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Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Feb 18

The battle for Hostomel /Antonov Airport changed the course of the Ukraine war. If Russia had taken them as planned, the fall of Kyiv was far more likely

As the war (& the fight for Hostomel) reaches the 1-year mark, we visited to figure out how that battle was won

It’s amazing

Firstly, only the military seems to have been prepping for war. Zelenskyy was busy downplaying threats as the military started moving equipment towards Kyiv. But no one noticed, because it was all done at night

They still didn’t want to alarm the public, says Col. Vdovychenko

Unsurprisingly, from the get-go, the Ukrainians were far outnumbered. Analysts say Russia was at something of a 12:1 force ratio advantage north of Kyiv

Vdovychenko says they were caught unaware by not only the sheer number of Russians, but by their eastern entry points

Read 16 tweets

Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Jan 19

A Jacinda Ardern anecdote to add to the inevitable deluge:

In 2017, I’d just moved to Dubai & was keen to write about my homeland. So I sent Jacinda, then Labour leader, a DM on Twitter. She kindly replied, offering to chat the next day — the day before the general election 🧵

I said I didn’t want to distract from the election, so would reach out after, and she said she’d be more than happy to chat anytime. Then, obviously Jacinda became the prime minister. And then announced she was pregnant. Chaos ensued.

Few months pass with a few back-and-forth messages trying to tee up a time. Then, of course, being Prime Minister and all, everything needs to go through press sec. Press sec entertains the idea for a while but then decides to flat out deny the interview due to “time constraints”

Read 7 tweets

Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Jan 14

A big conspiracy theory says the Covid vaccine could have killed 80+ Canadian doctors

I spent months investigating & speaking with the doctor's families. Most died from heart attacks, cancer or suicide

But it won't go away. And those behind it are Canadian doctors themselves🧵

A November iteration of the Canadian doctor conspiracy theory features 80 photographs & names. They're all real people. But none that I could find died from the Covid-19 vaccine

But many people believe it. And now the vaccine abuse is being directed at grieving families

Of the 48 doctors I could determine the cause of death of: 10 died from cancer, 3 in car accidents, 1 while climbing K2, 1 drowned, 5 had heart attacks & 6 died by suicide. Others battled ongoing/ abrupt illnesses or the family preferred not to say. 1 was not even vaccinated.

Read 16 tweets

Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Sep 24, 2022

❗️On Sept 4, tragedy struck James Smith Cree Nation. In the weeks since, I’ve worked with the community to put that tragedy into words

This is what happened that night according to the injured, the grieving, the families

Many revelations follow in 🧵

globalnews.ca/news/9148025/s…

In her first interview, Skye Sanderson, Damien's wife, says she called 911 to report her husband 24 hours before the Saskatchewan murders

He had stolen her car & was high & drunk, intimidating people with his brother Myles

They were reportedly looking for gang members to attack

Skye says Damien was a good guy, a family man, but he was easily influenced by his brother

She says Damien was afraid of Myles. So when Myles started showing up out of the blue after he got out of prison, luring Damien in with drugs, she knew they were in trouble

Read 9 tweets

Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Sep 6, 2022

This is Wes Petterson, 77, of Weldon

He was murdered at home during the Saskatchewan attacks

While others died at James Smith Cree Nation, where Myles Sanderson lived, Wes seems to be a random target

Myles also went to another house - saying he'd been stabbed & needed help
🧵

Wes was beloved & was heavily involved in the Silvertone Club, Weldon’s community centre

I spent the afternoon with ladies there yday as they played their weekly lawn bowls game & reminisced over the tragedy

This village is only 300 people. It’s had a huge effect on the people

Residents told me Wes’s body was found on the porch, just inside his front door

“He was a lovely man... he would open the door to anyone & that’s what might have got him in trouble," Mabe Nesbitt says

Wes's 25-year-old grandson hid in the basement, where he called the police

Read 7 tweets

Ashleigh Stewart

@Ash_Stewart_

Sep 6, 2022

Darryl Burns was an addictions counsellor at James Smith Cree Nation until yesterday, when he quit after his sister’s murder

He & brother Ivor drove to the reserve boundary to speak in defiance of a media ban imposed by the band

“How can we get help if we don’t ask for it?”

Darryl & Ivor’s sister Gloria was an addictions counsellor responding to a crisis call when she was murdered along with her friend & a young boy

Darryl says Myles Sanderson was a troubled young man with a violent history & issues with substance abuse. But Darryl was “respectful”

Ivor says the drug & alcohol abuse on the reserve is “way out of hand”

Gloria had also suffered with addiction but had found her red road and was trying to make a difference in the community

This is Ivor: