This

When I first started going to Ukraine, people would sometimes ask me, "How is it there? Now they don't ask anymore. Apparently I'm not a good storyteller 😃
But now I wanted to share my own simplified vision. It is a VISION, it is MINE.
I have not been to this country before the war, so I have nothing to compare. But I can compare the first and second years of the war - from my own perspective.

A year and a half ago, we were running like madmen through the dark Ukraine at night with our eyes burnt out, ignoring the rules, when you don't know who's going where and why.
A night without sleep, a second, and look, a third is starting. The roads are so bad; the paint doesn't reflect the light, it's hard to see where you're going. Curfew, dark as shit, even in the biggest cities.
You drive through a big city at night, and it looks like a ghost town - uninhabited... People are so... lost. You enter the Donetsk region. OMG, I'm already HERE. Imagine, Donetsk!!!

A year later, you know where and how to go. You only look at the sat nav to avoid getting lost in the bigger cities. You stop at your favourite petrol stations. You already know where the coffee is best. You know what you can do in a day and what will no longer work. Stress-free. Well ok, less stress:))

But that's small potatoes.

Ukraine is changing. 2 years of war. And it surprises me every time. More and more. Better and better.

People change. Communication changes.
I explain in simple terms. I probably didn't have to deal with the UA police in my first six months of driving. No matter how I behaved on the road 🙈

Later on, they would stop at least once during the journey.
- You have crossed a solid line, I will write you a fine.
- You are driving a car painted in military colours. Who owns it?
- Do you have insurance? ... It's Lithuanian, all right, but where does it say it's valid in Ukraine? ... UA insurance can be bought at the border...

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I am currently in Ukraine. I have been stopped by the police 4 times in 1.5 days. Once they searched my car with a dog. In a place where I know by heart that the police are always there; but they have never stopped me... And I haven't even reached central Ukraine yet.

One case in point. Police patrolling. I pass. They catch up with me with lights.
- You are driving a car that is not UA registered. Please provide documents.
Rodau. Then I was a bit sleep deprived after a trip on the route Šiauliai - Vilnius - Poles - IF - Černovice without a longer stop; so I must not have looked very fresh to them... They looked, checked something there on their tablet. Looked at my driving licence from different angles. When the second policeman started to do this, the first said:
- It's ok, I've already checked. When did you enter Ukraine? Today?
My brain wasn't working that night anymore, my reflexes were taking over... I did some thinking, some calculations...
- Definitely today. - p.s. The next day, after sleeping in and looking at the map, I realised why it was strange for them.
- Do you know where you are going?
- Yes 🙂
- Please, go and rest.
- Thank you. Goodbye.

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The next check-up (which, by the way, was today) with the dog was even pleasant:)) I was rested and didn't look so desperate:)) they asked me if I minded if they checked me. Of course. I had to answer a lot of questions. The policemen joked about the sausages that the dog might smell. And Marina Anatoly had loaded two bags of bacon... but everything was stress-free, they said - don't hurry, don't stress, calmly find the documents (it's always a mess with me and I can't find anything🙃). Looked at it, asked questions, have a good trip:)

Actually, such things do not scare me at all.

I am very happy with the way they are managing.

There is a war going on here, now in its second year.
They learn to live in it. And they're doing great. I'm very happy that control has been strengthened. That's the way it should be.
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In Ukraine, it's becoming difficult for me to communicate in Russian. Well done.
Some of my acquaintances know that I did not study Russian at school or other educational institutions. I learned some of it from movies as a child. And I reinforce my knowledge in my volunteer work here.
I used to try very hard to speak clearly in Russian everywhere in the UA, so that I could be understood. Now, on the contrary, I don't try at all. Do you know why? Because people here have started to avoid the language. They don't use it in principle. Now I want them to see - I don't want to communicate in that language either... And that's right - the language of the occupier has to go with the occupier's ship..
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There is a war on. And order is improving here. Cities are livelier than here. Cleanliness is on the rise, in every sense... Oh, I am proud of you, Ukraine.
You'll get clean. From all the boulders that stand in Your squares. Who walk in Thy streets. Who have come to You with weapons. Who pollute Thy name. Who are waiting for liberators from the Western world.
It will be a long and painful process. But you will persevere. You will recover. And you will get clean. And your people will appreciate and respect you, your freedom, your language, themselves and each other even more. Your backbone grows stronger, your self-esteem grows. Not unhealthy self-love, but self-esteem. I am proud of you.

Don't stop. Now is not the time for apathy. You are on the right path. Stay true to yourself. Everything will be fine with you. You will see.