You Just Read A News Piece "Ukraine Returned 4 Kids From Russian Territories Aged 17, 9, 6 And 3" And

Wtf

I was listening to an interview about Ukraine and the interviewer was talking how there's no empathy for russian soldiers "not asking for sympathy for the Russians as an invading force, but empathy for humans" is the direct quote and while yes empathy for humans should exist, highlighting this in this context is bizzare. He then follows saying that these are young soldiers and the west is celebrating when "they are sent to their mothers" (meaning celebrating their deaths).

And what struck me the most is him saying this: "Soldiers who've been sent to war not by their choice, they follow military, they follow orders". Quick question: how do you think defeated nazi soldiers were trying to avoid punishment for their war crimes? What "argument" was real popular, don't you remember? This exact "argument" is the reason why International Law actually explicitly states that if a higher ups in the war are forcing a soldier to execute unlawful acts, the soldier has the right and responsibility to refuse this order. In International Law "I was following orders" is not an admissible argument. If the Russian soldiers don't want to commit war crimes, they are, by law, obliged to refuse the orders. Yet the Russian army still stands, still committing war crimes in Ukraine. But yeah, poor russian young boys sent to their mothers…

Yes I do have empathy for brainwashed and indoctrinated youth of an authoritarian state, no I don't have empathy for war criminals.

This is the moment israeli soldiers shot and killed 9 year old Palestinian Adam al-Ghoul in Jenin in the West bank.

They also killed another child today ( Basil al wafa) a bit later. See the child who pulled Adam, he had to hide because israeli forces were still shooting. In Jenin, no hamas, no ceasefire. When zionists say they want peace this is what they mean, Palestinians going back to being killed in silence.

What could they do? Be better, perhaps.

⚫️

Що вони могли зробити? Бути кращими, напевно.

INKTOBER

Day 13: Horizon. Borodianka.

Day 14: Roam.

Here are two poems by Maksym Kryvtsov, a Ukrainian poet, who was killed defending Ukraine back in January. One of the poems is dedicated to a ginger cat that followed him around faithfully and later died with him. Please read his words, don't let them die too.

24.02.2022.

The day that changed my life forever.

24th of February 2022 should have been my usual day. No, not usual. A wonderful day. I should have been checked with a doctor, gave notice to teachers in high school of my absence, and then fly away on vacation, my parents wanted it so much.

On 23rd of February 2022 I felt happy. I had a secure, happy life, preparing to finals, hanging out with my friends, already having an offer from university.

Until 5AM 24.02.2022.

I had not a single class in my school since then.

I haven’t seen my friend group in 2 years.

I didn’t have my finals.

We did not have that vacation.

“Daughter, wake up. This old psychotic man attacked us. We are leaving.”

That was my first photo of the day, trying sarcastically keep myself normal. I remember that actual emptiness, reading my classmates texts about how their windows were shaking because of explosions, the sky was orange. They sent that video.

He called it “a special military operation”.

I collected random clothes, some hobby stuff just to keep my sanity, grabbed my pet, emptied my safety locker. I was scared that russians would intrude into our home and steal all my savings, so I throw away key to that lock. This key became my symbol of war, I have never found it even after return.

When I with my parents and pet got out of flat to car we heard for the very first time air raid siren. We would hear so many more of them, we would learn to differentiate them, but then we were confused.

It was my second photo. People were going away. Foot, cars, bicycles. I remember such a surreal picture. Some moms were carrying their toddlers, one woman was carrying a bucket of water with turtles, other people were carrying cages with parrots, with dogs, with cats, with exotic pets despite air raid siren, temperature, rain. Everyone was so confused and scared.

Few days later the road we were riding was occupied. Bridges destroyed. Factories burnt. Supermarkets demolished. Houses in ruins. Road in holes. On the side of the road burnt cars with “DO NOT TOUCH, POSSIBLY EXPLOSIVE”. That gut wrenching feeling seeing photos of dead bodies and recognising the place.

But back then it was still lively, not a road of death. I remember reading news then. First victims, first shelling. Invasion from East. Invasion from Kharkiv region. Invasion from Crimea. Invasion from Chernihiv. Invasion from Zhytomyr. And we were in Zhytomyr region at that moment. Explosions in Kyiv. The border was destroyed.

I felt nothing. Just emptiness.

This precious girl was keeping my head cool all the road. She was also scared and irritated, but she was so strong, such an amazing girl. I am so proud of her.

We were heading to my grandparents who lived closer to West Ukraine, so we would be safer. The road that takes usually just 4 hours but that time it took 13 hours. 13 hours of driving exhausted and nerved. We saw soldiers, trucks, jets, how barricades were built, signs were removed.

But we made it. We were lucky. Lucky to be alive, to have family alive and mostly close to West, further from russia. Even though, part of my extended family still was under occupation in Chernihiv region, suffering from such close border with belarus.

When we arrived, we were just silent. Then collected mattresses for shelter, asked grandpa to grab some patrol (we knew that they would definitely destroy reservoirs and literally next day the started doing that), and just fell asleep in something that we arrived in, being so scared.

That day I also cut ties with russian friend who I am shamed to admit having. He was proving me that this is just a military operation, no one would be harmed.

Then, arrived spring that I will never forget but at the same time never remember. I remember 10 people in one floor house. I remember the whistle of rocket that woke us up. I remember sirens. I remember news. I remember losing hope. I remember first photos after deoccupation of Kyiv region. I remember how forgotten friend of my dad suddenly called him saying that his city is fully destroyed, his neighbour right on his eyes was exploded attempting to get into the car and evacuate.

I remember my first mental breakdown. How I was crying in the darkness, but quietly so no one would notice.

We were able to return home three months later. But we are just lucky. Someone would never return. Someone is not even alive to see their home again. Someone’s home is forever destroyed.

I was lucky that I have secured my place at foreign university before war, but my whole family is still in Ukraine.

War is not over at all. 20% of Ukraine is occupied. So many displaced civilians, so many deaths. No one could even count, we do not have any access to bodies. Only way to identify is to deoccupy and find mass graves. No other means. Children are suffering from PTSD even in such a young age. Almost in every city, big or small, you would find graveyards covered in Ukrainian flag, grave of the soldier.

Maybe media does not talk that much of us, but it doesn’t mean that everything is alright. Avdiivka is destroyed, right now operation searching for people under debris of the civilian house after attack is undergoing.

And this is happening all the time.

Who was punished for Olenivka? Who was punished for destruction of Kakhovka Dam? Who was punished for all fully destroyed cities? Who was responsible for all that absolutely atrocious videos torturing Ukrainian soldiers?

Please, remember, Ukraine is still on fire. People are still dying. Soldiers cannot even counterattack because they do not have enough ammo, just for protection. Information war is also waging, sharing all that misinformation, Nazi narratives, russian propaganda.

Remember.

Help.

Share.

russia is a terrorist state.

Glory to Ukraine.

Glory to the Heroes.

"russia just invaded ukraine vs israel committing a genocide in palestine”

yeah just invaded.

yeah it a fair war of two relatively the same military powers.

yeah one side never said that the other never existed and shouldn’t exist now.

yeah one side is not targeting civilian infrastructure en masse.

yeah it’s just a conflict and not a continuation of a hundred-year conquest of an imperial power to destroy a nation.

it’s not like one side has killed at least 10 million people in the space of the last century while specifically targeting this nation in particular.

it’s great that you all read about palestinian history - this is a right thing to do and one of the ways to decolonise your own knowledge- but maybe pick up a timothy snyder or serhiy plokhy book and read when russians started killing ukrainians. you would be surprised that it didn’t start either in 2022 or 2014, its been going on FOR CENTURIES.

wording matters. check whether your country recognises holodomor as a genocide. if yes, read about it. if not, read about it as well.

and then check what constitutes a genocide and how both of this tragedies are genocides: of ukrainian people by russia and of palestinian people by israel.

russia commits ecocide in Ukraine