"Want some pancakes?": Ukrainians are moved by welcome given to Armed Forces of Ukraine in liberated Balakliia
MYKHAILO ZAHORODNII – FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 2022
On 8 September, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city of Balakliia in Kharkiv Oblast.
Shortly after, social media was flooded with videos showing Ukrainian soldiers being welcomed in the city, which had been under occupation for six months.
Serhii Filimonov, the commander of Honor, a Special Operations Forces unit, posted one of these videos.
In the video, locals are offering the soldiers homemade pancakes.
"Just in case, stay in the shelter a little bit longer because the Russians could attack again," the Ukrainian soldiers warn them.
"We have some pancakes left, do you want to try them?" asks one of the women, greeting the Ukrainian soldiers.
"A bit later, a bit later," the soldiers reply.
Ukrainian social media found it very moving, and there was a huge response to the locals offering their pancakes to the soldiers.
"From now on, homemade pancakes, with which a Ukrainian woman wants to feed someone else’s children, are the symbol of our freedom for me. This is the strength of our nation, when every child is your own, even if it’s a grown man with a machine gun," said Mariana Reva, a social media user.
"They were under occupation for six months, with empty shelves in the shops, and yet the first thing they said to our soldiers who liberated the city was, ‘We have some pancakes left, do you want some?’" Olenka Stetsenko wrote.
"I’m making pancakes today. And suddenly I’m like, ‘Ah, pancakes! Let that be the taste of our future victory’," wrote Nataliia Bushkovska, a reporter.
Other videos apart from this one have started to emerge on social media, showing locals in Balakliia joyfully welcoming the Ukrainian soldiers who liberated the city.
— Сунь Цзи 2.0 (@necyryl) September 8, 2022
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