La Ménagère

“The problem with rural America is that we don't feel seen, we don't feel heard.” With her new novel “Partita,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Kingsolver says she’s writing from the place she lives, as a Southern Appalachian.

❗️The moment we had all been waiting for: residents of Oleshky have crossed the border — the humanitarian mission has been successfully completed! This mission was made possible with the assistance and coordination of U.S. @FLOTUS. I would like to thank the First Lady for her humanity, her attention to this issue, her extraordinary compassion, and her personal involvement in every stage of the process. This entire mission was successfully carried out thanks to her involvement. 🤝 My sincere gratitude goes to the President of Ukraine, @ZelenskyyUa, for his personal support of this humanitarian initiative. His attention to the situation in Oleshky and his assistance at the highest level of government were essential to making this humanitarian mission possible. I am also grateful to David Arakhamia for his important role in this humanitarian mission and his support throughout the process. The mission was made possible through the agreement reached with @yana_lantratova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. ❗️ We have come a long way — from negotiations and securing the agreement on a ceasefire to delivering humanitarian aid directly to Oleshky and organizing the departure of residents. The ceasefire will remain in effect until November 1, 10:59 p.m. This is the longest ceasefire observed by both sides since 2022. I thank the Ukrainian Defense Forces for their responsible adherence to the ceasefire, which made it possible to carry out this humanitarian mission! It seems that there is hardly anyone who has not been following this unprecedented and historic event. Behind every stage of this operation are the lives of people who have been waiting and hoping. ℹ️ The oldest evacuee is 94 years old, while the youngest is just over one year old! Another woman will celebrate her 49th birthday tomorrow! Let me tell you about one family who were literally fighting for survival in a shell-damaged apartment building in Oleshky. Due to his health condition, the father was unable to make his way down from the eighth floor on his own, as the staircases had been destroyed. It is frightening even to imagine the conditions in which these people were living: they were effectively cut off from access to food and water. But that is now behind them — the family is safe. 👉 There is another story that is equally heartbreaking. A man born in Oleshky survived 16 attacks by Russian drones and four missile strikes on his own home. One of the explosions occurred just one meter from the wall of his house. Along with the residents, we also managed to evacuate their beloved pets: dogs, cats, a parrot, and even a raccoon! The ordeal and uncertainty are behind them. What lies ahead is the chance to recover and finally breathe a sigh of relief after living in constant fear for their lives. ❗️We want the experience of Oleshky to be more than an isolated case. It could become the foundation for a new mechanism for responding to complex humanitarian crises.

Cross your fingers! Let all Ukrainians come back home safely. #StandWithUkraine

Three years. Another three years of contract in the Ukrainian army, adding to the two years already spent in the hell of mud, cold, and fire. Five years of my life gone. Five years of voluntarily erasing the very idea of a future, stability, or rest. For many, leaving their comfort zone means changing apartments or turning down a promotion. For me, it is the abandonment of everything that makes a human being feel alive. I have sacrificed my family. I have sacrificed my friends. I have trampled on those precious ties that bind you to the world, the ones that make it so on a night of doubt, you can simply rest your head on a loved one's shoulder. I have put the life goals of a man my age on hold: no house to build a home in, no car, no wife, no child. Nothing. Material nothingness, the absence of descendants, the absolute emptiness behind me. I have nothing left, absolutely nothing, except this land I defend and the breath I have left. So, when I speak out today to ask France, Belgium, and our allies to help us, to provide us with the vital equipment that is cruelly lacking on our lines, I run up against silence or bureaucratic sluggishness. It is unbearably difficult. I am not begging for myself; I am begging so that those who die by my side have a chance to survive, so that the front does not yield, so that barbarism does not settle further away. I have given everything, sacrificed everything, body and soul, for a cause greater than myself. And faced with that, I have only one question to ask those who sleep safely, warm, behind their spared borders: And you... what is your sacrifice for your security?

Ukrainian women redefine military service #ELLE Ukraine has unveiled a new print issue featuring women who are challenging stereotypes and shaping the future of Ukraine’s defence forces. In collaboration with Ukrainian defence-tech company General Chereshnya, the issue introduces four women serving in roles once widely considered a male domain: Kateryna “Uragan,” 33 — an FPV drone operator and combat training instructor. Alina, 30 — head of communications for the Achilles Brigade. Natalia, 31 — head of the unmanned systems department. Zoya, 34 — a Ukrainian Marine. Read more of their stories on the official website. 📷: ELLE Ukraine/Sashko Yavir

Let us continue to pray together for peace. The day after tomorrow, on 27 October, let us join in spirit with the heads of churches and religious leaders who will gather in Assisi to mark the 40th anniversary of the meeting convened by Saint John Paul II. Never before has it been so clear that wars, as well as sowing death and destruction, impoverish and harm the world. May the Lord inspire choices of dialogue and peace! #PrayTogether