Stop Russian Colonialist Aggression

Kyiv Independent is celebrating its second anniversary this month. They launched a campaign to try and find more people to support their journalism and share it with the world.

It is a very important moment for Ukraine. Global attention is moving away from the conflict and 'war fatigue' is growing. Reinvigorating interest and commitment to Ukraine is vital at this time.

Kyiv Independent has been my personal go to outlet for covering the war and I still rely on them for Ukraine related news. Their journalism continues to be top notch. I like them so much that I became their ambassador.

I invite you to support KI and become a member. Please follow the link below to do so. It is my personal ambassador link so KI team will know how many people I managed to bring into the cause. Encourage others to join too!

Reading KI is also vitally important so if you and your friends are not able to support them financially just spread the word in your socials. It will make a difference!

Slava Ukraini!

https://kyivindependent.com/membership?ambassador=3364b5eb-4f8a-4336-b3e5-d8a430d82c0a&name=Dana_Widmo

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An excellent documentary on Ukrainian streaming rental service Takflix: The Babushkas of Chornobyl.

The documentary explores the story of a group of old ladies (the titular 'babushkas' - aka 'grannies'). Living in the exclusion zone until the reactor meltdown, they evacuated along with everyone they knew. But, later in life, growing tired of living away from their homes, returned to the zone.

This is a really remarkable story - the women are interesting, compelling characters who you just feel a great affection towards, and seeing how they lived in the zone is fascinating.

The film was made before the invasion, before the occupation of Chornobyl. I sometimes wonder what became of these ladies - are they still alive? Were they still there when the russians arrived? What happened to them?

Really worth watching if you've got any interest in Chornobyl, the zone, or rural Ukrainian life.

The rental costs 95 Ukrainian hryvnias, or around £2, for a 70 minute film; besides some minor difficulties getting my card to transact overseas, I had zero problems using this service, and intend to rent from them again - they have a number of classic and modern Ukrainian films available, and a dedicated section for those with English subtitles.

This weekend in London there will be the Ukrainian Film Festival 2023: Side by Side, the fourth annual such festival.

Running from Thursday to Sunday, there will be five different films on show, on the themes of humanity, compassion, strength and love.

More details and tickets from the Ukrainian Institute London:

https://ukrainianinstitute.org.uk/ukrainian-film-festival-2023side-by-side

And a trailer showcasing the films on their Youtube channel:

https://youtu.be/Kxq9yGAzEv8

#Ukraine #London #Cinema #Film #Movies #WhatsOn #WhatsOnLondon

Sorry this got posted multiple times. It wasn't working properly, so I deleted and re-posted. But then it got boosted to the rest of fedi after I'd deleted. I think the server was having some intermittent issues. So those posts links don't work 😬

I posted this over on Mastodon at the weekend, but it seems like a good thing to promote on this group too (apologies that my text is pretty much copy paste from my Mastodon post).

This Kickstarter for a Ukrainian science fiction anthology looks great.

They already secured a grant form the Ukrainian Book Institute for many stories from Ukrainian authors (and translations into English), and have passed the funding goal for printing (plus the first two stretch goals!).

Backing starts from as little as $1 for the ebook (or $20 plus international postage for a print copy).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds

The usual caveats apply to risk on Kickstarter projects of course - no guarantees that any project will succeed. However, this one is from an established indie publisher with a track record of delivering on multiple Kickstarters, so it seems reasonably solid.

Personally, I’d love to see it hit the $30k stretch goal to get some illustrations, that sounds very cool.

The publishers are on Mastodon too, which is always good to see: @[email protected] (and they replied to my post saying they’re happy to discuss any questions re: risks etc)

Backer Update 4 from yesterday - about the experience of being a writer at war - is incredibly powerful and worth reading too:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds/posts/3903203

#EmbroideredWorlds #Ukraine #ScienceFiction #SciFi #Books

I posted this over on Mastodon at the weekend, but it seems like a good thing to promote on this group too (apologies that my text is pretty much copy paste from my Mastodon post).

This Kickstarter for a Ukrainian science fiction anthology looks great.

They already secured a grant form the Ukrainian Book Institute for many stories from Ukrainian authors (and translations into English), and have passed the funding goal for printing (plus the first two stretch goals!).

Backing starts from as little as $1 for the ebook (or $20 plus international postage for a print copy).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds

The usual caveats apply to risk on Kickstarter projects of course - no guarantees that any project will succeed. However, this one is from an established indie publisher with a track record of delivering on multiple Kickstarters, so it seems reasonably solid.

Personally, I’d love to see it hit the $30k stretch goal to get some illustrations, that sounds very cool.

The publishers are on Mastodon too, which is always good to see: @[email protected] (and they replied to my post saying they’re happy to discuss any questions re: risks etc)

Backer Update 4 from yesterday - about the experience of being a writer at war - is incredibly powerful and worth reading too:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/atthisarts/embroidered-worlds/posts/3903203

#EmbroideredWorlds #Ukraine #ScienceFiction #SciFi #Books

!book cover: white background with black and red lettering in handwritten style

Russian Colonialism 101 by Maksym Eristavi is available for pre-orders. All profits from the first edition go to the Ukrainian Emergency Art Fund.

https://istpublishing.org/en/russian-colonialism-101-maksym-eristavi

Happy Independence Day Ukraine! Wishing you a swift victory!

Let's celebrate with this wonderful song from Onuka.

VICTORY

Victory! We are winning!...

If I knew then how mightily the wave would be carried. How I would hold my tender hope in my hand. It's not over yet, it's still carrying us. How we would start in unison living and breathing freely. How this grime would be disposed of. If I knew then how powerfully it would lift us up.

Victory! We are winning!... (Together undoubtedly we are) Victory! We are winning!...

I know the feeling of the bridges being burnt. I know the feeling of the bridges being burnt. It is unforgettable.

Victory! We are winning!...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umIaIJAD9xo

Uprooted is a #documentary by Kyiv Independent that is a result of an #investigation into russia's kidnapping of Ukrainian #children. It is a chilling account of families torn apart and their heroic journeys to reunite. The Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigation Unit uncovers a state-level effort to kidnap and russify Ukrainian kids, orders coming from Putin himself. It's a very well-made, chilling film. #uprooted is not an easy watch but definitely worth dedicating 53 minutes to. It's important to know what is going on in #Ukraine and what #warCrimes #russia is committing. We must hold them accountable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq2gEMhuDps

I started supporting #kyivIndependent with a small monthly donation on Feb 24 2022. It is amazing how much they grew and what they accomplished since then. I encourage everyone to check out their membership options starting from only $5 per month. We need more stories like these uncovered.

The medium post, Is Azov Neo-Nazi? An Expert In Far-Right Radicalism Answers The Common Questions, does a good job of addressing the disinformation about the Azov Regiment.

https://medium.com/the-ukrainian-view/is-azov-neo-nazi-an-expert-in-far-right-radicalism-answers-the-common-questions-7a48547b592b

This article from NBC acknowledges the history of Nazis in Ukraine while making it clear that this history does not justify an invasion of Ukraine. The United States also has a history of Nazis and that of course does not justify military action against the US.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ukraine-has-nazi-problem-vladimir-putin-s-denazification-claim-war-ncna1290946

This article from France 24 reported how Azov Regiment has been de-ideologised.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220325-azov-regiment-takes-centre-stage-in-ukraine-propaganda-war

A starting point for learning about this topic is the Azov Brigade wiki page. Specifically, the references section at the bottom of the page has numerous links to news sources.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Brigade

The people who formed the Azov Brigade and are responsible for its history of Nazi ideology and symbols are now part of a far-right political party called the National Corps. Andriy Biletsky and the people who make up the National Corps political party are neo-Nazis who deserve scrutiny. However they have no political power and do not represent a majority of Ukrainians. Their existence does not justify the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

The content linked in the references section is where to get information. The wiki page provides a useful summary, but should not be the primary source of information.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Corps

Queer Ukraine is an anthology of poems and essays by 12 #lgbtq Ukrainians, published in January 2023. The writings were edited and translated into English by Dvijka Collective. In the editor’s words, ‘This anthology is not only a platform for sharing our experiences, it is an archive of our existence and a testament to our permanence.’ It’s a short and powerful book.

I enjoyed and felt moved by each piece in this book. Reading this anthology you feel just how precious it is to hear voices from people who are so often silenced and pushed to the margins of society. It’s a real treasure to be cherished. It’s hard to talk of highlights in a book like this since each piece is so unique and personal. One chapter however stood out to me.

It is ‘Transness in Traditional Ukrainian Culture’ by Yana Lys (Lyshka). It’s a fascinating reading starting with the ancient cultures and ending with the modern day. It debunks the premise popular in #Ukraine, as well as my native Poland, that queerness is a rotten Western ideology imposed on and incompatible with the local culture. Reading stories of #transgender people through the ages is so powerful. It shows that being #trans isn’t new, neither it is a deviation. It’s a natural and sacred way of being.

My favourite bit in Lyshka’s essay is a #myth from the Galician village of Velesniv, variants of which exist in other areas. According to this myth if one is to go to the place from which the #rainbow ‘takes its water’ they would be taken by the rainbow and released at the other end. If they were a girl, they would return a boy and vice versa. After their return each month, they would switch back and forth between the two. Not only this is a wonderful myth connecting #queerness to the rainbow which is so beautiful in and of itself, but it is also the first and only myth that I am aware of that represents a #genderfluid experience.

‘Tuning the Bandura’ by Elliott Miscovicz is another piece that stayed with me after reading this book. It’s a story told through different times and places. The bandura and its memory weave through the story as Elliot recalls experiences shared with fellow activists across the world. It’s particularly painful to read how 24 February 2022 was not only the start of a full-scale invasion. For Elliot, it was also a rude awakening that as a Ukranian queer activist one is largely alone in the West.

This little anthology is full of raw emotion, history, wisdom and folklore. It is also a story of queer people during wartime. It has a timeless quality that should be relatable to anyone who faced war, oppression, and colonialism. I hope that if you are lucky not to know any of these from personal experience you will still feel compelled to read this book.

!A cover of the book: grey brick wall with red lettering and a molotov cocktail in a grafitti style.

This is a fantastic conversation (roughly 90 minutes with questions) with Serhii Plokhy and Olia Hercules at the Ukrainian Institute London:

The Russo-Ukrainian War on Youtube

Plokhy is a historian and professor of Ukrainian history at Harvard; he's written books including Gates of Europe, an excellent, readable introduction to Ukrainian history. Hercules is a culinary writer with a focus on her native Ukrainian cuisine; her book Summer Kitchens is just fantastic.

Both bring some incredible insight to the conversation, with such different perspectives on topics ranging from geostrategy and war to language. Just wish somebody had asked Olia a bit about whether the culinary landscape in Ukraine is changing in any way like the language use is!

The talk itself was recorded on 17 May, so a couple of weeks before russia blew up the dam - worth bearing in mind when hearing Olia talk about her family home in Kakhovka. Really powerful stuff.

(PS - not put the link in the URL field this time, let's see what happens...)

I don't follow Zizek, and things I've heard about him have given me pause, but one thing he is right about is his criticism of the left-right populist alliance in support of Russian imperialism...

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/left-right-populist-alliance-against-ukraine-by-slavoj-zizek-2023-06

I noticed earlier today that @[email protected] post about Sweet Darusya isn't showing on calckey and neither is another post by @[email protected]. It turns out that if you put a link into URL field when making a new post, it might not show outside lemmy. It means that anyone who follows the group on calckey will not see them and therefore can not boost.

!Screenshor showing the URL field on a new lemmy post

The latest episode of the Ukrainian Spaces podcast features Oksana Semenik as a guest. Oksana is a Ukrainian art historian and a journalist. She runs the Ukrainian Art History account on Twitter. Her mission is to decolonise Ukrainian art which is often mislabeled as Russian in museums and galleries around the world.

In this episode, she shares her personal story of surviving Russian occupation while hiding in a basement in Bucha and a 20 km escape on foot through a green corridor to Kyiv.

The conversation with Maksym and Valeria also explores different Ukrainian artists who are known in the West as russian, especially avantgarde painters such as Kazimir Malevych, Ilya Repin and Aleksandra Ekster. I looked up the names of these artists on Wikipedia. The articles refer to their Ukrainianess but the first line lists them as Russian which is clearly wrong.

Hosts and guest share their experiences of visiting exhibitions without realizing the artist is Ukrainian due to this not being mentioned in exhibition materials and talk about the importance of promoting and familiarizing yourself with Ukrainian art while russia destroys and steals it in an attempt to erase it.

It's a fascinating conversation I recommend listening to especially if you enjoy art. It's an open invitation to learn something new and wonderous. For me the cherry on the cake was a mention of Maria Prymachenko whose amazing beasts left a lasting impression.

!Ginger Woman in a red dress is sitting holding a birdcage in her lap. The background is black and she is seen from a side. The painting is in a cubo-futurist style.

Woman with birds by Aleksandra Ekster

Sweet Darusya

A Tale of Two Villages

by Maria Matios

Sweet Darusya tells the life story of a Hutsul woman through a series of shorter stories depicting the important scenes in her life that made her who she became. Unusually (for me, at least), the story is told in a reverse chronological order: we meet Sweet Darusya in her later life, and gradually Matios unfolds what came before.

Hutsuls are an ethnic group from Western Ukraine - around Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia) - and Romania, and Matios uses the story of Sweet Darusya to paint a picture of Hutsul life in the mid-20th century. I wonder how much of that life remains, and how much has been lost forever?

Set roughly during the late 1930s up to the 1960s, Matios brings to life the culture and history of these people through the life of Sweet Darusya.

This story is so powerful and moving; incredibly emotional, at once the story of a single woman yet also - through her story - the tale of a whole culture. After finihshing the book, I have a strong desire to visit the region, to see more.

Maria Matios is a Ukrainian author, poet and former-parliamentarian, and winner of the Taras Shevchenko prize (Ukraine's highest award for literature).

Very strongly recommended if you have any interest in Ukraine, or literature - it is not a long book and most will probably get through it in a few days, but well worth the time.

Found this Ukraine focused group that seems a bit better established...

Great article about The Wagner Group's blueprint for state capture in the Central African Republic. It lists the following key recommendations:

> UN member states should establish a coalition similar to the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS—critically including African states—to counter the Wagner Group’s malign influence on the African continent and elsewhere by focusing on the group’s finances, movement of foreign fighters, and propaganda.

> The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Japan, and other jurisdictions should widen the scope of sanctions imposed against the Wagner Group’s network, including by investigating the individuals and entities named in this report. They should investigate and impose network sanctions against the individuals and entities linked to Touadéra’s inner circle that are enabling Wagner’s presence in CAR, and they should coordinate such sanctions actions to increase impact.

> The US should designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization, as reporting by The Sentry and others clearly indicates that the group meets the three legal criteria for designation—a foreign organization engaging in terrorist activity that threatens national security.

> The EU and its member states should add Wagner to the EU terrorist list to allow for greater law enforcement and judicial cooperation on Wagner across EU member states and beyond.

> The UK should also consider taking steps to proscribe Wagner as a terrorist group under the Terrorism Act 2000.

https://thesentry.org/reports/architects-of-terror/ ---- ! !

Hello!

I’m just learning how to use this group so for the start here is a picture of Ukrainian borscht! Here is a link to the recipe I followed: https://ifoodreal.com/ukrainian-borscht/

Mine is made with lots of butter beans and fresh tomatoes. Nothing like a good soup to nourish both body and soul!

!

Zero tolerance for:

• Bigotry (Racism, Ablism, Misogyny, Homephobia, Transphobia or any form of Queerphobia etc)
• Russian propaganda (both sidism, blaming NATO for Ukraine war, blaming Ukraine for the dam etc)
• Claiming Ukraine doesn't deserve support due to its own poor record on race and LGBT rights. These things are true, Ukraine does have room to improve on those issues, but it won't unless it frees itself from Russian sphere of influence.
• Claiming that Ukraine are Nazis. There are Nazis in most Western and Eastern militaries. This is irrelevant because it does not therefore follow that such countries deserve to be invaded in a genocidal war of aggression by a larger more fascist neighbour.

Still getting things set up. The following things are still needed to finish setting up this group/community. I welcome suggestions in the comments.

What is still needed:

• Avatar for group. Roughly square/circle image to represent group. Done
• Group banner. Rectangular image, wide or landscape orientation, to improve look of group profile. Done
• Suggestions for resources to support Ukraine, to be included in group description. Done
• Suggestions for good pro-Ukraine media and podcasts, to be included in group description. Done
• Suggestions for how to explore and promote Ukrainian culture (i.e. books and things to support), that could be included in the description, or maybe a detailed pinned post. Done
• Create a pinned post
• Create petition for NATO to threaten nuclear response if nuclear power plant is destroyed.