Issue 47: The Approaching Siege
A collection of reports, commentary, and insights from experts in Ukraine and around the world
I am traveling this week, and therefore I wanted to get this newsletter out faster than usual. I also feel a sense of urgency because the on-the-ground situation in Ukraine is changing every passing hour. According to the United Nations, over half a million people have already fled Ukraine for safer grounds in Poland, Romania, Moldova, and elsewhere. Many have made this journey on foot, unable to access public transportation or hitch a ride. Civilian fatalities are increasing as the Russian military slowly encircles major urban centers like Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Mariupol.
Consider engaging with some of the content I’ve selected today. The individuals whose work is featured below are the experts, the locals, the journalists on the ground. I am confident that there is at least one thing from this list will be of interest to you, as well as your friends and family. If you are curious about how to help Ukrianians, read my previous newsletter or reach out to me directly.
“Photos show chaos as Russia invades Ukraine,” by Nina Strochlic in National Geographic.
A group of Ukrainian journalists have created a podcast entitled UA: The Day That We Survived with short audio clips from everyday citizens. It is very powerful.
“Both the West and Ukraine declare adherence to the same principles: equal rights for all, rule of law, right to choose, human rights above all, not the animal rule of the strongest, but morality and intellect,” Ukrainian musician Andrii Khlyvniuk told Nataliya Gumenyuk for her Rolling Stones feature. “They need us as the shield to protect it all.”
Maura Reynolds interviews Former Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the United States National Security Council, Fiona Hill for Politico here.
Vladislav Davidzon’s latest dispatch for the New York Post. I also suggest following him on Twitter (actually, I suggest following most of these individuals on Twitter or other social media platforms) and reading his 2019 profile of Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky in Tablet Magazine.
If you are going to read dispatches, then I also recommend Oz Katerji’s latest for Newlines Magazine on Kyiv’s preparations for a long Russian siege.
Maria G. Rewakowicz composed a thoughtful piece in Los Angeles Review of Books on the role of war in Ukrainian poetry since the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea . One poem, by Serhiy Zhadan, touches on the role of memory:
Let’s start by whispering the names,
let’s weave together the vocabulary of death.To stand and talk about the night.
Stand and listen to the voices
of shepherds in the fog
incanting over every single
lost soul.I thought Yascha Mounk’s “The End of an Illusion,” perfectly captures how Xennials (not quite Gen Xers not quite Millennials) feel as we step into a brave new world. Mounk’s personal narrative is unique, but touches on a common sentiment I know is shared by many my age who enjoyed the freedoms and luxuries of the 1980s and 1990s in their childhoods only to enter adulthood with 9/11, forever wars, and now pandemics and increasing threats to the post-WWII international order.
This is a modern conflict, so much of what has been written about the war so far has emphasized how 20th century tactics are coming up short against 21st century practicalities. In Rest of World, Masha Borak writes about how Ukrainian techies are playing a critical role in the war’s early days.
Lastly, check out this series of animations designed by more than 100 Russian artists and animators in protest of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. You don’t need to know Russian to understand the message: HET BOЙHE - No to War. It is a powerful reminder that not all Russian’s support Putin’s decision. Thousands have been protesting across the country.
I hope you find this content engaging. Feel free to share this newsletter with others. If you have other suggestions about ways to help Ukrainians, please reach out and send the information my way!
Thanks,
Gabi