TERROR IN UKRAINE OP-ED
After Russia’s latest horrific attack, the question is: who are you standing with?
The most striking thing is how any human being would watch a horrific terrorist attack on civilians, hear people screaming for their lives under rubble, see the bodies of children being pulled out from under tonnes of concrete and still feel justified in their decision to stand with Russia. Who are you standing with? Terrorists? Murderers?
I sat down to write about something inspiring – we have so many talented artists, scientists, inventors, painters, poets, composers, writers and dancers, that it would be a shame not to tell you about them while I have the chance.
There are so many everyday things you have in your life that originated in Ukraine or were invented by Ukrainians. We’ve just had Christmas, and the world was listening to the Carol of the Bells composed by the Ukrainian Nikolay Leontovich. Your hard drive was co-invented by a Ukrainian, Lubomir Romankiv. The world’s largest aircraft was designed by Ukraine’s Oleg Antonov. Antithrombotic prosthetic heart valves were invented by our famous heart surgeon Nikolai Amosov. The “Father of Modern Helicopters”? Ukrainian Igor Sikorsky! Élie Metchnikoff, the author of fundamental studies on immunology, bacteriology and epidemiology, is from a village in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
Ukrainians invented the piezo motor, electric welding of soft tissue during surgeries, CDs, vaccines against plague and cholera, liquid scalpels for the removal of malignant tumours, railway electrification systems and electric trams. They developed the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) – a key process for landing humans on the moon and returning them to Earth. They even invented hive frames for beekeeping.
Do you use WhatsApp, Grammarly, PayPal, Snapchat or GitLab? They were all either started in Ukraine or started by Ukrainians living abroad. And this is just the tip of the iceberg…
However, I can’t continue with this train of thought because on Saturday another diabolical massive missile attack was launched by Russian terrorists against Ukrainian civilians in Dnipro, and indeed against every Ukrainian.
Russia started bombing Ukraine early in the morning. At 6am, Kyiv woke to multiple massive explosions – Russian terrorists were bombing the capital with C-400 missiles. Unfortunately, these missiles cannot be detected or shot down, as they are fired close to the border and need very little time to reach the target.
A crater that one of the missiles created in the outskirts of Kyiv. (Photo: Supplied)
Later in the day, Putin’s killers launched massive missile strikes from their aircraft. Five of the 38 missiles were X-22s — long-range, supersonic, anti-ship cruise missiles, which are impossible for our current air defence system to shoot down. The explosive head of an X-22 weighs nearly 950kg. And one of these missiles was fired by the Russians at an apartment building in the city of Dnipro. It was a horrifying act of state-sponsored terrorism.
It was St Basil’s Day in Ukraine, a beloved holiday when people gather with their friends and family. The missile struck the apartment building — reducing it to rubble in a matter of seconds — in the afternoon, when most of the families who lived there were at home celebrating.
When first responders and people from neighbouring streets arrived on the scene, they were stunned. Dust from the explosion covered everything and people buried alive were screaming from under the rubble.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Come 2024 and we, the Ukrainian people, will still be standing, free and united”
All through the night and on to Sunday morning, the people of Dnipro were helping rescuers find those buried under the rubble. The voices of those buried became fewer and weaker – it’s winter and the nights have been very cold for the last week. In some heartbreaking videos, you can see firefighters signalling people, and immediately everything goes quiet – you cannot hear a single sound and they are all, hundreds of people, standing still, listening, praying to hear another voice.
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As of Sunday, rescuers had discovered 20 bodies and saved dozens of people from under the rubble. Most of them were in hospitals, while 40 people were still missing.
Dnipro apartment block missile attack deaths now at 25: Iran to get Russian jets
Russia is a terrorist state. Anyone standing with Russia is supporting terrorism. Anyone staying silent is supporting terrorism. You are all standing with terrorists drowning in our blood. What would be enough for you to see that those who aren’t standing up to this evil are complicit?
Read in Daily Maverick: “Horrifying accounts of Russian torture chambers evoke memories of Putin’s war crimes against Ukraine in 2014”
What is clear is that those who are turning their heads away will soon enough find themselves proven wrong. Somehow, people are okay with turning a blind eye and shaking the bloody terrorist hands, ignoring the fact that Vladimir Putin tried and will try again to create food insecurity in the world and starve Africans and Asians to create a migrant crisis. He threatened to freeze Europe, to launch nuclear attacks against those who are helping us. And I’m purposely disregarding all of their genocidal war crimes in Ukraine; this is just the evil aimed at you, at your people and countries.
So who are you standing with?
Damage from a Russian missile attack that destroyed an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. (Photo: Supplied)
An apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro after a Russian missile attack. (Photo: Supplied)
Support for Putin’s terrorist regime will have significant consequences. For all of us. We all need to start making hard decisions about our choices, as our future and the future of the world depends on this. The goal is clear: defeating the Russian terrorist regime; we need to all come together and act immediately and not wait till we reach a point of no return.
Dnipro has announced three days of mourning for those killed in the Russian terror attack. We will be joining them and lowering our flags to pay our respects to our heroic citizens. DM
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I stand with Ukraine! I p3$%^&*(s on Putin the Coward!
Many of us regular South Africans support Ukraine. Sadly the ANC government claims neutrality in public while most likely having strong connections to Putin behind the scenes. The truth will one day likely come out about this corrupt government’s connections to tyrants like Putin.
The ANC continues to regard support for Ukraine as an imperialist inspired Western NATO attack on Russia – in spite of the devastation and destruction, the suffering, and the effect on food security, especially affecting Africa. It is incomprehensible. Now that mercenaries/terrorists who murder for money are being employed by Russia, will we continue to turn a blind eye – Ms Pandor? The answer: yes! We have sold ourselves and all that we possess to Russia and dare not annoy that cranky bear!
As a South African who fought to protect our country from Russian ideology, and sees what their “Comrades” in South Africa have done to our country, Russia remains an enemy. I stand with the Ukranians and our prayers go to the brave Ukranian citizens and soldiers who are resisting the monster.
It’s time to get off the fence, President Ramaphosa and make a clear, unambiguous statement where you stand.
Perhaps Ukraine is the unfortunate guinea pig which will bring an end to an authoritarian regime in Russia once and for all? I’d like to see Putin on trial for war crimes. The less said about our utterly dismal #voetsekANC leaders and their cosy relationship with the war criminal, the better.
The majority of South Africans probably disagree with the government’s stance, as do I. Where can we express that disagreement?
And this is why politicians are the awful scourge that they are. The world does not need them. The citizens can appoint people to positions in government. We don’t need a layer of corrupt politicians who are a net drain on the state. So what purpose do they serve?
We stand with Ukraine, 100% We see the evil and barbaric actions from the Russian army and Wagener and we will never let them forget the deprevity they showed in this war!
Will Simons Town become a Russian/Chinese naval base?