sparksinthenight

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stories of children whose lives were taken by russians

1. Marharyta from Kharkiv region, 8 years old.

On June 21, cluster munitions fell in the yard of her family's house. Marharyta died instantly, her heart was pierced through. The girl's father, at the age of 36, has become completely gray. The mother cannot describe in words how she feels after losing her child.

2. Kyrylo from Kherson, 8 years old.

In April, the family evacuated from Kherson to Vinnytsia. On July 14, russia shelled the city, Kyrylo was in the car with his uncle. The boy died immediately from a fragment hitting his head, then an explosion occurred. The body was searched for several days. It was identified only through DNA analysis.

3. Daryna from Kharkiv region, 15 years old.

On March 13, a russian missile hit the family's house. When the father got to the hand of his dead daughter, he said: "Our Daryna is no more". She was buried in her native Dergachi. Mom recalls that the missiles flew over the people here and there. "Daryna, this is a farewell salute to you." said her father.

4. Polina, 8 years old.

On March 13, Polina and her mother wanted to evacuate Mariupol. As soon as they took a few steps outside, the russian military started shelling with mortars. Nadiya's mother died instantly. Both of Polina's legs and arms were broken. The girl was operated on in the city hospital. But on March 16, Polina's kidneys failed and she died. Polina was shooting videos on YouTube, dancing. She liked to change into different costumes and perform on stage.

5. Anna, 9 years old.

On March 19, an enemy shell hit near the house where Anna and her mother Yana were hiding. They went down to the basement. In the morning, slag began to fall from above. Several basement floor slabs fell on people. The mother rushed to help her daughter, but she could not pull her out from under the rubble on her own. Anya and other people remained buried in the basement. The girl liked to work with computers. Her mother promised that when Anya turned 10, she would enroll her in programming lessons. However...

6. Denys, 9 years old.

On September 3, the twins were walking in a park in Dnipropetrovs'k region. Suddenly, MLRS shells started flying. "I felt the space around me with my hand. He was at my feet. I went to him: "Danya, Danya ... ", but he was silent. Although they told me to lie down, I started crawling to my son. Ruslan was screaming next to me," the boy's mother recalls the shelling. On December 22, Denys was supposed to celebrate his birthday.

7. Oleksandr from Chernihiv, 13 years old.

On March 9, Sasha and his mother Tetyana decided to evacuate from Chernihiv. However, a shell exploded near the pedestrian column, and the boy was hit by many fragments. "He couldn't say anything, his eyes were closed, he was breathing heavily, he wheezed three times and died. He remained lying there," Sasha's mother recalls. In 2022, Sasha was an eighth grader. He was interested in the crypto market and dreamed of developing a YouTube channel for an english-speaking audience.

original post : ukraina_topnews

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Something about the idea that voting for president only matters if you live in a swing state, and that all the people in blue states or red states can indulge themselves in principled nonparticipation because the outcomes are preordained, strikes me as akin to playing with fire.

Is it really coherent to say "both sides are awful, write in Mickey Mouse or burn your ballot or just stay home and get drunk, unless you live in Pennsylvania, in which case maybe consider taking one for the team and compromising yourself by voting for the lesser evil?" Is that really the message that will lead to a preferable outcome?

What it sounds like to me is a sign that 1) you take your local electorate for granted, and 2) you see avoiding the worst case scenario as somebody else's problem.

I remember when Florida was a swing state. I also remember when Pennsylvania wasn't.

[sparksinthenight]

stories of children whose lives were taken by russians

1. Marharyta from Kharkiv region, 8 years old.

On June 21, cluster munitions fell in the yard of her family's house. Marharyta died instantly, her heart was pierced through. The girl's father, at the age of 36, has become completely gray. The mother cannot describe in words how she feels after losing her child.

2. Kyrylo from Kherson, 8 years old.

In April, the family evacuated from Kherson to Vinnytsia. On July 14, russia shelled the city, Kyrylo was in the car with his uncle. The boy died immediately from a fragment hitting his head, then an explosion occurred. The body was searched for several days. It was identified only through DNA analysis.

3. Daryna from Kharkiv region, 15 years old.

On March 13, a russian missile hit the family's house. When the father got to the hand of his dead daughter, he said: "Our Daryna is no more". She was buried in her native Dergachi. Mom recalls that the missiles flew over the people here and there. "Daryna, this is a farewell salute to you." said her father.

4. Polina, 8 years old.

On March 13, Polina and her mother wanted to evacuate Mariupol. As soon as they took a few steps outside, the russian military started shelling with mortars. Nadiya's mother died instantly. Both of Polina's legs and arms were broken. The girl was operated on in the city hospital. But on March 16, Polina's kidneys failed and she died. Polina was shooting videos on YouTube, dancing. She liked to change into different costumes and perform on stage.

5. Anna, 9 years old.

On March 19, an enemy shell hit near the house where Anna and her mother Yana were hiding. They went down to the basement. In the morning, slag began to fall from above. Several basement floor slabs fell on people. The mother rushed to help her daughter, but she could not pull her out from under the rubble on her own. Anya and other people remained buried in the basement. The girl liked to work with computers. Her mother promised that when Anya turned 10, she would enroll her in programming lessons. However...

6. Denys, 9 years old.

On September 3, the twins were walking in a park in Dnipropetrovs'k region. Suddenly, MLRS shells started flying. "I felt the space around me with my hand. He was at my feet. I went to him: "Danya, Danya ... ", but he was silent. Although they told me to lie down, I started crawling to my son. Ruslan was screaming next to me," the boy's mother recalls the shelling. On December 22, Denys was supposed to celebrate his birthday.

7. Oleksandr from Chernihiv, 13 years old.

On March 9, Sasha and his mother Tetyana decided to evacuate from Chernihiv. However, a shell exploded near the pedestrian column, and the boy was hit by many fragments. "He couldn't say anything, his eyes were closed, he was breathing heavily, he wheezed three times and died. He remained lying there," Sasha's mother recalls. In 2022, Sasha was an eighth grader. He was interested in the crypto market and dreamed of developing a YouTube channel for an english-speaking audience.

original post : ukraina_topnews

[sparksinthenight]

    A short reminder that Russia is imperialist, has been imperialist for a long time, and there’s no way around that fact.

Sections of the Western left have developed a narrative according to which Russia has been gradually surrounded by NATO and that supposedly “provoked” Putin. It’s increasingly difficult to sustain the notion that Russia is simply “defending itself” after 24 February 2022, but the thing is - the invasion did not come out of the blue. One needs a different narrative to understand what Russia actually is: an aggressive imperialist power alongside other imperialisms.

So, a different narrative:

- 1994: Russia, with US support, acquires Ukrainian nuclear arsenal in exchange for the assurances to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity

- 1997: Russia acquires the Sevastopol naval base and almost all of the ships (82%, to be exact)… in exchange for the assurances to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity!

- 2004: Russia meddles in Ukrainian presidential elections, fighting hard to force an undemocratic fraudulent outcome, but fails

- Mid-to-late 2000s: As punishment for Ukraine electing Yushchenko, Russia uses energy blackmail, a form of economic coercion not very different from the IMF and World Bank lending and conditionality

- 2008: NATO refuses to adopt a roadmap towards Ukraine’s membership and in effect postpones the decision indefinitely. Ukraine’s security is in no way guaranteed, while Russia has already demonstrated the propensity to use coercion to force Ukraine to do its bidding

- 2009: Dmitry Medvedev, then president, writes to Yushchenko that “Russia does not pose and cannot pose any kind of threat to Ukraine”, so seeking NATO membership is stupid. Yea, sure

- 2014: Russia, which “does not pose and cannot pose a threat to Ukraine”… annexes Crimea. Really, Dima?? I thought you were for real??

Of course, by annexing Crimea Russia not only makes all the previous statements that it “can never pose a threat to Ukraine” a ridiculous lie, but also breaks the 1994 memorandum and 1997 treaty. “We are the Kremlin. Our word is worth nothing”

- Crimea’s annexation provokes armed separatism in Donbas that Russia supports and coordinates, including direct military command and control, and then completely subordinates Donbas “authorities”, in effect occupying the region

- Ukraine’s still not in NATO, its security is still in no way guaranteed, and the supplies of US weapons only begin in 2018. They are kept to a minimum… out of fear of provoking Russia!

- Nevertheless, on 24 February 2022 Russia launches a full-scale invasion to establish 100% control over all of Ukraine in one way or another. There is literally no military development on the ground that could have provoked the invasion. On Russia’s part, it’s a war of choice in exactly the same way the invasion of Iraq was a war of choice for the US in 2003.

Now, this is only the general outline. One should add Russia’s drowning of Ukraine with spies and agents of influence, money to corrupt Ukrainian politicians and massive acquisition of Ukrainian assets to impose economic and political dependency.

These are well-known facts, but so many on the left refuse to see the story behind them. It’s a story of decades of imperialist aggression, culminating in a war that cost 150,000 lives in 2022 alone. Any discussion of left-wing internationalism should begin with recognizing the reality of what Russia is and what it did.

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This night russia hit Dnipro hydroelectric power station. And it's only one of the civil infrastructures that was injured with this massive attack. Our Air forces managed to destroy 35 cruise missiles from 40 | 55 drones Shahed from 63 | 0 ballistic missiles from 2 | 0 missels X-22 from 5 | 0 Dagger missiles from 7 | 0 anti-aircraft missile from 22. I'm saying the bare fact. All this death and destruction meant to the civil people, civil infrastructure. It meant to kill us because we're Ukrainians. russia doesn't want Ukraine to exist. It doesn't need it's territory. It needs Ukrainians to stop their existing. They won't get it. I may not survive to the end of this war, but I know russia won't survive this war either.

P.S. russians wanted to destroy water Dnipro dam like they did it with Nova Kakhovka dam. But believe it or not at this time simple bus stood between the dam and the missile and softened the damage. People in the bus died instantly, but saved many... many lives. For now. I know russians will try again. Because I don't have illusions. You should stop having them either.

P.S.S. My goal is not to scare you or force you to pity me. Don't pity me. I made my choice. My goal is to get justice for my people. Justice for Ukraine.

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Occupant suspected of killing civilians in Bucha "adopted" a child from Ukraine

russian media report that the parents of a 7-year-old boy were allegedly killed in Donetsk region, and he and other children were allegedly taken out of the shelling in 2022.

Before being "adopted," the child lived in the Velikolutsk orphanage in the Pskov region. After the boy was placed in the occupiers' family, he was immediately sent to a "correctional school to catch up on his knowledge."

The name of the occupier who "adopted" the boy from Ukraine is Viktor Filonov. Russian propaganda has already stated that he plans to raise the boy to be a "patriot of Russia."

original post

[sparksinthenight]

Something about the idea that voting for president only matters if you live in a swing state, and that all the people in blue states or red states can indulge themselves in principled nonparticipation because the outcomes are preordained, strikes me as akin to playing with fire.

Is it really coherent to say "both sides are awful, write in Mickey Mouse or burn your ballot or just stay home and get drunk, unless you live in Pennsylvania, in which case maybe consider taking one for the team and compromising yourself by voting for the lesser evil?" Is that really the message that will lead to a preferable outcome?

What it sounds like to me is a sign that 1) you take your local electorate for granted, and 2) you see avoiding the worst case scenario as somebody else's problem.

I remember when Florida was a swing state. I also remember when Pennsylvania wasn't.

[sparksinthenight]

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.

It’s important to note that this region has been grappling with clean water issues following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant by the russians.

source : United24 media

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Talked to my friend, who lives in Kyiv, this morning. Right after the russian attack. Asked if she was okay because she lives in the part of the city where Shaheds are often downed. She told me that this attack was like no other before. The explosions were so powerful, the whole high-rise she's living in, felt wobbly and unstable. I asked her whether she and her boyfriend take shelter. Unfortunately, no, she said, the only thing they can do is to hide in the bathroom where there are at least no windows. There's no parking lot or an underground station nearby and the basements under their house are not suitable for hiding from the explosions. Because obviously they weren't built to withstand explosions, they were built in pre-war period. FYI there should be at least two entrances/exits in a shelter for it to be safe. In case the house collapses. I didn't want to know this information but now I know. I don't want my mother to understand the difference between balistic and guided missiles. But she does. I hate the fact that my grandma bought a map of Ukraine just so she could know where the missiles and drones currently are when they announce it in the news. I hate it not because I find it stupid but because no one should live in total fear and waiting of potential death like this. We don't deserve to live under constant threat, planning anxiously what to do in case we are far from our families when the next attack starts.

We lose everything - from people to pets to homes to material things to our health, both mental and physical while the whole world is watching. Well, we're in luck if at least a part of the world is watching. The rest got used to the terrorism that seems to be normalized as long as it doesn't cross the outer borders of Ukraine.

Personally I don't see the point of writing a lot of posts in English nowadays. You might have noticed that. Yes, we scream about it every day but it seems the longer we scream, the more of a common occurance it becomes to the rest of the world. Those who wanted to help us are already doing that and the rest just doesn't care. There are people who seem to despise us even. According to them we waste their money, live (mostly) not in holes (how dare we!), or fake the whole war thing at all. What they don't understand is that in the long run their demands to stop helping us can play a very bad joke on the whole world. If we lose, a lot of people will be surprised how everything in this world is interconnected. The unpunished evil always comes back wanting more. And pretending you don't see it doesn't make it disappear.

[sparksinthenight]

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.

It’s important to note that this region has been grappling with clean water issues following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant by the russians.

source : United24 media

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Seeing crazy popular posts from people who never had to pack a panic bag about how much privilege Ukrainians possess is very fucking funny ngl

There's a reason why any post that compares us to Palestinians is never from Palestinians themselves but instead from ppl who proclaim themselves defenders of the innocent yet very easily turn their backs on us cos it's not "new" anymore even though our situation is getting worse day by day. And the reason is that people who actually know what it's like to live through unimaginable pain and sorrow on a nation wide scale would never think to discredit that pain in other people. Unlike someone whose worst struggle was a recent college exam and no chai latte in Starbucks.

I'd say be better but I don't think you can so whatever.

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Occupant suspected of killing civilians in Bucha "adopted" a child from Ukraine

russian media report that the parents of a 7-year-old boy were allegedly killed in Donetsk region, and he and other children were allegedly taken out of the shelling in 2022.

Before being "adopted," the child lived in the Velikolutsk orphanage in the Pskov region. After the boy was placed in the occupiers' family, he was immediately sent to a "correctional school to catch up on his knowledge."

The name of the occupier who "adopted" the boy from Ukraine is Viktor Filonov. Russian propaganda has already stated that he plans to raise the boy to be a "patriot of Russia."

original post

[sparksinthenight]

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝗥𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.

It’s important to note that this region has been grappling with clean water issues following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant by the russians.

source : United24 media

[sparksinthenight]

Occupant suspected of killing civilians in Bucha "adopted" a child from Ukraine

russian media report that the parents of a 7-year-old boy were allegedly killed in Donetsk region, and he and other children were allegedly taken out of the shelling in 2022.

Before being "adopted," the child lived in the Velikolutsk orphanage in the Pskov region. After the boy was placed in the occupiers' family, he was immediately sent to a "correctional school to catch up on his knowledge."

The name of the occupier who "adopted" the boy from Ukraine is Viktor Filonov. Russian propaganda has already stated that he plans to raise the boy to be a "patriot of Russia."

original post

[sparksinthenight]

Lessons

I’m going to learn from this hunger,

from this longing,

from this pain.

I’m going to learn from this self destruction,

from this devastation.

There is love and power and revolution

that emerges from the pits of agony and from screaming in silence.

No story, no song, no poem can communicate what love can communicate.

No story, no song, no poem can communicate love, and bravery, and selflessness and sacrifice

if you yourself are not ready to love and be brave and be selfless and sacrifice,

if you yourself are not ready to understand.

The trees scream, the earth screams, the skies scream. Everything screams. But even if you hold your ear up to the wilderness you will not be able to hear it.

Unless you’ve felt what it is to scream yourself, to be unheard yourself.

And so many people say they’re in pain, when really they’re in luxury.

Like I said before, I long to learn from the hunger.