Ukraina SOS Vol. 4 - March 29
Dispatches from Mariupol, Novaya Gazeta's last edition, Zelensky's interview with Russian media, and more
Welcome to Volume 4 of Ukraina SOS, a guide for how to help and what to read/watch/follow in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
How to Help
By March 31, buy a stunning print of Mariupol by Kyiv-based photographer Brendan Hoffman (including the one above); proceeds go to protective gear for Ukrainian journalists and Hoffman’s family’s temporary relocation
Donate to help renovate housing for IDPs in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
Support U.S. Ukrainian Activists, a small, highly-regarded nonprofit providing medical and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine
Several animals at Kharkhiv’s zoo have been killed by Russian shelling; donate to bring the survivors to safety
Note: I’ve summarized all previously-reported giving opportunities in this master list.
Spotlight on Mariupol
Six weeks ago, Mariupol, Ukraine, was an industrial seaside city in the midst of an extended renaissance. Since the invasion, Russians have killed approximately 5,000 of the city’s civilians, illegally deported 15,000 to Russia, and damaged almost 80% of its infrastructure. To start to wrap your head around this devastation, read “Twenty Days in Mariupol,” by the AP’s Mstyslav Chernov, and an anonymous Mariupol woman’s account of being forcibly deported to Russia and processed at one of its “filtration camps.”
What to Read/Watch/Follow Etc.
Zelensky gave an absorbing interview to independent Russian media (with English subtitles). Best to watch rather than read Zelensky
Novaya Gazeta published several damning reports on the war before shuttering on March 28 due to pressure from the Kremlin; its article on the indoctrination of Russian school children is particularly eye-opening (put through Google translate)
Human Rights Watch arms researcher Mark Hiznay on the weapons of war in Ukraine
Ukrainian farmers hauling Russian tanks: a Twitter thread
Alevtina Kakhidze, Nikita Kadan, Maria Kulikovksa, and other top Ukrainian artists respond to the war
Wondering about the origins of the Ukrainian trident or the hopak? Kyiv-based Sky Horse Publishing has put its guides to Ukraine, Kyiv, and Chornobyl online for free
One of my favorite Ukrainian poets, Iryna Shuvalova, in LitHub: “I pretend that death isn’t coming/ but death is coming and death is buzzing/ over plum trees over cherries and quince”
Feisty Babushka of the Moment
Quote of the Moment
“The official folk kitsch—that stereotypical woman with ribbons flowing from her hair, holding bread and salt on a traditionally embroidered towel—is a fake, but that dilapidated mosaic at the entrance to the village, depicting a Ukrainian woman with ribbons in her hair—only she’s missing an eye—now, that’s the Ukraine.” — novelist Artem Chapeye in his short story “The Ukraine,” in the New Yorker
About this Letter
The top image of Mariupol’s coastline is by Brendan Hoffman, who routinely covers Ukraine for The New York Times and other leading media outlets.