#sounds to me like the Ukrainians wanted to save their people

[lemon-tree-in-paperbag]

Are you fucking stupid? How tf are individual artists from Russia, often ones who are oppressed by Putin's regime themselves eg because they're queer (as many people on tumblr are including one of the Russian artists whom I know personally) responsible for the actions of their government? Obviously I stand with Ukraine but you CANNOT use a dictator's actions as an excuse for xenophobia. That's bullshit

Hey! You are so brave for writing this anonymously☹️☹️💗

So umm, here's the thing! I am not a xenophobe! I am a victim of genocide that is being committed against my country and my people! Against me too!

And hey! I can hate my agressor! Because THEY are destroying my home and because of them my life was ruined! Wanna know how? I had to leave my home forever! I had to live under russian occupation, had to sit at home for three whole months, had to turn off every light as soon as the it got dark outside! I had to live in the cold ass basement! I hate to sleep sitting up for several days in a row with my nervous dog in my hands and i could do it only when my mom wasn't asleep!

I had to watch russian occupants in the eye when i was leaving my hometown, again, for like... forever!😚

I had to hear shelling every night and day! I had to hide my ukrainian language in my phone and delete all of my information from my phone so i wouldn't get shot!!!

I would think how am i, a 15 year old, will be saving my brother, if something happens to my mom! I would think for every day after that: do i got what it takes? If the russians WERE SHOOTING AT US would i protect my little 10 y.o. brother?

BUT HEEEY of course not all of them are bad! Of course you know some good russians:)

I am not dumb for hating people who fucked me up SO BADLY that i still can't leave my house (which i will have to leave behind, just as my hometown too) that i still get scared at the sound of thunder and planes!

If they are oppressed, please, let them be my guest and do something about it, but i do not fucking care. Queer doesn't equal good, too, actually, so your comment about that doesn't make any sense

Dictators actions didn't kill them! But his actions and their silence OR support kill my people. Hey, do you read news? Yesterday a man had to bury his whole family because of "dictators actions"

You know what's bullshit? You telling me what i can and can't do, meanwhile i still suffer every day, and my friends and my family too, because of russia

I don't want to know about them, i do not care about them, i don't want to hear about them. In my eyes they made ukrainian's life a living hell. And world doesn't care about this and tries to clear their name

Shut up and listen what victims have to say, you illiterate fuck

Sorry for the rude comment😚 fucking stupid of me to know what's really happening

My dear western friends! Do not act like this individual here:) listen to ukrainians!!

OR if you do think like this anonymous PLEASE DNI, i don't want you here

Xoxo

[txttletale]

yo i really like your content and agree with you on most things but i don't really know what you mean with that last one. my friends from ukraine both oppose the war's existence but would rather not be violently annexed by an imperial power so of course they, with little other options, support resistance efforts.

it's really hard for me to understand what you're going for because if ukraine stopped fighting back it'd just get taken by russia. maybe i just have bad brainfog, but it's hard to understand what you're asking us to do and believe. should we try and take out both the russian and american imperialist powers at once? but that's unrealistic and unlikely to happen in the near future, no matter how much i personally support it, which i do.

i guess my question is, what's an actual realistic thing we should support in the meantime? we can't just pretend that somehow revolution will take out both american and russian imperialist interests immediately, so. it's like, well yes we should have a better world playing by better rules, but how do we do the right thing when we are bound by the rules now.

i have friends who have family who died in the war, and sometimes it feels like bloggers i otherwise trust say things that sound suspiciously close to "ukraine should stop this pointless fighting and give up." which i am aware isn't your intention, and i want to be an effective anti imperialist and have the correct and informed opinions on stuff like this, but i am having a very hard time understanding what you are trying to say.

i really promise i am not a concern troll or nato apologist or anything, i just also have personally been struggling with what to support and how to save innocent lives. i hate war and i wish we could magically create a situation in which ukraine didn't have to rely on horrible things for self defense. i just don't know what to do or believe because my friends would rightfully hate me if i said ukraine should stop defending itself.

i mean, first off: don't worry, you obviously don't sound like a concern troll or a nato apologist. this is an eminently reasonable question -- healed's law strikes again. & i certainly don't blame you for worrying that marxist-leninists are apologists for russian imperialism, because unfortunately many self-proclaimed marxist-leninists have been deceived by the frankly paper-thin figleaf of 'denazificaiton'--even as putin, puppet of the russian bourgeoisie denounces lenin & the bolsheviks & the soviet union with every speech he makes. it sucks!

first of all, i think the important thing here and the central point of disagreement is on what constitutes 'ukraine'. liberals and nationalists alike consider nations to be fundamentally one whole: that all the people of ukraine together constitute 'ukraine', and so 'ukraine as a whole' has consistent interests, and acts as a one--the ukrainian government represents this unitary ukraine armed forces of ukraine fight for this ukraine.

but the marxist analysis of the nation is completely different. from the marxist perspective, the nation is split across class lines. ukraine is not 'ukrainians', but in fact 'the ukrainian working class' and 'the ukrainian bourgeoisie'. now, of course, there are further contradictions even within these classes--there is a faction of pro-Russian bourgeoisie, and a faction of pro-Western bourgeoisie. but remember, we must apply the same analysis to these countries too: the 'pro-Russian' Ukrainian bourgeoisie do not wish to submit to Russia's working class, but to their oligarchs. the 'pro-Western' Ukrainian bourgeoisie are not opening the nation's economy to the European and USAmerican working class, but to their bourgeoisie. so the bourgeoisie are, in every case--even when split among themselves--only ever in league with other sectors of the bourgeoisie.

so, through this lens, how do we see the war in ukraine? well, i think that the union of communists in ukraine must have a far better handle on this than i, because they're living through it: so i will quote their analysis and then elucidate on it in relation to your question.

The puppet regime in Ukraine participates in this war in the interests of Ukrainian oligarchs, who have made themselves completely dependent on big capital of the West and NATO, who have turned the Ukrainian army into an advanced military unit of the Western bourgeoisie. The war is not about "the Ukrainian nation," not about "the Ukrainian language and culture," not even about "European values". It is a war for the united interests of the Ukrainian and international bourgeoisie, which coincide in their desire to destroy the economic and political power of the Russian bourgeoisie. No interests or rights of Ukrainian workers are protected by this war. Both Ukrainian and Russian workers in this war have only the right and obligation to go to the front and die so that one group of the world bourgeoisie defeats the other and gains more monopoly rights to oppress the workers, both in their own country and in the defeated countries. […] For the working class of Ukraine, this imperialist war has the most tragic consequences. It lies on the shoulders of the workers the role of "cannon fodder" and the inevitable deaths in the fighting, mass impoverishment, unemployment, complete restrictions of rights and freedoms for the sake of protecting the interests of the Ukrainian big bourgeoisie, the oligarchs and the interests of the Western bourgeoisie in destroying and robbing Russia and seizing its natural resources. This will inevitably be accompanied by the destruction and seizure of Ukrainian industrial and natural resources, including in the case of Russia's success. The same fate awaits the vast majority of the Ukrainian petty bourgeoisie. The big bourgeoisie has already bought its children out of the war and taken them abroad, just as it took its capitals out. But that is not the main point: the big bourgeoisie is profiting from the war under Zelensky, just as it profited under Poroshenko: stealing finances, making money from reselling weapons, supplying the army with uniforms, food, repair work, humanitarian aid, etc. In war the bourgeoisie makes billions of dollars, while the mobilized people have to be equipped and fed by relatives, friends and volunteers – which is clearly not enough. As in peacetime, but even more brazenly, the bourgeoisie is getting rich off the bones of the working class!

—Union of Communists of Ukraine, On the War and the tasks of the working class

that is to say--the russian army, which is funded by the russian bourgeoisie, is fighting to establish the exclusive right of that russian bourgeoisie to oppress and exploit the ukrainian people. meanwhile, the ukrainian army, funded by the ukrainian and western bourgeoisie more broadly, are fighting to maintain the exclusive right of the ukrainian and western to oppress and exploit the ukrainian people. already, ukrainian public assets are being put up in a fire sale for western buyers--(and of course, should russia's offensive have been as succesful as they'd hoped and this war already over, they'd be doing much the same thing for the benefit of buyers among the russian bourgeoisie).

this is what is meant by 'inter-imperialist' war. it's easy to say 'well, the ukrainian army isn't imperialist--it's fighting for the nation's independence!' but in terms of real economic interests there is no 'the nation'. the ukrainian army isn't fighting for the ukrainian working class (which of course includes themselves!)--the government that pays them and the states that equip them wouldn't do so out of any sense of interest in the well-being of the working class. we can see this clearly as the western imperialist powers now start to equip the ukrainian army with depleted uranium shells, which will poison swathes of ukrainian land and cause sickness and death among the people this army purports to be fighting for. the goal of the ukrainian state and army isn't to protect any working class people--only to protect its total right to the economic exploitation of those people.

it's this that the ukrainian state is afraid of when it fights not to cede territory, not the (surely real, to be clear!) brutality from the russian state that would face the inhabitants of any such ceded territory. in fact, funding nazi groups that operated in those areas before the war and will surely continue to operate afterwards, the ukrainian govenrment makes it clear that brutality against the inhabitants of its eastern provinces alone does not phase it, so long as the ukrainian bourgeoisie (& their western bourgeoisie patrons) continue to be the ones profiting off the region's people and resources.

elsewhere in the article the UCU observe the same thing that can be observed by those outside of ukraine by listening to the words of zelenskyy and the ukrainian government's allies--that even the goal of 'protecting its people' [read: protecting exclusive economic/extractive access to those people] has been sidelined by the dream of a total or partial obliteration of the russian bourgeoisie entirely--not for any moral or anti-imperialist reason, but simply so that the ukrainian/western bourgeoisie no longer have competition.

[...] the goals of warfare are changing. If at the first stage of the civil conflict the Ukrainian regime aimed to restore state control over the Ukrainian territories, where this control was lost, then at the second stage it aimed to destroy Russia as a condition for the existence of Ukraine.

—ibid.

so--now that i've really dug into the precise nature of this war and why it's being waged on both sides, i'll answer some of your points directly:

if ukraine stopped fighting back it'd just get taken by russia "ukraine should stop this pointless fighting and give up."

both of these positions, both the one you hold yourself and the one you worry about others expressing, assume that what the ukrainian armed forces with NATO backing and full-throated embrace of fascist paramilitaries is doing constitutes 'ukraine' 'fighting back' against 'russia'. but it doesn't--it represents the ukrainian bourgeoisie fighting back against the russian bourgeoisie.

so, the big question--do i think that the ukrainian proletariat should abandon armed resistance against the russian invasion? absolutely not!

genuine popular resistance against the russian invasion is heroic and commendable--i am under no belief whatsoever that in the face of imperialist war the ukrainian people should not arm themselves and fight against the imperialists. i just reject the framing of the actual war as prosecuted as constituting this, because, to go back to what i've already established, there is not in fact one 'ukraine' but two--only one of which constitutes in a mieaningful sense the ukrainian people. i don't believe (and neither do the UCU, whose analysis i base mine on somewhat) that 'the war' as you ponder 'supporting' constitutes the ukrainian proletariat arming themselves or fighting against imperialism on their own behalf, but rather being armed by the bourgeoisie and fighting on their behalf.

and obviously i'm not an idiot who's blind to the actual numerial and material realities. the communist, anti-imperialist movement in ukraine, just like in most of the world, is completely dwarfed by imperialism and its footsoldiers. 'the ukrainian proletariat as self-armed acting organization rising up and challenging both imperialisms and freeing itself from both sets of bourgeoisie' is not something that's gonna happen tomorrow, and it's not an immediately actionable plan--no ukrainian communist can wake up tomorrow and say 'well, today i shall hit the big proletarian revolution button'.

the realities are that as the meeting ground between two imperialisms, ukrainian communists have to make decisions about which one they can most ably fight, might need to temporarily align themselves with or allow themselves to benefit from the ukrainian bourgeoise state--but never support it. like any bourgeoise state, a communist should know the ukrainian state is an enemy of the proletariat. yes, the pressing material realities on the ground might well make cooperation with that bourgeoise state the best temporary option--but 'cooperation' should never mean 'support' or 'loyalty', and should be done only tactically with ultimately loyalties remaining above all else with the working class.

in fact, refusing to offer the government and army a show of support and valorization is a key element of creating the conditions--radicalization, agitation--that would allow the proletariat to effectively rise up and truly combat imperialism, rather than choose under which imperialist heel they would rather be ground into dust. don't support an end to the war on either imperialist bloc's terms, but rather on proletarian terms--understand that the state of ukraine is not on the side of the ukrainian people, except tangentially, in individual moments of necessary alliance. raise awareness of the true war, the class war, and resist the ukrainian state's claims to stand with the people when it pursues the interests of the bourgeoisie.

tldr: the anti-imperialist position is not that the ukrainian proletariat should not be fighting, or that their fight is not worth supporting. the anti-imperialist action, therefore, is to draw the most awareness possible to this division within 'ukraine' among the working class themselves, make them aware of the realities of the economic condition. this is of course the foremost anti-imperialist and communist task across the entire world, because it is only through creating organizations of the working class that will fight for the working class can international imperialism be dfeated.

i'll leave this answer off by adding what the UCU said about this very topic in the same statement i've been quoting:

We understand the complexity and danger of these tasks, which inevitably cause repression on the part of the bourgeois political regimes. That is why workers' and communist organizations will need to develop illegal forms of class struggle along with legal ones in order to set and implement such tasks. The UCU has been forced to conduct its work in illegal forms since 2014. Many workers' and communist organizations may consider these antiwar tasks impossible because of their organizational weakness and lack of influence on the working class. However, historical experience shows that a correct and honest formulation of the tasks of the working class in conditions of war – real, not momentary tasks – may not yield success immediately, but will yield gains as the revolutionary situation intensifies. Since the task of destroying capitalist social relations is an international task, the international coordination of workers' and communist parties' actions, including the joint elaboration of tasks for the struggle against the imperialist war of the twenty-first century for the sake of uniting the international struggle against this war, for a communist reorganization of society and world peace, is becoming increasingly important. Proletarians of all countries, unite! 

[dontforgetukraine]

Hearing it's medical worker's day just makes me think of all the Ukrainian medical workers that have been killed by russian double taps (when they send a second missile a few minutes later specifically to kill first responders, I assume you already knew what I meant but... just wanted to say to avoid confusion)

Just really awful all the people that have been lost because... you know... because they cared enough to rush in and try and help people who had just been attacked

Glory to Ukraine

Yes, I thought of them too, especially for this reason.

The other day I came across a quote from Andrii Danyk, the head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The number of killed and injured emergency workers is sobering, and it will only increase from here on out until the war is over. The fact they are deliberately hunted, like it's some sick sport, is horrendous. And it just shows the difference between the Russians versus the Ukrainians and all who stand with them.

And then I see an example of a stabilization point, and hear about what has to be done to evac the wounded, and what it takes to save them. I'm only watching this from behind a screen on the other side of an ocean, but I have to make sure I appreciate the gravity of the situation from the sliver of minutes I can witness vicariously.

I briefly cracked open the "Saints" book by Sasha Maslov today. On some of the first couple of pages, she says:

"...I don't believe there are living saints. I don't think there is a human being walking on this earth that is without sin or flaws. And there are no saints in this book. But each person on these pages is a saint to someone."

The very next section has war correspondent Nastya Stanko retelling her experience in March 2022 in Kharkiv. She was caught in another round of shelling while firefighters were trying to put out the flames at a market nearby.

"A young firefighter grabs me by the collar, pulls me close to his fire truck, and covers me with his body. After a few minutes, the sound of bombing subsides. In shock, I can't utter a sound. And it's not the shock of fear that I could have just died - it's the shock that a person I didn't even have a chance to get to know or say hello to was ready to trade his life for mine. His life for mine. He is my Saint."

I only hope I can be at least half as brave as them. But for now, I'll do what I can by sharing quotes and other content from Ukrainian voices. Maybe it will bring comfort to someone in Ukraine that a person from the US is thinking of them and trying to spread Ukrainian voices. Maybe someone on my side of the ocean will read something that resonates with them or make them realize the reality of someone in Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the Heroes.

[dreameroutofthewater]

I'm Ukrainian. I'm not sure how long I'm going to live. I'm not sure how long I will be able to see my home. I'm not even sure I'm really safe at any point, and at nights I'm listening to any sound, awaiting for a missile to hit my home and then for the sirens to blare across the city. This had happened before to other people in my city and I'm not safe from a sonic missile either.

I can't read news well anymore. I can't be carefree either. When I'm serious, I see how hostile governments of other countries are, and even when our people are dying, they don't feel the pain from it in their hearts. They can accept our loss and mourn our country if it falls, they're not fighting with us in a battle of life and death. They help but not enough, never enough. Then I see that my people can accept this life, they can allow themselves to relax and make mistakes, like they have forgotten that our lives are at stake. Then, when I try to relax, I see brain-dead and ignorant privileged people from places that had never seen war claiming they are the supreme justice and that everyone else is simply wrong. I can't trust anyone these days.

When I come to chat websites during air raids to at least make sure someone knows if I am killed during one, everyone there only offers me prayers and condolences. That's not what I need. I need money for my army, I need smart people, I need compassionate people, I need everyone to help fight this terror off. No god can save me like action of people can.

My nerves are torn, I'm losing sight of my life and my future. I don't know if I'm going to be alive. The thought of actually dying, in real life, after so many troubles and events, after existing and fighting and hoping to have a meaning...

I don't want to die. I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to watch how others let my life be destroyed. I don't want to be killed by missiles, by bullets, by smiling ignorant faces and consumerism, by prayers and condolences, by inactivity and ignorance of those who know they're going to live a full life, when mine is going to be taken away from me.

I'm Ukrainian and I don't know why I was born if I'm going to die in this way.

My hands are red with blood and I don't know anymore if it's mine, my people, blood of other people, or just a hallucination produced by endless stress and fear. I cursed this world before, I cursed fate, I know everyone has this blood on their hands since the beginning of times. I wish I never existed at all if I had to be a part of this.

I'm alone and I'm overwhelmed and I'm mutated from each day of this war. How scary it is to lift your eyes from the ground and see true death staring at you from the way your future should have been. You hope it's a mirage and keep going forward with all the strength that you have, but it's still there, still keeping you in its claws of fear. I wish I could get high or drunk to the point I would forget about it, but my mind is far too strong to let go of all the risks that it can't control.

I'm Ukrainian and I measure the weight of my words. From me depends whether people will know the truth, whether they support Ukraine or not, whether they feel hope and motivation or fall into russian propaganda. I don't have the right for a mistake, a right to be upset or angry, because I don't know if me whining too much in pain will cost me my life. I was 17 when the war began, soon, if death is a mirage by then, I'll turn 20 in less than 2 months. I began caring about my mental health before the war began. I feel my brain rotting and the black gooey sap spreading through my soul. I don't have the right to die, because that's what russians want for me the most. I don't have a right to end my own life because then they'll win against me. I don't have the right to be weak, emotionally or physically, at any moment. I have no idea what can cost me my life, nor do I know how to protect myself.

I want to stay home. I want to wake up someday and know I'll see the sunrise for sure, and that I'll see my home once more. I want to wake up and see a hopeful future again, instead of a dark death in my dreams. I want to see my family and not to be worried whether they'll survive the next month. I want to build my life and not have ground fall under my feet into an abyss. I want to choose my path, and whine about so many choices, instead of running away from one choice russians made for all of us — death and stuff worse than death. I want to listen to one song I heard a day before the war and promised not to listen to it again until the war is over. I hope I can allow myself to make mistakes without weighing my life on them, and finally find strength to fight for others, like others had fought for me. I hope to never feel like a mutated monster again.

[kamenwriter]

"Space Babies" and "The Devil's Chord" reactions.

Spoilers I'm sure behind the cut.

Space Babies

"It was a genocide" wait I thought the time war got trapped in a painting and then...oh wait the Master killed them all during the Chinbal run, didn't he? God we could just ignore that whole mess but noooooo

The butterfly gag...sigh.

"we made it...we went to the stars" like, I get the whole "hopes and aspirations thing" but when we've got billionaires trying to sell us colonizing mars when it would be a hundred times cheaper and easier to save the planet we're living on, I'd rather a solar punk future not a colonization future. Am I being exceptionally cynical? Maybe. These are just "reactions" not a proper critique.

I can only imagine how difficult filming with all the babies was.

Making the Doctor adopted and all about "embracing what makes you unique" is good Timeless Child damage control but I dunno the idea of him being a renegade of a detached society appeals to me more than him being THE ULTRA SPECIAL TIME BABY.

The AI might actually be an AI?

AND there's something mysterious about Ruby because of course there is.

Star Trek ass looking uniforms on the crew.

"The planet down below refused to stop the babies from being born, but refused to take care of them afterwards" hey now this is getting close to some proper Doctor Who.

"It's like a children's story" this is is a good set up for the mystery here's hoping they stick the landing. Now watch it being some alien that feeds of psychic energy and manifested as the babies fears or something.

The incredibly literal baby raising machine made a bogeyman out of boogers to give the babies a monster to fear. Okay. Acceptable.

I totally understand the Doctor empathizing with the bogeyman but why the babies?

The constant babiesSPACEbabies bit got old so fast.

And a fart joke.

And don't forget, Ruby Sunday is super special and not just some random person we can't have random people do incredible things in Doctor Who nope nope nope

The Devil's Chord

The visual representation of The Maestro sucking out music and eating it is some fucking comic book shit and I am here for it.

The Maestro starts playing the intro oh god don't let this character be meta don't let this character know they're in a story don't fucking lay on that crutch.

"What about my clothes?" Both of those retro ass fits would work fine in the 60s. I'll concede to the hairstyle change though.

...trying to visually communicate the Maestro's influence on reality is definitely a trick. Again this feels exceptionally comic booky (That's a compliment).

Oh that's right Susan was potentially killed during whatever bullshit killed the Time Lords during the Chinbal run.

I do enjoy a camp villain.

The Doctor using the Sonic to actually do something sonic. What a refreshing change of pace

Ugh don't wink at the camera.

"I was born in 2004" well I'll just turn to dust, then.

Power scaling doesn't just affect shonen series the Doctor has to go up against literal gods now...

Callback to the Sound of the Drums yeah okay.

"There's a hidden song deep inside her soul" SPARE ME FROM THIS TROPE OF COMPANIONS BEING SUPER SPECIAL.

"What is this song?" "Christmas" actually it's the Carol of the Bells which was originally a Ukrainian song called Shchedryk do your research.

MuSIC BaTTle hahahaha

DONT WINK AT THE DAMN CAMERA

I want to make this clear I have no problem with a big musical number at the end but making it a meta joke I wanna bash my head in with a hammer. I'M SO FUCKING SICK OF META WRITING.

So in summation Space Babies was kind of what I expect from nuWho nothing amazing I would have loved The Devil's Chord if it weren't for the "oh Ruby is some secret incredible thing" and all the metaphorical and literal winks at the camera.

[atinystraykid]

I posted 4,923 times in 2022

That's 4,923 more posts than 2021!

288 posts created (6%)

4,635 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@babychicklix

@atinystraykid

@passion-of-my-own-world

@sanchelinz

@yonglixx

I tagged 4,020 of my posts in 2022

Only 18% of my posts had no tags

#stray kids - 1,422 posts

#ateez - 780 posts

#tomorrow x together - 257 posts

#enhypen - 188 posts

#oliver talks - 160 posts

#wonho - 109 posts

#onlyoneof - 104 posts

#the boyz - 63 posts

#beautiful art - 56 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i think it’s weird how people only mention this related to abortion - it’d be a great way to help poor pregnant people in any circumstance

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

OPPOSE THE BAN ON TRANS ATHLETES IN IOWA

"We are asking Kim Reynolds, the Iowa Senate, and Iowa House of Representatives to overturn the passing of bill HF2416.

This bill invalidates trans girls and women as girls and women. It will inevitably increase rates of depression, suicide, and self-harm in queer Iowans by enforcing discrimination and violence against them.

Trans people need your help NOW. Sign this petition to show you do not agree with the passing of this bill."

233 notes - Posted March 10, 2022

#4

BibleBuild is objectively the funniest name combination ever. It could be the name of a Christian tradwife Instagram account trying to sell you an overpriced book about how marriage should be build on the Bible. It could be some really niche YouTube channel exclusively dedicated to recreating Bible scenes with woodwork. But no, it’s just two actors from the mafia gay sex show

611 notes - Posted November 8, 2022

#3

Here is how you can help LGBT+ Ukrainians now!

"After the invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, LGBT+ and rainbow families, as well as human rights defenders, are facing imminent danger. Many are trying to flee the country.  LGBT+ people were already vulnerable before the attack, and are now even more at risk of human rights abuses by Russian troops. Escaping is difficult, and the conditions are chaotic.  Kyiv Pride, Insight, and other partner organizations are providing support to help get LGBT+ folks safely out of the country and provide critical resources to those who must stay.

The next couple of days are crucial. Every donation will help save lives and provide protection.

Help local LGBT+ organizations on the ground provide safety, shelter, and support to Ukrainian LGBT+ people now!"

713 notes - Posted March 2, 2022

#2

As someone who has never watched KinnPorsche but follows a lot of people who post about it, I feel like I know the entire plot and could perfectly summarize what it is about... and then I see another gifset on my dash and go "What the fuck is this show even about"

1,791 notes - Posted July 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Something that horrifies me is that I keep seeing people who claim they support neurodivergent people and at the same time openly advocate for “erasing” people with Down syndrome. If “Let’s fight for a world without autism” makes you upset, if you can see how wrong it would be if people said “No autistic baby is a wanted baby - parents deserve better”, if “Not giving birth to autistics will save money and vulnerable resources” sounds like a horrifying take to you, then I really hope you keep that energy when people say those things about people with Down syndrome.

You don’t get to pick and choose which people with brain-based disabilities are worthy of human rights.

4,138 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[volja4ua]

why I pay less attention to Israel/Palestine

this will be controversial. If you send me hate mail know that I’m 100% prepared for it from both sides. Also I want to make it clear I hate Likud and Hamas and support a two-state solution.

I focus on Russia/Ukraine more than other conflicts (even the situation in Venezuela, when I’m actually Venezuelan and have met opposition ppl personally) for a few reasons.

Ukraine is f***ing awesome

My own latent racism, most likely

the fishing rod principle

so about the fishing rod principle. It’s the saying “give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats forever”. essentially, throwing money at the problem will not fix Israel/Palestine. If we give cash to either side they’ll use it to blow each other up. We can send them short term aid like food, but that is short term and runs into the fishing rod problem.

my policy for Israel is: we stop sending them munitions of any kind. Not a single US govt dollar to Israel. We basically pretend they don’t exist until Palestine becomes an independent country.

on the other hand if we give Ukraine enough weapons they’ll win, be a self-sufficient country again, and no longer need international help. We give them a fishing rod (HIMARS) and they can fend off attacks by themselves. Plus, defeated Russia -> Balkanized Russia -> Providing sovereignty to many indigenous peoples oppressed by Russian govt for centuries. Ukraine winning will help Russians as counterintuitive as that sounds.

I really do feel bad for the Palestinians suffering under Israeli occupation. I’ve kind of lost my ability to feel anything after seeing so much gore on the internet but as much as I do feel anything the situation in Gaza is sickening, it is also much harder politically to get it solved, and individual netizens can only help with band-aid solutions unlike Ukraine where we can crowdfund weapons to get the invaders out. The second Putin’s Russia falls, Ukrainians will be self reliant.

have you heard of something called triage. Imagine there are two guys in a hospital room who are dying horribly. One has terminal cancer and the other has been shot in the face. If you are a doctor, you are going to treat the guy who got shot in the face over the guy with cancer simply because that is the one you can save more easily. honestly part of the reason I support Ukraine is because I used to be obsessed with those “save the starving African child for 2 dollars” ads until my Nigerian friend pointed out the racism inherent in those. So I worried that as a white person, doing charity work in/for a nonwhite country was inherently racist bc I’m a white savior infantilizing the population, etc etc. So I abandoned such things until I found Ukraine. “Egads! A cause that I can support and not be a white savior!”

ofc people call me racist for being a Ukraine supporter but not an [insert cause here] supporter. But what I learned is that ppl on the internet will ALWAYS be mad at you for some reason and you can’t control the haters.

[laforzadelvoila]

Jerry Heil released her new track "Три полоси"

"'Три полоси' is a motivational boost. After all, as long as we dream big, we can overcome everything that life throws at us. Imagine: noisy dogs barking behind you only distracting you as you move forward towards your dreams. This song reminds us to stay determined and not let anything stand in our way. It's also a song about strong faith in yourself and your dreams, no matter how old you are. This is an anthem for those who want to stay young at heart and keep going towards their goal", says Jerry Heil.

Jerry Heil started writing this composition even before the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but after February 24, the song was filled with new meanings. And that's why this song is dedicated to the character of the Ukrainian people and has already managed to get stuck in the hearts of Ukrainians. Even before its release, the song went viral on TikTok and is getting more views and videos every day.

"It began to be written two years ago, but I could not understand what its main idea was. Now, I realized that this is about the stubborn character that unites the Ukrainian people. Even before the publication of the song, it was disassembled into quotes, and the line 'i'm on my way' became for me a symbol of courage and strength of spirit, which leads us forward in spite of everything. This line resonated with both the military, who posted a video on TikTok with this sound, and civilians", the singer admits.

In the clip, viewers will see a sunny morning near the Golden Gate, Kanivshchyna and a family dinner. These images evoke memories and warm feelings of coziness in the family circle and a peaceful life. Jerry Heil's mother also appear in the clip.

"I saved a surprise for the video work: my mother starred in it! Actually, I wrote the lines 'there are no relatives like in the family circle' and 'there are no songs like at home in the village' with my mother in mind, because she instilled in me love for my native land, taught me hundreds of folk songs and always said: no matter how much the wild dogs bark - at the break!" - Jerry Heil

• Source: Novy TV | Translation from Google •

[realiv0]

Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/2021/09/03/here-is-how-ukraine-pulled-off-its-daring-operation-to-rescue-700-people-from-afghanistan/

[ohsalome]

I expect most people who used to follow me have abandoned this blog. For those who might remember who I am - about a year ago I tried to spread information about a war in my country, Ukraine. Most of my efforts were fruitless. I tried to warn people who didn't have access to russian media about their xenophobic nationalist propaganda. For all my attempts to bring attention to truth, I was accused to russophobia and nazism. People were more interested in powerless Azov batallion than Izolyatsia concentration camp - the "Donetsk Dauhau". Hunting fascists in the USA while spreading propaganda of russian fascists. For others, I was bringing annoying negativity, and they chose to pay attention to more exciting subjects. Let that be on their conscience.

On 24th of February, I woke up at 5:30 from the sound of bombs exploding over my city. My beloved Kyiv. The next week I spent in the bomb shelter.

I see many westerners worrying about WW3 and wanting to sacrifice us in order to avoid nuclear apocalypse. Let this little ukrainian girl share some war-born wisdom with you:

Russians are cavemen. They do not understand the language of diplomacy. What you see as a gesture of good will they perceive as a weakness. Letting Putin get away with war crimes is not going to prevent WW3, just like letting Hitler occupy Czechoslovakia did not prevent WW2. He won't stop until his greed runs out, and his greed is endless. Europe is next. Even if he doesn't send tanks your way, he can explode any of ukrainian atomic stations. If Chornobyl 2.0 happens, you will not be able to pay your way out, because radiation does not discriminate between west or east, rich or poor, right-wing or left-wing. You're already in this with us, like it or not.

Current situation is as much the fault of West as it is of russian elites. But not because of the "agressive NATO" bullshit. It is because West let Putin get away with Georgia. Because West let Putin get away with Syria. Because you let him get away with Crimea, and Afganistan, and Donbass, and Africa, and every-fucking-thing his wretched hole of the heart wanted. Because people in Europe and USA decided they were ready to sacrifice human lives - as long as they weren't western europeans! - to save a little of cash on gas. The very gas russian stole from the indigenous people of Syberia whose land they have occupied centuries ago, but somehow this never bothered western anti-imperialists who got their funding from Kremlin!

Your worries about nuclear bombs will never, ever, ever, ever, ever have the same value as the lives of my people who are dying from bombings right now. We are fighting and dying not only to protect our home, but to protect yours as well. We are the only thing stopping the world from darkness. The least you can do is help. Demand your representatives to close sky over Ukraine, so russians stop bombing our houses and hospitals. Demand NATO to send us guns and military airplanes. Demand companies to withdraw their business from Russia.

Over these days you will see many russians begging for pity. "Wah wah, it isn't us, it's all Putin's fault", "we are simple people, why must we suffer for our government's crimes", "we oppose Putin". I am here to tell you this is all fucking lies. There is no russian opposition, because their "opposition" shares the chauvinistic views. They aren't against the war because they don't want to see ukrainians die; they are against the war because they have started feeling the consequences. Save for few people I can count on one hand, noone spoke up against war before the sanctions. And this has been going on for a long, long time. These "simple russians" have been oppressing ukrainians for centuries. They are the ones who mocked our language and denied it existence. They are the ones who spread the fake history that we are a made-up nation and are a "failed state". They are the ones who stole our history, claimed to be the descendants of Kyivan Rus even though the only connection they may have to it is the genocide of Novgorod people. They are the ones who spread genocide denial of Holodomor, so rampant on this site. They are the ones who supported occupation of Crimea. They are the ones to volunteered to join their army, who wrote the invasion plans, who spread lies about Ukraine to justify this war. They are the ones who turned the blind eye every time we suffered. Up to 40-70% of russians today - depending on your source - support the literal genocide of my people. They will tell you they didn't know better because of propaganda - that is a fucking lie. We have been flooding their infospace through every avaliable path, and they still choose to believe their rotten tzar.

In the end, I am leaving you with some useful links:

Where to read about the war in Ukraine in English?

https://kyivindependent.com/

https://www.bellingcat.com/

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/

https://informnapalm.org

https://twitter.com/Ukraine?s=20&t=tj8carLC9Qr9c9AkK6lM6Q

https://twitter.com/DefenceU?s=20&t=agZGX_k8x3PDOhhBR7bSww

https://twitter.com/Ukrostap?s=20&t=cS4vqp3hJrC-lfr2DDiVIA

https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M?s=20&t=-KIVOpICHyjOty-3HY5DDA

Where can I donate as a foreigner? (Thread)

https://twitter.com/xenasolo/status/1497577333267615750?s=20&t=unXXboUdEJ-cdWML8RtBig

(you can also follow Xena on Tiktok for general info about our war)

А тепер два слова українцям. Ми завжди знали, що жити в Україні тяжко. Але за ці пекельних 11 днів ми також дізналися, що Україна - це єдине місце, в якому варто жити, в якому пам'ятають, що таке гідність, справедливість і братерство. Мене, як і всіх зараз, ковбасить від глибокого відчаю до ейфорійного патріотизму. Але я відмовляюсь втрачати віру. Я знаю, що наші вороженьки згинуть, як роса на сонці, і ми запануємо на своїй сторонці. Я вірю в ЗСУ, вірю в нас, і вірю, що в пеклі зараз панічно розширюють, щоб розмістити всіх цих сучих синів, що прийшли на нашу землю.

---------------------------------------------------

And if any fucking cunt tries to clown under this post, I will fucking DDOS you because apparently this is what I know how to do now.

[k-s-morgan]

Hi! Just a general update + reply to asks I got. In short: right now, I’m fine. This night has been the best for me so far and I was finally able to sleep more or less normally. 

Once again, thank you. Hearing your words, getting financial help and all the useful information many of you shared is essential and life-saving to me. Due to a recommendation of one person from Syria, I went to sleep in the hall, away from the rooms with windows, and it did feel much safer. Multiple people gave me advice and even phone numbers of those who might be able to help me transport my pets to Poland - this means the world to me and I can’t thank you enough. 

Right now, I’m stuck in my apartment in Kiev because there are fights all over the city and down the roads. Almost no transport is working and we don’t have a car. Staying here is safer than leaving at the moment, but I have no idea what the future will bring. Many of your offered accommodations - this level of support blows my mind. I can assure that if I ever seek out your help, I won’t be a burden for long: we have relatives spread all over different countries, so even if we had to seek shelter, it would be very temporary. Leaving the country is the main problem, especially since I don’t want to leave my brother and father behind and no one will let them pass the border. 

Answering some questions: my family does have savings, but they are in $ cash. Ukraine stopped accepting it, so right now these savings are useless - that’s why I asked for help. With you, I managed to buy enough food both for my family and my pets to last us a month, and that made a huge difference. 

As for events in Ukraine: things are dangerous, but while this might surprise many of you, at the moment, I’m more worried about Ukrainians themselves. Our government started giving guns to everyone without even asking them for any ID. Marauders have already began robbing and murdering people/marking the abandoned apartments. There is also nothing romantic about civilians arming themselves - if the trained army cannot win this fight, they won’t either. The number of the dead and the level of destruction will rise, that’s all. Yesterday, a group of such people killed/hurt two parents and their children by mistaking them for Russians. Ukrainian army itself is now busy taking some of such people down, so it was a ridiculous and desperate decision. 

Also, there is an order for everyone to stay inside after 5 pm. Anyone who breaks this order will be considered a Russian. But people constantly move between their homes and the bomb shelters, at all times! Our shelters don’t have enough food and water; they don’t have bathrooms; there is not enough air for some, so people need to go out. This is not okay. The government also demands soldiers to blow up bridges. This is ridiculous, Russians will still manage to get here, even if takes them longer, but we, on the other hand, will be cut off food supplies for who knows how long - we will be unable to escape the city. 

It’s terrible when the danger starts pouring from every side, even the one that’s supposed to protect you. But on a brighter side, things are fine in my suburb. It’s a pretty quiet place located away from the center and the main roads; the existing military base was destroyed the first night, so hopefully, no one will bother much with us now. But since I was unable to sleep until this night, I still felt exhausted, terrible and scared. I even cried when my family went to asleep - every sound felt like a threat. Then I fell asleep myself at last, managed to stay this way for the entire night, and now I feel collected and calm again. I also finally ate something and began to read - small things, but at a time like this, they feel like victories.

I hope peace comes soon, all my family does. My cats and pigeons have no interest in what’s happening, they are as silly and lovely as always. And thank you again - for helping, supporting, and just listening. 

[doli-nemae]

Hi, folks. Decided to share some info on Ukraine situation. I'm not very good in summarizing this type of stuff, but I'll do my best.

First and foremost, I just want to ask not to post/like/DOANYTHING with post where is shown Ukrainian troops movement. It's a small thing, but it can save lives.

And my apologies, most of the official sources are in ukrainian. I'll try to find translated ones and will update with them.

So, now let's get into it:

At night, Russian Soldiers again bombarded Kyiv. One of the shots were directed into "Antoniv" factory (20 min away my home btw))).

(One of the source because it happened multiple times and KEEPS HAPPENING: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=290879059810759&id=100066660016222&m_entstream_source=timeline)

Russian soldiers tried to capture and loosed Zmijinij Island. When they said our border guards should surrender, border guards literally said "F*ck yourself". Russian soldiers captured island, all 13 guards are dead. Lately this day, island was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Those guards, as any our soldiers, are our heroes and have shown that we won't surrender.

(Source with video with english subs: https://twitter.com/EmineDzheppar/status/1497206485054636037?t=ImR57XCm8jEfQuGIP0r9Cg&s=19)

Diversity group tried to enter Kyiv. Most of them were captured by our troops.

If you think they are attacking only factories and strategicly important object - oh hell no. They are shooting everything and everyone.

They attacked kindergarten in Vorzel city, nearby Kyiv. There was 50 kids and BY THE GOD none were injured.

(Source: https://m.facebook.com/irina.venediktova.31/posts/5253762707969955)

They attacked another kindergarten in city Ohturka. Man who guarded building has died. One worker has been injured and two kids achieved shrapnel wounds. Everyone are at hospital now.

https://t.me/dsns_telegram/3924

A russian tank entered Kyiv. Entered the Obolon quartal where is no strategic objects. There's only shops and people's houses. Tank drove over a car with man, when he tried it block it way. Thankfully, man survived.

(Source: https://youtu.be/cXxOgzTcCnw)

People are gathering resistance in Kyiv and preparing for the worst. Some didn't even leave metro stations - it is used as bombproof. Same for people in Kharkiv.

People are assigning into territorial defense, taking weapons, preparing Molotov cocktails and waiting for Russian troops to come. I would assign too, but my mom would kill me.

And I want to make this one clear because I'm sure some folks will argue about it. It may sound like "ugh, people are using WEAPONS and are going to KILL other people??". Well, folks. These bastards CAME into OUR land. They want us to surrender or die. As you see, we have no intention to do either of these things. So, if you want to be angry at people - be angry at those who attack. Not those who defend.

So, let's continue.

Found a map of current situation. You can change language there if you need to. It's been updated and you can see our situation right now.

https://liveuamap.com/

People are constantly bombarded in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities. Russian forces has destroyed 80% of city Schastya (ironically, translated as Happiness). Our forces and people are doing incredible work by stopping Russian troops and showing them that they should go back.

Russia started to attack Ukraine from Belarus by the way. United with dictator Lukashenko who has been slaughtering his own people for their wish to CHOOSE a president.

By the way, just wanted to remind ya. We're still. Not. A part. Of. NATO. They haven't closed our airspace YET and I should remind you that Russia is using their aircraft very often and are bombing cities and villages.

Russia is still a part of SWIFT. German, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary and France are against banning Russia from there even though, man, if we'll fall - they will be next. The won't stop on us.

I should say, that Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are supporting this ban and I'm very grateful.

There's a lot of shit hapenning here and it's changing all the time. As I've been writing this, shooting in Kyiv has began. They call us Neo-Nazis, but that's bullshit. Russia has been terrorising our country ling before 2022 and 2014, they just hate us and want us dead. We fought for our independence for hundreds of years and when we achieved it finally, they just can't leave us.

If you're interested in getting more information - here are OFFICIAL information from our government. That's all in ukrainian, but if I'll find accounts with english translation in twitter I'll pin them here.

Presidents office of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/president.gov.ua

Armoured forces of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua

Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/KabminUA

Defense ministry of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofDefence.UA

Ministry of internal affairs(?) in Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/mvs.gov.ua

National police of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/UA.National.Police

State ministry of Emergencies(?) in Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/MNS.GOV.UA

State boarder service of Ukraine https://www.facebook.com/DPSUkraine

Center of strategic communications and informational safety https://www.facebook.com/StratcomCentreUA

Ukrainian land forces https://www.facebook.com/UkrainianLandForces

Navy forces https://www.facebook.com/navy.mil.gov.ua

Territorial defense forces https://www.facebook.com/TerritorialDefenseForces

And I've seen people, who wanted to help. Here are some places, where you can donate:

Savelife (they used to have Patreon, but Patreon decided to ban them yesterday just in time when they began to gather a big support. I could spent another hour ranting how hypocritic they are, but I won't take more of your time):

https://savelife.in.ua/

Redcross in Ukraine:

https://redcross.org.ua

National Bank of Ukraine:

https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi

And a petition to ban Russia from SWIFT. It doesn't matter where you're from, so if you want to - here:

https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/wegen-angriffskrieg-auf-ukraine-russland-sofort-von-swift-ausschliessen

Please. Don't spread misinformation. We're Not Nazis. We're dying here while Europe waits. If you don't give a shit about us and still think we're fucking neo-nazis think about this: we won't be the last. They won't stop on us. They will conquer everything and will do anything until there's nothing left but devastation and death.

AND SHOULD I EVEN SAY THAT OUR PRESIDENT IS JEWISH??

It's been a hard time. Anyway, thank you if you read it this far and thank you twice if you're sharing legitimate information about us and don't spread myths.

Stay safe. Love you all.

[suratan-zir]

personal

also response to anon

I will be honest with yall, as I always try to be. I seem to have started a war (this word will never be the same again) that I can't win.

I (as many of you too, I'm sure) can't stand injustice and lies. So I turned this blog into a field for a losing battle. It was simply unbearable for me to be silent.

But it's getting harder and harder to stay sane in the middle of all of this. My mental state is spiraling down. Remember, I'm still in Ukraine, I haven't fled anywhere. So sometimes it feels like I'm just waiting for my turn... when I see all these news. I live on the second floor of a two-story building, therefore if anything dropped on us, we have pretty much no chance. And as putin gets more and more desperate, it's only a matter of time before they begin razing whole of Ukraine to the ground, not just a few cities. I hope I'm wrong.

Please, don't send me any news, trust me, I've probably seen it before you. I know you have good intentions, I appreciate each of you.

But I am exhausted. Of everything. Anon who asked about Donbas - I see you, but I don't have the energy. There's simply isn't a single comprehensive reliable source out there, so I can't point you to it. In my most popular "long post" I specifically mentioned two terrorist acts committed by the russian forces. I could also mention Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, terrorists killed all 298 passengers and crew members of that flight.

I've even seen how they were bragging (in their group in VK) about "shooting down a bird". But then when they realized it wasn't a Ukrainian plane, they quickly deleted this post:

One thing worth mentioning - it was an 8 years long war. I'm not saying that not a single Ukrainian missile landed in Donbas, war is war. Ukraine had to protect it's remaining territories from the russian terrorists. But it never was a "genocide" of Donbas people. And it never would've happened if Russia just left us, Ukrainians, the fuck alone. My grandma lives in a small town near Pokrovsk, it's an hour drive from Donetsk, but it was and still is a Ukraine-controlled territory. I know what I'm talking about, none of the people from that region wants it to be captured by the russian forces. And you can clearly see it now, by how people from the Eastern Ukraine protest against russian invaders. Sadly, people from the occupied territory of "D/LPR" are mostly under the influence of the russian propaganda (not all of them though).

Until 2014, Donetsk was the richest Ukrainian city after the capital, Kyiv. It used to had fanciest boutiques, expensive cars, high salaries and the most important - great potential. Then Russia came and brought only destruction, poverty and grief with it. There is a playlist of evidences of the Russian presence in Donbas, but it's in Russian (maybe it has subs?). I don't claim that this channel is the most unbiased, but it has some great footage conveniently collected in one place.

Please, don't ask me to post anything specific. I am extremely tired. I'm not a journalist, I simply post what I want to post. Even requests for evidence of the innocence of Ukraine or the guilt of Russia are very triggering to me. How hard can it be to comprehend this simple fact - Ukraine didn't attack a sovereign country, Russia did. I was 18 years old in 2014 when it started. My whole youth was wasted in the war, and it only gets worse. Exclusively because of Russia. You will never understand it if you haven't lived through it. Back when I still had hope, in 2014-15, every sound of explosion was giving me a little reassurance. Can you imagine that when you hear an explosion, it makes more happy than scared? It was the reality I lived in. "What if they will free us now? What if they defeat the terrorist and things get back to normal?" But it was impossible. In a city like Donetsk, there would be too many casualties, too many civilians would die, Ukraine couldn't do this.

So we gave up on Donetsk and started saving up money to escape. Years later, we finally bought our own apartment in Ukraine. We can now start to actually "live" instead of waiting for life to begin. And this spring we'll have enough money to replace the old windows and doors here, buy more furniture, and eventually start the apartment renovation... Or so we thought.

Now we're spending money on the Ukrainian army and humanitarian aid. Now our lives are on hold. Because of Russia. Yet again. But we are the lucky ones. We are not in Kharkiv, Sumy, Izium, Mariupol, Kyiv...

I'm sorry, I have to stop there or I won't be able to stop at all.

[mariacallous]

I most recently visited Kyiv at the end of January. For International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27th, the memorial center had originally planned a conference, a ceremony, and the opening of its biggest installation so far, a tumulus-shaped building with Rokmaniko’s models inside. The installation wasn’t finished, and some of the conference events were cancelled. The office seemed in disarray. Several employees had left their jobs. In the library, two young staff members were sorting through newly acquired identity documents for people presumed to have died at Babyn Yar. When Dasha Dzhuromska and I walked in, conversation turned to the center’s plans for safeguarding the collection in case of war, and then to the staffers’ plans for saving themselves and their families. Would they flee? Arm themselves? Learn to drive? A Russian invasion was all anyone talked about, and yet it seemed impossibly unlikely.

European and Ukrainian dignitaries and several Ukrainian rabbis gathered in the tiny synagogue. The interior is intricately painted with prayers, blessings, and a menagerie of animals, all in the colorful style of synagogues in western Ukraine that were destroyed in the Second World War. Vitali Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxer and now the mayor of Kyiv, said, “We stand in a place where innocent people were killed. . . . We are a peaceful nation. We have not attacked anyone. But we will defend our land. And we will especially remember this day.” He spoke in Ukrainian. Moshe Azman, the chief rabbi of the Brodsky Synagogue, in Kyiv, spoke in Russian. “I want to address my words to all the world’s leaders,” he said. “Remember what happened in Babyn Yar. . . . It’s easy to start a war. Let’s all do everything to make sure a war doesn’t start. I pray that the Lord may place righteous thoughts in the minds of all authorities.”

After the speeches ended, the visiting dignitaries piled into vans that took them back to the center of Kyiv. It was snowing heavily. The sky was dark. From a distance, the mirror installation looked like a bottomless pit, the columns like birch trees. I walked down to the reflective field and stood for a few minutes, as the sky started clearing and a hint of blue appeared at my feet. There was no wind, no howl. The names of victims and the prayers sounded in stillness.

I walked away from the installation, past the remains of a soccer goal, into what felt like a half-abandoned industrial zone. It housed a hip coffee shop, the shooting range, and the sports complex. On March 1st, a Russian missile, possibly meant for the television tower, hit near the sports complex. It burned, and four people burned with it. Several people affiliated with Babyn Yar sent me video recordings of the burning bodies. A witness, likely a firefighter, can be heard saying, “So, Russians, who are you fucking fighting? This is a child.” Unlike the last war fought in Ukraine, this one will leave ample visual evidence.

The Holocaust Memorial Undone by Another War

[leeenuu]

The following is a Twitter thread from Maria Pevchikh, a Russian investigative journalist, that I transcribed here as the picture limit would've been exceeded.

"There is an elephant in the negotiation room. Its name is Roman Abramovich. Allow me to give you some context on who this guy actually is and how his participation in the Ukraine-Russia peace talks should be viewed."

It seems like we are dealing with a case of mass hypnosis or general memory loss. People are genuinely wondering: is Abramovich a good guy now? Is he a superhero who’s going to save us all? [A gif of Micheal Scott saying "No"]

There is nothing tricky about the Abramovich situation. There is nothing to discuss or wonder about. I encourage you all to use a simple and straightforward rule. If Putin likes something - it’s shit. You don’t want it, you should stay away. And Putin likes Abramovich.

Roman Abramovich is the reason why Putin is still in power. He plays a crucial role in sustaining Putin’s regime for the past 22 years. Abramovich is Putin's ultimate wallet, the ultimate source of bribes, a person who can hold and control strategic assets on Putin’s behalf.

This is how oligarchy in Russia works. Many years ago Putin sat all the oligarchs at the table and said: if you give up all of your political ambitions, I will give you a way to enrich yourself. Knock yourselves out, take as much money as you want, but do not question my power.

And that’s how it’s been for the past 20 years. They stay silent and uninvolved, and in return they get to become the world’s richest people. Earning their fortunes in Russia and living abroad. And of course, they have to share with Putin through kickbacks or direct bribes.

Let me illustrate this. In 1997 Abramovich privatised a state owned-oil company Sibneft. It was done at a fictitious auction with fake competition. Many years later Abramovich himself, under oath, called this auction a sham. The price he paid sounds hilarious now - $100 million.

A few years later, in 2005, during Putin’s second presidential term, it was decided that the state (Gazprom) wanted Sibneft back. This was the time when Putin got obsessed with consolidating everything under Gazprom. Abramovich sold Sibneft back to the state for $13 billion.

Buying something from the state for $100 million and selling it back 7 years later for $13 billion. That’s it. That's the whole thing. The whole business model. That’s how Abramovich, who was once the richest man in the world, got this title.

The second part of the deal was the bribes. Abramovich was one of the key early sponsors of Putin’s Palace. Sergei Kolesnikov, the whistleblower responsible for managing the scheme, said that Abramovich ‘donated’ $203m. Part of it was subsequently spent on building the Palace.

Putin’s first super yacht (Olympia) was also gifted by Abramovich. Another whistleblower D.Skarga told BBC that the yacht was paid for by Abramovich ($35m) and transferred to an offshore firm; the running costs were paid by the state budget (video)

The only reason why we know about these two bribes is because the two whistleblowers were brave enough to talk. Both are now in exile and wanted in Russia, by the way. Imagine how much more there is to discover. Twenty years’ worth of bribery.

But there is an above the surface part as well. When praising Abramovich now, in 2022, please keep in mind that he was once personally appointed by Putin as the governor of the Chukotka region and actively supported the abolition of direct governor elections.

That he, until very recently, owned Channel One alongside with the government. It’s the ultimate source of diabolical Putin’s propaganda, the main brainwashing machine that for twenty years has been telling lies and fake news to millions of Russians.

You can turn it on right now and check. It’s the modern take on the Thousand Hills Radio. 24/7 hate speech about every Ukrainian being a nazi and Putin being about to liberate the world by bombing maternity wards (where Ukrainian nazis are hiding).

Abramovich owned this propaganda hellhole for almost 20 years. Throughout the first invasion of Ukraine, throughout the annexation of Crimea. Abramovich was the channel’s owner when it claimed that MH17 was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter jet. And he had no problem with it.

Abramovich sold his shares recently. Guess who was the buyer? Putin’s best buddy Kovalchuk and the National Media Group, whose Chairwoman just so happens to be Putin’s gymnast mistress Alina Kabaeva.

Roman Abramovich is the most faithful and devoted of Putin’s oligarchs. His loyalties are crystal clear. He unconditionally supports whatever Putin does for two decades. Even now, during the war, Abramovich is there for the president, accepting and saluting to his orders.

This is what we know from his actions, twenty five years of them. And that’s why I cannot understand how on earth it is possible to suggest that Abramovich is a good guy all of a sudden. What is it based on? Has something changed? I didn’t get the memo.

Has Abramovich said something publicly? Made a statement? Gave an interview? All I see is him hanging around the Russian delegation in Turkey and the Russian officials being perfectly happy about it. This isn’t a good sign.

The best thing I found was a press release stating that proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC would go to some sort of fund “for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine”. I guess we should thank Abramovich for courageously calling it a war and not a ‘special operation’.

War doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s not like rain or thunder that occur naturally. SOMEONE STARTED THIS WAR. And this someone is Vladimir Putin, a longtime boss of Roman Abramovich and his pal until we hear otherwise.

I'm a firm believer in active repentance. I’ll happily retract my words once we see Abramovich publicly act against Putin’s will: call him for what he is (a thief and a war criminal) or do 'the unthinkable' and demand to free Navalny. As for now, it looks like a PR stunt to me.