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📘 Thrilled to share that my new book, Occupation and Migration in Eastern Europe, will be published in June 2026 with @ibidem11 /ColumbiaUniversityPress.
It’s a project more than a decade in the making. 2/
The book brings together my first-hand reporting, essays, and analysis on Russia’s military occupation of Ukrainian territories — Crimea, Donbas, and the south.
From the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 to years of frontline reporting, including from the #MH17 crash site.

Shortly before the #RussianInvasion, most of the major humanitarian aid agencies like the UN or ICRC evacuated staff from #Ukraine. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people across the country were in mortal danger. Some tried to evacuate from Mariupol, Kherson, or Bucha. I spoke with local activists who had to take care of everything without the resources and $ bln that international agencies have.
@InsightOlena, head of Insight NGO, says that in the first two months of the invasion, international organizations did not respond to the requests.

Amnesty International released a report where they say that “Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians.” What is wrong with it? Thread.
amnesty.org/en/latest/news… Briefly: The report says that UA army was «using as bases for military and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, inc. in schools and hospitals». There are few examples without mention of specific locations or details that could give a picture of what happened.

The most difficult situation in #Ukraine is now in Luhansk region, #Severodonetsk and surrounding cities/villages.
Head of the regional administration Serhiy Haidai in interview told me some important things you should know: 🧵 “#Severodonetsk holds back a huge pile of Russian troops like #Mariupol held it in Donetsk region. In strategic military terms, the city is nothing, because #Lysychansk is close but much higher.”

#Bakhmut, Donetsk region. 20 km from the Russian positions. One of the most beautiful cities in #Donbas. Now it is under shelling 24/7. I've heard dozens of incoming and outgoing in just 2 hours.
Surprisingly, the city is well-groomed. Flowers and rose bushes are everywhere. #Bakhmut is a key city for the evacuation from the Luhansk region: people who flee from #Severodonetsk or #Lysychansk stop here to take a breath and move on further, to Pokrovsk and out of Donbas.
It's not safe here. You can see a school that was hit by a rocket, in the photo.

What was the trigger for #Putin to invade Ukraine?
One of his messages during the 9 May parade was that the West wanted to take #Crimea from Russia. And I think, this is it. Thread.🧵1/9 In 2021 (in previous life huh), Ukraine has launched the Crimea platform - a government organization that aimed to return the #Crimea question to the international agenda on a high level.
The main issue was how we will take the peninsula back from #Russia. 2/9

Few years ago, I and my @zaborona_media team filmed a short op-doc about #Mariupol and it’s change makers. There are three different characters: eco activist who fought oligarch, owner of Azovstal plant, art activist who developed a new culture, and #Azov regiment’s officer. 🧵 This op-doc may give you an idea of ​​what #Mariupol was like before the #Invasion, and who are the officers of Azov. They are not “nazis”, as Russian propaganda may tell you. There were people with different views, and the command didn’t approve the expression of radical views.

Commanders of #Azov regiment who resists #Russia in Azovstal plant in #Mariupol tell during the press-conference via Zoom, that about 25,000 civilians have been killed in the city by Russia.
In this thread you can read the most important things they tell. “Civilians were evacuated in three days recently. We do not know if everyone was evacuated. From politicians we hear that it was success. But during the evacuation two servicemen were killed and six injured. This is the price of the evacuation of civilians.”

#Mariupol
Tolik says, they woke up at the first explosions – the shooting started at four or half-past four in the morning. As soon as it dawned, the men – that is, Tolik and his new comrades – got up, brewed coffee, and discussed the plan for the day. To go to get water or not, whether or not there would be bombing in their area. They took water from a spring a couple of kilometers away from #Azovstal, near Malofontanna Street. And when drawing water, they saw shells bursting over the plant.

Conflict in #Ukraine.🧵
Politicians and media around the world often refer to the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine as a “conflict in Ukraine”. What does this "conflict" mean? Let's imagine how this word would sound in a different context, more familiar to many. 1/5 Ex#1. Conflict in Poland: The Nazis killed more than three million Jews in concentration camps. The leader of Germany says that these people were the first to unleash a confrontation with the Nazis. 2/5

#Mariupol. THREAD. From my sources on the ground, most parts of the city are under #RussianInvaders control except the western part. Residents who remain there try to not leave their shelters, as the Russians open fire on moving targets. The bomb shelters are full. It is almost impossible to evacuate from #Mariupol. People need cars, but most vehicles have been destroyed or stolen; there is no fuel. Some people just walk somewhere on foot just to get out. The trip can last for hours under constant fire.