Issue 2. Water
Two years ago this month, Ukraine experienced an ecological disaster when the Russian army blew up the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro river, leading to a devastating flood. In this June 2025 issue, we reflect on the notion of water as an essential part of life. How do we relate to water, individually and as societies? We asked a biologist, and we explored a water treatment plant. We collected some personal stories about both the challenges and the beauty of our relationship to water, rivers, the sea, the plants. We share 1930s photos of a swimming pool in Lviv, and one man’s dream of soon swimming in Odesa. We explore how water features in Ukrainian Soviet films, and we recall the life of the Polish-born photographer Julia Pirotte who during World War II resisted against the Nazis in the port city of Marseille.
This issue is about water as memory, places, joys and challenges. It celebrates lakes, lagoons, plants and wildlife which, like us all, depend on a fragile equilibrium.
