POETS IN PECHERSK ｜ Koryu meets Chess

‘I’m not a visitor,

and I’m not a servant.

There ought to be one

marked “Queen,” you know –’

Just then the door

opened a little way,

and a creature

with a long beak

put its head out

for a moment

and said

‘No admittance till

the week after next!’

and shut the door again

with a bang.

Alice knocked and rang

in vain for a long time,

but at last

a very old Frog,

who was sitting

under a tree,

got up and hobbled

slowly towards her:

Ukraine has shown reporters.

Fragments of the missile.

It says hit.

A key government building.

In Kyiv this weekend.

Identifying it.

As an ‘orcs’ Iskander.

Cruise missile.

he was dressed

in bright yellow,

and had enormous

boots on.

‘What is it, now?’

the Frog said

in a deep hoarse whisper.

Officials here now believe.

The building was struck.

Deliberately in the early hours.

Of Sunday morning.

‘The One’’s response.

To the US President’s.

Peace efforts has been.

A clear escalation.

In ‘orcs’ attacks.

But they don’t.

Only target.

The ‘elves’ capital.

Alice turned round,

ready to find fault

with anybody.

‘Where’s the servant

whose business it is

to answer the door?’

she began angrily.

‘Which door?’ said the Frog.

In the eastern Donbas region.

More than 20 civilians.

Were killed by.

An ‘orcs’ glide bomb.

On Tuesday.

As they queued to.

Collect their pensions.

Alice almost stamped with

Irritation at the slow drawl

in which he spoke.

‘This door, of course!’

The Frog looked at the door

with his large dull eyes

for a minute:

then he went nearer and

‘Gandalf the Green’ condemned.

The strike on the village.

Of Yarova.

As “savage”.

And called once again.

On ‘elves’ allies.

To increase the pressure.

On ‘Mordor’ through sanctions.

rubbed it with his thumb,

as if he were trying

whether the paint would come off;

then he looked at Alice.

‘To answer the door?’ he said.

‘What’s it been asking of?’

He was so hoarse that

Alice could scarcely hear him.

His office said.

Some US and European.

Weapons components.

Are still reaching ‘Mordor’.

Including for the Iskander missile.

Moscow has already.

Substituted the rest with.

Its own production.

“Strong actions.

Are needed to make.

‘Mordor’ stop bringing death.”

‘Gandalf the Green’ wrote.

‘I don’t know

what you mean,’ she said.

‘I don’t know

what you mean,’ she said.

‘I speaks English, doesn’t I?’

the Frog went on.

‘Or are you deaf?

What did it ask you?’

Your team was filming.

On Sunday morning.

During the air raid.

On central Kyiv.

And captured.

The moment.

The cabinet of ministers.

Was hit.

The images appear to show.

A direct strike:

A missile suddenly arcs downwards.

Right before the explosion.

There is no.

Indication of it.

Being intercepted.

By air defences.

‘Nothing!’

Alice said impatiently.

‘I’ve been knocking at it!’

‘Shouldn’t do that

– shouldn’t do that –’

the Frog muttered.

‘Wexes it, you know.’

When you were allowed.

Into the vast.

Soviet-era building.

To see the damage.

The smell of burning.

Intensified as.

We climbed towards.

The top floor.

Then he went up

and gave the door

a kick with

one of his great feet.

‘You let it alone,’

he panted out,

as he hobbled back to his tree,

‘and it’ll let you alone, you know.’

The roof and.

Part of the walls.

In the damaged area.

Have been blown apart.

And there’s a gaping hole.

In the floor.

And there’s a gaping hole.

In the floor.

All around.

Severed cables.

Dangle from what remains.

Of any ceiling.

‘Nothing!’

Alice said impatiently.

‘I’ve been knocking at it!’

‘Shouldn’t do that

– shouldn’t do that –’

the Frog muttered.

‘Wexes it, you know.’

The missile.

– packed with more than.

100kg of explosives –

Did not detonate.

So the damage is limited.

To three floors.

But it’s still significant.

Then he went up

and gave the door

a kick with

one of his great feet.

‘You let it alone,’

he panted out,

as he hobbled back to his tree,

‘and it’ll let you alone, you know.’

You saw fragments.

Of that missile.

Now being collected.

As evidence:

Mangled metal pieces.

Some with Cyrillic lettering.

On them, gathered.

In a heap.

Do you think it’s going to rain?’

Tweedledum spread

a large umbrella over

himself and his brother,

and looked up into it.

‘No, I don’t think it is,’

he said: ‘at least

– not under here. Nohow.’

Weapons experts.

You’ve consulted agree that.

It looks like.

An ‘orcs’ cruise missile.

And say the damage.

Is consistent with.

An Iskander striking.

But not exploding.

“Sometimes fuses.

Do not work.

And missiles.

Just don’t detonate.”

“It can happen.

With a lot of.

Different systems.”

A missile and drone expert said.

‘But it may rain outside?’

‘It may – if it chooses,’

said Tweedledee:

‘we’ve no objection.

Contrariwise.’

‘Selfish things!’ thought Alice,

and she was just going to say

‘Good-night’ and leave them,

“I think it hit.

The building.”

A military analyst confirmed.

Here in Kyiv.

“This missile has.

A high speed and low altitude.

It’s really hard to see.

On the radar.”

“And of course.

We do not have still.

Enough air defence systems.

Like the American Patriots.”

“Like the American Patriots.

For example.

Which we can use.

To shoot them down.”

Do you think it’s going to rain?’

Tweedledum spread

a large umbrella over

himself and his brother,

and looked up into it.

‘No, I don’t think it is,’

he said: ‘at least

– not under here. Nohow.’

In Kyiv.

The increase in.

Early morning attacks.

Is obvious:

They’ve grown more frequent.

– but most importantly.

They’re bigger in scale.

‘Mordor’ now launches.

Hundreds of drones.

At a time, deliberately.

Draining ‘elves’ resources.

So she brushed away her tears,

and went on

as cheerfully as she could,

‘At any rate

I’d better be getting out

of the wood,

for really it’s coming on

very dark.

That’s why.

‘Gandalf the Green’ is.

Constantly calling for.

More missiles:

To someone.

Far from Kyiv.

It might sound like.

He’s stuck on repeat.

But for people here.

It might be the difference.

Between life and death.

‘I hope you don’t suppose

those are real tears?’

Tweedledum interrupted

in a tone of great contempt.

‘I know they’re talking nonsense,’

Alice thought to herself:

‘and it’s foolish

to cry about it.’

‘Orcs’ strikes are.

Not only symbolic.

On empty.

Government buildings.

They regularly hit.

People’s homes, too.

As you saw again.

This week.

‘You won’t make yourself

a bit realler by crying,’

Tweedledee remarked:

‘there’s nothing to cry about.’

‘If I wasn’t real,’ Alice said

– half-laughing through her tears,

it all seemed so ridiculous –

‘I shouldn’t be able to cry.’

“Sometimes a lot of.

These drones are decoys.

– without explosives –

Just to weaken.”

“Just to weaken.

Our air defence systems.”

The military analyst explained.

“We have never seen.”

“Such attacks ever.

In our history.

Of course.

It’s a threat.”

one of the things

in his dream.

You know very well

you’re not real.’

‘I am real!’ said Alice,

and began to cry.

‘I am real!’ said Alice,

and began to cry.

Closer to the front line.

The tactics are different:

Deadly glide bombs arrive.

Almost without warning.

In Yarova.

Those killed this time.

Were elderly.

They’re the people.

Who are most reluctant.

Or least able to.

Leave their homes.

Even as the fighting.

Moves close again.

Even as the fighting.

Moves close again.

‘Hush! You’ll be

waking him,

I’m afraid,

if you make so much noise.’

‘Well, it’s no use your talking

about waking him,’

said Tweedledum,

‘when you’re only

The village was occupied.

By the ‘orcs’.

At the start of.

The full-scale invasion.

In 2022.

Then liberated later.

By ‘elves’ troops.

At least 24 people.

Who survived all that.

Are now dead.

in his dream,

what are you,

I should like to know?’

‘Ditto,’ said Tweedledum.

‘Ditto, ditto!’ cried Tweedledee.

He shouted this

so loud that Alice

couldn’t help saying,

Images from.

The scene show.

Their bodies sprawled.

On the ground.

And a smashed-up.

Post office van.

That had been delivering.

The pensions.

It parked under a tree.

For cover.

Hoping not to be seen.

– but the bomb hit anyway.

‘Hush-a-by lady,

in Alice’s lap!

Till the feast’s ready,

we’ve time for a nap;

When the feast’s over,

we’ll go to the ball –

Red Queen, and White Queen,

and Alice, and all!

The ‘elf’ Foreign Minister.

Called it.

A “barbaric” strike.

By ‘Mordor’.

And a “heinous crime” against.

The very people and region.

‘The One’ claimed needed saving.

When he ordered the invasion.

“We urge the world.

To speak out.

And act immediately.”

The Minister said.

‘And now you know the words,’

she added, as she put her head down

on Alice’s other shoulder,

‘just sing it through to me.

I’m getting sleepy, too.’

In another moment

both Queens were fast asleep,

and snoring loud.

But Ukraine wants.

More than condemnation.

It’s still calling.

For action.

It’s still calling.

For action.

Against the ‘orcs’ economy.

And the defence sector there.

‘When am I to do?’

exclaimed Alice,

looking about in great perplexity,

as first one round head,

and then the other,

rolled down from her shoulder,

and lay like a heavy lump

in her lap.

An adviser to ‘Gandalf the Green’.

Said that the sanctions.

Imposed so far.

Were making a difference.

‘Elves’ teams have been.

Examining the remains.

Of the missiles and drones.

Launched by ‘Mordor’.

Since 2022, he said.

And the percentage.

Of Western-made components.

Has shrunk.

But it still.

Hasn’t been eliminated.

But it still.

Hasn’t been eliminated.

‘I don’t think it

ever happened before,

that anyone had to take care of

two Queens asleep at once!

No, not in all the History of England

– it couldn’t, you know,

because there never was

more than one Queen at a time.

“There are less Western parts.

That is good.

But the bad thing is that.”

“The number of ‘orcs’ parts.

Has increased.

Which means ‘Mordor’ is.

Producing things.”

“Which means ‘Mordor’ is.

Producing things.

They couldn’t do before.

Including microchips.”

Increased co-operation with China.

In producing the drones.

Was also making them.

Far harder to jam.

Do wake up,

you heavy things!’

she went on

in an impatient tone;

but there was no answer

but a gentle snoring.

The snoring got more distinct

every minute,

That may be what.

Enabled ‘Mordor’ to hit.

The main government building.

In Kyiv for the first time.

– in the most.

Tightly-guarded quarter.

Of this city.

and sounded more like a tune:

at last she could

even make out words,

and she listened so eagerly that,

when the two great heads

suddenly vanished

from her lap,

she hardly missed them.

“It’s scary that.

They’re hitting the centre.”

She said on Tuesday.

Pushing her baby.

In a pram.

Not far from.

The cabinet of ministers.

She was standing

Before an arched doorway

over which were the words

QUEEN ALICE in large letters,

and on each side of the arch

there was a bell-handle;

one was marked ‘Visitors’ Bell,’

and the other ‘Servants’ Bell.’

“There have always.

Been drones here.”

Her husband added.

“It’s just they used to.”

“It’s just they used to.

Fly overhead.

And now they can hit.”

‘I’ll wait till

the song’s over,’

thought Alice,

‘and then I’ll ring

– the – which bell must I ring?’

she went on,

very much puzzled

by the names.