It is very very hot In Kyiv. I reckon it is going to be another roasting summer in Europe. I am not a big fan of the heat. My pale complexion is not that good in the sun. And there I am complaining again … besides the heat I have nothing else to moan about. I am a big fan of Kyiv, and it is where I feel at home. Er, actually, this is my home. I am in Kyiv now, at home, and am happy to be here.

I have been here for just over a week and so much about this magical place just blows my mind. The construction for starters. Cranes, cranes and more cranes. You cranes. Ok ok, that is a silly joke. But seriously. You can’t believe how much building is going on in the city. I guess these guys know who is going to win the war.

I am also amazed at how many cool new restaurants I have seen that have opened since I was here last September. Now that we are based in Wroclaw I imagine I will be back in Kyiv more regularly. We have a lot of work to finish before year end on the Ukraine film project, which is entering a very exciting new chapter. And sometime in August the small film team from SA will travel to Wroclaw and then will come with me to Kyiv on the train and we will shoot the last part of the film. That is the current plan. Of course, all plans now can change quite quickly depending on the state of the war. If WW III starts then who knows what will be. Anything is possible.

In January of last year, Marta and I both got corona, and we were ok. A lot of folk were stressed in Ukraine about corona because of the perceived lack of medical infrastructure. And by the end of that month I had a moment, in my home office here in the Nest, where I said to myself “I am content” – a month later the war started.

I have chosen a difficult path in life, being a film entrepreneur and storyteller, for some reason, but I have no regrets – I have lived a full and rich life filled with challenges and stress, and it has been intense at times, and often, very humbling, and flowing with inspiration. And I have got to know some amazing people. I have also been very lucky in life, with my other passion, in IT, and I thank God for that. I have also had many disappointments in life and have learned to live with the pain. I have never suffered from jealousy or envy and I thank God for what I have – there are many blessing to count each day. And I am lucky to know some inspired souls in the world and it genuinely excites me when the people I care about are doing good things out there and that they are filled with excitement and inspiration. It inspires me too. And yes, not so long ago I was at peace (interesting word, considering) for the first time. It was that content feeling that I thought was the meaning of life, for me, finally. And then, it was all taken away – just like that.

This film we are working on is helping me deal with the pain. We are crafting a story about modern Ukraine, that we started shooting in 2018. Right now a sense of purpose is keeping me sane. That and the air conditioner. Did I mention it is very hot here.

I spent Thursday night in the small hours sitting on an out-grown Bunster mattress in the corridor. I was not alone. Our one new neighbour was also there, on beanbags. A family with 3 kids and a small dog. Warm, cool folk. And they sure can snore all of them. They must be used to this insane routine. Yup, air raid sirens woke us all up and the two wall rule kicked in – a newly accepted activity in a not so normal world.

Friday night were more air raid sirens and a missile struck a residential building in the center of the city. I reckon most people did not sleep much this night, but the main reason was because everyone was on Telegram, following what was going on inside Russia. This weekend in hot Kyiv the energy has been just incredible.

This is spot on : https://kyivindependent.com/stephen-zhao-tepid-response-to-kakhovka-dam-explosion-paves-way-for-nuclear-disaster/

It is so disgusting. The world does very little to punish Russia. Instead they debate everything, like Russia has a point. Russia has no point of view – they started this evil war, for no reason, and could end it tomorrow, but instead, they only unleash more and more terror, and the world just debates and debates. It is disturbing and pathetic. Imagine if there was another crises in the world that arises. Actually, we have already seen that, with the pandemic, and that was one big mess globally.

“Unless Moscow faces clear consequences from the international community, Ukraine will soon see an even bigger disaster on a nuclear scale.”

The fact that the world’s media companies have headlines along the lines of “Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up the dam” is evidence of how mad the world is. Russia did it. They blew up the dam. They started this unprovoked war. They are evil. Why does the media give this a moment of doubt. Why does any world leader ask this ridiculous question. Who else did it … aliens from outer space?!

As one person posted on Twitter: you are experiencing the worst man-made disaster in your country since Chornobyl fighting the biggest war in Europe since the Second World War, but the leading discussion is: we don’t know who could have done it, we have no ideas, it must be nature itself.

What does the United Nations do exactly … ? Not much from we can all see. What a joke. And the fact that Russia is a part of this sham is just insane.

Sorry if I sound strange. It has been a traumatic week, once again, with no end in sight. From my perspective, and yes, I cannot be objective here, the world is just watching this nightmare unfold. Zelensky begs and begs and begs, and yes, he does get help, but not enough. The fact that even has to beg, and to such a degree, is just ridiculous. There is an evil force at large in the world, and global leaders are telling Ukraine “Don’t do this, and don’t do that.” WTF ?! Just help them stop this evil once and for all.

We have been in Wroclaw now for over a month. We like it here. But our dream is to return to our home in magical Kyiv. We believe Ukraine will win the war and that we will be able to go back to Kyiv, but we don’t know when this will be.

I have met quite a few dads in the apartment complex we are in. Warm, kind folk. The Bunster is the ultimate networker. Most of these folk I have met work in IT and speak English. Of course, the subject of Ukraine and the war comes up. One out of three people in the city are from Ukraine, so yes, Ukraine and Poland have become closer. Poland is Ukraine’s biggest champion from what I understand. And I am sure that all Ukrainians are very grateful.

What is interesting is when we chat about Poland’s support of Ukraine. All the dads I have chatted to have the same perspective, “We have to help Ukraine.” Do they like Ukraine … ? Perhaps. I am sure many do. But they have to support Ukraine. And they all have the same conclusion, “If Ukraine falls, we are next.” I believe this to be true as well. No one here wants Russia on their border. It is a sobering and scary situation.

No one here believe that Ukraine will lose, but still there is a fear that things may still get even more crazy. Anything is possible. These are very dangerous times.

This is a genuine Bunster question. Was an easy one to answer. The Uber was a couple of minutes away. We have been Ubering quite a bit in Wroclaw since we arrived.

Another genuine Bunster question. I wish I had an answer though …

Kyiv has had 9 missile attacks this month so far. Beyond intense and totally evil.

Timothy Snyder describes the situation brilliantly :

We have to work to preserve the concepts needed to characterize Russian behavior even as the Russian state strives to make them meaningless.  It is certainly terrorism to launch missiles and drones at a city.  What if, for no reason at all, the United States launched ballistic missiles at Toronto?  Certainly this would be terrorism, among many other things.

And what if American leaders and propagandists, in this hypothetical scenario, gave senseless reasons for such an action?  What if they claimed that Canadians and Americans were actually one people, and that Canadians who did not realize this had to be killed?  That the U.S.-Canadian border was illegitimate because of Joe Biden’s personal views about the past?  That English speakers in Canada needed to be united with their true American homeland? That Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was a Nazi?

The day after these latest missile attacks, though, there was less to “celebrate,” since all of the Russian missiles and drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.  The noise woke up the city of Kyiv, but not one of the Russian missiles or drones reached its target.  Kyivans have to live with the knowledge that Moscow wants them dead, but they also know that they are being defended.  Of course it is good for Ukraine when its citizens are protected.  But they should not be attacked in the first place.