#ReporterTired

[dontforgetukraine]

Twitter Thread from Замаханий репортер (@/ReporterTired) on Nov. 17th 2024

"This thread will be in English, just in case someone from abroad wants to read it and understand a bit more about the war in Ukraine. Feel free to share it if you like. These are purely reflections on how daily news about killed people has become routine.

In journalism—likely in Western journalism as well—there’s a concept called “corpse-kilometers.” In one phrase, it would sound like: “For a reader to pay attention to a terrible event, the number of deaths must be proportional to the distance between the event and the reader.”

You’ve probably noticed this. If a car crash in your country kills 20 people, it resonates with you. If it’s 20 people 5,000 kilometers away, you might not pay attention. After all, it’s far away, in a country unfamiliar to you, and those terrible events barely touch you.

And that’s normal. People are naturally more interested in what’s happening around them because it directly affects their lives. Unfortunately, they care less about events far away, even though those events might also have significant impacts on them.

Now, about Ukraine. Since 2013, my colleagues and I have observed spikes of interest in events here. This lasted until around the winter of 2015. The reason was clear: first, protests against Yanukovych, then the occupation of Crimea, then the war in eastern Ukraine.

It all came to a halt after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the encirclement in Debaltseve and the Minsk agreements were signed. After that, the war entered a frozen stage, where it remained until February 2022.

Why did this happen? The protests against Yanukovych, who was actively pulling Ukraine toward Russia, escalated gradually: mass protests, the first brutal beatings of protesters, the first MASSIVE rallies in Kyiv, barricades in the streets, clashes with police.

Then there was a brief lull, followed by gunfire against protesters on February 18, and mass shootings on February 20. Yanukovych fled, and the south and east of the country ignited with pro-Russian rallies (if English-speaking readers are interested, I’ve written about this).

Next came the occupation of Crimea, where Russian military forces without insignia pretended they weren’t interfering. Then the occupation of Sloviansk, involving Igor Girkin (callsign "Strelkov"), who arrived in eastern Ukraine straight from Crimea.

What followed was the active phase of the war, with a dynamic frontline where Ukraine was reclaiming territories, generating newsworthy events. After Debaltseve, the war was frozen, and a frozen war doesn’t make news.

What’s more, people grow accustomed. To maintain audience attention on the horrors unfolding at home, the horror has to become increasingly massive. From 2015 to 2022, Ukrainian soldiers were dying almost daily along the frontline.

But this was almost unnoticed even in Ukraine. Daily reports of 5, 7, 10 soldiers killed became numbers, a routine. Everything changed in January when the media began actively discussing an impending Russian full-scale invasion.

About two weeks before the full-scale war began, the Russians ramped up shelling along the frontline. Ukraine was back on the front pages. Then came Kharkiv, Kyiv region, Chernihiv region. There was Mariupol. There was horror and shock.

Then came the de-occupation of Bucha, Irpin, Makariv. Yahidne in Chernihiv region. Mass graves of murdered civilians. These dead people in pits probably still haunt many journalists from time to time. Then there was the counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. Graves in Izium.

Ukraine conducted a successful offensive in Kherson. Uncovered torture chambers. The summer of 2023 passed in anticipation of a counteroffensive, which ultimately didn’t succeed. For a number of reasons.

Then there was the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Flooded Kherson. Villages near Kherson under water. Dead people who drowned because, on the left bank of the Kherson region, the Russians didn’t even try to help them. Hell, the Russians even abandoned their own troops to drown.

And then came the Russian offensive. Which continues to this day. Against this backdrop, news of daily missile and drone strikes gets lost – strikes that kill civilians. Every week, the Russians kill a dozen or two civilians. But this has become routine.

Because what are ten dead people compared to Chasiv Yar or Toretsk, which are being literally leveled to the ground? What’s the investigation of Russian crimes from March 2022 compared to Pokrovsk, which now waits for Russian bombs?

What are civilian prisoners, about whom we have almost no information, compared to all this? Hell, even Kharkiv, which is hit daily with guided bombs, has become routine. Not just for foreign media, but even here in Ukraine. For different reasons, though.

Because nearly every city in Ukraine is hit by drone and missile fragments. Every week. And people are more worried about what’s happening nearby. Unfortunately. For foreign colleagues, it’s hard to hold the audience’s attention, because those bombs fall somewhere far away.

More pressing matters include Trump’s elections. Or what the Labour Party will do. Or whether the far-right will gain votes in Germany’s elections. The war in Ukraine – it’s somewhere. And to keep attention, you have to find new ways constantly. And every month, it gets harder.

If in November 2022, 120 missiles fired at Ukraine were big news and a topic of discussion, I doubt it would be a major story now. Because what’s far more important is what Scholz talked about with Putin. And when those negotiations will finally happen.

Because Europe is tired of the war. And as a Ukrainian who sleeps every night in a bathroom behind two one-meter-thick walls, listening to Russian missiles being shot down, I find this both laughable and infuriating. But it is what it is.

So read the news about Ukraine. Read what Ukrainians write about this war. They understand Russians much better than wise Russo experts. Because we are the ones who live next door to the Russians. It’s us who spent ten years trying to negotiate with them.

Otherwise, one day you might be in for a surprise when Russian tanks roll from Belarus toward Königsberg, and the Russians wipe themselves with the peace agreements you’ve signed with them. Believe me, Ukrainians have had plenty of those over 10 years of war.

And if you’ve made it this far – thank you so much for reading. Have a peaceful day.

A few hours ago, the Russians struck a residential building in Sumy with a ballistic missile. Ten people were killed, including children aged 9 and 14. 50 people were injured. Surrounding residential buildings were damaged. Sadly, this is just an ordinary day in Ukraine.

This morning, Russians launched a ballistic missile strike on Odesa. There are casualties and injuries, but the exact numbers are not yet known. The flight time of ballistic missiles is so short that the air raid siren doesn’t always activate in time. Nightmare."