#as if ukraine doesn't exist

[a---fire---inside]

no sanremo this year for me. not only because I hated the pointless drama over zelensky's presence, as if sanremo didn't have every year pathetic guests spewing pathetic monologues about social problems that ugh I don't think help anyone but ok. As if Zelensky didn't have all the right to give visibility to the tragedy his country is suffering by the dirty hands of ruZZia, whose propaganda is dirtying italy since forever and everyone is happy about it or unknowing and unknowingly spreading it even more. But because of the indifference the 99% of italian musicians and celebrities had and have towards Ukraine...when it's not more or less direct support for ruZZia, through the NATO proxy war narrative. Fuck them all tbh, the war showed their real shitty colors.

[swemtpotamtam]

ruzzia has hit a 12 floor residential building in Kharkiv killed kids that were playing on a nearby playground how long do we need to suffer for the world to fucking start doing something?? we deserve peace, we deserve to be safe, we deserve to live instead of blindly existing, thinking only of surviving for another day

[panimoonchild]

Russia doesn't deserve to exist in any form

"Yesterday Mykhailo did not wait for his father to come home. When he realized that his father was probably among the victims, he and his mother went to the police.

The man worked in a hypermarket in the decor department and was inside when the attack happened. The 8-year-old boy is a direct relative, so he has to undergo the DNA sampling procedure.

Rescuers extinguished the fire in the Epicenter in Kharkiv in the morning: 12 people died and 43 others were injured. 17 people are missing, including a 12-year-old girl.

"The number 17 is, firstly, the employees of the Epicenter who reported that they could not contact their colleagues, and secondly, several people who said that their relatives could have been in the Epicenter at the time. The number of missing persons is 17, and the number of bodies was five. Now we have found the bodies, as of 9:00 there are 12 of them. We have taken DNA samples from all the relatives who reported their relatives missing and are in the city. Now some more relatives are coming to the city to donate DNA," said Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional police.

Investigators and forensic experts have been searching all night at this site, the ruins of the Epicenter, for something that can be recognized as a human body. We are afraid that we will have to sift through the ashes to find the remains and identify the victims," said Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Investigation Department of the Kharkiv Oblast National Police. Team Vozduh: rescuers were forced to repeatedly interrupt their work to extinguish the fire at the Epicenter in Kharkiv on May 25 due to the threat of repeated strikes by Russian troops. The air alert in Kharkiv and the region lasted for more than 20 hours - from 08:58 a.m.

Don't be indifferent. Make Russia pay. Please hear our cry out to the world, keep spreading our voices, and donate to our army and combat medics (savelife.in.ua, prytulafoundation.org, Serhii Sternenko, hospitallers.life, ptahy.vidchui.org, and u24.gov.ua).

Also, you can help the Kharkiv region by supporting this fundraiser for electronic warfare equipment for the electronic warfare unit that protects Kharkiv and the region. Left less than 1 milion to close the fundraiser.

[twpsyn-who]

Talking a little bit about 'boycotting Eurovision' under Keep Reading, feel free to scroll down if is not what you want to see.

The most used argument on the matter of banning Israel from Eurovision is the fact that Russia got banned from Eurovision, which is the worst argument anyone could bring.

Kindly reminder that Russia didn't get banned because of the war with Ukraine. Russia got banned because many countries has threatened to withdraw from the competition. Sadly, that's a big difference.

Yes, the countries has threatened to withdraw because they support Ukraine and see Russia as the party in the wrong. That was their reason. EBU's reason for banning Russian was because those countries threatened to withdraw, not because the war was bad and Russia must be stopped.

This situation isn't the same. Why? Because many countries support Israel in their genocide. Because this time around Palestine is the party in the wrong. Because we're taught to believe that Israel isn't in the wrong here.**

Boycotting Eurovision won't work. There are people out there who don't know the truth and want to watch Eurovision. There are people out there who don't care and will watch Eurovision regardless of the situation. There are people out there who, despite having the facts, still don't see Israel as the bad guy in this situation and will watch Eurovision. Sadly, boycotting won't work unless everyone does it.

The only way Israel will get banned, in my opinion, is by going through the same thing as Russia. If other countries threatened to withdraw- and not any countries, but the ones investing the most in Eurovision, then yes. That will get Israel banned.

Otherwise? The only thing we do is hurt artists that don't deserve it. Artists who use Eurovision as a way to get more exposure and experience. Artists who deserve to be heard.

Don't vote for Israel's entry. Don't stream their song either. Heck, turn off the TV when is their turn to perform.

**This whole situation (the war, not Eurovision) isn't only black and white. Civilians die daily because of this, all of them from both sides. Innocent people who has no fault. Let's not forget that

[yeonban]

Thinking about how scared Nikolai must've been as a child after he first decided to go against God considering the Viy was a part of his childhood and the only way people ever escaped from it was through God's help... which he was guaranteed he'd never receive after committing to that path

[medicinemane]

.

[vorkerax]

absolutely HATE that Midnight Suns is not available in my country, I've been looking forward to that game for more than a year and I've been hyping it up for my friends and was in general so happy about it being made

Illyana and Nico are two of my most beloved characters in comics (I mean come on, a russian mutie dragged to hell at a young age and a an asian goth witch that had to run away from her family - they are basically me!!!)

the cinematics were great, all the promo I ate up and in general it was like a game made for me because I love turn-based combat in recent years

and now I can't play it?? y'all americans will literally send billions to support Israel but won't let russians who have been protesting and fighting against their tyrant for a dozen of years play a videogame? god I absolutely hate hypocrites

I will find a way to play it eventually but it frustrates me so much because it was the only distracting joy I've been looking forward to, I haven't been able to enjoy any videogames or other hobbies of mine because I am too depressed hearing daily about my friends and acquaintances in Ukraine getting bombed and having their electricity and water cut!!! I can't do shit about this war, P*tin has destroyed my indigenous culture and land and is now taking on other places and I've been pushing against him for years for zero results and I can't even have a single moment of joy in my life because it's all in vain!!!!! I can't even get out of my bed most days because none of my efforts so far have helped or mattered and I can only drown in guilt that my disabled ass can't do more! I HATE EVERYTHING

[tonya-the-chicken]

I open Twitter. I read shit like "Jews are not an ethnicity". I close it

[amerasdreams]

would be nice to have an American movie set in Ukraine to raise awareness/keep in the forefront of people's minds, in a positive way, show its not all about war, show the people, show the countryside and culture.

[youdontloveme-yet]

.

[shipshinaa]

If you have time please read this. Thanks.

Today when I was sitting in the cafe next to me a kid started jumping. It's a common situation, maybe a little annoying. But I started to choke. I had to grab onto my sweatshirt because I thought I was going to suffocate. Because the noise was remotely reminiscent of rockets exploding.

When I was 7 I thought "Why me?". "Why did I have to go through this, why did I have to leave home and live in fear, why was I deprived of everything just for being who I am?". Now I'm 17 and I'm thinking, "Why us? What did we all do to deserve this?" And the answer is always the same, always painfully direct and heartbreaking. Nothing. None of us did anything to deserve it. No one deserves it, no one should wake up to the sound of explosions and lie there thinking that if that missile hits your house, at least you'll be free from this hell. And no one deserves to go through that because they were just born. That they're just who they are, and they're proud of it.

To realise that this is now happening in more than one or two countries, and to more than one nationality is even worse. That people cannot understand and accept that EVERY nationality has the right to exist, to be in its own land with its own rights.

I know that on this account I don't repost a lot of stuff about Gaza, Ukraine or other countries. This is because most of the time I am in a state of detachment from reality, and it can be too painful to go back. But that doesn't mean I don't care. I try to do what I can, and I beg you to do the same if possible. Just a couple of reposts can already mean a lot, a little money can save someone's life, not supporting Russian authors and brands supporting Israel can lessen the pain just a little. But it will mean the world to those who are now struggling for their existence.

Thank you for reading.

[fromgoy2joy]

One thing I think that happens as we try to defend our existence in not only one specific land but globally as well is using the very real identities some Jewish people have as stand-ins for laughable stereotypes .

Two examples-

"When will they learn that not every Jew is some white girl named Rachel from Brooklyn lolol?"

"Not everyone came from Poland so why would we go back there?”

Absolutely, the diversity in Jewish culture is not as represented and discussed as it should be. However, that shouldn't find its place in the discourse here. yeah, there's more people than what American media depicts as the be-all-end-all of Jewishness. But that girl Rachel in Brooklyn is terrified and her community is being constantly threatened. Her "whiteness" or "Brooklynness" doesn't negate that. At all. Often, it excuses the damage when it does happen.

And what about those people who came from Poland or other Eastern European countries? Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, etc. Whose grandparents escaped- or those whose family didn't ? Where they were always considered foreigners? Countries that were so influenced by its Jewish residents that now have so few because those same governments and people murdered them ? And in that case, would it be acceptable for the descendants of people with barely a connection to where their ancestors stayed in diaspora to go back to?

I know people don’t mean it like this. This is such a weird time with everything that’s been going on. I’m not trying to go after people coping with bad jokes or quips. But let’s not canabilize each other ? Let’s hold everyone and their backgrounds with equal value and love as we fight this plague of antisemitism .

[suratan-zir]

Don’t you think that the public has forgotten about Ukraine and the genocide that is happening there?

Hi. That's a tricky question. If I answer yes, then people who do still care will be upset. When in frustration I write that no one cares, there are always people in the notes telling me that they do care very much. These people exist, of course. But most of them have either friends or family from Ukraine, or have Ukrainian roots themselves. There are always exceptions, but they are few and far between. It also depends on the country. I have the impression that people from the Baltic states and some neighboring countries still do care about Ukraine. It's a war close to their home, they risk becoming russia's next victim, and most of them have suffered from russia before.

The fact that fewer and fewer people care with each passing year is not surprising. The shock factor from seeing bombed apartments and flattened cities wears off quickly, it gets old, becomes a new normal. As we always knew it would. Since it's not news anymore, most of it doesn't make it to the mainstream media, you have to actively search for the war updates rather than seeing them everywhere.

Popular posts from the far-left where they compare Russia to Israel illustrate really well just how little people know about this genocide, about the russian invasion. How little they want to know. They write something like "imagine if russia did THIS in Ukraine, there would be immediate international outrage and brutal repercussions!!!", while in reality russia has been doing THIS and worse the whole time, not just since 2022, but much earlier, and not only in Ukraine. Some people close their eyes and cover their ears to live in this fantasy where russia can do no wrong, and if it did, it would have been punished for it. As a Ukrainian suffering from russian unprovoked aggression, this notion is really hurtful to see.

I'd say that being a Ukrainian on tumblr is even worse than being a Ukrainian on twitter. The genocide of your nation is mostly ignored here and if not, then often denied. (again, not by everyone, please don't take this the wrong way!)

While I was typing all this, I thought - why bother? You can simply look at my (or blogs similar to mine) recent posts about this genocide, look at the number of notes, but most importantly, see how many of those who reblogged are my fellow Ukrainians. The majority. It wasn't like that in the first six or so months of the invasion. So yes, people care very little, but I can't blame the whole world for that or else I'll go insane.

I have currently only a few hours of electricity a day and I waste the time answering depressing questions or thinking how to answer them. *sigh*

[k-s-morgan]

I in no way mean to be disrespectful, I hope you and your family are doing well and I’m so sorry for the recent attacks. I’m just ignorant and want to know what would happen if Ukraine surrendered to Russia?

I hope you are safe from bombing and air raids 🙏🙏

Hi! Thank you <3 And don't worry, that's a good question.

What I'm 100% sure would happen in case of Ukraine's surrender, even under the most optimistic scenario:

We'd have to give up the entire country, not just a part of it. Russia always comes back for more. It's been following the same pattern with different countries forever. With Ukraine, it got a pretty decent chunk back in 2014. That land continued to belong to Ukraine on paper only - in reality, it was fully under Russian control, and no one really fought for it any longer. Was Russia satisfied with it? No. It kept preparing and then attacked to overtake even more land. It will never have enough, so to give up now means to acknowledge that the entire Ukraine will cease to exist as a country, whether right away or after Russia starts another war against us.

Ukrainian language, culture, and heritage would be destroyed completely in the coming years. Our history - and the history of the world children are taught - will be re-written. There is a reason why the majority of countries that were a part of USSR speak primarily Russian. Russia keeps carefully erasing other languages and culture, it's been doing it for ages. It's doing it right now on the occupied territories.

Pro-Ukrainian activists and people of note would be persecuted, kidnapped, tortured, and killed. This is also a pattern, it happens everywhere Russia invades. I know many examples personally.

We'd be gradually cut off of the outside world. Like, Russia has banned major fanfiction sites; it's trying to block YouTube and other platforms. The transformation into a semblance of North Korea would be inevitable.

Ukrainians would be treated as third-rate non-humans on their own territory. Again, it's been happening everywhere Russia barges into.

Ukraine would be used as a military base to attack other countries, and Ukrainians would be forced to become Russian soldiers.

As for the rest, it could go in several ways. Maybe Russia would want to show how 'amazing' it is, so it'd turn Kyiv into a second Moscow, creating different well-paid positions and opportunities to suck up to Kyiv residents and to prove its hypocritical benevolence.

On the other hand, it could just as well turn the entire country into a concentration and extermination camp. Russia has been torturing, raping, degrading, and murdering our people everywhere. Stealing their homes, kidnapping children, etc. and etc. I have a huge number of friends, people I know, or their friends who shared their stories, and each of them has been absolutely horrific.

My Mom's colleague, for example, used to live near Bachmut. When Russians came in, they immediately began to hunt down anyone related to the police and the military and killing them or actually demanding ransom for them. They kidnapped this colleague's friends, a married couple, kept them in a dog's kennel, pissed on them, beat them up, and raped the wife repeatedly. At that point, the colleague managed to flee the area, and she has no idea as to what happened to them afterward.

This could very well be the fate of our country in case of our surrender since the world obviously doesn't care and wouldn't bat an eye at the millions suffering and dying, kind of like it's happening now.

So surrendering is dangerous because we might cease to exist, but perhaps we are just prolonging the inevitable. A tiny country with a pathetic level of support cannot win against a giant that has a ton of everything and whose allies keep sending it even more weapons of destruction. Oh, and let's not forget how Russia keeps producing more and more weapons because the US and EU keep selling it the parts it needs for missiles and other stuff, and how Ukraine, after seemingly getting help from these US and EU, is forbidden to use it to strike Russia back.

It's all a joke to everyone but us, so I honestly don't envision a positive outcome at all. In the end, as long as our heroes are determined to defend Ukraine, we'll keep trying to hold on. The future will show what it'll lead us to.

[dontforgetukraine]

"In response to attacks and accusations being directed at our film, 'Russains at War,' and myiself, I want to be clear that this Canada-France co-production is an anti-war film made atg great risk to all involved, myself especially. I unequivocally believe that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, illegal and acknowledge the validity of the International Criminal Court investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. The suggestion that our film is propaganda is ludicrous given that I'm now at risk of criminal prosecution in Russia. I also understand and empathize with the pain and anger that the subject matter may provoke in those who have suffered from this conflict. My mother emigrated to Canada, from Russia, so that we could live in a country that is devoted to freedom of expression and human rights. My hope is that our film can be assessed and discussed based on its scope and not agendas and assumptions beyond its frame, and that ultimately such discussions contribute to the war's end." —Anastasia Trofimova, Director/Producer, Russians at War (Source)

Bullshit. She's a director and producer for RT with most if not all of her films funded by RT. I guess she apparently wasn't vetted by the Canada-France co-producers.

Even if promoting Russian propaganda wasn't her intention, it can't be separated from the content. The damn trailer has soldiers saying propaganda narratives in it. (Kyiv Independent)

"Russia and Ukraine have always been inseparable. I miss the brotherly Union" reinforces the false narrative that Ukraine cannot exist as an independent state, that Russia and Ukrainian history are inseparable. Even Putin has said similar things.

“I came (to war) today so that my kids don’t go tomorrow,” conveying the belief that their military aggression in Ukraine is somehow just.

"An order was given. We went." Ah, yes, I was just following orders. Where have we heard that one before, I wonder. Not only that, it reinforces the narrative that ordinary Russians are powerless and blameless in this conflict. This isn't their war, but Putin's war. Fuck that. We know many sign up willingly such as for the money or a clean slate if they are a convict.

You can't separate the propaganda ordinary russians have been stewing in for decades and don't fight back against from this film, sweetheart. It's part of the damned context and you don't get to ignore that. Either she actually realizes that but doesn't want to say it, or she's a useful idiot. It doesn't matter which, because the result is the same.

"The fog of war is so thick that you can't see the human stories its made of."

Yes we can! This isn't the era of WW2. We can see it on Telegram! All the war crimes that are willingly committed and recorded and posted pridefully! All the ethnic slurs said to Ukrainians! All the interviews between journalists and POWs. The translations by volunteer translators showing what "ordinary Russians" on the street actually think about Ukrainians and the war. Even what the families of russian soldiers think. Never before have these stories been more accessible. That's not agendas or assumptions.

We. Can. See. It.

Just because you don't like what's in the information space doesn't mean it's not supremely relevant to the topic you're trying to shape into a narrative.

[heedzhee-art]

more of my yapping about the fandom-given hetalia Ukraine name

I don't like the Katyusha Ukraine because in my opinion it doesn't suit her, and people constantly use the name incorrectly. basically, Katyusha is like a playful version of "Kateryna/Katya", but people write it like a formal first name pretty often (Katyusha Chernenko), no blame since it comes from a place of unfamiliarity with slavic languages, it's just a bit annoying. plus the word is associated with that one russian song that became popular during World War II god it just doesn't suit her at all in my opinion 😭

"Katyusha" is a diminutive form of the name Kateryna, except it's of russian origin; in Ukrainian the diminutive forms of the name are "Katrusya", "Katerynka", or less commonly "Katrunya"

historically, the russian empire and later the soviet union promoted russian at the expense of Ukrainian, leading to the suppression of Ukrainian culture and language. of course, some Ukrainians use Katyush/Katyusha as playful nicknames, because the blending of Ukrainian and russian, that's been caused by reoccurring russification, migration, and political influence, lead to mixed usage in everyday speech – it's a normal thing (surzhyk). it's not a crime to use this word or anything, I just find it ironic that the character that represents a nation constantly oppressed by russian imperialism, in hetalia only exists as a dependant and less important character to give russia more endearing relationships and make him more interesting, and then the Japanese fandom coincidentally has also chosen the russian word for her name (I assume it's after that popular soviet song)

really I feel there's not much Ukrainian about canon hetalia Ukraine, which seems to be a very common feeling among many of my Ukrainian friends who know about the character :/ they think she's cute and pretty, but when it comes to national identity and culture, she is not relatable even on a stereotypical level, and has little depth as a character

anyway, if you want some Ukrainian first names, here's a list of the ones I think sound fitting (SUBJECTIVE OPINION 😡)

🇺🇦🔱🌻🍲🇺🇦🌾🌻🍞🇺🇦🍲🌾

Myroslava (love this one) - slavic origin, a combination of мир and слава, meaning peace and glory. it suits resilient and strong people

Olha/Olya (ОЛЯ UA!!!!!!!) - scandinavian origin (ukr. variant of Hélga). yea it's a really old and really common name that associates with the Kyivan Rus era, anyway I use it because of a meme and due to every Olya I've met building this collective Olya in my head that's literally how I also see Ukraine. she's such an Olya. it's hard to explain

Olena (not Olyena) - greek origin (ukr. variant of Helénē) came to Ukrainian through Church Slavic "Yelena" (not Yelyena)

Lesya - Ukrainian name deriving from "Olesya" which in turn derives from "Oleksandra". I'm very biased about it because it's one of my favourite female names, and also many Ukrainians associate it with Lesya Ukrayinka, which is the self-given title of an outstanding Ukrainian writer, translator and cultural figure

Halyna - likely greek origin and comes from "galēnē". I like it because I get to call her Halynka/Halya, I think it sounds cute

Tetyana - common slavic name, likely of roman origin, it just has a tender and pretty sound to it

these names are common in some or all other slavic languages, differing in varied phonetics

😑 I am NOT gatekeeping people from calling her "Kateryna", I just personally dislike Katyusha or russian Yekatyerina for her, and in my opinion the old russian-speaking fandom did a better job naming her Olha, even if that popularized the russian transcription for this same name (Olga)

my Ukraine is named Olha Tkachenko. I just like it the most and I've kind of grown used to it. whateva

I will kiss you.