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?!

I read an open letter “The Nato alliance should not invite Ukraine to become a member” in The Guardian. It made my stomach turn. But let’s say, for this discussion, that this letter is on the money. So, Ukraine doesn’t get to join the club. Ok. But why not give Ukraine the weapons it needs to defend itself. And why make Ukraine fight with one hand tied behind its back. Why all the rules and restrictions about what Ukraine can and can’t do. WTF ?!

The free, democratic world is not without its flaws. But If I had to choose between America, say, and Russia, I would choose America. I would never be able to sit and write this if I was living in Russia – I would be in trouble if I did. There is much about America that is rotten and broken, but again, it does allow for freedom of speech, and of expression. Same in Europe. I could go on and on here, but I am sure the point I am trying to make is pretty straight forward.

Russian propaganda is a very real thing. They are masters at this and they never stop. The bottom line is, and you can choose to ignore this one fundamental point: Russia will not stop unless they are stopped. Ukraine is fighting this war for Europe and the rest of free world, whether people believe to accept this or not. They are paying the ultimate price for their freedom, and for the system (again, with all its flaws and challenges) that we all would rather be living under, that of the free, democratic world.

Yes, there are wars all over the place, and they are all tragic and painful, but this is not just another war. This is about a superpower that has demonstrated that it is evil and constantly lies. Think for a minute how mad things are when it is this very same superpower that took over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council this month. I can’t be the only person to be thinking that this all one insane joke.

This is a war between superpowers, and Ukraine is doing the heavy lifting, and paying the ultimate price. This is a war between good and evil.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Would you want to be friends with a bully or a bullshitter. What about a bully and a bullshitter – who wants to do business with people like that. I try and avoid any crazy people. I am sure most normal people also try stay well away from parasites. And yet, if you look at the world today, so many bullies seem to be winning. From the corporate world to politics – maybe it has always been like that. I don’t know anymore. Anything is possible these days.

The upcoming American election is the ultimate example. I am also of the view that Joe Biden should let another democrat take his place, but it doesn’t appear like that will happen. And my bet is that Trump will become president again. It is all so hard to believe.

Let’s say that Trump does in fact become president again. What does that say about the values of the world we live in.