Illustration: #AnnaIvanenko
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Mines destroy tractors during harvest. There are hundreds of hectares of fields with ripe grain, set on fire by intentional shelling from the Russian army. Farmers are sowing under enemy fire. All this illustrates the great price of grain that Ukraine pays when Russia is waging its full-scale invasion and destroying everything in its path.
In Ukraine, the largest harvest was usually collected in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts in the south of the country. Fierce fighting is currently taking place in these territories: a large part of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts is occupied, and Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts are constantly being shelled by Russia. Because of this, crop losses will reach at least 20%, according to the estimates of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
In order to keep these losses minimal, farmers have to show daily heroism. This is how combine harvesters go to the fields to harvest winter crops even when the land is on fire from shelling, because otherwise all the grain will burn. The sounds of shelling aren’t heard in the harvester during work, so farmers often find out about the danger after the fact. And on July 20, the Russians opened fire on farmers harvesting wheat—this happened in the village of Koshove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, bordering Kherson Oblast.
According to the head of one of the agricultural enterprises in Mykolaiv Oblast, there is not a single piece of equipment left in their farm that was not damaged by shelling. All machines require repairs before being able to work in the field.
Thus, each time a farmer goes to the field becomes a courageous act, which allows Ukrainians to harvest not only for themselves, but also for many other countries of the world. If only the issue of grain export was resolved, but that is a completely different story.