Fate book from the front

The day in February when it was announced that "green men" had appeared in the Crimea was etched in my memory forever. I sat petrified in front of the television screen, because I understood that for the first time in Europe after the Second World War, a country simply occupied part of the territory of a neighboring state. Then the war broke out in the Donets Basin (Donbass). I was devastated by the suffering of the civilian population, the many losses. I was amazed to see that Russian propaganda portrays the victims of aggression as criminals. When I had the chance to see the blown-up houses and meet the displaced civilians, I realized that the world is undeservedly beginning to forget this modern, hybrid war, which has claimed 13,000 lives so far. It is important for the public to know what the residents of Eastern Ukraine went through in the last five years, how the conflict shattered their lives, and, paradoxically, how much good came from the immeasurable destruction. Because a lot of good came from it. Many people have shown self-sacrifice, courage and even heroism. Friends or previously unknown people came together to defend their homeland or help those who are on the front lines. Humanity, community feeling, and patriotism were manifested at the highest level. These human destinies deserve to be collected and presented in a book, like a tableau. My excellent Ukrainian colleague Aleksandr Kachura (who has been in the most dangerous places since the beginning) wrote this book of war fate. A significant part of the interviews were conducted separately, and a smaller part together, in Russian, Hungarian, Ukrainian and English. The chapters are mostly based on conversations with a typical character of the war. We didn't meet "great people", but simple, everyday residents of Eastern Ukraine or Transcarpathia, soldiers and civilians, rebels and volunteers. A significant part of the interviews is being published for the first time. In addition to the Ukrainian and Russian participants, there are many chapters about Hungarians who thoroughly contributed to the defense of Ukraine. The war of the past five years has turned Ukraine from its corners and changed the life of each person. The upheavals affected both the outside and the inside. The reader will notice that almost every fate presented here raises the question of what is the meaning of life, what is our business in the world. (Ildikó Eperjesi)