M.Merite Watercolour

March 9. A fourteen day of war is brilliantly summerised by Iryna Vale .illistration in her illustration above. Do you know this game, where you must hit the warships of your enemy by guessing their location inside a lined square?

The illustration's caption says: 'Every time I hope they miss their target...', and it's hospitals, schools and residential buildings instead of warships.

If you check yesterday's news, you will see the awful photos of a maternity and children hospitals hit by aerial bombs in Mariupol...
There was another attempt of evacuation from the east and north. Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Bucha, Vorzel, Irpin and local villages. More than 40,000 people saved yesterday but volunteers said in some places Russians kept firing in the backs of families trying to escape. So many evacuation buses and ambulances were targeted these days delibaretly. ..
Most of my friends are refugees now. Women, mothers with children. Many became volunteers in humanitarian centres. Many deal with a huge mental trauma. Many try to keep being a supportive adult for their kids while acknowledging that their home is destroyed (literally), their income is lost and their husbands are in defence forces. The nightmare of WW2...
I cannot read the telegram channel where people try to find their loved ones in 'hot spots' without tears...
I went emotionally numb myself. I lost ability to cry even when I want to. I think my nervous system has shut utself as a protection measure. I am also on heavy medication and it helps to distance a bit. Very tired...
Kyiv is comparatively quiet. We already used to the sounds of explosions and air threat alerts. Most of fights are in the region at the moment.

I digged into Etsy work. Yesterday someone tried to hack my shop and I spent the whole day trying to return access to it. I won! No money was lost. Other Ukrainian sellers report the same thing, there is a another wave of hijacking Etsy shops that sell digitals...
Oh, one more thing. Chornobyl nuclear plant lost power supply yesterday. Repair works are impossible at the moment, and if power is not restored within a week - Europe will face another nuclear catastrophe.

My dear friends, I am touched beyond any words for your overwelming support through Etsy purchases and warm wishes in private messages.

As I said before, I donate part of the received sum to local help. From 2 March to 8 March I withdrew $5261 from your Etsy purchases! ♥️

It is extremely difficult to decide who needs more, there is so much plea from different sides!! For the moment I decided to target mostly my Kyiv neighbourhood and people who I know. Soon it will be clearer which organisation and a volunteer groups are the most effective and I will stick to them.

I donate to humanitarian, medical and defence purposes (no weapons but armour, clothes, food, etc).

I created a link with a bunch of other links (see my second photo):
https://linktr.ee/meritewatercolour

The first one redirects you to my donation records in real time. You check it anytime.

Other three links are for the prints you can purchase on my Etsy. Digital downloads (you can buy Kyiv and some Ukrainian views), giclee landscapes printed remotely and shipped from EU and UK, and flowers printed and shipped from USA, EU, UK.

Please share it!

Thank you so much again!!

P.S. I update my Instagram more frequently, so if it is convenient for you, please follow me there.

Maria