Thread by @Russian_Starr

Greetings from Ukraine, everyone.

I have some things I need to share, not as a an on-the-ground journalist. But as a lover of Ukraine who has come here for years and is building businesses here and have friends who function like like close family.

Thread.

Everyone in the U.S. is asking me and every other journalist or person who lives here, "Is Russia gonna attack?" or "What is Putin going to do?"

Answer: who the fuck knows. Please stop asking!

If you live in Ukraine, as a native or as a visitor like myself, this is our reality.

As long as Putin is President of Russia and the Russian people are content with him, threat of an attack from Russia will always be a reality. Each time I visit Ukraine, I know Putin can attack. It doesn't stop me from visiting here. If Ukrainians can deal with it, so can I.

Yes, many people are anxious about Putin's threats of attack, but they and others are going about their lives as usual because what can they honestly do? My friends ask me if I am safe. I am as safe as I can be with Putin and Russia bordering Ukraine (shrug).

I no longer watch news media about Ukraine because I honestly learn nothing new. Yes, Russia could attack, but that isn't anything new. The same folks giving commentary (including me) about what Putin thinks aren't providing new information.

It isn't good for my mental health to live on a news cycle that treats Ukraine like a hot spot when I am so emotionally invested in this place. I am not just a journalist; I have family here and cannot ride the emotional rollercoaster of talking heads predicting Putin's behavior.

If you want to know what Putin will do, go back to the news cycle of 2014 and apply it to what is happening now. The analysis isn't really that different--and neither are the people who are repeating the same talking points.

Rinse, wash, repeat.

What is *my* role in this horrible news cycle around Ukraine? Amplifying the voices of the Ukrainian people and continuing the pursue my passions with my friends here. Because this news cycle will end and the same talking heads will go away and talk about something else.

I am not leaving Ukraine until I am good and ready because I am focused on my country, not the news cycle and predictions of Putin's mood. I am posting more of my feel-good Ukraine content on IG because that is a better space than here. I am at @terrelljstarr on IG.

I do not have any reports from the front because I didn't come here for that. I do not have thoughts about what is on Putin's mind because I don't fuckin' know. All I know is he is evil and if he does something evil, it makes sense that he did it. (shrug)

Yes, I am affiliated with a think tank and yes I am a specialist in this area, but I also think it is OK to admit when you have nothing new to share. I do not. For today.

What I really want to do is start new convos with new voices about Ukraine that will make a difference.

I am OK. I will leave when I need to leave and no sooner.

I have commitments to friends that I have to fulfill and I will complete those before I go. What I will not do is repeat the same 2014 talking points for 2022.

Putin has not changed much. Ukraine has.

I am sorry or this rambling, but I am just voicing out loud my frustrations over media coverage that looks at Ukraine as a cheese match and not as a country of human beings who do not live their lives by the news cycle as Americans think they do.