It is really weird to say this in a war, but the weekend in Kyiv passed quietly. Since the Armed Forced in Ukraine liberated the Kyiv region, there have been fewer and fewer air alerts. There have been no air raid alerts in the last 2 nights and my husband and I were able to sleep peacefully. The city is gradually coming to life, more and more cars are parked on our boulevard every day.
Kyiv is accepting foreign officials almost every day as the war goes East and more help is needed - PHOTO CREDIT.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of Great Britain, arrived in Kyiv.
This gesture is positively evaluated by many in Ukraine, both at the official and unofficial levels. Britain has been providing serious support to Ukraine from the very beginning of the invasion, and Boris Johnson himself, according to President Zelensky, is the leader of sanctions pressure on russia and defense support for Ukraine. The British Prime Minister and the Ukrainian President walked around Kyiv from the President's Office to Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Johnson updated all his social media accounts with Ukrainian symbols and shared a video in which he thanked Ukrainian railway workers.
At the corner of Luteranska and Zankovetska streets, one of Johnson's admirers spoke to him, he managed to exchange several phrases with the prime minister, and also shook hands. PHOTO CREDIT.
While the situation in Kyiv is becoming calmer and calmer, I hear from my friends that many people are striving to return to Kyiv. Many of them live in the suburbs where the fighting took place. I still think that it is worth waiting for the official statement from the local authorities that it is now possible to return, because sappers are now actively working. Unfortunately, the invaders left behind many "gifts" from which our roads and streets must be cleared first.
Demining requires much time and effort, so it's not yet totally safe to return to places where occupants were present - PHOTO CREDIT.
The war is accompanied by very important cultural phenomena. Previously, many in Ukraine were tolerant of russian culture - theater, music, literature - after all, it was believed that creative people were out of politics. But now such a position is unacceptable. It's all black and white for everyone regardless of occupation. Those who keep silent are the same criminals as those who commit these crimes. Many russian-speaking Ukrainians consciously refuse the language out of disgust, although before the war it was OK for them to use it.
In addition, in Uzhhorod and Ternopil, the city authorities dismantled monuments to Pushkin. Although quite recently the activist Dmytro Fedorchuk, who poured paint over the monument to Pushkin in Ternopil, was detained for hooliganism. Now the attitude towards everything russian is the same all over the world, and I believe it's only fair. If you could something to stop killing people and didn't do it, you must accept the consequences, too.
Dismantled monument to Pushkin in Ternopil - PHOTO CREDIT.
I would like to recommend reading an interesting column by Maureen Dowd on The New York Times - "Kim and Pete, or Vladimir and Volodymyr?". In it, the author explores how tired Western audiences are of the terrible news from Ukraine, and how many factors are diverting public attention from this topic. The sad, but not new, insight is that the life of influencers in social networks is more important to them than rational arguments, and facts compete with the alternative reality that the russian propaganda media is actively creating. Maureen wonders how long solidarity with Ukraine will last, which should not be a trend, but a duty.
Read the column here.
Also, for those who want to help Ukrainian volunteers, I suggest paying attention to the Save Ukraine Now Foundation. This hub was created by local authorities, business association and other communities to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine. You can donate here.
