The peace of cemeteries. Anyone who sees the living come to salute the memory of their loved ones will have a taste of ashes this year in Ukraine. Too much blood and too many tears. Like in this old Jesuit church in Lviv, an hour's drive from the Polish border. Transformed into a book repository during the Soviet Union, it now houses the military chaplaincy. In one of the bays, 1,600 faces of soldiers whose funerals were celebrated here welcome the visitor.
At the foot of a birch cross that remained standing as if by a miracle after a bombing in the Luhansk region, the chaplains placed helmets riddled with bullets and the remains of missiles. The children's drawings and photos are like so many poignant testimonies. In a few months, the war will enter its fourth year.
Hold on and on. A feeling of discouragement sweeps through Ukrainian society as winter approaches. Certainly Western aid is still there. But it happens too partially. And without being able to make a difference in the face of the firepower of the Russians. In an already aging country, making up for losses is proving increasingly difficult.
No reliable figures are given on the number of injured and dead on the Ukrainian side. kyiv, on the other hand, publishes daily counts of Russian losses: 694,950 to date. This vagueness fools no one. In Lviv, at the foot of the old Lytchakiv cemetery created on the order of the Austrian Emperor Joseph II at the end of the 18th century, the new military square houses eight hundred tombs. On this immense flowerbed where each grave is a garden, hundreds of Ukrainian flags fly. In the evening, under the starry sky, thousands of candles and lanterns remind us of the extent of the sacrifice made to defend European democratic values.
Europe facing a war
The real Day of the Dead, the one called the “little tomb” will take place, no longer like in France the day after All Saints' Day which is a day like the others in Ukraine, but on the Monday following Easter Monday. People then come to decorate the graves with flowers and place eggs painted in a red or red color. And even lunch with the family.
Exhausted by bombings, Ukraine has never needed military and political support so much. An uncertain battle facing an America tempted by isolationism and a divided Europe.
To convince, Ukrainian diplomacy is deployed on all fronts, including facing the Pope. In March, an interview with the latter aroused incomprehension. “The strongest is he who dares to wave the white flag”, Pope Francis explained.
A recent meeting between Pope Francis and Volodymyr Zelensky provided an explanation. Without dispelling all doubts as evidenced by the gifts given on this occasion: a bronze plaque with the inscription “peace is a fragile flower” on one side and on the other a painting dedicated to Russian abuses.
“The only flag we wave is yellow and blue”, replied Dmytro Kouleba, who was then Ukrainian Foreign Minister. It is also that of the European colors that should be raised to ward off the shadow of Stalin. Europe facing a latent war led by Russia. But are Europeans really aware of this?
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