Leonard 🇺🇸

...a frightened yet loyal dog. Yesterday, the russian military killed her owner. It was a woman named Liuba, who had always fed animals in her town, and all the locals knew her. Around 10:00 a.m., russian forces dropped two FAB-250 glide bombs with UMPK kits on residential areas of Sloviansk. As a result of the attack, the 68-year-old woman was killed, and her dog sat for a long time near the spot where Liuba died. Six people were injured that day. Local residents are recovering from the trauma and putting their homes back in order.

Ukraine… Another morning, another day. And once again, residential buildings have become the target of russians, with people being pulled out of their own homes. No matter how much we are warned in advance about nighttime shelling, it is simply impossible to protect against it. We are not moles, we are not underground creatures, we are people, we are Ukrainians, and not all of us have the opportunity to hide in the subway or metro. Therefore, the russians will continue to take advantage of this, and that is why there are once again many dead and wounded among the civilian population. In the video is the city of Dnipro, one of the Ukrainian cities affected this night.

People are heading down to the underground to wait out a potential russian attack... Amid warnings of a massive overnight shelling, Kyiv residents prepare to spend the night in the subway.

fully understand that most of those who will see and read this are on the same wavelength as me. But I damn well wanted to write this. Because I keep seeing how russians try to use this for their own purposes and interests. They are the ones who engineered all of this, the hunger there-specifically to turn it into a mere storyline later, trying to whitewash their bloody laundry stained with Ukrainian blood. And let's remember the fact that if it weren't for the worldwide publicity, the voices of people who care, the internet, and everything else that helped spread awareness about the situation in Oleshky, the people there could have simply died of hunger. RUSSIANS HAVE NOT DONE AND DO NOT DO ANYTHING NOBLE. russians first create a problem and then hand out the scraps of a solution, thinking that everyone around them is an idiot… and as practice shows, there are quite a few idiots.

I, like other Ukrainians and people from other countries who care about us Ukrainians, have closely followed the humanitarian operation, the evacuation of Ukrainians from Oleshky, and how they were welcomed back in Ukraine. It was especially “interesting” (sarcastic) to watch russian journalists swarm into Oleshky and eagerly interview the locals. On our Ukrainian side, the humanitarian operation and evacuation from Oleshky were led by Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, and we all saw russian journalists interviewing him as well. In the video is the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, March 2022. These people, just like the residents of Oleshky, became victims of the russians. The situation was identical back then. These people-many of whom, most likely, are no longer alive-ended up trapped as hostages in their own city, left without electricity, heating, water, and gas. After all, it was none other than the russians who drove these people to despair, pain, death, or forced evacuation, just as it happened in Oleshky. I understand perfectly well that time will pass, years will go by, and this history of the humanitarian catastrophe and evacuation of people from Oleshky will turn into just another old video, an archive of memories. And in both cases, there is only one country to blame: russia. I am writing all of this solely to make it clear: the russians did not perform any heroic act that deserves a pat on the back. First, the russians destroyed everything, and then they pretend to the whole world as if they did something incredible, as if they gave Ukrainians a chance to evacuate, as if all this horror and nightmare was created by another country, not them. truly looked vile... And in this “performance”-where they tried to show the whole world, especially Trump, how noble they are, how merciful they are... what did they do first? They drove people to the absolute limit and to starvation through their war, and then the russians put on rescue uniforms, shooting tons of reports and spreading them across all social networks. I hope I managed to convey my thoughts and feelings regarding this situation. And I am glad that people managed to escape this nightmare and are now in a more or less comfortable and safe part of my country.

Genuine childhood emotions, laughter, and joy in the very first seconds of this video… Their grandmother is already waiting for the children in the car, and today they are all being evacuated from the city of Kramatorsk. The kids are happy to see their grandmother and to go on a little journey together; because of their young age, they barely realize that this might be their last day in their hometown. Just a couple of days before the evacuation, the grandmother lost her home and most of her belongings. Leaving her city with a heavy heart, she tries not to give in to her emotions so as not to frighten her grandchildren or turn their happy smiles into tears… The elderly woman fully grasps the severity of the situation and her predicament, while her grandchildren will only understand what happened once they grow up. And perhaps, if the city survives this war, they will one day be able to return home-provided their house stands against the shelling and the russian onslaught. At the 0:33 mark, another large family is being evacuated. A little girl is asked if she wants to leave, to which she answers firmly that she doesn't… but she has to. These are brief sketches and stories from the lives of Ukrainians in cities, one of which, like others, will face close confrontation with the russians... One can only believe and hope that this city will not become the next victim and another destroyed place on the map of our country.

First, you watch your life go by, then, how your children grow up, and after that… you find yourself standing in the middle of a road where there are almost no cars left because of the threat of russian FPV drones. You stand and watch as your city fades, darkens, and empties out right before your eyes. Yes, there are no skyscrapers here like in Dubai, no luxury mansions or sophisticated architectural wonders… but still, this is your home: neighbors you’ve known since childhood, streets and places you’re used to. And all of this, year by year, and now month by month, is losing its appearance: plywood instead of windows, with no life left behind them…

This video was shared by a resident of Kramatorsk. And it is this very melody she decided to set it to… to soften the sound of the city these days, the sound of silence mixed with distant explosions that blend together here, in this Ukrainian city of ours. For not far from here, just a couple of dozen kilometers away, the filthy russian boot stands: holding a rifle with dirty hands, it tries to force its way into this and other Ukrainian cities that had the misfortune of standing in its path. The sound of war, the sight of war is everywhere across the city. Walking the streets of your beloved city beneath nets for your own safety. Here and there, local residents can be seen still passing by on their daily errands, fully aware of all the danger, the impending evacuation, or the winter ahead in the city… relying on their own strength, God, or guardian angels. A once-vibrant, flourishing city now stands at a crossroads. A city that gave so much love and coziness to its locals is emptying out before our eyes… along with the leaves, it tirelessly loses its people, too. Kramatorsk.