A woman who went through hell. Part 2. The final.
A colossus on the feet of clay is the essence of the russian empire — Taira (Yulia) Paievska.
“My name is Yulia Paievska. My friends call me Taira. I am a graphic designer by profession and also the president of one of the Aikido federations in Ukraine. Russians call me a Nazi. This is what they call anyone who resists them or simply does not want to see russia in Ukraine. I spent the first 20 days of this war in Mariupol, which turned into hell. After that, I spent 3 months in russian captivity. It was also hell.”
The first part of testimony of the Ukrainian medic Taira Paievska before the US Senate you can read here.
About the “justice” of the occupiers: “Prisoners who are forced to undress before being slowly killed. Specially equipped torture rooms. The files on prisoners are exactly the same, where only the name is changed in the papers, and even the gender of the detainee is not changed. No one actually investigates anything. Evidence is obtained only through cruel torture. All these facts truly resemble the Middle Ages. I am a witness to this, as are thousands of prisoners. I speak on their behalf.
There are pregnant prisoners whose fate is unknown to their families and the state. Our soldier was dying in the adjacent cell. He screamed for six days. Alone. On the seventh day, his body was placed on a stretcher by fellow inmates so that the prison guards could take away what was left of him. Another soldier was dying quietly from torture, and we learned about his death later. He was denied medical assistance.
And many others. So many others…
Recently an American journalist, historian and writer Anne Applebaum published her new column “Russia Has a New Gulag” at The Atlantic. Russians are reviving a new Gulag for the Ukrainians, the scale is again impressive.
Russia is confident in its impunity and the power of its propaganda, as well as the limitlessness of its natural resources, says Taira. “We have a moral right to wage this war. This is not just our war. It is the Third World War. And until the understanding of this becomes global, russia will continue to rise again and again, killing people and destroying the world. Sacrifices that my people are making on the altar of freedom are the sacrifices in the World War, and I know that we will win.
The free world has enough leverage to stop this madness.
I have information that russia produces about 100 missiles of various types per month, including up to 30 Kalibr and 10 Iskander missiles. The Shaheds go to russia and then fly to Ukraine. New factories are being built to manufacture military drones. All of russia is focused on war. Everyone in russia is focused on war. Sanctions have not stopped them!
“These are days of despair. Despair, longing and stagnant darkness, in which you can’t find the light switch,” writes Artem Chekh, a writer and a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Today in Kyiv we said goodbye to Vika. On Saturday — to Zhenya. Others, those who will not be said goodbye in church, are said every day. I don’t want to say anything about the price. I don’t want to know it.”
“When my executioners offered me suicide, I said no,” tells Taira. “I wanted to see what would happen tomorrow, I wondered how far they would go in their madness and anger. And then one day, when it seemed like there was no hope, someone looked through the peephole and called my name. ‘Take your things and get out’ — that’s how my journey to freedom began.”
Heroes have no choice. They are doomed to become an example for others.
I have written a book called Samsara of Ukraine and I would like to publish it abroad. If you want to help me with this, here is an opportunity to support me. https://donatello.to/Yarvolod Donatello (Ukrainian platform that helps creators like Patreon).
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