OpinionOpinion byThomas MutchNZ Herald·13 Jun, 2026 05:00 PM7 mins to readThomas Mutch is a New Zealand journalist who has covered Ukraine war since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. He is the author of The Dogs of MariupolNew Zealand journalist Thomas Mutch has been reporting from Ukraine on the war, which continues to drag on. Photo / Thomas Mutch
I was woken up at 3am last Monday. The wail of the air raid siren in Kyiv is so predictable that hardly anybody bothers to go to a bomb shelter anymore. Often, it passes without incident, but last week the explosions of drones, missiles and air defence ripped through the
