My husband was away for one night and called this morning to say he read my post yesterday about everything I saw and heard at ACV, on the Ukrainian refugee experience in official Austria, but said next time keep it much shorter. I know you are emotional, honey, but no one is going to read that much. Fair enough. Sometimes writing is as much therapy for me as it is distribution of information, and I don’t have an editor. Anyway, for that reason, I will keep it short today, and would like to recommend some incredible reporting out of both Ukraine and Russia for weekend reading.
Der Spielgel has been doing a phenomenal job of reporting both inside Russia and in Ukraine, and many of those reports have been translated into English. Do read Christina Hebel from inside small town Russian army funerals:
The quotes, such as this, are just devastating: "Nobody needs this war,” he says, "it’s a shame for the people." Stas is 18 years old and will have to do his military service this summer. Is he afraid? "What am I supposed to do?” he asks in return. "I don’t have a choice."
Christoph Reuter is inside Ukraine for Der Spiegel, first in Kharkiv and then was the first international reporter to set foot inside Trostyanets, recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Christoph also gave an interview to CNN about his reporting and what he saw and heard in Trostyanets. You can listen here. If you understand German, watch this video by Christoph Reuter from Trostyanets.
Other reports from Ukraine which are incredibly difficult to read but very important to share because the world must know what is happening are those of the rapes of Ukrainian women by Russian soldiers. Usual warnings apply, this is hard to read.
The BBC from inside Russia on the heavy losses of one VDV regiment based in Kostroma. It was then also reported the families of the Russian soldiers who died in battle in Ukraine are struggling to receive compensation from the Russian government as the war isn’t officially a war. They were officially “on exercises”.
A lot of attention has been given to the Russian retreat from Kyiv and surrounding areas. I have resisted from jumping to any kind of conclusions because a) I am not a military strategist and b) I see no evidence of Russia’s (Putin’s) overarching goals having changed. Rather, I think Russia’s initial strategy failed (including massive losses of human life), and they are now pulling back to regroup and come up with plan B. But I don’t believe the plan is to walk away from what they wanted to achieve in Ukraine. I think they now must realize they miscalculated the military situation on the ground, they underestimated the Ukrainian army and civilian resistance to a Russian occupation, and will be coming up with more sinister means of achieving their goals. I hope of course I am wrong. This is a very good piece on what the next months (and more) might bring:
Do listen to this podcast with Valerie Hopkins speaking to one mother who managed to escape Mariupol with her children. It is still so hard to comprehend how this is happening right here in 2022.
As we think about Ukrainians liberating territories and pushing the Russian army back, it is also really important to remember what they are finding in these towns and villages. The infrastructure for human life is in many cases totally destroyed. I keep thinking about this especially as I meet Ukrainians in Europe who say they want to go home, they are going home. Home to what? Watch this video (sound on):
Thank you for reading. If all goes according to plan, I will be back at the train station tomorrow afternoon. Sundays are more challenging because all the shops are closed (don’t get me started on continental Europe and “business friendly”), even supermarkets. There is a small convenience store and the cafes are open, but that’s it.
One final note — you remember I wrote about Elena Kostyuchenko and her fearless reporting in Russian from Ukraine for Novaya Gazeta (the paper has since stopped reporting entirely until the end of the “special operation” as a result of Russian censors), which is now being published in English by n + 1 (Mykolaiv here and Odesa here). Meduza has since republished Elena’s Russian texts; here is her most recent report from occupied Kherson. Elena has now left Ukraine, and is fundraising per her Instagram post today. I can’t think of a better investment in independent journalism. She is quite literally risking her life to share these stories on an ongoing basis. She writes she plans to eventually return to Russia, knowing full well what that might mean for her personally.
I love your long posts. There is something very special about the way you combine first-hand reporting of the refugee situation with curated sources of information that I would not find on my own. I will read it every word, and very much appreciate your beautiful writing.
Good morning from the States. I get what hubby is saying, but as you comment, writing is cathartic; the same applies to this reader. It is an outlet for my feelings of helplessness. Good luck tomorrow; I await your report, no matter how short or long it is. --christopher