#russia ukraine war
Mrs. Maria and her dog, Bonya, in Horenka (near Bucha). The 80-y old woman would tie a handkerchief on the dog so that she would not be so afraid of the shelling.
Video of the two made after the war (in Ukrainian). The grandma says the dog is like a child to her. Bonya is very smart, she helped her survive the occupation and licked away her tears. The 4-yo dog got some gray hair now but she’s ok. Maria says it’s too bad the room was damaged but at least the house is intact. She can’t wait to clean up and restore her garden.
On War and World Politics: a Rant
Last night I saw someone on Twitter tweet something like “Be careful what you reblog, propaganda is everywhere” in regards to Ukraine war and it made me so bitter. I mean, in a different situation I might agree but right now it feels like a dangerous sentiment. Everyone has an agenda? Sure. Except someone’s is getting more funds so their people don’t get slaughtered and someone’s is slaughtering as many as they can. Some make exaggerations and spin the facts to raise the morale of their warriors and some make up alternate realities to make people want to kill the neighboring nation. And I do feel a little conflicted about the way we try to dehumanize the enemy, such as calling them ‘orcs’ but right now it’s really a matter of our survival. After all, they try to convince their soldiers our democratically elected government is neo-Nazi. Despite, you know, our president being Jewish?
And Putin wrote his own short Mein Kampfs and did speeches that were a prelude to genocide. Ukraine never existed? First off, that’s not how countries work. Sure. Ukraine is young as a country. So is Slovenia or Montenegro or actually half the East European countries. A hundred years ago there were like 80 countries in the world, now there are 195. And even if it did in fact never exist before 1991, well it does now, bitch, and that’s the only thing that matters. And sure, we struggled with our national identity, still do. The ironic thing is, nobody did more to unite the Ukrainian nation than Putin.
Another sad thing is, I was born in Russia and have family there. But like most, they don’t get it. Most Russians are confused about the war, but in the end they say “idk, the government knows best so they much be doing the right thing??”. At best they say shit like “War is bad” or “there are good people on both sides”. And I understand why. It’s not about the facts, it never really is. The Russians refuse to believe they are the bad guys. That it’s their soldiers burning down villages, raping and killing.
Meanwhile, the West looked at all this and was very concerned. I don’t consider myself naive but these days I can’t help but be in disbelief at how little changed in world politics. The West knew. They knew exactly what was about to happen. They were convinced more than we were. That’s why they evacuated all of their embassies weeks before the invasion. They thought we were going to fail within days, even hours. So why give weapons to a country that’s gonna fail anyway? I remember our president going to EU to plead and urge the West to implement preventive sanctions. It was a desperate attempt. “You you really think Russia will attack, why not sanction it now? Before blood is spilled?” They gave him a standing ovation. They did not do as he asked.
I am grateful to the West for the help but looking back, I also feel bitter and betrayed. What’s the use of UN and peacekeeping if they just stand by and watch? It feels a failure just like the League of Nations. We’re grateful for the thoughts and prayers, but thoughts and prayers don’t save lives. Fighter jets do. And not one country gave us a single one. The US almost agreed to give us some through Poland but Poland was like “yeah, no”.
And some people say we should be grateful for what we get. But this is not a charity. If Putin gets Ukraine, he won’t stop. Baltic countries, Poland, Moldova… everything is fair game. We’re taking the hit now.
And yet, for every million in aid to Ukraine, Russia is getting a billion in gas money. The world, Germany and France, in particular, need that sweet cheap gas and oil from Russia so they kept paying it money, the money it used to make tanks and guns that kill our people. Well, sometimes they just sell the weapons directly, my bad.
Looking at all this, it becomes so easy to see how Hitler wasn’t stopped until it was too late. They tried to appease him and bargain with him hoping he’ll just somehow chill out and it’ll be fine, even when he already slaughtered hundreds of thousands. The first concentration camp opened 6 years before the start of WWII. And it is particularly sad to see how hesitant Germany is now to take action.
Anyway, nobody wants to hear about this now. It’s tough and depressing. And then there’s just the general news fatigue. There are other issues in the world. I get that. But that doesn’t make it any easier. I got so many messages in the beginning asking me if I was ok and I felt grateful. But it’s a bit like hospital visits - you go once and then your job is done. It feels like everyone has already moved on. And I can’t blame them, nobody wants to hear about mass murders. But I am still here and it feels like a really lonely spot to be in.
