There are apps to tell us about air quality, traffic, electricity outages, and so much more. All of these are man made scenarios. And of all of these alerts that we can install on our phones the one that really raises the bar is the air raid siren app.

There is so much magic and beauty in the world, and also, so much greed and corruption. Why can’t all of us try stamp out the negative and embrace the good. I guess this will always remain as one of the curious questions of the civilized world (if we can even call it that). But rest assured, we have apps alerting us about all of these crazy things.

One of the most amazing cities in the world has to be Kyiv. A well kept secret for sure. Overflowing with creative spirit, eccentricity, energy, humour and so much beauty. A place that was just waiting to be discovered. A gift for travelers, for the curious, for the artists, for the techies, for the architects, the photographers, for the coffee lovers and foodies. For everyone. And yet, missiles rain down on this incredible city week after week, and other cities all over Ukraine. It is still all so hard to believe.

I was in Kyiv a few weeks ago and I just arrived back. It is always good to be here. At home. In the past two weeks the mood has lifted and Ukraine is back in the news headlines. God knows how this is going to play out but one thing is for sure, Ukrainians are brave, and smart. This move into the Russian city of Kursk has captured the world’s imagination. Slava Ukraini.

Today marks 900 days since the start of the full scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine. I remember that first day of the war like it was yesterday. Every detail. This nightmare is far from over.

The last few days there have been a lot of funny memes about Ukraine’s move into the Russian city of Kursk. From what I read in the news and the general vibe I get from friends and colleagues in Kyiv is that Ukraine’s morale has been boosted.

Make no mistake though, people are dying, and so many are suffering. The past month was the deadliest month so far for Ukrainian civilians, reports the UN. At least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured in Ukraine in the past month.

The media doesn’t yet have a clear picture of what is going on in Kursk in Russia. If Ukraine has crossed the border and are attacking a city inside Russia then that is quite a development. The part that I truly don’t get is reports of Russia stating that this is a “large-scale provocation”.

Firstly, who cares what Russia has to say. Secondly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is pure evil, so for Russia to moan about anything is just ridiculous. Imagine a murderer being caught red handed and then the media publishing complaints from the murderer stating that they were mistreated, etc. And thirdly, who gives a continental about anything to do with Russia. Whatever Russia has to say cannot be trusted. For all we know, Russia could make up a story about Kursk so that they can try mobilize more Russians to be sent to the meat grinder.

I often think this is like an episode of Candid Camera and someone is going to reveal the hidden camera soon and show us all that this has been one big setup. How can this war still be raging on, in this day and age, with clear atrocities being committed by Russia, week after week, and still have Russians at the Olympics, at other sporting events, at the United Nations, on holiday all over the globe, etc. How can Western companies still be operating in Russia and still look at themselves in the mirror. I just don’t get it. If the free world were united with common values and all cut Russia off then this war would have ended a long time ago.

The past week in Kyiv has been one big blur. I have been running around, seeing friends, attending meetings, working on our film, and trying to stay cool. The heat wave in Ukraine and other parts of Europe is intense. Throw in the electricity outages caused by the Russian attacks on the infrastructure and you have a lot of people who are sweating, literally. One can’t run an air conditioner when there is no electricity and everyone is hoping for some cooler weather soon. And yes, there have been air raid sirens blaring just about every day this week and on Tuesday night some drones were shot down and I heard explosions in the small hours of the night. The new “normal” is anything but normal. But still, life goes on. It is inspiring and sad all at once.

Earlier this week Anton and I pitched “We Are Ukraine” at the Odesa Film Festival which this year took place in Kyiv, because Odesa is less safe than Kyiv. We made a rock solid presentation and it was a good experience. I spent the whole day listening to all the other pitches and the war was the backdrop for just about all of the projects. A film festival in a war … yes, life goes on, albeit painfully. The pandemic of 2020/2021 came up a few times in some of the discussions on the day. People here say things like “Pandemic – those were good times”. This war is a nightmare and God knows when it will ever end.

Having spent the biggest part of my adult life in South Africa I know all about electricity load shedding. It is bad for the mood, the economy and everything else. One thing that is on my mind here in Ukraine is this : if the Russians keep attacking the electrical infrastructure then could the situation get worse. Can the entire electricity system be destroyed?! My question was answered by Prof. Glib who said to me that if that happens then it means we have another Chernobyl crises in Europe, because there are 3 nuclear power stations in the West of Ukraine and if Russia attacks any of those then it is a whole new kind of catastrophe. And if that does happen then the assumption is that the global community will finally step in, and if they don’t, well, then there is no global community. At this stage of the world’s development I think it is fair to say that anything is possible.

On Thursday we had 4 hours of electricity in our apartment building. My training from SA has served me well. Charge phones, laptop, power-banks, etc. When you walk in the city you do see and hear generators all over the place. Restaurants, for example, are all open and, well, people need to eat, and live.

Last night we attended the closing event of the film festival and it was pretty busy. The evening started with the host requesting a minute of silence for all those soldiers who have been killed defending Ukraine. There are many film makers and artists fighting at the front lines and some of them have died.

Earlier this week there was a thunder storm one evening and the rain was very welcome. It is still too hot here in Kyiv but that is the least of everyone’s problems. The sound of thunder gave me a bit of a fright. A few times I had to check the air raid alert app because it sounded like the city was under attack. The week before the world witnessed the bombing of two hospitals in Kyiv. The evil brought on by the Russians knows no limits and yet, there are geniuses in the West that believe they can negotiate peace with Putin. Hubris!

Have a look at this footage from the one hospital that was hit by a missile last week. This is happening now, in Europe, in this day and age, and the world just watches. Yeah, so much for the global community.

This winter could see a humanitarian crises that Europe has never experienced before. The electricity situation here is worrying. And the evil Russians are not stopping. They will keep going until they are stopped. It is that simple. If they are not stopped then this evil will spread beyond Ukraine. Who is going to finally help Ukraine to stop them. I mean, truly help Ukraine. All these pledges and promises. WTF?!