Author: Kurama

“Right now, our aim is. Just to survive. I’m not dreaming. About anything else.”     In the recently liberated cities. Of Balakliya and Vovchansk. Local teachers and staff described. A similar pattern of forced assimilation.   First the destruction of property: School textbooks. ‘Elves’ flags. Children’s work.   Including wall displays. On famous ‘elves’ […]

“What should I do? For my brother?” His life was spent saving others. She wailed.     His body lay where he fell. Alone. Flat on his back. Under a weak September sun.   He was killed around noon. On 24 September. During hours of intense shelling. In the city of Bakhmut.   A woman […]

“We can professionally. Control the ‘Ring’. But we are helpless in the face. Of people’s irresponsibility and madness.”   On Independence Day. On that Wednesday. An extensive fire burning. In the immediate vicinity of the ‘Ring’ in Zaporizhzhia.   On Knowledge Day. On that Thursday. “We are not going anywhere. ‘The Fellowship’ is now there, […]

Over a hundred people live. In the village of Velyki Prohody. The inscription on the gate says. “People live here”.     ‘Orcs’ sent him to “the pit” twice. And searched his house four times. He is a pensioner. And a former electrician and mechanic.   “Of course, I’m glad. That the village has been […]

The remains of New Year decorations. Which had not been removed. Before ‘orcs’ invasion on February 24. In the village of Velyki Prohody.     A Christmas tree. Wrapped in suspicious looking wires grows. On the lawn near an abandoned village building. False alarm. The wires are not explosives.   It is dangerous to go […]

This broken city is just beginning. To tell its stories. And reveal how many victims. ‘Orcs’ left behind.     Izyum is now a city. With deep scars. In every direction there are. Scorched and battered buildings.   The streets are largely lifeless. It’s as if residents. Who survived the shelling and occupation. Are still […]

This broken city is just beginning. To tell its stories. And reveal how many victims. ‘Orcs’ left behind.     In the pine forest. On the edge of the city. Forensic teams are continuing to exhume. Human remains from more than 440 graves.   The authorities say the dead are mostly civilians. But one grave […]

This broken city is just beginning. To tell its stories. And reveal how many victims. ‘Orcs’ left behind.     A short distance from the prison. Investigators are at work. Combing through a damaged office building. Used by ‘orcs’ as their command centre.   A sign saying “police” in ‘orcs’ language. Still hangs over the […]

This broken city is just beginning. To tell its stories. And reveal how many victims. ‘Orcs’ left behind.     The occupiers had a menu of abuses. For those held in the dank basement cells. Of a makeshift ‘orcs’ prison in Izyum. There was more than one type of torture.   He experienced most of […]

The exhumation was conducted mostly in silence. As police and prosecutors looked on. One officer put his head in his hands. Another walked away.   Emergency workers wore blue plastic coverings. In a pine forest at the edge of Izyum. The stench of death filled the air. As a mass exhumation got under way.   […]