New Daily Updates from Ukraine
'Being Ukrainian means you have the opportunity to do something great for others, for yourself'
GOOD EVENING (добрий вечір) FROM LVIV, UKRAINE—I am Joe Lindsley, an American journalist who once escaped Fox News now living in Lviv, Ukraine. I more or less got stuck here in the pandemic, decided to stick around because I loved the place and the people, and now, as threats from Moscow and warnings from Washington increase, I know I am supposed to be here. I am privileged to work with a great team of Ukrainian journalists.
Sharing Ukrainian Voices in English with the World: In particular today I want to share with you a podcast and interview with an inspiring entrepreneur from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, whose 1.4 million people live just 20 miles or so from the Russian border and whose citizens successfully fought off Russian occupiers in 2014.
You can also follow our news via the Ukraine Freedom News Telegram Channel. We are of course aware of concerns about Telegram’s ownership by an exiled Russian citizen, but unlike social media it at least allows us to reach people directly without algorithmic interference. You can visit LvivLab.com to find stories and podcasts from Ukraine.
Despite the warnings, I am not leaving, so please look to this space fo updates and, if you will, please help us share these stories.
‘BEING UKRAINIAN MEANS YOU HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR OTHERS, FOR YOURSELF’
Amid threats from Moscow and warnings of war, young Ukrainian entrepreneur Andriy Tavrin speaks of the «beauty of entrepreneurship» in his city of Kharkiv, just 20 miles from Russia.
«If you grind hard, you make your money, you become better and better every day, and you work in a climate that supports it, because of taxation,» Andriy says, referring to Ukraine’s tax laws that especially favor tech companies and IT sourcing. «It’s a huge competitive advantage that we have that we need to use.»
«Being Ukrainian means you have the opportunity to do something great for others, for yourself ….I can do whatever i want. And this freedom, freedom of being what you want to be, is something I don’t want anyone to take from me. This is something that I feel is under danger these days.»
Read the story here or listen via Spotify or YouTube.
In ‘Dire’ 2014, Ukrainian Citizens, with Few Resources, Defied Russia’s Might; Here’s What Happened in Kharkiv
Moscow-backed rebels, bussed across the border, attempted to create the Kharkiv People’s Republic, but the Ukrainians, including the people of Kharkiv, pushed back.
Inside the dramatic story of what happened in 2014:
Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the central and eastern cities, assisted by volunteers from the west, “stood their ground with zero resources against one of the strongest armies on the planet.”
“At that time [2014], it was totally possible to occupy Kharkiv,” says Ihor, who is deputy head of the Kharkiv Office of the European Business Association. “I still remember that there was no defence infrastructure near the city, nothing functioned among the military vehicles in warehouses, there were no weapons.”
The mayor, Gennady Kernes, had first been on the pro-Russian side, but his friends and local businessmen had persuaded him to join the Ukrainian side, Ihor says.
Whatever Putin’s motives, everyone with whom I speak, from Lviv in the West, just 70 miles from Poland and the European Union, to Kharkiv in the east, just 20 miles from Russia believe that the Ukraine of 2022 is stronger than the Ukraine of 2014—and the latter, despite the odds, still stopped Russia from further invasion.
Read the story here, from Lviv Now, “English-language stories from Ukraine’s tech-friendly cultural capital.”
UKRAINIAN SCHOOLS, KINDERGARTENS RECEIVE NEW ROUND OF BOMB THREATS
«Russia is launching such waves of pseudo-mining over Ukraine. It doesn’t scare people, it annoys locals when they can’t get to work, or to the other end of town to pick up a child from school or kindergarten. It also annoys people when shoppers are evacuated because of reports of pseudo-domination. In particular, it causes negativity to law enforcement officers.»
Read the story here.
Much more tomorrow, and nearly every day.
Thank you / Дуже дякую,
Joe Lindsley