The sun is up in Kyiv, and the city still stands, facing the enemy.Â
I can’t transcribe the anger I feel towards Putin and his complicit regime. I can't put into words the despair I feel for the Ukrainian people.Â
Call me an optimist, but I thought blitzkrieg by a regime against a democratic European country was a relic of history. I hoped our social interconnections, economic attachments, and nuclear deterrents would deter indiscriminate violence. I thought, 'it's different now'. But, I was wrong. Industrialised nations can still commit horrors in Europe.Â
Russia is carrying out total war against a free civilian population. As the fight gets harder, the violence increases: I'm terrified it will escalate. Right now, they are shelling residential areas. Yesterday, the Russians shelled a children's cancer hospital.
I never thought I'd see morning newspapers such as they were yesterday. An attack on one liberal and outward-looking democracy is on all of us. The bonding nature of social media carries messages from the front lines to our phones, personally. The violence is with us, and it’s visceral.
It's time to appreciate, and protect at any cost, the many freedoms we're accustomed to enjoying.Â
I've been following these Twitter lists (primarily by Ukrainian journalists)Â
What can we do to help? Please let me know.
-Hector