While peace talks debate borders, true peace means hearing Ukraine’s people.

In this thread, we dive into powerful stories of resistance from De-occupied — a collection of frontline reports by our founder, @logvynenko, exploring why freedom is always worth the fight.

🧵1/13 Tango in Bucha

When the Russians invaded the Kyiv suburbs, dance teacher Oleksandr “Tango” Kotenko joined local volunteers to fight against Russian tanks.

2/13

Today Ukraine marks Constitution Day — the only holiday named in the Constitution itself. Adopted in 1996, it crowned centuries of struggle for statehood.

Let’s explore the history of Ukraine’s constitution and how it has shaped its past, present and future.

🧵1/10 Ukraine’s constitutional roots go back to the 11th century, when Yaroslav the Wise introduced Rus’ Truth—one of Europe’s earliest legal codes. Unlike Roman-based laws, it protected personal rights and favored fines over harsh punishment.

2/10

Peace talks raised the question: can Russia be held accountable for war crimes in Ukraine? While tribunals target military crimes, there's another group often overlooked: propagandists.

Here we explore if they can be tried for inciting genocide and the obstacles ahead.

🧵1/10 All wars of aggression rely on propaganda to sway the masses, because wiping out an entire people or national community takes planning, unity, and motivation. Propaganda becomes the invisible fuel of war — and for many, a convenient cover for their crimes.

2/10

The West once feared the USSR’s collapse—and empowered the Kremlin to avoid it. Today, it fears Russia’s defeat. Historian @viatrovych explains why Russia’s downfall is inevitable, and what the West must do differently this time.

🧵1/13 💬 “I don’t accept the arguments that are often heard these days, like: “Maybe we should give Russia some territory and it will calm down.” It won’t. Because for Russia, this has never been a war for territory.”

2/13

On June 1, 2025, Poland elected Karol Nawrocki president after a razor-thin runoff. But a deeper issue emerged: pro-Kremlin disinfo from Belarusian state media—sanctioned by the EU, yet still reaching millions. A thread 🧵

1/9 State-run Radio Belarus has leveraged its Polish-language pages on TikTok, YouTube, X, and Facebook to publish over 7,790 videos and posts — racking up 16 million views and at least 542,000 engagements by early May.

2/9

Russia is running a global scheme to lure, coerce, and traffic migrants and students into its war on Ukraine—using fake jobs, passport traps, and threats. Recruits come from over 20 countries. Most get no training, no pay, and no way out.

Here's how it works

🧵1/10 In April 2025, Ukraine captured two Chinese nationals fighting for Russia — part of over 155 identified on the front lines. This script is not rare: according to UK intelligence, Russia has recruited over 1,500 fighters since April 2023, mainly from across the Global South.

2/10

On May 18, 1944, the Soviet regime deported the entire Crimean Tatar population—nearly half perished. Few know they were already a minority by then, after centuries of repression.

Together with @qirimlia, we explore Russia’s long campaign to erase them.

🧵1/13 The 1944 deportation was the tragic culmination of a long history of persecution that began with the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire in 1783. Before the annexation, Crimean Tatars comprised about 90% of the peninsula’s population.

2/13

Ukrainians in Auschwitz were largely invisible not because they were absent, but because the Nazis registered prisoners by official nationality rather than ethnic identity.

🧵1/8 Ukrainians from western regions were often recorded as Poles; those born in the Soviet Union were listed as Russians or Soviet citizens; others were classified as Czechs or Romanians.

2/8

The Soviet Union transformed May 1st into a propaganda showpiece — parades, flags, and slogans celebrating workers’ rights that often existed only on paper.

Behind the spectacle was a much harsher reality. Here’s what May Day didn’t show

🧵1/10 Artificial loyalty

May Day parades claimed to celebrate workers’ rights — but even refusing to march wasn’t allowed. Just days after the Chornobyl disaster, 120,000 Kyiv residents, including children, were forced into the streets.

2/10

📢 "Russian imperialism does not know the concept of borders."

Oksana Zabuzhko, a renowned Ukrainian writer, explains how Russian imperialism disregards borders, history, and sovereignty—an issue that even Ukraine’s allies have never fully addressed.

🧵1/10 Oksana Zabuzhko’s works have been translated into 20+ languages. In 2023, she was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women, and in 2024, she joined the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival.

2/10

In our episode of Ukraine Through the Eyes of Others, a German political scientist @andreasumland sheds light on the historical context that has contributed to the speed of Germany's delivery of military assistance to Ukraine. “The German approach to Ukraine has a somewhat complex history, which can be seen as a downside of the so-called 'Ostpolitik' pursued over the last five decades. This policy has seen some peculiar developments, notably during the 1980s...”

Beginning of December in #Ukraine Power supply continues to be restored in liberated Kherson.

Russification is an example of destroying the #national identity, and it is also a part of #genocide. A crucial element of this #crime is the intention to fully or partially destroy #Ukrainians as a national group.

Do you know how is it to starve to death?
Ukrainians do.
Holodomor is the artificial starving organised by the soviet regime in 1932-1933 aimed at the destruction of the Ukrainian nation.

The same regime is trying to do it now, in 2022, by waging a fierce war, cutting Ukrainians from food and water supplies, burning Ukrainian harvests, and blocking the export of grains in the Black Sea.

November 26th is the commemoration day of all the victims of these inhuman actions…