Sunday thoughts (Day 32)
Incredible reporting from inside occupied Kherson. Biden goes off script in Warsaw. FT on Austria's Russia problem. Mariupol and more.
I took this photo on a Sunday in early February in Kyiv, during the last weeks of the before times. This Sunday, I’m trying to get a bit of my own life back in order, and I’d like to recommend to you what I have been reading/watching/thinking about, again, in no particular order.
I am haunted by the reporting of Elena Kostyuchenko, by far the bravest reporter I can think of. Still working for Novaya Gazeta, a Russian newspaper whose editor-in-chief was a joint winner of the Nobel peace prize this year. In other words, Elena writes for a newpaper which still cannot, under Russian law, call the war a war. And yet, she has published incredibly detailed firsthand reports from Odesa, Mykolaiv, and now Russian-occupied Kherson, Ukraine. Elena told me today her journalism is being translated into English and will be then published by n + 1. On that site, I found an English translation of incredible reporting Elena did in 2020 on the massive oil spill in Norilsk, Russia.
Elena’s reporting on the war Ukraine (in Russian). More photos from her reporting in Ukraine on her Instagram.
A brief thread in English with some highlights from the Kherson report:
Biden went off script last night. At the time I didn't know it was off script, and was surprised the speechwriters would have tossed that bomb into the wording. Turns out, they didn’t. Biden did. Blinken tried to walk it back today. I’m afraid it’s probably too late for that.
Meanwhile, in Russia, state TV published the first images the public have seen of wounded Russian soldiers in Russian army-issued pajamas. Most are now missing one leg. The video is so sad (any death in this stupid war is sad, on both sides — most of these kids had zero choice in the matter). It immediately reminded me of the generations of Russian soldiers before who lost limbs for their country. In the past, there were no wheelchairs. Veterans could be spotted on wheeled wooden boards. This is even a Russian state resource with an article on the topic; it’s worth clicking for the historical photos and illustrations if you don’t know what it looked like.
A damning new look at Austria, spy capital over the decades, now FT drawing attention to how Russia is left to freely operate here. Good this open secret is now under the spotlight, at least outside Austria. Inside Austria, a slightly different story. I am yet to observe any kind of real outrage at the extent to which both Austrian government and business (lines are murky) have been compromised and influenced by Putin’s Russia. Sure, Russia 2022 is nothing like Russia 2022, but the general trend has been obvious for a while, certainly since events like the annexation of Crimea, Nemtsov’s still unresolved murder, and Navalny’s poisoning followed by imprisonment. Putin has made it clear to the world for some time what kind of leader he is. Some places, like Austria, preferred to look away rather than face uncomfortable truths about their own choices of convenience.
A must watch video of those who managed to escape Mariupol. Report from Zaporozhye. I wish everyone in Russia could see it. Every single person interviewed in this video is a native Russian speaker. This is what Putin’s Russia is doing to Russian-speaking Ukrainians:
I must have, in my personal algorithm, stumbled upon all the TikToks of Mariupol in ruins and escapes from Mariupol. The videos are just brutal. Here is one of the drive out of the city for those lucky enough to have a car and petrol to flee in. Here a look around a totally broken and destroyed neighbourhood “nowhere to live now”; cooking indoors in a shot-up stairwell over open flame. Mariupol’s mayor gave an interview today (thread with English translations here) to a Ukrainian media source I don’t fully trust, but as it is an interview, an exception should be made. He accuses Russia of forced deportations of Mariupol residents to Russia. This was reported yesterday by the city of Mariupol telegram channel:
The BBC is drawing attention to something I remain very worried about, especially as the hard reality of what Europe is actually offering Ukrainian refugees in terms of housing actually sets in. Young women are particularly vulnerable, as the offers may sound just as well-intentioned as those from families who genuinely want to open their homes to women and children in need. I came across this TikTok in Russian last night talking about two Ukrainian women who “disappeared” from Stuttgart, a warning to all Ukrainians in Germany that men are targeting Ukrainian women, to be wary of anyone with an offer that sounds to good to be true, no matter what language the predator speaks.
Readers, some of you kindly sent me gift WSJ articles. If I may be so bold as to ask for this one too, please? I would really like to read it in its entirety.
In closing, I would like to recommend two fundraisers today. One I came across on Instagram, print photos from the before-times in Mariupol by a talented American photographer, Brendan Hoffman, who has lived and worked in Ukraine for years. The second I saw on the Telegram channel Kharkiv 1654. They are fundraising for the men who are delivering huge deliveries of humanitarian aid to civilians in need once the aid reaches Kharkiv. I am in contact with Ivan Krylenko who is collecting the funds and one of these volunteers himself. He promised to open a PayPal account later today so we can send donations from abroad. Donations within Ukraine work from 16 digit bank card number to 16 digit bank card number, but won’t work for us. I will update on Twitter as soon as we have a means of sending them funds from abroad. Because it is a local Telegram channel asking for help via a person with a known Instagram profile, I am inclined to believe this is all indeed legit.
We mustn’t forget many people stayed behind in all cities, including those as torn up as Kharkiv. Some were too old to leave, too frail. Others simply decided to stay. One of the TikTokers I follow in Kharkiv (full of optimism it is truly incredible) visited her friend the other day — 9 months pregnant and the mother of a 9 year old. How does a pregnant woman decide what to do? I have no idea. I watched the video about four times just thinking about that.
I took this weekend off from the Vienna train station. Judging from the group chat, it seems the flow of people coming through has slowed a bit. Perhaps this means fewer Ukrainians are crossing the border. It may also simply mean more direct flights and buses have been added to final destinations. TikTok is now FILLED with videos by Ukrainians all about their new lives across Europe. Some great (amazingly generous host family, our favourite TikToker (@valerisssh) from Chernihiv is now in Milan, visiting the mayor!), some horribly depressing (Switzerland decided it was ok to make Ukrainian refugees to sleep in a nuclear bomb shelter with no windows). It truly seems to require a special combination of luck, grit, and perseverance to start over in a good and secure way. I watch all the TikToks with such admiration.
I will head back tomorrow to Wien HBF and see firsthand how things are and where I can be most useful. Thank you for reading. Happy Sunday, or what’s left of it! They stole an hour from us here in Europe. I’ll sign off today with this:
