houses. Bodies and remains carried by emergency workers.
There was a moving funeral. And a cemetery. One grave after another after another. Filled with young and old, torn apart by this horrible hurricane of blood and soul.
Many cried with us. Many remembered the lost. Many collapsed from the sheer hardship of life imposed on them by the dictates of Russia.
But unbelievably no one…not one person…and we talked to dozens and dozens on this trip…said that Ukraine should give up. That it was too much. That there was too much suffering. That Kyiv must deliver to Moscow what she demanded.
View of the interior of a restaurant in Kyiv.
(FoxNews)
Everyone essentially told us this was a fight to the finish. And the “end” was when all the Russian troops who broke into this country without invitation were gone.
When the borders were restored.
When death, damage, destruction and heartbreak were repaired by those responsible.
As already noted, the weather in Kyiv is now getting harsher. More snow and cold are on the way. At least one official said this would be the harshest winter the country had endured since World War II.
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And along the long front line, soldiers in the snow and mud, dug in trenches and trenches, seem to be in the middle of something more akin to World War I.
Another thing we heard too. As bad as things were in cities like Kyiv and Lviv. They were worse where men and women fought.
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And we also heard from the people of Ukraine: Thank you. Largely to the US and its allies. For helping and supporting them. With weapons and ammunition, cars and tanks, blankets and generators.
Ukrainians know, brave as they are, that without the world’s help, their world as they know it would be over.
So while our team is gone this time, what is happening in Ukraine will remain in our hearts and minds. Knowing that we will certainly return. For perhaps more difficult times. Or maybe…some good ones too.
