uncertain

Maryna Bondarenko, a 51-year-old journalist, has three packed suitcases in her apartment in Poland, hopeful for the return of peace in Ukraine. She fled Kyiv with her son and mother when Russia invaded on February 24, 2022, expecting to be away for just a month or two. Now, four years later, she continues to work in a Ukrainian language newsroom serving over 1.5 million Ukrainians in Poland. Bondarenko recounts many moments of anticipation for returning home, having even packed her belongings multiple times, convinced the war would soon end.

The ongoing war has resulted in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War Two, with over 5 million Ukrainians dispersed across Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern regions. Most refugees are women and children due to martial law in Ukraine that prevents military-age men from leaving. Bondarenko expresses a strong desire to reunite with her husband, Andrij Dudko, who works as a drone operator on the front line. However, the harsh conditions in Kyiv, including devastating air strikes and bitter winter, keep her from returning with her child.

In Poland, large Ukrainian communities have formed in cities like Warsaw and Krakow, but this has sometimes led to tensions with local residents over jobs and welfare benefits. Bondarenko wishes to return home but acknowledges that Ukraine will be significantly changed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes that 70% of Ukrainians abroad will go back after the war, but surveys indicate that many want to stay away, particularly among younger generations. Her 11-year-old son, Danylo, finds it hard to remember life in Ukraine and finds Poland more familiar, though he has faced some hostility at school.

Additionally, Iryna Kushnir and Olga Yermolenko, who were high school friends in Kharkiv, found each other again in Istanbul, where they moved at the start of the war. Kushnir had hoped for a quick return home but remains in Turkey, now married and employed as a teacher at Istanbul University, while she left her 19-year-old daughter Sofia to study in Ukraine. Yermolenko works remotely for Ukrainian clients and stays in touch with her mother who still lives in Kharkiv. Despite her efforts to adapt to life in Turkey, she feels caught between her past and an uncertain future. Both women follow the war closely, with Yermolenko expressing fear when seeing news of missile strikes in Kharkiv and making sure to check on her mother’s safety.

With information from Reuters

Twisted Sister has canceled all of its 50th anniversary performances following the departure of lead singer Dee Snider because of “a series of health challenges.”

In a statement posted Thursday on Instagram, the heavy metal band said all scheduled shows beginning April 25 in São Paulo and through the summer have been canceled “due to the sudden and unexpected resignation” of Snider. The “I Wanna Rock” singer is no longer able to perform in the way that he used to because of multiple heath issues.

“I don’t know of any other way to rock,” Snider said in a statement accompanying the band’s announcement. “The idea of slowing down is unacceptable to me. I’d rather walk away than be a shadow of my former self.”

“The future of Twisted Sister will be determined in the next several weeks,” the band’s statement read.

The separate statement regarding Snider’s health explained that a “lifetime of legendarily aggressive performing has taken its toll on Dee Snider’s body and soul.”

Also posted to the “We’re Not Gonna Take It” singer’s Instagram account, the statement said that Snider “has had several surgeries over the years” to help manage his degenerative arthritis. His condition meant he had only been able to “perform a few songs at a time in pain.”

“Adding insult to injury, Dee has recently found out the level of intensity he has dedicated to his life’s work has taken its toll on his heart as well,” the statement continued. “He can no longer push the boundaries of rock ‘n’ roll fury like he has done for decades.”