More from @zoyashef

Zoya Sheftalovich

@zoyashef

Mar 1

Some thoughts on the scenes we're seeing on social media of armed Russians, confronted by unarmed, protesting Ukrainians, being pushed back. Again, these are just insights from someone watching from afar, who just happens to know Ukrainians and Russians and Soviet mythology 1/

In the lead-up to this invasion of Ukraine, Russian state media was wall-to-wall all about how the Russian forces were going to be welcomed by ordinary Ukrainians. Like when the Soviets liberated European nations from the Nazis, freed concentration camps. 2/

Genuinely, I think, many of these young, unhardened Russian soldiers expected a heroes' welcome from ordinary Ukrainians who were being oppressed by an evil government. 3/

Read 19 tweets

Zoya Sheftalovich

@zoyashef

Mar 1

Getting a lot of questions about EU fighter jets for Ukraine. A word of caution on this. Many EU countries want to help Ukraine in any way they can - particularly those that have reason to fear for their own territories. But people are getting ahead of themselves. 1/4

EU has received Ukraine's request for jets, but it has walked back on previous comments and acknowledged it doesn't have enough money to pay for them. If Ukraine is to get jets, it will have to get them bilaterally from EU countries. 2/4

Jets are hugely expensive and need to be the sort of jets Ukrainian pilots can use. It's not like riding a bicycle. Some EU countries have these jets, but whether they'll send them to Ukraine is still an open question. 3/4

Read 5 tweets

Zoya Sheftalovich

@zoyashef

Feb 28

Going to retweet this video of the "Russian warship go fuck yourself" song I posted yesterday, but with the Russian lyrics translated into English. The original lyrics are a poem (in Russian) by Alexandra Smelyanskaya. You can watch here: 1/5

Someone, of course, is good, but he is not ready to sit in a prisoner transport vehicle
And to some the Calvary isn't a scaffold
The difference in principles is, in principle, only five words:
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself" 2/5

The voice from the tube is calm, intermittent and muffled:
"Mom, I'm wearing a hat, I took the documents, there is no fear."
My daughter fell asleep on the floor in the subway today.
Russian warship, go fuck yourself. 3/5

Read 5 tweets

Zoya Sheftalovich

@zoyashef

Feb 27

Глядя на Путинские атаки на Украину снова и снова, меня поразила мысль, что он извлёк неправильный урок из ошибок Афганской войны. И что он совершенно неправильно понимает современную Украину, Украину президента Зеленского. 1/

У меня не сложилось какое-то конкретное мнение о Путине, несмотря на то, что я прочитала много написанного о нем. Написанного людьми намного умнее меня. Но я знаю современных русских, украинцев и украинских евреев. 2/

И я думаю, что Путин до сих пор живёт в мире до 1991-92 года. В мире если и нефункционального, но целостного СССР, частью которого была Украина. Вот в чём дело! Он потерял связь с действительностью. Привет, бункерный менталитет! 3/

Read 43 tweets

Zoya Sheftalovich

@zoyashef

Feb 27

Zelenskiy drops two more videos this morning. I will translate key bits of the first. It is in Russian, and he speaks directly to Belarusians who are voting today in a "referendum" on allowing Russia to host nuclear weapons on their land. 1/?foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/26/bel…

"My words are addressed to the citizens of Belarus. You've been called today to the ballot box to vote in a referendum. This could've looked like a normal political process, but now clearly there's nothing normal. Now, decisions are being taken on a very different level." 2/?

"The past night in Ukraine was cruel. Again, shootings, again bombing of civilian areas, civilian infrastructure ... [invading forces] are fighting against everyone. They are fighting against everything living. Against kindergartens. Against homes. Even against ambulances" 3/?

Read 16 tweets