Editor’s Note: We continue to connect with Pavel Kuljuk, our Ukraine correspondent. As Russia moves ever-closer to his home in Kramatorsk in the Eastern Donetsk region, Pavel shares his latest update and aspirations.
Three and a half years after the war started and I met you, I reached… I wanted to write at the bottom. But then I realized that this was the top. I can say that during this time I did a somersault over my head and got back on my feet. The whole world around me changed, but I remained the same. I did not give up my dream of becoming successful and redoubled my efforts to do so. And it brought results. This is what happened.
Since June, I have been working at a pet hotel in Kramatorsk and continue to do journalism in the United States, Australia and Canada. I started at the hotel as a gardener, working five hours a day, five days a week. But there was little money. The salary was only enough for food. So, since August, I started working as service staff. I look after dogs 12 hours a day. I clean up dog poop, walk dogs, wash rooms and dog cages, give medicine to dogs and more. After every two days of work, I have two days off. That means in a month I can do 15 days of journalism and 15 days of looking after dogs. My salary has doubled. Now only half of the money is spent on food. The other half can be saved. I started getting rich again. That is, I earn more than I spend.
But the most amazing thing happened in journalism. When I started cleaning up dog poop, foreign newspapers suddenly showed interest in me. The management of one of the newspapers decided to increase the number of articles ordered from me. But the main thing is that they allowed me to write about this foreign country and not Ukraine. Wow! This is a lot of trust. It’s all very serious. I interview government officials and other important people. Each of my requests for an interview is accompanied by a copy of the letter to the editorial board of this newspaper. And the people I ask for an interview see that the newspaper supports me. This is a step forward on my path as a journalist. And this is not the only step.
On Aug. 4, one of the newspapers based in Connecticut began negotiations with me about hiring a journalist. The editorial board needs a foreign journalist. The publisher is interested in the possibility of concluding a contract with me. After all, I can work as an independent contractor using a 1099 tax invoice. I hope the negotiations will be successful. In any case, this is the first time that a newspaper from the United States has expressed interest in the possibility of cooperation with my company, PavloKuliuk LLC. If I sign a contract, I will tell you the name of the newspaper in the next report.
Another, and probably the most important, event: We decided to come to the United States using the H-2A visa or some other opportunity. That is, we want to come as seasonal agricultural workers. We have experience in agriculture. And American farmers hire a lot of seasonal workers from other countries, mainly from Mexico and Latin American countries. Why don’t we try to work on an American farm for a season? My wife, Svetlana, agrees. So as soon as the war is over, we will try. I hope that my experience as a journalist and blogger can also be useful to some farmer. After all, I write about U.S. agriculture. For example, here is my article written for free: “The Surprising Secret to U.S. Farming Success.”
And my company in New York State can be used to sell agricultural products. In general, I am open to cooperation as an agricultural worker, journalist and entrepreneur. I hope we can come to the United States.
Surprisingly, it was working at the animal hotel that gave me the strength to want to be successful even more. The more I drown and sink to the bottom, the more I want to swim to the surface and not die. I am glad that I was able to become flexible and combine two opposite jobs. In unstable times, it is good to have several sources of income and plans for the future.
And the future is approaching. This is how I can characterize what is happening around Kramatorsk. The Russians are not trying to capture the city. But the Russian army is trying to encircle Kramatorsk. My personal opinion is that after three years of destructive battles in cities, Putin needs to capture large territories without fighting. This will demonstrate the power of the Russian army well. The current situation contributes to the Russian president’s plans. There are very few European collaborators left among the Ukrainian population because the Russians killed most of the Ukrainians who wanted to fight. The Ukrainian army feels a shortage of recruits. Weapons supplies are becoming useless because there are no people among the Ukrainians who would like to use these weapons. And the Europeans do not want to enter into a war with the Russians.
The war is stopping by itself. Soon there will be so few Ukrainian soldiers that the Russians will be able to seize large territories very quickly. Knowing the history of Russia, I can say that Putin will seize all of Ukraine. But it is unlikely that the civilian population of Ukraine will worry about this, since Ukraine can hardly be called a prosperous country. And Ukrainians can hardly be called a happy people. If the government could not do this, then this government must go. The people have the right to get a new government. Each Ukrainian will independently choose a new government for himself.
Svetlana and I have made our choice. Our choice is American politicians. Of course, the power of the United States cannot extend to Ukraine. Therefore, we want to come to the United States ourselves to submit to American politicians. If we like the American power, we will try to stay in the United States.
On the way to America, sincerely yours,
Kulyuk Pavel.
The post As Russian Army Encircles Kramatorsk, Pavel Finds Work in a Pet Clinic and Dreams of Earning a Visa to Farm in America first appeared on The Daily Catch.