It’s complicated. But if you have an hour to spend, watch this Youtube video made just after the latest invasion started:
The War in Ukraine and the Future of the World
Watch it in place of an episode of your favorite TV show! It is superb.
If you’ve more time, I highly recommend Timothy Snyder’s updated audiobook “On Tyranny”. Be sure to get the 2022 version with the 8h addendum about Ukraine. I can’t praise this highly enough. The graphic version of the same book (pre-war) is also excellent. This would be good high-school material.
How can I help Ukrainians?
·
Excellent list of links
here.
· Tell your elected representatives that you support Ukraine
and want the govt. to act by sending weaponry and other military support
(intel, combat gear, etc), as well as humanitarian
aid. Your government’s assets are yours: you paid for them. Tell them you want
some of them used for Ukraine. Tell them also you support even more sanctions
on Russia and on Russian state interests in this country (eg
targeting oligarchs).
(US) How to find your: senators
and congressperson.
· Tell
your reps to continue (1) aiding Ukraine, (2) sanctioning Russia until Russia
completely withdraws (incl. from Crimea and Donbas) and (3) to direct seized
Russian assets to Ukraine as aid/war reparations.
·
Donate to causes.
Great lists here and here and here.
Your employer may do a match; if they have a matching program and it doesn’t
cover Ukraine, lobby them to change. E.g., both Microsoft
and Oracle have made special matching funds available, beyond their normal
scheme.
· Buy stuff from Ukraine. See, eg, this portal which fronts many Ukrainian producers. I can also vouch for the excellent clothing available here. Be aware that items shipped from Ukraine typically take about a month to arrive.
· Lobby
companies which are still doing business in Russia to stop. Handy list here; if you are a
customer of any of these, tell them you won’t be if they don’t pull out. The list isn’t very long,
because lobbying has been effective!
· If
you’re a member of a civic organization (eg church
group) organize a fund-raiser.
· Sign
the petition to rename the street of your Russian embassy to Ukraine Street here. (NB the
Russian consulate in SF has been closed for some years)
· Talk
to your friends and family and colleagues about this. Persuade them to help
too. Lots
of people doing a little each can make a big difference.
· The
news cycle will fade. Keep talking, keep being active.
Where can I get reliable information?
Apple News+ has a variety of news topics about Ukraine (Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Russian Invasion of Ukraine) which are generally excellent (subscription required, but far less than paying for all the sources individually).
In addition to the usual sources (NYT, BBC, CNN, WSJ, etc) which tend to focus on the last 24h, I recommend these as sources of slower news, more contemplative and analytic: The Atlantic (Anne Applebaum, …), The New Yorker (Masha Gessen, …), The Economist. (The Atlantic and The New Yorker are included in Apple News+.)
The Financial Times (FT) has made some of its coverage free here.
Twitter News seems to break first on twitter. It’s a bit of a jungle/cesspool so you need to be picky and critical. And it’s unfiltered so there’s always some risk of clicking on something that you can’t unsee. Caveat lector.
Solid commentators:
Pros:
@TimothyDSnyder @anneapplebaum @Euan_MacDonald @timkmak @juliaioffe @mashagessen
There are many reporters on the ground in Ukraine tweeting regularly. Some good ones to follow:
Kyiv: @IAPonomarenko @NikaMelkozerova @OzKaterji @ngumenyuk @JohnSweeneyRoar
Various: @nolanwpeterson @olgatokariuk
Kharkiv: @maria_avdv
Moscow: @maxseddon
Ukrainian sources:
@Ukraine @KyivIndepeendent @UkrInform-EN @KyivPost
@ZelenskyyUA (every tweet is re-sent in English after a few mins)
For details about the balance of combat, the ISW has daily reports here.
And don’t forget humor. This is the funniest parody account ever: @DarthPutinKGB
Are there movies I can watch?
Winter on Fire (Netflix) - documentary about the 2014 Revolution of Dignity (similar: Maidan)
Mr Jones - dramatized movie based on reality about the famine Stalin imposed on Ukraine in the 1930s
Servant of the People (TV comedy, Netflix) - What Zelensky did before being prez, and the vehicle that got him national recognition and ultimately elected. Somewhat surreal to watch it now! See also this terrific review.
Kyiv from above (pre-war 3min YouTube time-lapse; let’s hope it keeps looking like this)
Be more Ukrainian
· Make
a Ukrainian meal (plenty of web recipes for borscht,
varenyky, holubtsi)
· Listen
to Ukrainian music. Some of my favorites:
o
www.the-ukrainians.com British post-punk band
led by children of Ukrainian diaspora. Mix of Ukrainian folk tunes
and 80s Britpop covers such as The Sex Pistols and The Smiths, in Ukrainian
(really).
Also
on Apple Music.
o
DakhaBrakha:
NPR Music Tiny
Desk Concert, recent SFJAZZ concert, many other videos on YouTube, music
on their web site.
See also this thread for an excellent list.
· Wear
your heart on your sleeve: www.saintjavelin.com. NYT story
· Read
about Ukraine: book lists from NPR, The Guardian, FT. I especially recommend the histories by Applebaum and
Snyder.
—————————
Who are you?
I’m just a guy of Ukrainian descent; my dad (RIP) was Ukrainian. I’ve been reading about the history of Eastern Europe all my life, I have many Ukrainian relatives, and I’ve been trying to sift the avalanche of information (and disinformation) since this war started. This is just an attempt at sharing the best of what I’ve seen, heard and read.
Why should I trust any of this?
You shouldn’t. Think for yourself, for f**k’s sake.