7 voices reflect on a year of Putin’s war

A young Ukrainian soldier in the Kherson area is sexually assaulted, and she tells her cousin to stop and cry, and tell him to stop

They look at the muddy streets and homes that have been damaged. Two men travel from the capital of Ukraine to form a specialist unit.

Until early October, this area of the country was occupied by Russian troops. Burnt-out cars litter the fields. The letter ‘Z’ – a symbol used by Russian forces – marks the walls.

The United Nations says it has investigated cases in Ukraine of “sexual and gender-based violence” against people ranging from 4 to 82 years old. There were 43 criminal proceedings started by the UN as of September.

In two weeks of work in the Kherson region, the team from Kyiv has documented six allegations of sexual assault. They say that the real number is quite a bit higher.

She says they traveled around the rooms. “One stayed there, and the other one, who raped me, came in here. He walked around the room and then began groping me in this place.

She says that he ripped at her clothes after pinning her against the wardrobe. “I was crying, begging him to stop, but with no success,” she says. I had only one thought, to stay alive.

She remembers that he warned her not to tell anyone. She made a statement in tears, saying that she did not tell her husband immediately. My husband overheard and I told my cousin. He said, ‘You should have told me the truth, but you kept silent.’”

She spent three days at home, in a daze, too ashamed to step outside. She confronted the Russian soldier’s commander after an extraordinary act of bravery.

The head of his unit was found by his commander. He came to see me and told me, ‘I punished him severely, I broke his jaw, but the most severe punishment is ahead.’ Like shooting. I was asked by the commander, “Do you mind this?” I said I wish they would be shot and that I don’t mind.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/europe/russia-ukraine-kherson-sexual-violence-intl/index.html

What do the perpetrators say about Russian occupation of Crimea and Crimea’s emirate? How Ukrainian civilians confront the horrors of occupation

Although the prosecutor, Kleshchenko, and police officer Oleksandr Svidro are looking specifically for evidence of sexual crimes, everywhere they go they are confronted with the horrors of occupation.

To those who argue Ukraine should stop fighting now, and accept lost territory, I say, come with me and meet the citizens who survived Russian atrocities in Bucha. There are many stories I hear about people being killed and others being persecution in the towns and villages that are in Eastern Ukraine. People have no rights during this brutal occupation and cannot defend their life and property. There can be no peace until the Russians withdraw from our territories.

A man in a crowd claims that he was held by Russian soldiers and EXECUTIONED. The stories of torture are common here, but that is not the topic of their work today.

For the outside world, the idea of a defeated Russia is still scarier than the sight of Ukraine half-ruined. Just like a year ago, Ukraine calls on the rest of the world to find courage.

Starting slowly at the end of the summer, and then in large measure at the beginning of October, Ukrainian forces have regained hundreds of square miles of territory that Russia held since the early days of its full-scale invasion.

Killing her son, Kleshchenko, and the lightning counteroffensive in a Ukrainian village pockmarked by shelling

A short drive down roads pockmarked by shelling, in Tverdomedove, a mother and daughter tell Kleshchenko that they have not heard of any sexual crimes in their one-road hamlet.

Months later, after the Ukrainian military liberated her village in a lightning counteroffensive, she returned. She had her roof reduced by shelling.

She says she doesn’t know where to put it so that the ceiling doesn’t fall on her head. If it came down and killed me, that would be better. I would love to see my son again.

Many of these allegations are impossible to prove, and most don’t have a suspect. For now, the team takes care of the reports and their investigators work on finding out if there is a case to answer.

The Dictator’s Daughter: The Memorino of a Father Who Has Been Fooled for 100 Years and a Daughter of Stalin

Rosemary Sullivan is a Canadian author. She has published several books, including The Betrayal of Anne Frank andStalin’s Daughter: The Extraordinary Ad Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva. She has her own views on this commentary. Read more opinion on CNN.

But it would seem that Kim Jong Un might indeed be grooming his daughter to carry on his dynasty. North Korea just released a new postage stamp carrying photos of the dictator and his “beloved daughter” standing together watching the test-firing of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.

Ironically, the photo exactly mirrors one taken almost 100 years ago of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin standing on a similar balcony in Moscow reviewing a military parade with a young girl standing beside him.

The children look like they want the dictator to notice them. I think of the dictator’s daughter. What will Kim Ju Ae’s future be?

He explained that his father Vasily Stalin was “a product of the freeloaders and leaches who surrounded him.” But she was a daughter of her father. She didn’t have his evil, even though she had his intelligence and will.

All this changed when Svetlana was 16 and had her first chaste love affair with a famous filmmaker Aleksei Kapler, who was 39 (the same age as Stalin when he married Svetlana’s mother.) Kapler was exiled to the Gulag by Stalin for having an affair with his daughter. This was when Svetlana began to understand who her father was. Her status as beloved was subject to change.

She summed up her life in her memoir: “Wherever I go, whether to Australia or some island, I will always be the political prisoner of my father’s name.”

Burdonsky told me that the children of dictators have either to totally reject their heritage or to follow in their father’s footsteps. He said he was caught in between. She did not defend her father but she thought that he had been turned into a bottomless pit of evil by his regime.

“He knew what he was doing,” she said of her father in her memoir. He was not insane or misled. He made his power with cold calculation and was afraid of losing it more than anyone else in the world. The dictator needs people that are with him. He was the head of a homicidal system she had the courage to reject.

It makes me think of Putin. We know virtually nothing about Kim Jung Un’s daughter, but we know a little about Putin’s two daughters, Mariya and Katerina. Kids of the first person are very careful not to talk about them, and doing so would be dangerous.

They had guards at the cinema and a security detail at home, but their classmates had no idea who they were. Told that Putin loves his children and spoils them, a journalist once asked if the girls had Putin wrapped around their little fingers. Their mother said there couldn’t be a wrap around their finger.

It appears that Putin’s daughters have chosen their father’s side. Katerina is Head of a New Artificial Intelligence institute at Moscow State University and is worth several billion. Mariya leads a state funded genetics program that has received billions from the Kremlin, according to US officials. Supposedly neither have political ambitions, which is reportedly the way Putin wants it.

The Next Day: The Russian-President’s First Invasion of Ukraine and the Implications for the Future of Western Relations in the Cold War

It’s the evening of February 23, 2022. The boss of the news site relaxes with a bath and candles. A woman in Zaporizhzhia is planning to celebrate her husband’s birthday in the morning. In Moscow, a journalist happens to postpone his travel plans to Kyiv.

Within hours, their lives are dramatically and radically transformed. The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people. It has tested the resolve of western alliances and unleashed atrocities, decimated cities, and drove a food and energy crisis.

The Center for Civil Liberties, a New Non-Abelian Center for International Crimes, was founded in Budapest, Ukraine in February 2022

Zaporizhzhia, February 23, 2022. I went to bed thinking that I would celebrate my husband’s birthday the next day. Our life was getting better. My husband was running his own business. Our daughter had started school and made friends there. We were lucky to have arranged support services and found a special needs nursery for our son. I finally had time to work. I felt happy.

We were exhausted, scared, and had to prepare ourselves for our forced displacement. I will be forever grateful to all those who helped us come to Prague and adjust to a new life in a foreign land.

The Czech Republic provided opportunities for Ukrainians, so my husband got a job. I found special needs classes for my son. He has a learning support assistant and is attending an adaptation group. My daughter is studying in her Ukrainian school while she is in a Czech school.

The Center for Civil Liberties is headed by a Ukrainian human rights lawyer. The Center received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for its work. The initiative was created in February of 2020 to document international crimes in Ukraine. The views she expresses in this commentary are her own. CNN has more opinion articles.

That morning we woke up to learn that the invasion started. 12 Russian writers, directors and cultural figures co-signed an open letter that I wrote condemning the war. Many Russians added their signatures when it was published.

On the third day we, my husband and I, left Russia. I felt that it was some kind of moral obligation. I could not stay on the territory of the fascist state.

We moved to Berlin. My husband went to work as a volunteer at the refugee camp next to the main railway station, where thousands of Ukrainians had been arriving every day. And I started writing a new book. It starts like this:

“This book is a confession. I’m guilty of not reading the signs sooner. I am responsible for Russia’s war against Ukraine. My peers and our forebears are the same. All these horrors were made possible by a Russian culture.

I know that Russian people are infected with imperialism. We failed to spot just how deadly the very idea of Russia as a “great empire” was – now we have to come a long way, healing our nation from that disease.

Michael Bociurkiw relocated from Canada to Ukraine in the summer. He is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

This year has been filled with tears and worries. I read about people who were killed by the Russians, including a teammate, a school director and a friend’s parents.

And besides the obvious battles, there was another one to fight – trying to claim my life back. Russia stole the life of millions of Ukrainians.

Time and again since the Russian invasion started, I’m haunted by the darkness in my father’s eyes during the re-telling of chilling dinnertime stories of relatives shipped off to the Soviet gulag, never to return. Millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in the famine of 1932-33.

What’s changed since Russian missiles first began falling on February 24, 2022? Ukrainians are angry as they stand up to rockets and drones.

At this time, the Ukraine documentary is still in the filming process. I’ve been following some individuals, operating within Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government, who have been involved in crucial negotiations. What I have seen is horrific. My awareness of the privilege of safety as soon as I land is always at the back of my mind. I want to tell the story of the Ukrainian people and that’s what my concern is.

A year into the full-scale invasion, my passport is a novel in stamps. I teach Ukrainian literature in London while I get my lessons in courage in Ukranian.

My former classmates from Zaporizhzhia whom, based on our teenage habits, I expected to perish from addictions a long time ago, have volunteered to fight. My hairdresser, whom I thought would be a sweet summer child, left her hometown of Bucha in Russia with her mother, grandmother, and five dogs and fled on foot through the forest.

We’ve experienced many eras since February of last year. The first euphoric was when Putin got more than 80% approval from the population after a long time of stagnant ratings.

And in the fall, public demobilization was replaced by mobilization – Putin demanded that citizens share responsibility for the war with him with their bodies. This caused a lot of worry but the majority of the population preferred to adapt.

He canceled the future by canceling the past. Those who were disoriented, preferred to support Putin: it is easier to live this way when your superiors decide everything for you, and you take for granted everything you are told by propaganda.

I and my family were left with no other option but to adapt to what happened. The authorities labeled me a foreign agent because I was active on the events, which increased my personal risk and reinforced the idea of living in an Orwellian world.

On the evening of February 23 I washed my dog, cleaned the house, took a bath and lit candles. I have a one-bedroom apartment in the north of Kyiv. I loved taking care of it. I loved the life I had. All of it – the small routines and the struggles. The last time my life mattered was that night.

I remember talking to colleagues, trying to assemble and coordinate a small army of volunteers to strengthen the newsroom. And calling my parents to organize buying supplies.

The life I knew started falling apart soon after, starting with the small things. It no longer mattered what cup I used to drink my morning tea, or how I dressed, or whether or not I took a shower. Life itself no longer mattered, only the battle did.

Just a few weeks into the full-scale invasion it was already hard to remember the struggles, sorrows and joyful moments of the pre-war era. I would remember being upset about my boyfriend, but I could no longer relate. On February 24, my life was taken from me.

Anger was the cause of my desire during those first few weeks of the war. Anger that Russians with their planes and tanks should decide whether or not we can have a democratic future in our country; anger that if we have a democratic future we can’t take away our freedom.

I was no longer concerned with my personal ambitions. Only the common goal was crucial – to raise our flag and show that we are fighting even under these circumstances.

I couldn’t enjoy my victories on the track. They were possible only because many defenders had died. But I got messages from soldiers on the frontline. They were so happy to follow our achievements, and it was my primary motivation to continue my career.

More than 30,000 cases of war crimes and abuse of civilians have been recorded by other organizations, together with us. Yes, this is part of a wider effort, collecting evidence towards that goal of holding to account the perpetrators. We are telling the human story of what happened, that it is not about numbers, but people.

The Rise of Love: The Hope of a Common Understanding in the Era of the War on Crimea and Human Rights in the United States

Ukraine has made many steps on a democratic path that began during this revolution. Local communities were given more rights by the government. The legislation will make it hard to hide misuses of power. Judicial reform was made possible by changes to the Constitution. Some things still need to be done but we were on the right track.

Over the past year, the emotions I have experienced have changed. I still feel anger over the deaths of Ukrainians. But I have also felt a rising tide of love.

I have found we can still depend on people despite the international order’s inability to protect us, and the idea that the law of war protects civilians.

The spirit I saw during the protests was similar to this one. We believe in something better than what happened, which is why the protests kept on. And then it arrived.

And so this love extends further, perhaps, to the vision of a country that can rise from all this — of a future Ukraine where human rights are respected. We might not need a Center for Civil Liberties anymore. Perhaps even to a vision of the world where this spirit of shared humanity prevails.

How did I meet Navalny in Germany? What did we learn from his time at a prisoner’s office, in Russia, during the October 20 2020 shooting

The CNN film, “Nalny”, was published in the month of April. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Feature. And is streaming on HBO Max, which is owned by CNN’s parent company.

Navalny’s poisoning and subsequent legal problems drew intense interest from the Russian public and abroad. Russia saw huge anti-government protests in towns and cities across the country after his arrest, with authorities detaining around 11,000 demonstrators within a few weeks.

I think Navalny will fare well in prison because he has both an insatiable curiosity and a terrific sense of humor. The person talked about it while we were driving him to the shoot.

I can just imagine him applying this skill now in prison, looking at a prison guard and finding something entertaining about him or her, the sound of a bell, or receiving a funny letter. He uses humor to connect with people. He would bring the light to a tense situation.

Several Western officials and Navalny blamed the Kremlin for the poisoning of him with nerve agent Novichok in 2020. Russia denied any involvement.

CNN: You spent many months with Navalny in Germany while he was recovering from poisoning – what are your memories of that time and what did it reveal about him?

We had a rigorous schedule, with many sleepless nights. I was often able to pick him up. I found Navalny to be a very open conversationalist. He would not hide something if he didn’t know it. He wanted to pick my brain about what life in Hollywood was like. “Tell me about the #MeToo movement.” Or: “Explain film production to me.”

Once we started filming, we would ask, “Alexey, can we come film you running? Brushing your teeth? Are youwaking up? He sometimes thought our requests sounded absurd, but he was always willing and accepted us with a good spirit. We would end long days with his favorite local food: the Doner Kebab.

The security situation was very clear from the first meeting. They were very careful about who they let in. Christo vouched for us but we had to earn their trust. We offered, “two months in, if you don’t like it, we will quit and give you all the footage.”

They agreed to start that way, but it came with endless questions and intensive background checks. They wanted to check our bank accounts to make sure we weren’t being paid by any government entity. Navalny lived in hiding.

I think we were accepted by his team for a few reasons. At the time we were just independent filmmakers, we were not yet associated with any major production company. We had no outside funding. We arrived in the Black Forest with the cost of the rental gear piled onto my credit card. We were willing to put our all into this film. We adapted to his needs. No one knew where or what we were doing. All emails ceased, communication was done through encrypted messaging.

A lot of gymnastics was done to keep the footage safe. We spent long hours in the car, in winter conditions driving to various locations. They were usually met with Covid restrictions. My passwords became a three-step process with an external security key, which is how I continue to live. The privilege to spend time with an extraordinary human being was traded for stability.

Taking Navalny seriously isn’t able to lie down during the day, even though he is all alone in the cell

They are holding him against his will. They weaponize other inmates by putting an inmate in the infirmary until they become ill (contract an illness from other patients in the infirmary) and then put the sick inmate in Navalny’s cell.

Recently when Navalny became ill, almost certainly having contracted an illness from one of the weaponized inmates, even with a high fever, they restricted his water intake to only three glasses per day.

They introduced another inmate into the cell next to him who screams for hours and hours at night. He is not able to lie down during the day as his bed is chained up to the wall from 5 AM to 9 PM. He is denied access to family visits and necessities like winter boots. He has lost close to 7 kilos (approximately 15 pounds) in the last couple months and has been repeatedly denied medical treatment.

CNN: Navalny recently tweeted: “I laugh at least thrice a day, even when I’m all alone in the cell.” How does he keep his sense of humor in the dark? What gives him strength?

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/opinions/alexey-navalny-putins-nemesis-odessa-rae-ctrp/index.html

A Lifetime with Navalny in Moscow: How he and his Team Worked together in Post-war Russia, and When Vladimir Vaclav Levy Left Moscow

We talked about his experiences in prison on the drive. He told me that one of the greatest things he learned was to appreciate the small things, the tiny little things that we don’t normally think about on a daily basis – like brushing your teeth whenever you want, or touching a loved ones face, or a warm shower.

The Navalny film would not have been possible without my producing partners, Melanie Miller and Diane Becker. They came on board and helped me carry the weight of Navalny. They were the team that Daniel and I needed. We became close to each other and that’s why I like the necessity of teamwork.

From my last trip, at the end of December, I have a poignant memory of sitting in my friend’s donut shop, Ponchyk Boy. (They often make themed donuts that address the war in a comical way.) We couldn’t make tea because the electricity was out and the air raid sirens were loud. People sit in the dark, sometimes with a candle while generators come on, but they keep going. The spirit lives strong even when there is no heat.

He had a plan for post-war Russia last week. This plan presents a way forward. In a sense it is a manifesto. You can find this piece on his social media. It feels fresh and new. This plan lays out Navalny’s political views and an alternate, more reasonable way forward for the Russian people and for the region. The plan shows respect for both neighbors and Russian citizens. His existence is a sign of hope.

Dasha Navalnaya, the daughter of imprisoned Russian dissident Alexey Navalny spoke about her call to free her father and other political prisoners in Russia in an interview with CNN on Friday.

Navalny was arrested in Moscow for violating the terms of his sentence after he was released from Germany, where he had been recovering from the poisoning.

He was initially sentenced to two-and-a-half years, and then later given nine years over separate allegations that he stole from his anti-corruption foundation.

The fate of Dasha’s father, Navalny, and his public transport role in establishing a free state: a candidacy story

The main goal of Dasha’s father’s work is for Russia to become a free state, and also for it to have open elections.

She talked about being a spy in Russia and how she and her brother used to play a game of dodging spies on public transport.

“We would look around the train and then start chatting with the guy who had the worst camouflage outfit and the black cap and the weird strappy bag on the side, and we would jump out – not out of the train but out of the the subway car,” she said.

Navalnaya said that her family was only able to see her father through a veil and that they were concerned about his prison conditions.

“So we can’t really know for sure his health circumstance and he hasn’t seen his family in over half a year,” she said. I haven’t seen him in person in over a year. His health is getting worse, so it is quite concerning.

Concerns about Navalny’s health have persisted for months. The footage showed Navalny as he stood next to his lawyers in a room filled with security officials.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/03/americas/navalny-daughter-dasha-navalnaya-intl/index.html

What is my first duty? If not, then do I know what is wrong with me and my family… then I will tell you what I am doing

What is my first duty? That’s right, to not be afraid and not shut up,” he wrote, urging others to do the same. “At every opportunity, campaign against the war, Putin and United Russia. Hugs to you all.”