Survival lessons from Ukraine's civil war

Many readers will be familiar with Ferfal, who's the author of the blog 'Surviving In Argentina' and two books on that and related subjects.  Now he's distilled lessons being shared by those who've survived the bitter, savage civil war in the Ukraine.  Here's an excerpt.

The war in Ukraine is a tragic event but it’s one that we can all learn from. Nothing provides as much valuable information as real world situations where ordinary people are forced to deal with extraordinary events. At the end of the day, the war in Ukraine gives us plenty of examples of what works and what doesn’t, and while personal experience is important, the wise person learns from other people’s mistakes so as to not repeat them himself.

There are several articles explaining what people are going through in eastern Ukraine right now ... Using this information, here are twelve important lessons based what has happened so far in Ukraine:

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2)  Cover the basics. Food, water, shelter and medicines.

In various parts of eastern Ukraine, People are suffering the lack of water, electricity and food shortages. You need to store food, food that requires no refrigeration and little or no cooking. You need water, not just a water filter (which you should have as well) but actual jugs of water. For true emergencies and survival situations, just like you can’t have too much food you can’t have too much water. Have a well, have a river, if nothing else keep an eye out for large barrels on sale and keep some full of water. Even the jugs for carrying water become valuable. Have a good supply of medicines: ibuprofen, vomit and diarrhea medicine, liquid ibuprofen for children, bandages, diapers, formula and antibiotics. Antibiotics are the difference between life and death when you need them. Have lanterns, flashlights and lots of batteries. Get and emergency crank radio. Get a solar charger for your phone and batteries. Have alternative means of cooking and heating. A wood burning stove may do the trick, but make sure you always keep extra wood stored for emergencies. Maybe you’re lucky enough to still have power, if so an electric burner can be put to good use then, saving other fuels for when power goes out. Have extra fuel in storage for your vehicle, enough to make it to your potential bug out location in case you have to leave in a hurry. Have a tent and sleeping bags. These can be used not only for sleeping in tents, but also if you happen to find yourself in a refugee camp during winter or in an unfurnished flat after evacuation or if you’re staying with friends or family.

In a shelled city, underground is the only safe place to be, to some extent at least. An actual bunker would be ideal, but people try finding shelter anywhere underground. In buildings, windows and doors are covered with sandbags and people sleep in the interior room away from exterior walls and windows. Windows never survive shelling. The broken glass makes it impossible to stay warm in winter. Plastic sheeting can sometimes be used to close openings and still allow light in, but this is far from an ideal solution and he loss of heat is substantial.

. . .

6)  Guns can save you, but they can also get you killed.

Are you fighting along with one of the factions involved? If not, then make sure you’re not confused with one. If you just want to be left alone, then don’t openly carry a gun. Openly carrying a weapon means you are a fighter on either side of the conflict. If you’re not with either one, BOTH will consider you an armed enemy. At the end of the day a gun can save your life, but in a world of no easy black and white answers a gun can also get you killed. Keep any weapons concealed, and be ready to ditch them, sell them or cache them depending on the situation you are involved in. Just going gun-ho is not the one and only answer to all problems.

There's much more at the link, and in the second article in the series.  Both are highly recommended reading.

Peter