I contemplated whether I should dedicate this column to the farcical Cirque du Russia that took place in the Kremlin on Friday, but I do believe we have Russia’s sham referendums covered. They are truly laughable and rather pathetic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin not only broke international law, but also Russia’s own. The numbers are made up and anyone with the ability to understand third-grade maths can clearly see that the procedure was staged and rigged. Nevertheless, I do urge you to find a few minutes and listen to the speech Putin made on Friday: while it has nothing to do with reality, it explains a lot.
The frightened dictator hauled out conspiracy theories and blamed “the West” for blowing up part of the Nord Stream pipeline. This is the Russian presidential level these days: conspiratorial blame without even a hint of evidence, without demanding to hold those who supposedly attacked Russia accountable in the international courts, or even demanding any compensation.
Unsurprisingly, calls for negotiations took place during the annexation speech. While Putin was making this mind-boggling speech, the encirclement by Ukrainian armed forces of Russian soldiers in Lyman near Donetsk was nearing its completion. Therefore, only God knows what he was annexing. He went on about “Satanists” while addressing his government, so we can officially state that the last shred of coherence and common sense has left the Kremlin. Negotiations with this Russian president are now officially off the table. The president of Ukraine is willing to negotiate with the next one if Russia ever becomes a democracy.
What I want to talk about today is what is most important to me — the lives of my fellow Ukrainians. Not the brave armed forces that do all they can to protect us every day, but ordinary Ukrainians. Let’s take 29 and 30 September as an example.
Air-raid alarms
Ukrainians have been living with non-stop air-raid alarms from day one of Russia’s attack. Hearing an air-raid siren means death and destruction are on their way. It means you have very little time to find shelter. It means you are never safe and any moment of any day may be your last.
Here are some facts: on 29 and 30 September there were 130 air-raid alarms in 127 districts across Ukraine. The average duration of an alarm was 43 minutes, with the longest attack having people in hiding for four hours and seven minutes. People in Kharkiv, Dnipro and Donetsk had the highest count, with 12 air-raid sirens on a daily basis, followed by Poltava, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr with six to eight daily sirens.
We are incredibly grateful for our air defence system, but, unfortunately, we still have insufficient protection from missile attacks that take place 24 hours a day, every day. Though we manage to hit many Russian missiles in the sky, those that reach their targets bring much death and destruction to civilians. Russia rarely attacks military sites; many of its attacks kill women and children.
29 September — Zaporizhzhia region
Russia attacked a civilian humanitarian convoy near Zaporizhzhia. People in the convoy were gathered to go into the currently occupied regions of Zaporizhzhia to bring humanitarian aid to their relatives and friends or were going to bring their relatives to the Ukrainian soil under our control. Russia launched 16 missiles at the convoy, killing at least 30 civilians on the spot and injuring 88. I am going to show you the photos, leaving out the most horrific ones. I need you to see what Russians are attacking. There isn’t one military vehicle in sight.
29 September — Dnipro region
A Dnipro suburb was attacked by Russia early on 29 September. It’s a quiet residential district, far from anything military, any essential infrastructure, hospitals or schools that Russia chooses to attack. All of the above-mentioned reasons were pluses for a country at war and the main reason why Natalia, a young mother of two — a little girl, Vasilisa, and a boy, Ivan — decided to move her family into her mom’s house in the area. She took her beautiful children and two of their dogs, Krym and Jack, and moved to this quiet village-like place to give her family a better chance to live.
That early-morning Russian rocket hit their home with such force that their bodies were later found on the rooftops of their neighbours. The old dog Krym, who somehow managed to survive, was later found whimpering on the remains of the home of his family.
29 September — Dnipro
Another target for Russian missile attacks in the past few days was the bus depot in Dnipro. In this photo, you can see everything that was left of 115 modern city buses. The mayor of Dnipro took to social media and asked other Ukrainian cities for help, and Kyiv reacted immediately by sending 30 buses. We are going to get through all of this together, and of that, I have no doubt.
All of this is, of course, just a few incidents in those two days in Ukraine. For example, in those two days, multiple private houses and apartment buildings were attacked by missiles or drones in Mykolaiv; luckily, without civilian casualties. Multiple districts in Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rig were heavily attacked, also with the destruction of many houses, cafes and a hotel. In numerous cities around Ukraine, Russia destroyed power lines and water supply.
Millions of our people fled the country or are internally displaced, without a home, job or any possessions — when your home is attacked by a missile there’s usually nothing left afterwards.
Every day comes with new horrifying details of atrocities committed by Russians in the freed regions. This, unfortunately, is what a day in the life of a Ukrainian looks like and this is exactly why we have no other choice but to win. We go to school, earn money, volunteer, donate to our armed forces, laugh and cry. We live. DM
Thank you. Hard to read but much harder to write. We apologise for the anaemic response of SA to your pain and sacrifice. Our government disappoints most thinking SAs too, as you know. Strength for the horrors ahead.
We are indebted to you for your briefing on the situation. The South African government does not represent the people of our country on Ukraine and many foreign policy issues but ANC sentiments that are misplaced and financial interests through the oligarchs. The three ANCYL thugs who were elected by nobody but are appointed battering rams of ANC factions and have no standing amongst the South African youth do not represent the youth of our country. As they admit, an oligarch paid for them and were entertained with alcohol and paid to say the rubbish they were saying in public. As you know, the ANC is prone to capture as an Indian family captured them without the support and the authority of our people they depend on oligarchs for funding as their stealing of public money to finance the ANC through proceeds of crime is drying. These young people who cannot spell even their names and have no clue on what an observer is should never concern the Ukrainian people as we stand by you against the thug and salute your stoicism and bravery in the face of Russian criminality. We wish you more courage to defeat the thug and his stooges.
Our government’s response is a disgrace and a travesty. And our President did not even see fit to repudiate his party’s youth league’s antics (a kind word to use) in favour of sham elections. I do not want to share the same planet let alone the same country with such individuals. What is it that we don’t seem to understand about this conflict and who is responsible for it ? When is the ruling party going to engage in some serious dialogue with the ambassador and the government she represents ? Please at least take a leaf out of the book of diplomacy provided by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.