This month’s WEP/IWSG Challenge was as inevitable as the dreadful and ongoing tragedy in Ukraine. I’ve attempted to continue my tale of two aviatrix cousins from April, using the suggested approach of ‘correspondence’ – nowadays emails etc.
However, I was unable to catch the emotions involved as others did so well last Challenge. Also, I failed to edit down to 1,000 words.
My excuse… tomorrow, June 1st, we complete on our new mobile home, and we move the following day. So, I’m scheduling this in advance of the Challenge deadline and may be offline for some of June, while we await internet connection.
Please note, this follows on from my World War II story Feathered Fire, which featured in the 2020 IWSG Anthology (No. 5), Voyagers: The Third Ghost, and my brief sequel Rainbow Firebreak, for the #WEP/IWSG April Challenge https://rolandclarke.com/2022/04/20/wep-iwsg-april-challenge-a-hard-rains-a-gonna-fall/.
Apologies if I’m slow to respond to comments or struggle to visit all your posts after re-connection to the internet.
Plus, ensure you visit all the other writers in this challenge via:
https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com
BLURB:
Messages keep hope for Mother Ukraine alive.
Winged Woes
2022
Wednesday, April 27th – Luhansk region, Ukraine
Ksenia Zelenko kzelenko99@psu2.ua
To: kzelenko97@psu1.ua
Pryvit Kyrylo,
I’ve prayed for you since the steelworks defence became desperate though brave. Can I believe in a miracle with help and consultation from the angels of the deep?
Please believe dearest brother. Mariupol will be liberated. We will be together.
With my winged sisters Vasy & Kalyna, I helped retain control over most of our airspace. Now Russian air activity focuses on southern and eastern Ukraine. We will harass then drive them back across the border.
Love, blessings, and prayers.
Ksenia
We will have a good day when we win.
Slava Ukrayini.
Saturday, April 30th – Cold Lake, Canada
Leonid Sokol lsokol@chaykair.ca
To: ksokol@chaykair.ca
Darling Kalyna,
May this find you fighting fit. The kids share the family’s concerns for you both. Dispel our anxiety as news from Ukraine feels unclear. You must be on the Eastern front, halting renewed Russian attacks.
We watch President Zelenskiy’s addresses, hoping the war ends soon. We read the Ukraine’s Armed Forces report on nine Russian attacks repelled in the last 24 hours. Guess the reborn witches were somehow involved in the destruction of multiple enemy ground and air units.
I know you cannot reveal military secrets, but we have to know you’re safe. Please answer, lyuba.
Chayka Air thrives, despite your absence. Seems our eldest, Aliona has your PR talent, making the most of pro-Ukrainian sentiment. Chayka Air displays are raising funds for humanitarian aid.
Promise you’ll keep the secrets and the memories we cherish in the deep.
Leonid
Slava Ukrayini.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/fighter-jet-fights-both-sides-180975834/
Saturday, May 7th – Luhansk region, Ukraine
Vasy Holub vholub@chaykair.ca
To: mholub@chaykair.ca
Dearest Marko,
We didn’t mean our silence to feed your fears. Yes, we maintain some military secrecy when another victory is being devised. The welfare of defenceless and innocent civilians must be paramount.
We are well and love you all. Stay safe and secure yourselves.
Today, the Ukrainian government confirmed the last civilians trapped in the Azovstal plant were evacuated. But our remaining brave defenders appear unlikely to surrender as they vowed to stand until the end – even if many are severely wounded, some crippled. We fear the Russians will capture any who survive and surrender. With their Azov association, they could be imprisoned or worse… executed.
If that happens, please ask my father if he can legally help defend at least one of them: Kyrylo Zelenko, the younger brother of our wing-sister Ksenia. He is not a member of Asov, nor does he share the beliefs of comrades with far right views. Our own clashes with neo-Nazis in Canada has been a warning of irrational reactions. Too late, too late. A fool could read the signs.
We must arrange a virtual meeting. Is tomorrow too soon?
Our hearts are with you all. Mine is yours forever.
Vasy.
Slava Ukrayini.
Sunday, May 8th – Chayka Air Virtual Meeting
Cold Lake, Canada (15.00) and Luhansk, Ukraine (00.00)
Vasy Holub: Apologies for making the family wait while we honoured the Fallen.
Leonid Sokol: No problem. The time difference means we were running fund-raising aerobatics in aid of Ukraine.
Marko Holub: For our Motherland. Which is why your father will assist Ksenia’s brother and comrades. But he warns there are risks. The far right here in Canada could misuse this support.
Ksenia Zelenko: We’re still grateful. Kyrylo wanted to join us, but the siege hardly pauses. Life is dire. Starvation, infected wounds, and when their water runs out the inevitable end.
Marko Holub: A desperate crisis so our government must act. We hear Zelenskiy’s pleas but feel powerless. You three… night witches are fighting for everyone. We’re relieved our prime minister Trudeau visited Kyiv today—
Leonid Sokol: — and agreed to expand economic and defence cooperation.
Kalyna Sokol: We’re proud to be Canadian and Ukrainian. Especially on this Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation marking the end of World War II. Let’s hope Putin doesn’t escalate this war in his Victory Day speech tomorrow.
Vasy Holub: Which could play into far right hands. Ironic this invasion has strengthened their influence. I fear what lies ahead. More death and devastation.
Ksenia Zelenko: And a false peace if Putin is allowed to seize our eastern provinces. We will only have a good day when we win outright. Slava Ukrayini.
Thursday, May 12th – Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine
Kalyna Sokol ksokol@chaykair.ca
To: lsokol@chaykair.ca
Darling Leonid,
News services will show footage of our latest blow to the invaders. You gotta reap just what you sow. I know you all fear for our safety, but rest assured we’re safe.
Today, we flew a dawn raid to help our ground forces repel multiple enemy attempts to cross a strategic river here in the Donbas. Our forces inflicted heavy losses, but the Russians will retaliate. Sievierodonetsk may be targeted. So, we’ll move to another temporary airstrip. Witches keep flying.
My love forever. I miss your arms around me.
Kalyna.
Slava Ukrayini.
Friday, May 20th – Mariupol, Ukraine
Kyrylo Zelenko kzelenko97@psu1.ua
To: k.zelenko99@psu2.ua
Lyuba Ksenia,
This may be a farewell message. I dread never seeing you again, dearest sister.
We have orders to surrender our positions to the enemy.
Inevitable as we’re struggling in unsanitary conditions, wounds bandaged with non-sterile rags, no essential medicine or water.
Our fate might be worse.
I dread being executed for war crimes… as a ‘neo-Nazi’. You know I’ve never been one. But I must stand and die with my friends, some holding views I ignore. First we fight for freedom and Ukraine. Only when we prevail can we argue politics.
Will they herd us to prison, stage a show trial, then death? Or a bullet as we surrender beside a mass grave?
This is a final plea for help. Is it too late to pray for that miracle?
It’s crazy how it all turned out. We needed so much more.
Love, regrets, and hope.
Kyrylo
You will have a good day when our people win.
Slava Ukrayini.
1,012 words FCA
As with the April Challenge, I’ve slipped a few lines of Please Read the Letter lyrics into my digital interactions.
Invasion of Ukraine
Events have moved on since the date when my flash ends, and it’s been difficult to write this as the horrors Putin unleashed continue every day. I keep the live update from The Guardian open on my PC but feel powerless. All I can do is use my writing to express my support.
May I plead for donations to Medecins Sans Frontieres, who work worldwide and are often the first charity in and last out: https://www.msf.org/
How this terrible crisis ends is hard to foresee, especially with the daily threat of escalation as Ukrainians find the will to resist, but the Russian attacks continue to wreak destruction on another Motherland. Somehow, I will attempt to find the positive conclusion to my Ukrainian story that mirrors reality.
Writing Wings 
A beautiful way to approach the horrors, Roland. I’m afraid I go nowhere near tv or internet news, and glean more than I need from the on-the-hour radio news and my Guardian news emails.
I hope the move has gone well by the time you read this, and that your superchair is working well at last. I feel like I’m writing like one of your Ukrainians now. It suddenly reminded me of a Ukrainian girl I shared a house with when I was at college. I expect she’s a grandmother now.
keep as well as you can, and make the most of the new home.
Jemima xxx
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Thank you for these heart felt letters. My hopes are with Ukraine. Fervent hopes. I continue to donate to MSF.
I also hope that your move goes really, really well.
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This war is horrible. And the worst of it – the suffering of the innocent civilians – is hard to overrate. Ironically, all the high command officers on both sides went to the same army academies and learned from the same instructors, when it was still one country.
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Your letters illustrate the horror and devastation of war so well. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. 😞 I hope all went well with your move!
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Thanks for sharing more of the story, and more of the difficult reality. I hope at least your move went well and you are settling in comfortably.
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Roland
Well done, so very sad. I can only imagine similar letters from too many. I sincerely don’t understand how anyone can live without a heart, but I guess its absence is essential for evil. Thank you for sharing these updates and beautiful letters. Stay well!
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Roland, you always evoke strong emotion in me with your tales. This one is no exception. Well done
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Apologies, Roland, for not realizing you’d posted. I loved that you used letters to highlight the terrors of the war. I, too, have the same subject matter, but dealt with completely differently.
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And I forgot to wish you well on your move. Hope your health is holding up.
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Thank you for this well crafted entry and for continuing the story. Great take on the prompt to illustrate the horrors of the ongoing war. My apologies for the delay in responding. Hope your move is going smoothly.
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Letters are a good way to high;ight the horrors of war. You did a great job with such a difficult subject.
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Excellent take on the prompt. Thank you for writing a meaningful story based on the reality of the war in the Ukraine. It’s important to keep the situation in front of us and to help in any way we can. I hope your move goes without problem and you’ll soon be back to normal life.
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Hi Roland
This one immersed me completely, and got the right emotions. Of course, it’s so close to real.
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Words cannot convey the terror and horror that the people of Ukraine are going through. You captured the thoughts and emotions of your characters. I hope this war ends soon and the Ukrainian people are victorious.
Nancy
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Hi Roland – it’s so desperate … and sadly it’s not going to end soon – one man’s ego over so many harmless peaceful residents in another recognised country, let alone that man encouraging more call-ups of soldiers he’ll have no qualms about subjecting to the horrors of war and aftermath.
You’ve let us see ‘a side’ of the continuous unfolding of war for ‘ordinary people’ … who cannot be together.
Excellent – while for you I hope things are easier – the move has gone well, and you’re more settled – wishing you the best – Hilary
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An excellent interpretation of the prompt!
Letters filled with emotion are a great way to highlight the horrors of the war.
Thank you for sharing, Roland.
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It’s horrible that it’s still going on. That more hasn’t been done to end the war and support the people of Ukraine. It’s as if some leaders are waiting for more places to become victims or for the enemy to get something else more “valuable” than life.
I wrote a humorous piece for the June WEP prompt (it isn’t adult, though some may mistake it as such at first, depending on your hobbies).
And I’m contemplating my favorite book worlds for the IWSG July prompt (I’m co-hosting). Any thoughts?
Over at Operation Awesome, we’re gearing up for our Pass or Pages query contest with July’s family saga genre. Know any writers who might want to enter?
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Such a good and tragic post, Roland! I’ve been following the war closely and daily. Doctors Without Borders is a charity I have supported for many years. I found out about it through a doctor of mine who retired early, so he could become one of them working abroad. He went initially to Mauritania. May you get reconnected to the internet soon! I’m always happy to see you here! Take care!
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