Day 5 of Russia's war on Ukraine. At first, I wanted to write that in a weird, surreal way we have almost adjusted to the new normal, which, of course, is anything but normal. Once again we awoke — in our bunker — to the good news: Russian forces have been unable to capture any of Ukraine's major cities since launching their invasion on Thursday. We're alive and kicking, and Kyiv stands strong. Unbreakably strong and unbreachable. Distant missile sounds are not that scary anymore, and the shelter life is far less odd.
I wrote the first paragraph as I, rather uplifted, scrolled through my news feed at 7 am. Since then, Russia has been trying to raze Kharkiv to the ground. The enemy's missiles hit several residential buildings; there are both dead and injured. A local school — a school! — burned down. They're using a Grad multiple rocket launcher on the entire city, including residential districts. Yesterday, Russia targeted a historic cinema in downtown Chernihiv, now destroyed. 'Civilians are safe', Putin said, 'We're only targeting military objects.' Unless today's negotiations prove successful, it is rumored that Russia will soon try another offensive against Kyiv.
Why Putin is targeting civilians? I don't know, maybe he's gone madder than a Mad Hatter. I say it's because we have already won. Russia's annual military spending is about $62 bln; the same figure for Ukraine amounts to approximately $6 bln, a tenth. Putin planned a Blitzkrieg, yet he received a war — the one he's losing.
Can you truly defeat a nation where regular, unarmed folks push the enemy's tanks out of their towns and villages, carry mines away from the road barehanded, and use tractors to steal the aggressor's vehicles?
I don't think so. Mighty Russia has already requested the help of Belarus and the Chechen mercenaries, asking (read: ordering) them to join the so-called 'peacekeeping operation'. Putin has even restored to waving his nuclear capacity flag.
As the matter of fact remains, Ukrainians are not giving up, and they never will. The residents of Berdyansk, which was temporarily occupied by the enemy, took it to the streets, started chanting and singing the Ukrainian hymn. After hours of uncontainable yet peaceful mass protests in front of the Russia-captured city administration, the people forced Russian forces out of the city by sheer persistence.
Russia's economy, on the other hand, is shattered. Sberbank undergoes a painful death — not unlike the one awaiting Russian soldiers who shell innocent people, refusing to lay down their arms peacefully (Ukraine guarantees full safety to those who surrender). Russian citizens, in turn, are banned from flying to or above most of the Western world.
An American journalist asked me yesterday if I regret not leaving Ukraine when I had the chance. Not in the slightest. Every day, every minute, and every second I am incredibly proud of our people for uniting and holding defense. While I am not out there with a Kalashnikov (thus far), I feel honored to be a very tiny part of the huge force that is Ukraine.
As I won't stop repeating, please consider supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces via either a link or SWIFT details below. They are true heroes, protecting us with everything they've got. I won’t post gruesome pictures of dead civilians, but to put into perspective: according to the mayor of Akhtyrka, Russia used a vacuum bomb today, which is banned by the Geneva convention.
As of today, 350 civilians were killed, including 16 children.