So, McDonald’s is open and full of people in Kyiv. Is there really a war in Ukraine? So, Ukrainian soldiers are smiling and dancing in videos going viral on social media. Is there really a war in Ukraine? So, Ukrainians go to cafes and drink cocktails in the bars. Is…

The case of Ukraine — We call wars all sorts of names: pointless, stupid, meaningless, futile etc. We treat them like accidents, mistakes, unfortunate mishaps. But there are 3 main misconceptions many 21st century-humans hold that reinforce this bubble where wars do not exist. Being Ukrainian and taking the case of my country as one…

“there are no words yet invented to describe, reflect, console people experiencing such tragedies.” — The last part of the triptych about my hometown, destroyed by the russian war. Read Part 1 & Part 2 here if interested. This story wasn’t meant to become a triptych. But my city wasn’t meant to be demolished in a full-scale war. Our apartment block didn’t mean to be…

I realized that cosmopolitanism is bullshit the moment I saw a man casually walking with a huge blood stain on his military uniform in Kyiv, October 2021. Let me explain. At the sweet age of 17, I moved from Ukraine to Canada. The “country of immigrants”, where millions are trying…

My past is completely lost. But not theirs. it all started from a blank page 14-year-old me is hovering over the piece of paper, with a liner in between my fingers and a…

23:39 - Fuck it. I’ll sleep in my BED and in my fancy silk pajamas today. And no russians can stop me… Wow, I forgot how soft my bed was. I can stretch out as a starfish; I can wrestle from side to side… I don’t appreciate sleeping in my bed…

or how Russia’s wars wipe out entire nations and generations — I have this one particular memory I keep coming back to. My friend Mizuki and I are sitting in Vancouver’s Whole Foods cafe. The conversation is flowing as always, and we start reminiscing about our hometowns — her suburban Canadian Kelowna and my average-townish Ukrainian Mykolaiv. How quite polar opposite…

I spent 41 days on the road because russia invaded Ukraine. No, I don’t mean “traveling,” “exploring,” or “being abroad.” I mean 41 days of pure commuting. Almost 1000 hours on the road. My “On the Road” memoir will be nothing like Jack Kerouac’s. …

“From russia with love,” a sign at the London bookstore read. It’s been 8 months since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This piece of paper looked like a cruel joke to me, waking up each morning to the news of new missile attacks and electricity blackouts Ukrainians are facing. Frankly…