The lying and the truth
Notes on Ukraine after Bucha
The lying
that there is no Ukraine
that there is no nation
that there is no state
The war to make the lies true
The lying about the war
The shelling of Kyiv
The shelling of Kharkiv
The shelling of Chernihiv
The old beautiful cities
The shelling everywhere
The bombing everywhere
The ghastly siege of Mariupol
The attacks on refugees from Mariupol
The bombing of children in Mariupol
The lying about Mariupol
The attacks on refugees from everywhere
The reporters
The truth of seeing
The abducted
The deported
The millions in flight
The schools Those bombed schools
The hospitals Those bombed hospitals
The archives burned
The lying about the schools and the hospitals
The lying on Russian television
The lying at Russian funerals
The lying about death that enables
The killing for a lie
The future lying enabled by the burning of records about the past
The truth under everything
The rubble, the bodies
The volunteers
The truth of solidarity
The mass murder at Irpin, the bodies under tanks
The mass murder at Bucha, the hands behind backs
The mass murder at Trostyanets, the desecration of corpses
The cities, the towns, the villages, the countryside
The murders everywhere
The truth
This can never be normalized by returning to “business as usual” when the war is over. Sanctions must remain in place until Putin is no longer in power in Russia and has been tried as a war criminal. All of the seized Russian state funds should go to Ukraine to pay to rebuild.
Dr. Snyder, I can only imagine how heartbreaking this is for you personally. Thank you for continuing to witness the truth and bring it to us. I am deeply grateful.