All this time the Guard was looking at her,
first through a telescope,
then through a microscope,
and then through an opera-glass.
At last he said,
‘You’re travelling the wrong way,’
and shut up the window
and went away.
At least 33 people.
Have been killed.
And 18 injured.
As a result.
Of an ‘orcs’ strike.
On Kramatorsk.
In the Donetsk region.
Reported the State Emergency Service.
‘Tickets, please!’ said the Guard,
putting his head in at the window.
In a moment
everybody was holding out a ticket:
they were about the same size
as the people,
and quite seemed
to fill the carriage.
The ‘orcs’ struck.
Two passenger coaches.
The ‘orcs’ struck.
Two passenger coaches.
The strike took place.
At around 10:00 am.
On 8 October.
In Kramatorsk.
‘Now then! Show your ticket, child!’
the Guard went on,
looking angrily at Alice.
And a great many voices all said together
(‘like the chorus of a song,’ thought Alice),
‘Don’t keep him waiting, child!
Why, his time is worth
a thousand pounds a minute!’
According to the Donetsk.
Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The ‘orcs’ are believed.
To have attacked.
The buses with.
The buses with.
A D-30SN guided.
Aerial bomb.
‘Gandalf the Green’ reported.
That the aerial bomb struck.
A public transport stop.
A public transport stop.
‘I’m afraid I haven’t got one,’
Alice said in a frightened tone:
‘there wasn’t a ticket-office where I came from.’
And again the chorus of voices went on.
‘There wasn’t room
for one where she came from.
The land there is worth
a thousand pounds an inch!’
The Kramatorsk City Council.
Confirmed that it was.
Indeed civilian buses.
That were targeted.
Following the attack.
All public transport.
In the city.
Was suspended.
“The ‘orcs’ have once again.
Struck where.
There is definitely.
No military target whatsoever…”
“Targeting civilian transport.
Targeting people.
Who were simply.
Going about their business.”
The full extent.
Of the attack.
Is currently.
Being established.
‘Don’t make excuses,’ said the Guard:
‘you should have bought one
from the engine-driver.’
And once more
the chorus of voices went on with
‘The man that drives the engine.
Why, the smoke alone is worth
a thousand pounds a puff!’
The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Has launched.
A pre-trial investigation.
Into a war crime.
Into a war crime.
Under Part 2.
Of Article 438.
Of the Criminal Code.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office.
States that the city may.
Also have been shelled using.
A multiple launch rocket system.
Alice thought to herself,
‘Then there’s no use in speaking.’
The voices didn’t join in this time,
as she hadn’t spoken,
but, to her great surprise,
they all thought in chorus
(I hope you understand
what thinking in chorus means
Following the attack.
All public transport.
In Kramatorsk.
Was suspended.
The Donetsk regional head.
Also ordered that.
Public transport be suspended.
In Sloviansk.
“The ‘orcs’ are deliberately.
Targeting civilians.
For them, a bus.
Full of passengers is.”
“An attractive target.
Precisely because.
A single strike can kill.
As many people as possible.”
– for I must confess that I don’t),
‘Better say nothing at all.
Language is worth
a thousand pounds a word!’
‘I shall dream about
a thousand pounds tonight,
I know I shall!’
thought Alice.
He described.
The tragedy in Kramatorsk.
As further proof that.
As further proof that.
‘Mordor’ is targeting areas.
Where it can inflict.
The greatest suffering.
On civilians.
“‘Mordor’ is deliberately flouting.
Every conceivable rule.
Of warfare and norm of.
International humanitarian law.”
“It is targeting areas.
Where it can inflict.
The greatest suffering.
On civilians.”
All this time the Guard was looking at her,
first through a telescope,
then through a microscope,
and then through an opera-glass.
At last he said,
‘You’re travelling the wrong way,’
and shut up the window
and went away.
He emphasised that.
Under the current circumstances.
The authorities cannot.
Risk the lives.
The authorities cannot.
Risk the lives.
Of passengers.
And drivers.
He also urged residents.
Who are still.
In the Donetsk region.
In the Donetsk region.
To leave for safer parts.
Of Ukraine.
To leave for safer parts.
Of Ukraine.
The front line has.
Now come within.
About 10 kilometres.
Of Kramatorsk.
‘So young a child,’
said the gentleman
sitting opposite to her
(he was dressed in white paper),
‘ought to know
which way she’s going,
even if she doesn’t know
her own name!’
*Because I read “Вже 33 загиблих від удару Росії по автобусах у Краматорську: вся дорога була усіяна тілами (33 dead in Russia’s attack on buses in Kramatorsk: the entire road was littered with bodies)” on 8 Oct 2026 on the BBC news Ukraine, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, led by ‘THROUGH the LOOKING-GLASS’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news Ukraine:
