Analog – the good old days
Author Archives: ronnieapteker
‘War is very funny for the first couple of years’: how Russia’s invasion transformed Ukraine’s comedy scene
“After three years in Kyiv, Tymoshenko says his parents have recently returned to their home village outside Nikopol, another frontline city under regular artillery and drone fire. He grew up there in the countryside “playing with sticks”, before moving to Kyiv to study political science.
The authors he read – Plato and Aristotle – do not reflect the non-ideal world today, a place of ‘brute power and money’. He believes there will not be much to laugh about when the war finally ends: “I’m sure Ukraine will win and Russia will burn. But we’ve lost so many people. You can’t imagine Victory Day as ‘Wow!’.”
In the meantime, he suggests things are looking up for Ukrainian female comedians. ‘We will only have female ones because we men will all have died,’ he says blackly.“
Planet Of The Gapes
Modern warfare
At the leading international LANDEURO conference on European land forces, held in Wiesbaden, Germany, Robert “Madiar” Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said:
“I lead 12 units of drone pilots. Ninety-five percent of them were civilians before the war began. They were businessmen, athletes, lawyers, singers – anyone you can imagine, but not military. Altogether, we make up 2% of Ukraine’s entire army. Yet we destroy one in every three enemy personnel and one in every three enemy targets.
Putin, who promised to take us in three days, has – in three and a half years – only taught us how to defend our homeland, our children, and our land.”
The Hidden War Over Ukraine’s Lost Children
A calm, quiet night
It is a calm, quiet night in Kyiv. I imagine most people are fast asleep. I didn’t sleep much. Yesterday was a stressful and intense day of work and I was over tired and over wired. I have been up for a few hours. At 9:30 am I will leave the Nest to go to a meeting. Another busy day ahead. And yes, life goes on, bombs and all. But it is anything but normal.
The night before was the opposite of a calm and quiet night. Reading the local news updates, the Wednesday attack was one of the biggest yet on Ukraine’s capital, and it lasted 10 hours. I was in the basement shelter until the sun came up and then went to bed at 5 am and woke up two hours later, and started to work. It was a long, busy day yesterday.
The attack on Wednesday night was hundreds of Shahed drones and there were also a bunch of ballistic missiles. It is all insane, and everyone is so exhausted. The thing about these killer drones is that they are not like the size of toy drones like you see in the shops. The Shahed is huge. When one of these things get knocked out of the sky you don’t want to be down below. The falling debris can be lethal.
How can this be happening in this modern world?! It is pure evil. Ukraine will survive and thrive one day. But there is a lot more pain still to come. The attacks on Kyiv are getting bigger and more frequent. Please God this insane war comes to an end. It will, but not anytime soon.
A long, hard journey
I am on route to Kyiv. What used to be a 3 hour flight just a few years ago is now a 26 hour journey.
I am going “home” for a couple of weeks. I was in Kyiv last just over 2 months ago. The war is still raging on and the attacks on Kyiv, and other Ukrainian cities, have intensified. I know I will be spending many nights not sleeping. I am not unfamiliar with spending nights in a bomb shelter, but the scale of the recent attacks sounds truly terrifying. From all our friends and family in Kyiv we get updates when the strikes happen and we get the air raid siren alert on our phones, so we are always in the loop. But again, the scale of the attacks have increased and the bombardment from Thursday night last week was the biggest one yet. I am not scared. But I am a bit anxious.
My luggage is always packed full when I travel to Ukraine, and when I leave Kyiv my luggage is pretty light. There is a reason for this. I am putting stuff in our home. Books, Bunster things we want to keep (that he has outgrown), and other bits and pieces. I know it may sound a bit crazy, but Kyiv is the place I call home. Of course, nothing is simple or easy now and I know it is going to be stressful being at home.
Everyone in Kyiv, and throughout Ukraine, is exhausted. And the war has no end in sight. So much has changed over the past 3 years and so much is still changing. I was going to share some thoughts around this from my last visit home but I am still thinking about everything. The mood in the past month has shifted again, as the intensity and frequency of the attacks on Ukraine’s capital have increased. Russia’s evil knows no limits and Putin will not stop, unless he is stopped. And of course, Donald Trump is not making things any easier. It is all so unfair and tragic. It is a tragedy not just for Ukraine (although Ukrainians are suffering and are traumatized) but for the whole world. And if you think that this war cannot develop further and spread, then you are dreaming (as I once was).
I have a lot to do in Kyiv, and if all goes according to our work schedule then next month we will go live with our film series project “Kyiv of Mine”. We will launch it on YouTube around Ukraine’s Independence Day. We are all hoping this storytelling adventure makes a difference.
We told the Bunster yesterday that I was going to Kyiv. He knows he is from Ukraine but he doesn’t understand where I am heading. Thank God. But he did cry a few times during the day and said that he is going to miss daddy. When I put him to bed last night he sounded sad. I promised him I will be back soon. Marta and the Bunster need me. And I need them.
Most people we know in Kyiv used to sometimes be a bit casual when the air raid sirens went off but not recently. The scale of the attacks and the evilness of it all, has gone up. I know I will be spending many long nights not sleeping, in the shelter. I know I have to have my “go bag” (passport, phone, laptop, wallet, power bank, bottle of water) ready and I will not mess around.
I am currently in Poland. The journey started in the small hours this morning. If all goes according to plan I should get to Kyiv around 10 am tomorrow.
Marta and I often wonder if the Bunster will ever get to know the place he is from. I have faith. I believe he will. He spent the first year and a half of his life at home in Kyiv but of course he doesn’t remember. And he doesn’t know about the evil in the world. Thank God.
Some of the best memories of my life are in Kyiv. It is a soulful, magical place. I hope the Bun man gets to experience all of this one day. I hope this evil war ends this year.
PrettyApt 