My first language is Russian and my second is Ukrainian. Putin says he is protecting Russian speaking people in Ukraine from the Ukrainian junta (he means our legislative government).
How he is protecting us by bombing the city?
On February 23rd, Russia celebrated the day of the Soviet Army. On the 24th, early in the morning, after 4am, we were woken by the sounds of weapons. The Russian army started hitting our cities and towns from many sides. Their troops broke our borders from Belarus, Crimea, Transnistria, and the territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.
I live in Kyiv. Every day our army and civil citizens are trying to protect the city from Russian weapons and groups of saboteurs (in fact terrorists who were parachuted from military helicopters).
We run to bomb shelters or metro stations to hide. Sometimes, we spend nights there with children and pets.
This morning two rockets hit a multistory building and a smaller building, causing destruction and fires there. Some people died.
There were fights in some neighborhoods of Kyiv. They want to take strategically important spots and make the government surrender.
Most product shops and chemists are closed. You cannot call an ambulance if you are sick and so on.
Before, I was in shock, my heart raced, and I panicked. Now I’m already thinking clearly, ready to run to the shelter. We have been warned not to go out till Monday because it’s dangerous and it can cause problems for our army fighting in the streets.
The Russian leader is sick-minded and dangerous like a maniac. It’s impossible to negotiate with him or trust him. I cry when I read about the sacrifices of our people protecting our Motherland. The guy who exploded himself along with the bridge to prevent the invader from crossing. My cousin in Lviv, who said “I can’t run away to hide in the village, I am responsible for electricity supplies in the city. People are sending money for the army, giving blood for the wounded, and fighting with Molotov cocktails against Russian soldiers.”
I want Western audiences to know that this is a real war, and Ukraine didn’t start it or provoke it. Putin is dangerous for Europe and absolutely not trustworthy. You must not believe anything he says. Anything! I am a Russian-speaker. I have never had any problems using this language or having a Russian father. I feel Ukrainian and I love my country and its traditions and culture. I don’t need fucking protection with Russian guns!
Your mass media should show the beauty of Ukrainian towns and the destruction and victims killed by the Russian army. Write how ordinary people fight to protect their homes. And write “Putin, go to hell” — the truth would be even ruder.
Putin tells the world and the Russians that he is saving us from our illegal, fascist government — that our people across Ukraine wouldn’t fight for it. They want national patriots to be defeated and people to welcome his tanks with flowers. No way!
If the Russian army takes control of Ukraine, they will kill and put our patriots in prison, prohibit our culture while saying they are protecting it, suck our resources like vampires, and control our country in the same way they control the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. And they will become your neighbors!