Olga Rudenko
@olya_rudenko
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Ukrainian journalist, chief editor of @KyivIndependent. Support our work: https://t.co/zG0qTgeSHI 💙💛
Joined May 2011
Thank you, @TIME, for this recognition of the work we do at @KyivIndependent. Thank you @LisaAbend for your professionalism and for our conversations. Special đź‘‹ to the quiet, shy little girls everywhere. You can stay yourself and still go places.
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This is the Ukrainian member of the @FoxNews crew. She was killed today alongside their cameraman. Fox News doesn’t even mention her in their report. (Photo published by Oksana Romaniuk of the Institute of Mass Information)
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Photo 1: A Ukrainian woman called Marina Met and her son Ivan, photographed on a summer night in central Kyiv. Photo 2: Their graves in Irpin, where they lived and were killed on March 5, according to the date on the makeshift crosses. Before Russia vs after Russia.
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I want to remember this moment. Exactly 6 months ago, Russia marched on Kyiv to take it in 3 days. 6 months later, I'm sitting in Kyiv, in my new vyshyvanka on the occasion of Independence Day, having morning coffee, working, and thinking how lucky I was to be born Ukrainian.
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The West needs to stop treating Ukrainians and Russians as equally affected by this war. Seeing your cities destroyed, 1/4 of nation displaced and thousands brutally murdered isn't the same as losing Instagram and McDonald's.
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In many coffee houses in Kyiv: . Pink post-its are beverages and desserts that visitors have paid for as a treat for military or territorial defense members, who can come and claim any of them for free. It’s people’s way to thank their defenders.
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It's cute how people from places like Massachusetts are sending patronizing emails to lecture me on what I should and shouldn't write about my country (which I live in) or its leadership (which I'm watching every day) due to the war (which affects me).
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President Volodymyr Zelensky has made many really bad mistakes, and I’m sure will make many more, but today he’s showing himself worthy of the nation he’s leading.
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I don't know the source of this picture, but this is indeed the best description of what is happening. This is exactly how it feels for us here in Ukraine.
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Please follow us at @KyivIndependent, most of us are on the ground in #Kyiv working to provide you with the latest news. It’s extremely stressful. No one knows where it is safe to be, or whether there will be more strikes and where, and Russian troops are moving from the north.
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The world's biggest criminal has been talking for nearly an hour about how my country shouldn't exist.
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Yesterday, Russia's missile attack on Dnipro killed a family of four: 2 children, their mother, and grandmother. Their dog was photographed today sitting on the ruins of their house. It was then taken to a vet clinic and got treatment. (I don't know the artist, unfortunately.)
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This is one of our best reporters. She is working non-stop to help us cover the war. She is in Kyiv, the epicenter. She has to take shelter many times a day due to airstrikes. She is brave. She asked her U.S. uni to extend her homework deadlines due to WAR. And they refused.
I am currently in #Kyiv, reporting #Russia's war 24/7 for @KyivIndependent while also completing my degrees for university in the U.S. Despite being a straight-A student, my university refused to re-extend the deadline, saying that it would be against "the university protocols.”.
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"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." (posted 11 weeks ago). Today both the woman who posted it and the baby she's writing about were killed by a Russian missile in Odesa.
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A local man, who works as a producer, says he has been rejecting Fox News offers partly because of their attitude to security. He says he knows details of the attack.
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One of the first Russian soldiers captured in Ukraine said this:. "I didn't want (to go fight in Ukraine) but that was the order. I didn't have a choice. If I refused, I could have been put in prison for up to 15 years.". That sounds like a choice to me.
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Such a disgrace. Ukrainian saber fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified from the world championship after refusing to shake hands with a Russian fencer. Why make them shake hands? Where is any respect to the feelings of Ukrainian athletes, whose country is under attack?
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And just like that, a 4-month-old startup became the world's window into the war in Ukraine.
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My friend is writing: "My husband's friend, a doctor from Zaporizhzhia, says a group of girls from Mariupol was admitted to their hospital. The oldest one is 10 years old. They have recto-vaginal tears.".
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Compare the headlines at Fox and elsewhere. (NYT has since changed their, adding that two journalists were killed)
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How are the 25 million people who follow Reuters supposed to figure out, from this tweet, that it’s a sham referendum held at gunpoint? This wording totally legitimizes it.
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Traveled to #Dnipro for a couple of days to see how the city is preparing for Russia’s offensive in the east. Story coming soon.
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“Where are you from?”.“Ukraine”.“Oh! What is the weather like in Moscow now?”. I guess I’ll never have this conversation again.
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Dozens of countries that, collectively, are times and times stronger than Russia, are standing and watching Russia slaughtering Ukrainians and destroying our cities. Too afraid to intervene. You remember what happens when you choose shame over war? You get both.
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Today has been one of the darkest days since the start of the war. As Russians were forced to withdraw from around Kyiv, we saw what they were doing to civilians in the occupied areas. I have no words to explain what I feel, but it's something I've never felt before.
As towns of Bucha and Irpin were retaken from withdrawing Russian forces, horrific photos and videos began to flow in.
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That's our Anastasia at a protest in France, where she studies. Her mother is in Kyiv, and in a particularly dangerous area. There are thousands of Ukrainians abroad who are now dead worried about their families and friends in Ukraine.
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Some photos from Kyiv, for everyone who loves it and especially for those who are away and missing it.
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Dear free world, how are you starting your Monday? Coffee? A workout? Writing down goals for the week?. We in Kyiv started it sitting in shelters, twitching from loud explosions as Russia is attacking the city with kamikaze drones. #RussiaIsATerroristState.
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“NATO is welcome to apply for a membership in Ukraine”
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It was the day that changed us all. Photo from this afternoon, trying to work from the subway station serving as the bomb shelter.
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Two journalists from that crew were killed, @FoxNews. The Ukrainian fixer not worth the headline?
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Yes we are.
Ukraine's president said that Russia will attack with full force this night. Our team will be up through the night to bring you the latest news. Our people are placed in and out of Kyiv. Even if the Internet goes down in Kyiv, we should be able to continue to post updates.
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UPDATE: The president of the university tweeted that the academic requirements will be put on hold. Thanks for doing the right thing in the end, but you may need to review your protocols.
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Spotted at brunch time in a very crowded hipster-ish cafe in central Kyiv on a Sunday morning: One rock star, one deputy prime minister, one Western ambassador. That's Kyiv ❤️.
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A passer-by on the street in central Kyiv now, carrying what looks like a small power generator and talking on the phone in the most casual voice imaginable: . “Yep, they’re hitting Kyiv now again, but it’s ok. Yep, there’s no water now. Probably no electricity. It’s ok.”.
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Russia is losing, and responding with more violence, killing and torturing POWs. This nightmare doesn't end in a peace deal. Like there wasn't a deal with Hitler in 1945. It can only end in Russia's defeat. The evil stops when the evil is stopped. #RussiaIsATerroristState.
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The description said the graves are in the yard of a private residence, likely because a normal funeral was impossible due to fighting. In the neighboring town of Bucha, 57 unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave today.
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The second photo was shared on Facebook. I searched for an account with the name from the cross, to verify the photo, and unfortunately it was there, with the photos of Marina and her son.
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Many Russians (70%, according to non-government surveys) support the war against Ukraine. Invading Ukraine takes many thousands of Russians who shoot missiles, throw bombs, produce propaganda, etc. It's not "just Putin.". They are not victims, they are accomplices.
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Ukrainians and Russians are truly, inherently different people.
A Russian soldier surrendered. Ukrainians gave him tea, food, and let him call his mother on video. I want to cry from how much I love my country.
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I always found it so odd that you can't take photos inside the Kyiv metro system because it is the designated bomb shelter in case of a war. I always thought it was so silly. What war? What bomb shelter? It's not 1941. Enter Russia.
⚡️Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko: Kyiv metro now only working as bomb shelter, there are no rides.
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So a Russian news site in exile, Meduza, got a large-scale promo campaign in Germany highlighting the bravery of their (RUSSIAN) journalists using tragic images from UKRAINE. I have no words. No, wait, I do. @meduzaproject вы конченные вырожденцы.
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Treating them as the same is diminishing and insulting to Ukrainians. This is for Western universities that extend aid to "Ukrainian and Russian students" because of the war.
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Can't put in words what seeing this means for us.
Ukrainian troops tear down a Russian flag from the radio tower in Yasynuvate & replace it with a Ukrainian one. Why does this matter?. The radio tower is 40+ km east of Balakliya. As the map that I will post below shows, the Russians in Izyum are nearly cut off from the north!
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This is how little Russia understands Ukraine. There are reports that the Kremlin will try to install Viktor Yanukovych – the guy Ukrainians kicked out TWICE in 2004 and 2014 – as Ukraine's president. The myth of Russia as a powerful and cunning state is shattered.
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Russians have chosen the letter Z as the symbol for their invasion of Ukraine. It is marking the Russian military vehicles and is widely used by the supporters of the war in Russia. I don't understand why they didn't go for the full swastika.
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No, BBC. Thinking that either of these 3 things is merely a "face-saving" element for Russia or would be "easy enough for Zelensky" to accept = Not understanding Ukraine at all.
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Looking forward to seeing these headlines in NYT and beyond:. Ukraine dares to fight back genocidal invasion, escalating the war. Ukraine pushes Russian troops away from Bakhmut, escalating the war. Ukraine demands Russia's surrender, escalating the war.
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This is Russia's "peacekeeping" mission in Ukraine.
Former kindergarten in Chernihiv, a regional capital in northern Ukraine, after a Russian attack. Photos: Pravda Gerashchenko/Telegram
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My hometown, Dnipro, has been hit for the 2nd night in a row. We never immediately know what area was hit, so every time it’s a process of texting everyone you love to ask if they’re ok — meaning, if they’re alive. How we’ve been able to accept this as reality, I don’t know.
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“NATO explaining to Ukraine why it can’t impose a no-fly zone”
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So we at @KyivIndependent couldn't stand aside and watch our fellow Ukrainian newsrooms suffer from Donald Trump's freeze of U.S. aid. We have just launched a campaign to raise $50,000 to save 3 independent newsrooms in 🇺🇦 cities close to the front lines.
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Can’t begin to explain how surreal it is to be sitting on the floor in the ~safest place of my apartment hearing an extremely loud Russian missile+drone attack — after having spent entire day discussing and editing coverage of the U.S. effectively demanding Ukraine’s surrender.
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Is this your response to Russians blowing up a power plant dam, putting 16,000 people at risk of death @UN? Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?
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Hours later, Fox News ended up acknowledging Oleksandra's killing. They did a separate report on it, and added a paragraph to the original story (the headline still only mentions the Fox News cameraman).
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This goes to the whole team of the @KyivIndependent, which we started only 10 months ago.
@CarlosDada @_elfaro_ 🇺🇦These heroic media platforms & their journalists rose to face head-on the challenges and dangers brought by Russia’s war of aggression with courage, quality reporting, and a steadfast commitment to serving local communities at a time of immense need.
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To add a detail, what was left of these people was found on the roofs of the neighboring houses, according to the mayor. If your heart breaks reading this, good. Go and find out when the next protest against Russia's war takes place in your city. Join it.
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Volunteers distributing food at Kyiv railway station have a jar for donations marked “For Putin’s funeral wreath.”.
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Hello, Russians? Look at what you are doing. Hello, free wold? Look at what you are allowing to happen.
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Extremely proud of all of my talented @KyivIndependent colleagues, including these four who were featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe List today. Great testament to our hard work and to Ukraine's talented young generation. Thank you, @forbes. Sincerely, .a 33-year-old.
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Spent several days in Riga 🇱🇻, where the support for Ukraine is overwhelming. You hear about it, but seeing it is something different. 💙💛. Now off to Madrid 🇪🇸 for a couple of days.
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Our Asami spent days negotiating with the university to extend her deadlines, to no avail. But several thousands retweets did the job in 1 hour.
@AsamiTerajima @WilliamWoodsU @AsamiTerajima - thanks for reaching out and your work! Immediately placed any academic requirements on hold. Safety is priority. When at a time/place where it makes sense for you to focus on studies, we will review a plan for your continued success, building on your great work.
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But hey, at least the world has all the Russian gas and oil that it wants. Stay warm. Ukrainian children will pay the price.
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But I have to say that so far all the people in the uniform that I’ve seen come in chose to pay for their drinks.
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So officially Russia’s army is 1 million people. Russia claims only 5,900 have been killed in Ukraine. So they are announcing mobilization of 300,000 people. Mhm, okay.
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This. @meduza_en care to comment? Too busy enjoying your Saturday in Kreuzberg?.
A special “prize” for marketing cynicism & hypocrisy should go to the Lure agency from Berlin. They used images of Ukrainians who lost families and homes in a promo ad for the Russian outlet Meduza. Exploiting our tragedy to evoke sympathy for Russians is a complete disgrace.
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I saw someone write: "I don't know how it works but I think I can feel the Cossack gene waking up in me.". I pity Russians for they will never feel what we are feeling now.
I’m so proud of my country. I can’t describe it with words. 💙💛.
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According to the analysis by Press Gazette, @KyivIndependent was hit by the decline of Twitter referrals after Musk takeover harder than any other news site. Why? Evidently, it's because all of our content is about Ukraine and war.
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The “Rays of Dignity” on and near Maidan tonight — the light installation honoring the killed EuroMaidan protesters.
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It’s minutes after 5 am in Kyiv and this is the moment when it’s been exactly one year since this nightmare started.
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I second that. We are alone. The world is watching an insane dictator trying to slaughter us — and is letting him do it.
“This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar,” said Zelensky. That’s what we all think sitting in bomb shelters across Kyiv. The West gave up on Ukraine. Not surprising, but still hurts.
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To everyone who is talking about "would Ukrainian military now ATTACK these 'annexed' regions.". With all due respect, it's idiotic. Ukraine doesn't ATTACK its own territories, it LIBERATES them from the invading force, saving civilians from torture and other violence.
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10 years ago, I was lucky enough to see the beginning of a revolution. EuroMaidan Revolution was a formative experience for young Ukrainians. It was our vaccine against obedience, and it still lasts.
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In reality, agreeing to any of these would be extremely humiliating for Ukrainians, especially after everything that Russia has done in the last 3 weeks. Disarming Ukraine after Russia deliberately bombed our children? Ukrainians won't have it.
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Who knew this level of stress even existed, let alone that we can operate on it so well for so long? . Not complaining at all. Holding up. 🇺🇦.
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It’s Ukraine’s 🇺🇦 Independence Day 🇺🇦, and here’s me in my vyshyvanka, being very demure, very mindful, dreaming about the complete defeat of Russia.
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I think Dnipro is a greatly under-appreciated place, and hope that after the war, the world will “discover” it. And yes, I may be biased: It is, after all, my hometown.
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After everything that Russia did, after its torture of POWs and blowing up the Olenivka jail — this is almost unbelievable.
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2 flights + 2 trains and I’m back home in Kyiv. 7 months ago it would have been one direct 2-hour flight. To everyone who had to leave Ukraine and is missing it — wishing that you can come home soon.
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For those who hear “Russia” and think of Dostoyevsky. The name you should think of is Stalin. (Photo: Kostyantyn Chernichkin/The Kyiv Independent)
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I wrote about 🇺🇦Independence Day for @guardian: . “If you support Ukraine, if you donate, if you demand from your politicians that they send military aid, if you stand with us in this existential fight for freedom – Ukraine’s independence day is yours to celebrate, too.”
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This cat was rescued today from the 7th floor of a bombed building in Borodyanka (the bombing took place in early March). Look at that cat. That cat is a fighter! . Also, the cat looks like it’s ready to seriously kick some Russian asses. Photos: Zoopatrul via FB.
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Things I learned on this trip? Plenty. One of them: Your luggage can and will get lost when you least expect it, so pack your most important t-shirt in the carry on.
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Yesterday in Kyiv: Part of the @KyivIndependent team, wearing our traditional embroidered shirts vyshyvankas for Independence Day. (+ @IAPonomarenko behind the camera). You can support our work and help us get to 7,000 patrons here:
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And for many it may be the scariest night of our lives.
It feels like almost all people I know are not sleeping. It feels as if the whole country is awake this night.
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On the day when the world was processing the Bucha massacre, Russians living in Greece had a "protest against Russophobia.". I dare say they didn't do a very good job. More photos: Instagram/HelpUkraine.gr
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Except that it didn’t. It just didn’t. Really sick of this false narrative of “we owe Russia for WW2.” . German officials used same justification when explaining Nord Stream 2.
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Ugh. This is a notoriously vain & self-obsessed Ukrainian politician who has been posting numerous photos with that gun while there are reports that territorial defense units in some regions are short of weapons.
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This report, published in Ukrainian this morning, immediately became a must-read. We at @KyivIndependent translated it for you:
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Sadly, this is on point. (The artist is Georgii Kliuchnik).
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The same Kyiv cafe that famously named a pastry after Boris Johnson (seen left) now offers a Rishi Sunak (center) and Liz Truss (right). Sunak is the most expensive one of the three.
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Unexpected and disappointing. Half of the clothes I own are Uniqlo. It felt like the brand has the right values. Now Uniqlo decides to stay in Russia, where its taxes pay for murder of children in Ukraine. Needless to say, will never buy again. @UNIQLO_JP @UniqloUSA @UNIQLO_UK.
Japanese casualwear giant Uniqlo defends a decision to keep Russian stores open even as rivals Zara and H&M suspend operations in the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
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I’ve had this poster in my kitchen since forever. It’s a spoof WWII poster from one episode of “Doctor Who”. I love it. Never thought it would take such a literal meaning.
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Hey @UNIQLO_JP @UniqloUSA @UNIQLO_UK do you think that Russian soldiers who kill Ukrainian children should opt for "extra fine merino crewneck sweater" or "premium lambswool v neck cardigan" this spring?.
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