Thread by @ZarinaZabrisky

I am on a mini-bus Odesa—Chisinau, and a mother with a pre-teen daughter just said goodbye to the father. “I love you, papochka.” Everyone is crying quietly and discreetly, with sunglasses on. I never knew it is possible to hate Putin and Russia as much as I hate them now.

Elizaveta and Symba are fleeing Ukraine to Estonia via Moldova. A woman in her 80s is scared of music, thinks it’s a siren. Her house in Mykolaiv got bombed and she was left alone. Marina and Yoda flee to Germany, their man stayed in Ukraine.

Friends, I'm in London to speak at @BylineTimes festival, speaking about the Russian war in Ukraine w/ great journalists/experts @lukeharding1968, @peterjukes, @Hardeep_Matharu, @OxfordDiplomat. I'm bringing a message from Ukraine that needs to be heard. Poster by @BylineTimes

Sorry about the typos. Dead tired. It was a long trip. Ukraine--Moldova--Romania--London (a weird Airbnb). I want to do an update but am afraid to make mistakes. More tomorrow.

ps. It needs to be mentioned that Russia has just shelled Kyiv, Odesa, and many other cities today. I will do the detailed update after I sleep and have clarity. It is devastating. We, the world, need to stop the serial killer in the Kremlin. It is unbearable. We need to stop it.

April 29, Report for two days. 64--65th days of insanity. #Ukraine is standing. It is getting stronger. Send these foul beasts into the abyss.

#Kyiv UN Secretary-General Guterres spoke to Zelensky when Russians fired a missile. He is "shocked". Radio Liberty journalist Vera Girich killed; a Russian missile hit her building. 10 injured, 4 hospitalized. -- mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.

#RussianWarCrimes Radio Liberty journalist #VeraGirich died as a result of a rocket attack on Kyiv. Her body was discovered on the morning of April 29; it lay under the rubble all night. Rest in peace, fellow colleague. Your life will be revenged.

#Mariupol "Last night...an insurmountable amount of airstrikes, phosphorus bombs, missiles, artillery." -the Deputy Commander of the Azov Regiment "Kalina" "Today I will say not Mariupol - this is Ukraine, but Ukraine - this is Mariupol." "Deblockade!"

#Zaporizhzhia Part of Russian troops withdraws from #Mariupol and moves towards #Zaporizhzhia region. They continue to strike at the city. They wouldn't do it if they controlled him. - Pentagon

#Zaporizhzhia A high-voltage line damaged at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant captured by the Russian invaders. The station is running. The ecological and radiation state is within the normal range.

#Melitopol #Zaporizhia region. Russian occupational regime forces entrepreneurs to run shops and cafes but bans #Ukrainian goods. They plan to introduce a "ruble zone" and sell Russian goods that were brought from the annexed Crimea.

#Melitopol Russian invaders kidnap men of mobilization age en masse. "Two weeks ago they started offering them to join the Russian army, and today they are kidnapped at checkpoints and taken in an unknown direction," --Mayor Ivan Fyodorov said.

#Kherson Collaborators/puppet administration -“military-civilian administration”- announced the transition of the occupied Kherson region to rubles from May 1 and no plans to hold a "referendum". euromaidanpress.com/2022/04/26/the…

#Kherson More about the life under occupation in the rebellious city from my interview with Kherson residents. gregolear.substack.com/p/three-men-fr…

#BlackSea About 20 ships of the Russian Navy are currently in the operational zone of the Black Sea, including submarines. The Bosphorus remains closed to all non-Turkish warships, making Russia unable to replace the lost cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea.- British intelligence

#BlackSea Despite the losses of the landing ship "Saratov" and the cruiser "Moskva", the Russian Black Sea Fleet retains the ability to strike at Ukrainian coastal targets.

#Odesa Memorial days are traditionally held in Ukraine after Easter. Cemeteries are now unsafe places, so it is better to refrain from visiting them. --patrol police of the Odessa region. Here is my report from one bombed cemetery: bylinetimes.com/2022/04/25/i-l…

#Kharkiv region. Russians advance near Izyum. Russian units intend to outflank Ukrainian defensive positions on the roads to Barvenkovo ​​and Sloviansk. The tactical achievements are due to the growing concentration of artillery in the area. -The Institute for the Study of War

#Kharkiv The ability of Russian troops to surround the Ukrainian army remains in question.-Institute for the study of War. Russkaya Lozovaya village was liberated and under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. --the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

#Kharkiv region. Russkaya Lozovaya is a strategically important settlement located on the Kharkiv-Belgorod highway. The invaders used it to fire at the civilian infrastructure and residential areas of Kharkiv.--the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

#Donbas The occupation authorities of the "LDNR" force students to donate blood en masse for the wounded occupiers. About 700 cases of involuntary blood donation are already known. This is another violation of the Geneva Convention. - Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova.

#Donetsk region, #Lysychansk. Heavy shelling. 13 houses destroyed. Fires. In the region, infrastructure destroyed, no electricity and mobile communications in parts of the region. -- the head of the OVA Sergei Gaidai.

#Luhansk region. Russians shelled the 10 times, there are battles for Orekhov. Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Gorskoye, Popasnaya were under enemy fire. Repeated ground attacks. - the head of the OVA Sergey Gaidai

#International The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling for the establishment of an international tribunal against the Russian military-political leadership & callED the war "an unprecedented attack on peace, security & international law"

#Moldova President of Moldova offered Ukraine plans to send sappers to Kyiv to clear mines from liberated settlements and is ready to help Ukraine with transport and humanitarian aid. Moldova has joined the package of monetary sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU countries.

#Transnistria: the unrest is the Russian effort to destabilize and divert attention from the really tense situation in the east, in Mariupol, near Mykolaiv.--the ex-deputy head of the SBU

#BylineTimesFestival: more about all of this tonight, at the festival in London. If you can't make it in person, get your virtual tickets and watch from anywhere at Byline.tv/Festival. I'm heading there now.