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Russian Invasion Of Ukraine - Blog Posts
I’m very tired. you probably heard that Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Dam to slow Ukraine’s counter offensive. here’s something I didn’t quite realize: since this February, the Russians operated the dam in juuuuust the right way so that as much water would build up as possible when the snow melted and spring showers started. and then they blew the whole thing up.
40,000 people may need to be evacuated. I don’t really have the energy to say anything else right now.
Hospitallers Medical Battalion: actual angels can confirm. they’re combat-zone medical services - you know how humanitarian groups like MFS and Red Cross have to pause operations due to the Russians fucking shooting at humanitarian zones? yeah, these guys don’t pause for bullets, they fucking walk into them and they bring out anyone they can.
Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation: you can choose from a number of various fundraiser projects here, if you’re feeling particularly picky. for those of you who balk at the idea of supporting anything military just please remember that things like vehicles and drones aren’t just for military use, they’re also for evacuation and finding the wounded and they’re fucking vital.
KSE Foundation: similar to the above, KSE has multiple projects you can choose from to donate to. looking at it right now, one of the projects with the lowest amounts of money raised thus far - despite being started in April - is Seeds for Ukraine, which will help Ukraine recover from the ecological devastation Russia has been wreaking (and with Ukraine, the countries that rely on Ukraine’s grain exports that Russia keeps trying to steal).
Come Back Alive: do these guys even need the introduction? they’re Come Back Alive. I’m kissing all of them.
United24: Zelenskyy’s brain child, and the official fundraising platform of Ukraine. Mark Hamill recommends the fundraisers for drones in particular.
UAnimals: Nova Kakhovka’s zoo got… pretty much completely swept away. all zoo residents except the birds have drowned. UAnimals has tried throughout the occupation to keep the animals safe, and they’ve been reporting on the status of the zoo. I don’t really know what to say except that I hope they’re able to save the pets and strays in the towns along the river.
You can find NGOs specific to evacuation efforts in this post; please signal boost it as well. I’ve listed them but am leaving the links for the op post.
Ukrainian FireFighters Foundation
Helping To Leave
VOSTOK SOS
That is what ruzzians did with my house recently.
8th of July, 2024. ruzzian terrorists bombed many buildings of Kyiv, including Okhmatdyt hospital. however, let me show you what they did to my house that very day (the hospital is kinda close to us). I survived the first wave of rockets on my floor, I also monitored the next one, but sadly did not have time to get to a safe place in the elevator. in front of my eyes, under extremely powerful explosions, the neighbour's door flew off its hinges, the ceiling crumbled (did not fall), and the entire floor was covered in a fog of dust. speaking nervously, most likely delusional, I went down (it was also dangerous to do, NEVER DO THAT, PLEASE). I picked up a neighbor’s girl (a teenager) on the floors below, whom I thought I left in the house where the door was broken (I was afraid, I аm sorry, I was afraid to come closer, I was only thinking about myself); well...everything went well: the girl managed to go down the stairs before the rocket detonated. the neighbors were scared, a few of them were crying, we had an injured child (of preschool age, her temple was covered in blood), I filmed a little of what was on the street. my hands were shaking, I could not call anyone, I just mumbled something. my relatives came as fast as they could (I live with one of them), they even dared to go up to the apartment, clean it up a bit, and then we left the house and now live in another one.
it is temporary, of course. yesterday, I went to clean the house (as you can see in the video), it is almost clean of glass and pieces of walls. we are going to fix the windows ourselves, because it will be 100 years before the state does them. however, this bittersweet memory of how I almost died at home (it was a cruise rocket...the ballistics would have buried us all alive) would never allow my already shaky mental state to recover.
I have been trying to shout at people for a long time about two things: ruzzia must be destroyed; Ukraine must receive comprehensive assistance. I don't care how many kidneys I will later sell to the USA, Britain or Germany to thank for the fact that my country will live in peace, I am ready for anything, as long as children stop dying in front of my eyes. I heard the moaning of people under the rubble, I regretted that I was living instead of the dead. we are not a third world country. we deserve to exist, and fucking ruzzians are not allowed to decide our fate.
Russians don't give love to their children, but they steal and re-educate Ukrainian children with such perverse fanaticism that kids even can't find reasons to live in Russian family
Another artwork I made in college and never got to post. Was relevant then about russians... Became relevant for americans now too... a shame Feel free if you wanna copy or share. I don`t care for credit since I count this as some good old political anti-imperialist caricature/propaganda. Though the ones who it portrays, will not be the ones who ever recongnize their reflection.
Why would a country that was just attacked 3 years ago (11 actually), be the one to give up having any military defence?🤔 Why SHOULD a country that was just attacked by an agressor (that is still in power), be the one to give up any military defence? To not be a threat? To not be a threat to who? An agressor? An abuser? An opressor? God forbid you have any ability to fight back or pose any threat to the attacker.
sO putin agreed to possible ceasfire... but the rules are that Ukraine can't: - do moblization - do training - receive weapons during that ceasfire... 🤔 Huh... So its "We are at peace... but you have to be in a MAX vulnerable and unpreperred position in case i (defintely dont) attack you again" "We are at peace... but i don`t trust you to have any ability or resource to defend yourself... It`s a danger to me (In a case where i attack you)"
"I will stop hitting you... but you have to put down the pepper spray, you cant hold it in your hand... and you cant keep keys in your pocket either. No you cant go to self defence or the gym. No you cant get stuff from your friends either, why would you need to... In fact you cant own a pepper sparay at all, you wouldn`t need it"
sO putin agreed to possible ceasfire... but the rules are that Ukraine can't: - do moblization - do training - receive weapons during that ceasfire... 🤔 Huh... So its "We are at peace... but you have to be in a MAX vulnerable and unpreperred position in case i (defintely dont) attack you again" "We are at peace... but i don`t trust you to have any ability or resource to defend yourself... It`s a danger to me (In a case where i attack you)"
sO putin agreed to possible ceasfire... but the rules are that Ukraine can't: - do moblization - do training - receive weapons during that ceasfire... 🤔 Huh... So its "We are at peace... but you have to be in a MAX vulnerable and unpreperred position in case i (defintely dont) attack you again" "We are at peace... but i don`t trust you to have any ability or resource to defend yourself... It`s a danger to me (In a case where i attack you)"
Hello, everyone! 👋
I realise that it may be too early to ask for help for something like this, but I can't stand living in Kharkiv anymore. My anxiety is growing every day, and the constant pressure from one of my parental figures doesn't make the situation any better I'm actively taking commissions for an unlimited period, and I'm opening a donation to raise money to go to my grandfather. I would be grateful for any help, even just sharing this post, as russia continues to bomb and kill Ukrainian civilians (which is why I am leaving in a first place)
Glory to Ukraine! 💙💛
Made this sticker when we had blackouts and no electricity/water here in Ukraine. It is fine where i live now, but there are othere regions that still have it very tough :/
ukraine is incompatible with russian national myth that enjoys the exclusive claim to the history of rus and the city of kyiv. so it's about history then, you may think. well, no, in truth it has nothing to do with history. what happened in the early medieval past is completely irrelevant. the existence of ukraine today, with her culture, language, identity and the city of kyiv as her capital, neatly situated in the heartland of ukrainian classicism, populated with visual and conceptual ukrainian archetypes, is what incompatible with russian national myth. the real history of kyiv is largely irrelevant to how both ukrainians and russians see it, but if for us, it's just our capital, for russians, real or not real, it's where conceptually their state began, where orthodoxy came from, where writing came from. all roads lead to rome, first, second or third, but before that, they lead to kyiv. and yet it is occupied by a different ethnicity. how come? it prevents them from exploiting this land for the legitimisation of the russian empire as they constructed it
they have tried to accommodate it. in the empire, ukrainians did not exist. everyone knew we did. yet we didn't. we were russians with an asterisk leading to the bottom of the page where you could read *little so we could be distinguished on the census from the russians we already were. our language did not exist, and it was banned dozens of times precisely for not existing. ukraine, which was not a real place, was the most integral russian land, full of exotic cossack artifacts, southern landscapes and dark-haired native women, who, peculiarly, even pronounced the vowels differently
soviet union was the time when russians learned to say that ukrainians were a different people, but not to think it. "an unbreakable union of free republics, the great rus' has sealed forever". ukraine had to be contained, by historiographic concepts of three intrinsically connected eastern slavic peoples through ancient russian state, culture and language, that came to change imperial doctrine of the triune nation; by our modern borders to which the borders of our identity receded shortly after 1926 census, to cut some edges and undo the results of widespread settlerism across eurasia for which russians used us in the time when we did not exist; by russification for which, unlike the empire, soviet union had actual capabilities
they could never leave us alone. and all that came with no respect, but with the sense of entitlement to everything we possess. there has never been a moment, since at least the 18th century, when russians looked at ukraine and saw anything other than a glorified province, an exotic appendage, an amusement park full of stock characters who perform their small-town culture "for" or "in spite of" russians, but never to themselves. it is so ingrained into their ideology, that it is almost uncanny to meet a russian who consistently uses "ukrainian" instead of a slur. to mention any sense of equality would be laughable
but even that is not enough. a provincialised, firmly colonised in the past and the present ukraine is not a solution to russian nationalism, it's a palliative. because the fantasy of ukraine being a safe russia's subaltern will always be overpowered by the reality of ukraine being fundamentally different. they can't make us russian. even when they succeed, they fail. they have to exterminate us. the times when russians were truly honest about us being foreign to them, calling us, maybe in awe, maybe in fear, "cherkassy", that is circassians, are long behind us, but maybe recoverable in the new context of russian colonisation of caucasus and new solidarities it created
i want to believe that this is the last russo-ukrainian war, but while we are fighting, i implore people to remember about one article, published by a russian state-owned news agency on april 3, 2022, "what russia should do with ukraine", one of the most lucid statement of the russian ideology. to you, of course, to us, it's a daily experience. it tells in no uncertain terms that ukrainians are nazis not because they exhibit nazi ideology, but because they are ukrainian. it calls for complete destruction of ukraine, the name "ukraine" itself, because the existence of it "inevitably leads to nazism". it says that ukrainians, who must become russian, must also experience war "to atone their historical guilt". even in their wildest genocide dreams, they still can't help but realise that we are not actually russian. they're not stupid, as soothing as this thought can be, they know what they're doing very well. and yet they can't see the main and only flaw
and i want to add, that none of it was inevitable. it only seems inevitable if you believe that russian imperialism is natural and not manufactured, something people bleat about as the pinnacle of russophobia, unable to simply say that it's stupid. russia could have not been an empire, russia could have changed, russia still can change. will it? the answer is as irrelevant as the real history russia cannibalised to become the monstrosity it is today and destroy my life. no matter. i know what ukraine should do with russia. defeat it, for the sake of ourselves and all before us who could not
I‘m so tired. I usually draw silly stuff to distract myself from current events but—
Sounds ridiculous, right? Hah. Just how it feels.
I might even pin this just because. Yes.
Long post about so-called Ukrainian “xenophobia” towards russians. If you’re not from East Europe\Ukraine - PLEASE, READ IT.
Me and my friends are really tired from seeing shit like this, so here’s simplest explanation to (almost) every popular agrument and answer to it.
Starting with definition. Xenophobia = hate for something foreign just because it is foreign. We DO NOT hate russians just because they're russians.
We hate russians for their warcrimes: both of the past and present.
(Litteraly the day I wrote this thread on Twitter it was another missile attack in the morning)
To put it plane and simple: russians and everything russia related aren't bad for just being russian: russians and everything russia related are bad because they destroying our lifes, cities, kill, rape, stole, occupy, torture and etc.
"But not every russian is related to military! Most of them against war!"
Oh? Really?
But even without numbers: you need to understand that more often so-called anti war russians are just ignorant to what their country doing. Be against war isn't about just words and position - it's about proving your position action. And by taking none since 2014, russians made it clear that they're okay with war.
"Anti war" russians most likely still paying taxes, and those money lately goes to army. "Anti war" russians, again, didn't do anything to stop war. Hell, most of liberal russians are direct imperialists.
So, if you see russian online and even if they're proclame themselves to be antiwar, in 99% cases they aren't.
Also, I simplifying most of things to better understanding, but you also need to know that without context of East Europe\russia-Ukraine conflict history a lot of imperialistic russian shit can pass though your ears. Just be aware of it.
"But how can they do anything against in such authoritarian country!"
Let's head back to simple math. According to russian sources, there was almost 15k detained (note: detained =\= convicted) for anti-war actions.
It all may sound scary... Until you look at looses of ru army.
So it is MUCH more safer in russia to be anti-war that is to be pro-war. Does it bother russians? Not at all.
and don't get me started on how lame it is for country with 144 million population to be afraid of abvously much lesser police force)
***
So, in summary:
Ukranians don't hate russians for being russians. Ukranians hate russians for being bloodthursty, ignorant mass who actively support war and\or don't do a shit to stop it.
Most russians, even "good" ones - likely a war supporter. Yes, they may not a straight forward z-one, but almost 100% an ignorant person who supports war by their money and absence of action against it.
We, Ukranians, have neither the strength nor the desire to look for a needle in our son's haystack.
Keep it in mind and please, do not get into conflicts, the nature and context of which you do not understand. Thanks for reading.
P.S Also there's a really good thread on Twitter that looks over this as a question of basic empathy, so please read it as well.
P.S.S And feel free to ask questions.
Buy Me A Coffee sanctioned Ukraine and banned Ukrainian creators from their platform.
The cited reason appears to be "because Russia occupies 20% of your country"
proud to see my country do this, in spite of russia targeting our fields and grain silos. please support ukraine and palestine 🇺🇦🇵🇸
People forget that while Ukraine isn't allowed to harm one hair on Russia's soil, Russia has been working hard to kill Ukrainians not just with misiles
- by destroying the medical infrastructure
- freezing or burning people to death by destroying the power grid that helps people survive during winter and increasingly hot summers
- by kidnapping and re-educating Ukrainian children and adopting them into Russian families
- by destroying Ukraine's food production capacity
- by targetting civilian areas, in broad daylight, such as shopping centres
- by destroying cultural institutions, museums, universities, schools
- by riddling farm land with mines it will take decades to remove that will maim and kill farmers and children
- by causing one of the worst environmental disasters when they blew up a dam
- by executing and torturing and raping men, women, children and elderly who are Ukrainian
- by creating generations of trauma and loss, some of which has and will end with people taking their own lives
- by convincing the whole world that it's ok for them to keep doing this without consequence whether in Chechnya, Syria, Ukraine, Georgia, Mali, Sudan, Central Africa, and the list goes on
And that all not even touching on how the operate in the actual battle field, using chemical weapons and white phosphorus, or executing POWs, and civilians in captured towns.
And this isn't touching on centuries of linguistic and cultural repression, political repression, forced starvation, forced labour, death by displacement, gulags, and summary executions.
Russia is a plague on the world. Hell, on its own people.
And it's been that way for centuries. Before Putin. Even before Stalin. Even before the Tzar.
Repression. Oppression. Violence. Totalitarianism. Subservience to power. Apathy in the face of it all. That's all it has to offer in its grotesque history, art and culture.
Every Ukrainian life taken by ruzzians is a tragedy, whether they were famous or not.
But this, this must hit Zelenskyy just that much harder, knowing how much he cares for everyone under his employ even before his presidency...
it's always 'ukraine was being invaded', not 'russian-ukrainian war'. always. it always was, as if russians didn't bomb one of europe's largest printing houses in kharkiv last week and the invasion ended after 2 months. it's always invasion, as if russians don't bomb the whole ukrainian territory every single day - civil infrastructure, residential quarters, schools and printing houses. you're against terrorism, violence and war crimes until you're uncomfortable. because for some reason, the world is absolutely comfortable with russia killing thousands of ukrainians. of course, it's not comfortable to live in a world with a literal war in europe. but how comfortable is it to live in a warring country that is being destroyed every day? how comfortable are children to go to school only to spend half the day in a shelter? how comfortable are people waking up without knowing if they will even wake up tomorrow? or if their close ones will wake up tomorrow?
you're either with a terrorist state, or with ukraine. there is nothing outside of politics. you are politics. people's lives are also politics. being neutral is the same support for russia. choose a side.
russia is currently executing civilians in ukrainian vovchansk. russian forces are taking civilians captive, executing people trying to escape captivity. they are also shelling the entire place with cluster munitions to kill any survivors left
To all those who died alone in the Russian occupation
🕯 "To all those who died alone in the Russian occupation". Muzychi village, Kyiv region
These are the words on the tombstone that stands on the grave of the mother of Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze. The artist installed it in 2021. This memorial project consists of six marble doors that replicate the location of the doors in the house of Alevtina's mother, known as Klyubnyka Andriivna, in the village of Zhdanivka, Donetsk region, as well as concrete porch steps recreated in real life. When the war in eastern Ukraine broke out, the artist's mother was unable to leave her home despite her daughter's persuasion. Alevtina dedicated a series of works to her mother, which were shown at exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad. Kakhidze's mother died in 2019 - her heart stopped while crossing one of the checkpoints controlled by the militants of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic". She was buried in the Kyiv region.
This is not the kind of message that children should receive from their parents "If we are killed, all the documents are in the basement."
This is what I mean when I say that we cannot negotiate and freeze the conflict. Because children from the occupied territories, who are now 14-17 years old, will be fighting against us in five years.
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).
Russian culture is bloody terror
This morning, 53-year-old Oleksandr Potikun from Vovchansk took three dogs, documents, canned food, and photo albums and left the city to evacuate.
The man walked for 15 kilometers until he was picked up by the police. Oleksandr says that he decided to leave the city when a Russian tank damaged his house and a neighboring one. Before, he didn't want to leave because of Toshka, Jozyk, and Archie - he was afraid that the dogs would disappear if he left them behind. He also evacuated family photos: "Our houses are burning very badly, at least we will have something to remember."
Potikun says that Vovchansk is broken, Russians are bombarding the city with air and artillery around the clock.
Defense forces have stopped the enemy's attempts to break through the defense in the east, while fighting continues in Lukianets and Vovchansk
"The situation on the eastern front remains tense in the Khortytsia Joint Forces Operation Center in our area of responsibility, but the defense units are actively engaged in defensive battles. Attempts by Russian invaders to break through our defense have been stopped. The situation has been stabilized, in particular in the Kharkiv sector," said Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortytsia group.
According to Voloshyn, the operational situation remains difficult, but it is changing dynamically. Fierce defensive battles continue: "There are settlements in a large part of our border area where the enemy is trying to gain a foothold and use them for further advancement." In the video, Oleksiy Kharkovsky, head of the Vovchansk patrol police, said that the situation in Vovchansk is extremely difficult, the enemy is taking positions on the streets of the city, where the evacuation of the population is also underway.
Life goes on for the world, but for Ukrainians, it never will be the same
Farewell to Taras Onyskiv. Azov. The son of a Hero is presented with the flag of Ukraine, the country for which his father died. Glory to Heroes🇺🇦
There is nothing fair about war. We have to remind ourselves of this too often, especially when young people die.
As today, when a medic who started his career in the ranks of the Hospitallers, 21-year-old Oleksandr Kucheriavenko, call sign "Kuzma", died while performing a mission.
Died saving others. According to the battalion's press service, Kucheryavenko had recently mobilized to the Defense Forces.
"A man with an incredibly keen sense of justice. A professional who has worked at all levels of pre-hospital care. An idealist who was always where he had to be. A hospitalist to whom more than one Ukrainian soldier owes his life. A man his mother and bride were proud of and loved. A comrade-in-arms whom we miss.
He lived, loved, and fought. He died saving the lives of others. We will never be able to comprehend this incredible loss for Ukraine, the Battalion, his fellow L20 crewmates, and family," - this is how Oleksandr's brothers and sisters-in-arms, who together evacuated wounded soldiers in 2023 and 2024 as part of the L20 Hospitaller crew, remember him. "Young, hot-tempered, he was one of those who found his calling early on. And he followed it to the end, despite fatigue, pain, and loss," emphasized Yana Zinkevych.
Oleksandr Kucheryavenko died on May 14, 2024, while providing aid to the wounded.
"The Hospitallers urge to support his family, who will have a hard time without their son and loved one.
Cards to help the family:
Mono - 4441 1144 2069 5403 Kucheryavenko Lesya (mother)
Mono - 4441 1111 3547 1013 "Privatbank - 4149 4390 4847 6521 Valeria (bride)
Second brother died in the war @ maryzalipa. You can support the family of the fallen defender here
I'll show you handsome Mykola, now I can. He's in Sweden on a psychological rehabilitation program for combat medics.
I opened a bank account (in my mother's monobank) for those who want to help our family.
The worst thing is that my mother is crying now and saying, "We asked you to stay, but we couldn't save one of them, even if you had." And, of course, she is right. Mykola had the right to demobilize after Pasha's death, but he didn't want to.
These losses cannot be accepted. It is indeed a black spring for Ukraine. 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).
“I tried to explain that I was a musician but it didn’t work. You say you are a musician and it irritates them so much they beat you more, and accuse you of lying,” said Merkotan
While international organizations inspect and have access to our prisons where Russian prisoners are held, they turn a blind eye and do not fight for proper conditions for Ukrainian prisoners.
Another thing that outrages me is the way "Putin's prison" is used. It was not Putin who tortured him and others, but russians. This is not Putin's war, but Russia's. These are not the decisions and crimes of one person. After 10 years of war, the Russians are still being singled out and absolved of responsibility. That's impossible levels of stupidity and cowardice.
Tomorrow I'll have to leave my home because of russians. Again.
Russians are entertaining themselves by traumatizing our people, including kids
You can help by supporting a fundraiser for electronic warfare equipment for the electronic warfare unit that protects Kharkiv and the region. A little less than 800 thousand UAH are left before the fundraiser closes. Support the right cause!
Russian culture is ecocide
We have a question for animal rights activists: the guys at our positions have a small moose, its mother was hit by a mine… And here is the question: what to do with this calf? Could you please tweet us the news? If you can help in any way, please write to me in DM.
We have found people who will save the calf. Everything ends well. Here is another photo of the kiddo who also suffered from the fucking russians…
The calf is fine, we are waiting for people from the Wild Animals Rescue Center to arrive. There were problems with their access to the place. We will solve the issue.
The filnal update:
Phew, it was difficult😥 The calf was finally taken away.
Animal's whimpers of grief will haunt me in my dreams but for russians it's nothing.
Your support of us is admiring
All Ukrainians appreciate your support, I'm sure about it. The Georgian Legion is the first foreign military that help Ukraine since 2014. I as a person from Donetsk never forget the immense support from Georgians. I wish you only a bright future without Russophiles in the government. Georgia is Europe like Ukraine.
🫂❤️🩹
Fabulous Frank was in Ukraine. Once again. And even in my Lviv.
Today russians also said hello to us with an air raid alarm. This is old news for Ukrainians.
That represents how Ukraine must deal with non-humans... Who call themselves "messiahs".
It always warms fibres of my soul when people in the darkest times and places never forget about caring for the small one❤️🩹 What a loss…
And about the Kharkiv region, by the way.
In two areas in the north of the Kharkiv region, the russians occupied villages in the "gray zone".
They did not reach the main defense line.
As of now, the intensity of the fighting has decreased, due to losses in the assault units of the russians.
The russians are regrouping, and we are preparing, and there will be more attempts to break through the main defense line.
Russian reserves are being pulled up, and we are also taking symmetrical actions. The fighting continues.
It makes me sick to my stomach to think about what these people who have already been under occupation are going through again.
Don't be indifferent. 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).
Some hauntingly beautiful sceneries.
Fight for them as they fought for you
Mykyta Tatyanko "Zhyvchyk", a soldier of the 501st separate marine battalion, is still in captivity. He hit the front pages of all the world's media because he was simply helping the wounded during the shelling of the Mariupol maternity hospital. Because he just wanted to save someone.
In Mariupol, Zhyvchyk provided moral support to the locals. Ksenia, a resident of the city, met the soldier when a residential area was shelled. That day, March 12, her family was injured and slaughtered - her 16-year-old son and her sister's husband were killed instantly. "I was in a state of shock: I wanted to commit suicide because half of my family was killed in front of me, and the other half was not sure if they would survive," Ksenia said. The young defender helped the woman to keep her morale up. Mykyta convinced her that she shouldn't do anything to herself because many people around her needed help. "You are needed here, let's go help," Ksenia recalls. Ksenia told Mykyta's mother, Larysa, everything in detail, and told her that she had become the heroine of a movie about Mariupol. She also talked a lot about Mykyta in the movie, but she didn't give them any details. They are still in touch. Once she said: "Maybe you will be offended by me, but now Mykyta will be my adopted son." And Larysa was very happy about that, because now they both pray for him sincerely. Larysa was also contacted by one of the guys who was in the TRO and headed the security of the hospital in the city center. In a conversation with the soldier's mother, the defender said that in Mariupol, her son shared his food and medicine with the residents. Mykyta gave away almost everything he had.
❗In these pictures, he is 19 years old. At the age of 18, he voluntarily chose the path of the military, which even before the full-scale war, he was in the east part of Ukraine. Mykyta has been in captivity for almost 2 years, so he is now 21.
Please, share stories of our defenders in captivity. Many of them, including Mykyta have been there more than 2 years. You can only imagine what Russians do and tell them. Russians entertain themselves by breaking people, especially Ukrainians. They fiercely hate people who protect and fight for freedom. I hope our people find even more power in themselves to live through the hell of russian captivity. And when defenders all come back to their homeland, they will be themselves, in a healthy state like body and mind. There so many people are waiting for them. They deserve only good things after all of that.
The gorgeous Frank with important message in Kyiv.
Music is not beyond politics
It's astonishing and surreal to hear about apoliticality in contests where people represent a certain country….
Cruel humor. But I almost choked on my tea. I also see this as more of a chemical attack. Meanwhile, the russians are having fun…
They are proud of their crimes and shout about it at the top of their lungs. But the world is indifferent.
We need so much support right now when Russia is planning to take away even more territories and Ukrainians' lives. Don't quite our voice. Especially on a platform like that. Yes, it's entertaining competition but our reality in war is definitely not fun to live. We keep crying out to the world in every possible way.