Welcome to Volume 8 of Ukraina SOS, a guide for how to help and what to read/watch/follow in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
I’m changing the format of these updates to highlight a small number of the most powerful things for you to check out and support.
Without further ado…
1. Follow @johnobject, Ukrainian musician turned soldier, on Instagram
Before February 24, 26 year-old Timur Dzhafarov performed extensively in Kyiv night clubs under the name John Object. When Russia invaded, he signed up to fight because “I love my life and I love everyone else’s.” He posts infrequently on Instagram given his duties, but his perspective (and amazing English) has helped me understand the mental perspective of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline with unparalleled immediacy. In recent weeks, dispatched to a place of fierce fighting, he has been writing about the likelihood of his own death. “Let it be forever known that I wanted to live, and I wanted a different life,” he wrote in one story. “I wish I made better music and I wish I told more people how I loved them. It makes no sense to me that the world let this happen, but here it is, our constant death.”
2. Read the AP’s investigation into Ukrainians deported to Russia and their struggles to get back home
Russia has deported nearly two million Ukrainians to its territory since the outbreak of the war, and this excellent article gives the best and most readable overview of the practice that I’ve seen, including Russian government planning for the deportations; filtration camp procedures; the grim reality for Ukrainians once they arrive in Russia, including the coercive pressure to relinquish Ukrainian citizenship; and the informal networks of Russians who have helped Ukrainians escape.
3. Follow Ukrainian memorial artist Olga Wilson (@0lga.art) on Instagram
Ukrainian artist Olga Wilson has been creating and posting digital portraits of Ukrainians (mainly civilians, some pets) killed during the war at the request of their loved ones. The value of her work is not the artistry per se but the window it offers into the usually private pain of mourning, now so widespread in Ukraine.
4. Read political sociologist Sam Greene’s response to a NYT op-ed calling for NATO-Russia talks.
In July, the NYT published an op-ed by policy experts Samuel Charap and Jeremy Shapiro arguing that the U.S. needed to get to the negotiating table with Russia in the hopes of ending the war. Political sociologist Sam Greene published a thought-provoking response, in which he argues that the negotiations will not be productive because Putin is not fighting for national security but rather regime security. “Because Russia is fighting for regime security,” he writes, “there is nothing the US or its allies could offer that would alter Putin’s calculus.”
5. Read Ukrainian novelist Volodymyr Rafeenko on why he will no longer write in Russian, his native language.
Rafeenko, a native of Donetsk, lived through the Russian occupation of the Kyiv suburbs this spring. After that experience, he decided he will no longer write or publish in Russian. “I no longer want anything to do with a culture of murderers and rapists,” he wrote. His essay is notable because it expresses a deeply-rooted rage that seems poised to become a defining element of Ukrainian identity in the years to come.
💰 How to Help | The Serhiy Prytula Foundation attracted international attention in June when it reportedly raised $18 million in three days to buy the Ukrainian army three high-powered drones (only for the Turkish manufacturer to be so moved by the effort that it donated them to the Ukrainians for free.) It continues to fundraise to meet the needs of Ukrainian soldiers. Please consider donating to this well-regarded local organization.
Note: The image of the pensive Ukrainian cow comes from a trip I took to the Carpathians in 2013.