Mother & daughter, rural settlement, Southern Ukraine, February 18, 2026

The settlements around Posad-Pokrovske (Посад-Покровське), located to either side of the Mykolaiv-to-Kherson 'highway of death' have the distinction of being the font line twice: Early in the 2022 russian invasion towards Mykolaiv, and again during Ukrainian liberation in November 2022. In between, those who did not evacuate, lived through a brutal russian occupation regime that killed, kidnapped and disappeared many. Less than 10% of the pre-invasion population has returned, and they are clearing

land mines and rebuilding. This reconstruction is now threatened by advancing russian drone attacks and fear of what comes next.