I am in Kyiv. Things here are not easy here to say the least. And winter is around the corner. People are anxious. What is going to happen this cold season?!

As I write this there is a drone strike on the city. The attacks have been taking place every few hours for the past 6 weeks. This is terrorism. It is like September the 11th every day and every night.

My heart is sore but I have hope. People here are strong and grounded. They know the truth about this war, the selfish world we live in, about Europe’s weakness, about Trump disgusting character and about his love for Putin. There is no naivety here any more.

I know children in Kyiv that were born into war and they don’t know a different reality. I often wonder how these parents (my friends) cope. I am not sure we would be able to nurture the Bunster they way we currently do if we were with him in Kyiv. This is no way for children to live. And yet, with all of this going on you don’t hear victims here in Ukraine. Just brave, free spirits that want to live life. They will never give up. They know that occupation = death.

Being in Kyiv is hard on the nerves and it is dangerous but it is good for the soul. Things here are very black and white. This place gives one something to believe in – something good. If you are in America, say, and you are reading this, then what do you believe in? Is life really all about power and money?

Several countries, including the UK, France and the Baltic countries did not receive an invite to a planned meeting in Poland that will focus on NATO’s future.

Trump and his cronies are doing everything to ruin NATO as Russia continues to threaten Europe.

https://kyivindependent.com/in-pictures-a-week-of-russian-jet-drone-terror-in-kyiv/?mc_cid=42c50031c5&mc_eid=e9646bbe74

“What Trump wants most of all is to lift sanctions on Russia. We know this because it’s what Putin wants most of all.“

The Bun is 6 years old today. We love this little man to bits. Happy birthday Bunster. You are our everything.

The US House of Representatives approved sweeping legislation that would impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil and gas.

My understanding is that it now goes to Trump to sign. Will he do the right thing? I don’t think so. I hope I am wrong.

Trump never appears to do anything to upset his pal Putin so this is going to be a very telling moment. We will soon see.

The world’s biggest scumbag once again blames Ukraine. How about calling on Putin to stop killing Ukrainian civilians.

Trump never places any responsibility on Russia and certainly never on himself, since rising gas prices are directly connected to his bumbling in the Middle East. Why not tell his pal Putin to end the war on one of their frequent phone calls?

It would have been right for Trump to ask Putin not to kill Ukrainian children, women, and elderly people. But instead, he decided to ask Zelensky not to strike Russian oil infrastructure.

“It is now clear that Trump and MAGA are trying to save the midterms with anti-Ukraine rhetoric.

First, Trump, Bessent and others blamed Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries for rising gas prices, even though it is clear that the surge is driven by the catastrophic war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Second, Kushner and Witkoff are falsely claiming that Putin is ready for peace and that it is Ukraine that is stalling and refusing to negotiate.

Meanwhile, there will be absolutely no criticism of Russia.

This is the platform they’re running on, and it will most likely only get worse over the next two months.”

Trump doubles down on attacking President Zelensky and blaming Ukraine for the surge in energy prices.

“Never mind that about 20% of global oil consumption no longer passes through the Strait of Hormuz because of Trump. Never mind that Gulf diesel exports have collapsed to barely a quarter of pre-war levels because of Trump. Never mind that Gulf oil exports are down by roughly 50% because of Trump. Never mind that the Houthis are now attacking Saudi oil infrastructure too because of Trump.”

Trump has lost his war against Iran and the entire world is facing an energy crisis now. Trump is going to spend the next two months leading up to the midterm elections blaming Ukraine for a situation he created.

A friend of mine in Kyiv shared with me a sobering perspective recently. He said that everyone is waiting for Russia to strike another country in Europe. Not that anyone wants more people to suffer, but, if this did happen then perhaps Europe will take things more seriously.

People talk about the bombings in Kyiv, and the rest of Ukraine, like it is a normal thing. When London got bombed in WW II it was called the Blitz. In Kyiv nothing is normal and this is not some “conflict” as some refer to it. This is daily terrorism – all out war. Russia is evil and there is no doubting this.

Ukrainians are tired of fighting this evil alone. They are holding the line for all of Europe and paying the ultimate price. Anyone who can’t see this is either very naïve or full of shit, or both.

Most people I know in Ukraine believe that this war will go on for many more years. What kind of future does this nation then have? There is a lot of discussion in the media about more people that will try to leave the capital this winter. It is all very sad and worrying, but I believe Ukraine will get through it, albeit with a lot more pain.

The politics of Europe is another worry. If France and Germany go to the right and someone like Le Pen becomes a leader in Europe, then things are heading for a bigger war for sure.

If NATO falls apart then Russia and its evil allies will become more bold and aggressive.

Russian President Putin famously said “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere”.

We have been warned.

Photo from the Kyiv Independent today – “smoke rises over the city following a Russian air attack on Kyiv”.

Andriivskyi Descent in the Podil neighborhood – one of my favourite places in Kyiv.

The Bunster is almost 6 years old (his birthday is on the 29th) and he is very curious. This high energy little man is a sponge, and he is learning non-stop. Of course he keeps asking what his dad is doing all the time when I say “I need to do some work Bun, please stop making so much noise.” “What is this work … ?” he sometimes asks. It looks like all I do is stare a laptop screen all day. That in itself is concerning, but it is what is on that screen that is not so good for the Bun to see.

If I was in the fashion industry then perhaps he would look at me glaring at images of people in trendy clothes. And if I was a travel agent then perhaps he would look at me checking out pictures of hotels, and travel itineraries. And if I was in the automobile sector then perhaps he would look at photos of cool cars on my laptop screen. But I am working on a film project that is about Ukraine and there are visuals on my laptop of explosions, devastation and pain.

The Bunster knows about the war but we try our best not to talk about it in front of him. He is very sensitive and his one granny is in Kyiv and he sometimes asks us “Are rockets going to hurt Baba?” It is hard to believe that war is a part of lives and I fear that war is not going away. My biggest fear is that the Bunster is going to grow up in a world where war is a fixture, and that is incredibly sad.

We believe in the work we are doing. We are trying to make a difference. We are trying to share a story about Ukraine and what people in Kyiv have experienced there from 2018 up until today. This work is from the heart and it is full of purpose. One day, when the Bunster is a bit older he will watch the chapters of Kyiv of Mine and learn something about where he comes from and how the world there has changed since 2018 (before the full scale invasion) up until today, in this fifth year of this brutal war, which has no end in sight.