Today they stand, blackened skeletons – the constant reminder of the day that war visited. One day, three Grad rockets rained down on the farmyard itself, and a Combine Harvester, a bulldozer and a drying machine were all destroyed in quick succession. Again, and again, Howitzer 122 mm shells landed in nearby fields and even closer.

Here in ‘Bogdan’ farm, the slow quiet that defines many a farmer’s life was shattered. Russia gave their military support, and pretty soon a war between Ukrainian government forces and separatist militias was in full flow. In the region of Donbas, two breakaway republics were proclaimed – Donetsk and Luhansk. The Kremlin used that disruption, combined with infighting among Ukraine’s politicians, to annex the Crimean Peninsula to the south, and fuel separatist sentiments here the east. A popular uprising in Kyiv had forced President Viktor Yanukovych out of office. He had 11 men under him and two women, as well as three cats and five dogs. In 2012, before the war descended upon this region like a shroud, his farm of 900 hectares was producing 2,000 tonnes of wheat, sunflower and barley a year. He looks older than his 31 years and, as he stands sucking at a Bond cigarette – just one from the packet he will get through today – his face seems as furrowed as the land he ploughs. He has heavy, thick hands and iron legs accustomed to walking through fields renowned for their rich, black Ukrainian earth. Urn:isbn:0670915602 Republisher_date 20140423033722 Republisher_operator Scandate 20140402061158 Scanner Mashakin looks like a man moulded by the soil. Internetarchivebookdrive External-identifier Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 16:37:12 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA1117306 Boxid_2 CH129216 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City New York Containerid_2 X0008 Donor

A history of tractors in ukrainian