Day 3
Ukraine fights for its freedom and its future across the county on all fronts and as the world watches in awe
This sculpture is in Kyiv in the underpass that leads through the park next to the giant Motherland statue which stands on a hill overlooking the magical city. The base of the Motherland statue is a museum to Ukraine during World War II. All I can do these hours, other than refresh social media and share news from Ukraine, is think about what I saw in that museum. I wrote about it here. The entrance to the museum has already been transformed into a mini-exhibit on the war in eastern Ukraine, in Donbass, since 2013. I keep thinking about what they will build when this horror is all over. When Ukraine defends itself from Putin’s madness and shows the entire world what bravery looks like.
I am writing this sitting in a Georgian cafe in Vienna. Next to me people are drinking wine and enjoying Saturday lunch. The table next to me are young women speaking Russian. I am trying not to eavesdrop. I don’t understand how anyone can be having normal conversations about shopping, sports, the latest movie right now. I feel as I said a few days ago like my body is here but my head is there. I feel so powerless. All I can do is translate and share information and hope the world hears and sees.
Last night Ukraine’s president Zelensky warned Kyiv was heading into a night of fighting that would determine if the country would hold or fall. He filmed a selfie-type video in Kyiv outside with his top advisors. Those thirty seconds captured the world’s attention. There was so much bravery and emotion that you didn’t need to understand a word of Ukrainian to feel the message. Somewhere in Russia, a psychotic, old, delusional Putin is sitting alone, in denial as events unfold not exactly as his advisors promised him.
It rained down Russian rockets on Kyiv last night. Babies were born in bomb shelters. The entire city shook. And in the morning, Zelensky emerged, still president of Ukraine, Kyiv still in Ukrainian hands.
A Russian missile hit this new residential building on the road from Kyiv to its civilian airport, destroyed by Russia on day 1 of war. The missile destroyed the apartment of this family of five, who where hiding in the building’s cellar at the time, having gone down when the air raid sirens went off.
As I type this, Russian troops are within 30km of Kyiv. Civilians are setting up check points with Molotov cocktails. The Ukrainian authorities have warned of saboteurs and acts of terrorism by Russians who may have already snuck into the city. The city of Kyiv remains defiant in the face of the Russian army. The mayor called for everyone who can to take arms. Everyone else is asked to hide in safety.
There is ongoing fighting across Ukraine. As of this morning, the Ukrainian arms had still held all major cities, although it was looking like Mariupol might fall. Today, the Russian-backed separatists in the east have made some progress in Luhansk oblast.
There is so much information. A thread from last night here, another one from this morning here. I have tried to collect videos and information from across Ukraine, to try and paint a somewhat comprehensive picture, which is of course impossible if you imagine the scale of the fighting right now.
I realised yesterday that Russia experts are having a hard time making any predictions about Ukraine as Ukraine is an entirely different country and they cannot predict its moves as easily as they have tried to read the Putin tea leaves over the past decade or so.
The best intellectuals are always those who can easily and readily admit when they were wrong about something. That happened today.
My only advice about Ukraine is listen to the Ukrainians. Even though it was recorded yesterday, do listen to this Pod Save the World episode with interviews with Tanya Kozyreva (through air raid sirens in Kyiv) and Max Seddon, longtime FT correspondent in Moscow.
The world is seeing what Putin’s Russia is. What it does. Russians are horrified themselves, but everything is being done to keep the truth from them. The Russian authorities started to “slow down” Facebook today (which of course includes Instagram and WhatsApp), and Twitter too in Moscow. Russia is in a bunker mentality, facing a barrage of sanctions from around the world, and fighting an information war at home. They will not be able to hide dead soldiers forever, but they will try.
It is hard to find a reason to smile theses dark days. This video made me smile for a second. Despite the war and horrors around, these men laughed together for a second. For a second they had a normal conversation. Shared a joke.
I don’t know what the next day, weeks or month holds for Ukraine and the world. I know that whatever we don’t do will come back to haunt us. That maximum aid must be given to Ukraine now, not next week or next month. There is no time to operate at the pace of EU bureaucracy. Ukraine’s hospitals clearly need medical supplies. This should be one of our top priorities beyond cutting Russia off from the civilised world (for now, to speed up Putin’s unavoidable end) and providing Ukraine with more lethal aid. The country has said it will accept any volunteers who want to fight alongside its army.
Ukraine is showing the entire world what bravery and integrity looks like at this moment. The least we can all do is help them. As for Russia, this is twenty years of not dealing with the Putin problem. Everyone, including the west, waited too long. Now it is all of our problem. It looks like Europe is lining up one country after the next to kick Russia out of its airspace. Russia has lost nearly all major sporting events it was due to host this year. SWIFT talks are ongoing and it looks like Germany is the last holdout (shame, shame on Germany).
I remain perhaps blinded by the emotion of the moment, but I haven’t lost faith in Ukraine and its people. Just listen to this:
And look at this. They are still fighting. They will keep fighting. Unlike the Russian boys (because they are kids, literal kids most of them), sent as cannon fodder by a dictator who has clearly lost his mind, the Ukrainians are fighting for their homes, their families, their homeland. They are an inspiration to all of us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it in my lifetime. No, I haven’t. It’s a first. May we never forget.
Thank you so much for reading and to my new subscribers, welcome! Normally when things aren’t moving so fast, I share more articles and podcast recommendations. I publish every weekday morning Europe time and once, sometimes twice, on weekends. I have three kids and do most of my work in between all the mom stuff, the unpaid labor of life, so if I fall off schedule here and there, well, life took over.
If you scroll through my archives you will find articles from my recent trip to Kyiv:
Yanukovich’s dacha and Putin’s white table
Ukraine 20th century history lessons
I also wrote this on Tuesday after Putin made it clear on Monday he had gone crazy. I did not want to be right but several days later, it’s fair to say Ukraine is living through the worst case scenario. In this post below you will find links to summaries of the meetings and speeches that Putin made public on Monday which gave the world a window into the web of lies he was spinning to start a war simply because Ukraine dared to exist as an independent country not in Russia’s grip.
On that note, a word from Baba Nadya:
Thank you for your candor; thank you for the perspective you bring me; thank you for working to help Ukraine.
Your visit to Kiev was timely. So glad you made it back to Vienna ok. Thanks for your insights.