Zhanna bezpiatchuk
BBC Ukraine
Maria Smalechanka
Maria’s life was reduced to waiting for another call from her husband. I don’t know if that’s the last one.
Ivan, a 31-year-old Ukrainian fighter pilot, began defending the sky from the first hours of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, and is currently flying over 200 dangerous missions with his old Soviet-era Mig-29 fighter jet.
The Sentai Commander lost several comrades in the war. Some were close friends. The others were the godfathers of each other’s children. The location of his current air force base in western Ukraine cannot be revealed for safety reasons.
But as US-led efforts to negotiate a ceasefire gathered pace, new talks between Russia and Ukraine, which were planned on Monday, changed.
“If a ceasefire comes [about]we feel safer,” Maria says.
More and more people are talking openly about the fatigue of war across Ukraine. They seek solid assurances of Western protection to end Europe’s most brutal battle since World War II and ensure that Russia cannot attack again.
At the same time, Maria fears it will involve accepting the losses of Russia and the four Ukrainian regions in the southeastern part of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. “They will remain under Russian occupation.”
She asks: “What [did] If Ukraine cannot fight for them and is forced to make concessions, will our heroes, many of our heroes, sacrifice their lives? ”
Maria Smalechanka
Maria says she only realized how dangerous Ivan’s work is after Russia began a full-scale invasion.
When Maria and Ivan met, the prospect of a full-scale war in Ukraine seemed impossible.
Maria is an English teacher at a local children’s club in western Ukraine, attended by the daughter of Ivan’s comrade. The comrade offered to set Ivan along with Maria.
At first, Ivan felt pressured to the arrangement, but in the end he agreed to come.
He was pleased that he had done. They soon began to see each other.
On one of their first dates, Ivan warns Maria that she had done a dangerous job. She said that wouldn’t be the problem. Ivan was courageous, caring, protective, and Maria was in love.
He had to quickly go for a long development far from home. They lost contact for a year and it seemed their relationship had ended.
However, he then returns with a huge bouquet of flowers and promises her that he doesn’t want to waste her time. Within a year, the two were married and were expecting their first child soon.
It was when Russia began a full-scale invasion that she understood what Maria meant about the harsh reality of his work.
Their daughter, Jaroslava, was only three months old at the time. Ivan missed her early milestone. Help her take her first step, her first teeth pass through and comfort her during her first illness.
“When Ivan is deployed far from home, I send him thousands of photos of his daughter, helping him feel at least practically that he is spending time with us,” says Maria.
On a nearby mission, Maria puts her daughter in a pram and hastily goes to a checkpoint where she can drive off to catch her for five minutes.
She brought him homemade food. They spoke. And when they come together every minute, they found it worth the months they spent waiting.
Before Yaroslava spoke, she used her tiny hands to gesture that her father was flying through the air.
“Our daughter knows that her father is a pilot,” she says. “When she had her birthday and her father had a birthday cake on a video call, we explained that he couldn’t be with us because he was defending Ukraine from the Russians.”
Maria Smalechanka
Ivan has not been able to witness the milestones of his daughter, Yaroslava, but he cherishes every moment with her.
The family currently takes professional photos every six months. “It’s very difficult for me to say, but I have to be totally honest. [will be] Our final call or meeting,” Maria says with the brink of tears.
She feels she needs to be ready for “all things, including the worst-case scenario.”
In the first year of the war, she regularly heard about the victims among friends. “You can call their wife and find the word to say, and you are afraid that one day you will be in the same situation.”
Ukrainians are calling for concrete protections by the US and Europe and increased supply of western fighter jets to stop Russian invasions.
The country receives many US-made F-16s and French Mirage Fighter jets, but the country’s air forces still rely on older Soviet-era fighters.
Maria carefully wants a ceasefire. It could “freeze” the conflict at best, she says, but she finds it difficult to rely on her as she doesn’t trust Russia.
Vladimir Putin hopes for the end of Western military aid to Kiev and the sharing of intelligence with Ukrainians, as well as the halt of mobilization in Ukraine.
Many experts say his demands are merely an excuse to continue the war he launched despite the intense Russian casualties.
There is also fear that Donald Trump, who has publicly stated that ending the war is one of his top priorities, could prepare a behind-the-scenes deal with Russia, which forces Ukraine to accept painful concessions.
Maria Smalechanka
Taking professional photos twice a year has become a tradition for Maria’s young family
Even after the ceasefire, the Ukrainian Air Force will have to be vigilant for a long time, so Maria is still waiting for a phone call and rare meeting.
And while there may be peace in Ukraine, she wonders whether her husband will be in peace again. Maria says that Ivan, who was deeply influenced by the frontline battle, has a “patriotic spirit” and will continue to serve after the war.
Maria feels it is important that the victims do not feel in vain, and hopes that one day will be returned to Russia’s holdings of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Now, Maria’s priorities are to reassure her husband and provide optimism. She dreams of a future in which her young family can eventually begin to rebuild their lives in their homes, their own country.
“My husband needs to know that we are always waiting for him.”
