I saw some brilliant, brave, but very ordinary people, young & old, do an extraordinary thing. They defeated a cruel and corrupt dictator.
Nov 18, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Lamentable, defeatist, bullshit.
This is littered with illogical contradictions and flawed think. It's predicated on the notion that support for Ukraine has dried up and at the same time Ukraine agreeing to a ceasefire would unlock vast military and economic aid.
There's also a part in here that says under said ceasefire, Ukraine could still continue targeting russian assets in the rear and on Crimea. What?
The biggest flaw, in the face of all evidence, is that russia, though desperate for a pause in fighting now, would uphold any deal.
Jun 1, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Can't quite believe what I'm watching at the moment. I dropped on a film on Netflix and it happens to be based on the life of a friend of mine. The film is called "Sniper, The White Raven". I rarely talk about my friends on Twitter, I'll make an exception here.
Little thread...
Mykola Voronin used to stay with me often. He was, as described in the film, a pacifist, and a school teacher, and a guitarist. Some details are different from the plot of the film, but it is broadly an accurate story of the man I know. The major difference is this:
May 28, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Now he's on the record with another blatant lie. This one commonly repeated by vatniks and other assorted apologists. He says that before their full scale invasion, Ukraine was shelling the Donbas for 8 years. It's whataboutism to deflect from war crimes accusations. And a lie.
russia invaded the Donbas in 2014. Ukraine had every right to fight to kick them out. But that never included attacks on civilians. A military force was sent to counter military force. And the Ukrainians were winning on the battlefield, map spring/summer '14.
Aug 5, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
First.
I haven't joined the calls for @AgnesCallamard to resign. But if she doesn't apologise unreservedly for this grossly insulting tweet she should.
Now, onto the many problems with the @amnesty report itself.
The @amnesty report is factually wrong. The Ukrainian military and police forces make every effort to evacuate civilians from harm's way. Last week the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk was ordered by the authorities.
Citizens of Kherson were advised to evacuate weeks ago too.
Mar 22, 2022 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
Let's dispel a lie at the heart of Putin's war. Protecting Russian speakers.
The notion that Russian speaking parts of Ukraine have a somehow different outlook, which translates as sympathies to things Russian in general, is false. Flat out wrong. But widely believed.
Just prior to the war I did an interview in which the opening question, genuine, was "what if Putin just takes the Russian speaking parts, in the east?"
The video above is from a Russian speaking city. There's no "just" there, is there?
Who is Putin "protecting" there?
Mar 20, 2022 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Classic example of a propaganda dupe provided by @DominiqueTaegon here.
"Banning the Russian language, opposition news channels, and deposing leaders via coup, is not democratic at all."
1) The Russian language is not banned in Ukraine. The sole official state language is Ukrainian. These are two different things. Language preference is a personal matter and in 20 years of living in Ukraine I've never seen anyone criticised for their language choice.
Mar 6, 2022 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
This quote is specifically about "continuing" a nuclear arms programme.
Here's the thing.
Putin's threat now (again!) is based on something he invented. There's zero truth behind it. Absolutely none at all.
Ukraine is not developing nuclear weapons. Putin also claimed this invented arms programme was being done with (cue baddie music) The West.
Well. Ukraine HAD nuclear weapons at the time of independence, 30 years ago. We'll spin back to The Budapest Memorandum later.
2/?
Feb 18, 2021 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
There's so much wrong with this, a thread is needed to unpack it.
First, there is an answer to this question. It lies in the proper implentation of the #Minskk deal that #Russia agreed to but has consistently ignored.
Minsk requires that Russia ceases fire. Then (Point two) retires heavy equipment (their tools of war) to a safe distance and that (Point three) the OSCE SMM be allowed to verify this.
Instead, Russian occupation forces constantly harass OSCE monitors, & shoot down their drones.
Nov 26, 2018 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Want to know the narratives playing out on Russian media related to events in the #KerchStrait - this analysis by the Hybrid Warfare Analytical Group at the @uacrisis centre.
THREAD:
"We've been closely monitoring the Kremlin media over the last 24 hours."
1/11
2/11 "Main messages of the Russian propaganda regarding the crisis in the Kerch Strait, close to annexed Crimea, can be divided into two main groups: those directly concerning the seizure of three Ukrainian vessels and those on the wider political situation."
