Day 59. Odesa & Mariupol.

Easter weekend.

Apr 24, 2022

Mariupol

Hey everyone.

In Mariupol, a city now marked by mass graves and rubble in the aftermath of relentless russian attacks, we now have a video from one of the last remaining outposts of Ukrainian forces. Ukraine DAO’s Contributor Yuriy made English subtitles for these heartbreaking videos by the Kyiv Independent from Azovstal bomb shelters in Mariupol, where over 1,000 civilians have been hiding in bomb shelters for almost 2 months. I encourage everyone to watch them.

UkraineDAO.eth @Ukraine_DAO

.@garbanzo0813 made English subtitles for these heartbreaking videos from Azovstal bomb shelters in Mariupol where over 1,000 civilians have been hiding for almost 2 months. #StandWithUkraine

Yuriy | Ukraine_DAO @garbanzo0813

@AsamiTerajima @lapatina_ Added English subtitles for the full video of people in Azovstal bomb shelters this is part 1/5 the rest is coming soon Source: https://t.co/LN33xgNcmE https://t.co/ZVgd8jorsm

Odesa

Alona [23 Apr 2022 at 23:09:27]:
are you there? in the bomb shelter?
M.[23 Apr 2022 at 23:10:36]:
...already at home, fortunately. We had 2 alarms from 10:00 to 12:30 approximately. We now listen to them very seriously and go down to [redacted].
We arranged a corner there for ourselves where we store our bedding and blankets.
Many Ukrainians discussed one question - how to keep an emergency bag packed if it contains all the necessary things that we use every day.
In the afternoon there were missiles flying. And then in the evening, the air raid siren went off and after 5 minutes explosions were heard. We went down very fast.

It’s very scary to fall asleep these days. When I do feel like I’m falling asleep, it feels like my mind is trying to resist it. The moment I wake up, I beg for all of this to not be real and for the last 6 weeks to turn out to be a nightmare that will be gone when I open my eyes. Unfortunately, every time it turns out to be real, and this is the reality that’s to be faced.

When I saw the new russian missile strikes on Odesa today, I called my close friend who lives there. I’ve known her since 2007 and have never heard her voice like this before. The first thing she said was “That was on my street.” My heart broke when I heard that, but I’m so grateful she is alive.

There are so many things that can help Ukraine; and you know what’s not one of them? Fake “pacifism.”

“Whole new level of happiness”

This woman and her 3 month old baby were both killed today in a russian missile strike in Odesa. Here’s one of her last Instagram posts:

"These were the best 40 weeks ever. Our girl is 1 month old now. Daddy got her her first flowers ❤️ It’s a whole new level of happiness".

German “Intellectuals’” Letter to Scholz

The letter referred to in the tweet below has to be one of the worst things I’ve read in my whole life, on par with the genocide plan published on RIA Novosti recently (we published English and German translations).

Tadeusz Giczan 🇺🇦 @TadeuszGiczan

A group of German intellectuals signed an open letter to Scholz urging him to stop supplying arms to Ukraine to encourage it to capitulate, let the Russians enter Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa without a fight and accept all Russian conditions. All for the sake of peace, obviously.

Ralf Fuecks @fuecks

Ein Dokument der Niedertracht: Die Ukraine soll um des lieben Friedens willen endlich kapitulieren. Wer ihr Waffen liefert, öffnet das Tor zum Atomkrieg. Wenn sich die Ukrainer ergeben, ist Putin vielleicht gnädig. @saschalobo nannte das #Lumpenpazifismus https://t.co/DdS8oo7uA2

The cowardice and hypocrisy of the people who signed that letter (they were not too embarrassed to disclose their names) are beyond me. Germany had no issue whatsoever arming russia with weapons that are now killing Ukrainians, using a loophole in the EU embargo on arms exports to russia. But when it comes to stopping the genocide of Ukrainians, suddenly it’s scared to become a war party.

One of the sentences in the letter reads:
”Despite reports of success from the Ukrainian army, it is far inferior to the Russian one and has little chance of winning this war.”

Here, I can only bring up our President’s speech from last night, to address the “inferiority” mentioned above:

"Today, with reference to the Russian military, the news was spread that their task now is allegedly to establish control over the south of Ukraine and reach the Moldovan border. And allegedly there, in Moldova, the rights of Russian-speakers are violated.
Although, to be honest, the territory in which Russia should take care of the rights of Russian-speakers is Russia itself. Where there is no freedom of speech, no freedom of choice. Where there is simply no right to dissent. Where poverty thrives and where human life is worthless. To the extent that they come to us, go to war to steal at least something that resembles a normal life.
You know they used to talk about their biggest dream: to see Paris and die. And their behaviour is now just shocking. Because their dream now is to steal a toilet and die."