The draft agreements provide for a donation of 500,000 doses
The Council of Ministers adopted a Decision approving a draft Tripartite Agreement on Donation of COVID-19 Vaccines between the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Uganda and AstraZeneca, as well as a draft Bilateral Agreement on Donation of COVID-19 Vaccines Produced by AstraZeneca between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Uganda, as a basis for negotiations.
The draft agreements provide for a donation of 500,000 doses of Vaxzevria vaccine. The above agreements provide that all delivery costs are to be borne by the Republic of Uganda.
Wine is a drink known to mankind since ancient times. Its production is possible both at home and in industrial conditions. Wine is distinguished by color. It can be red, white and pink. There are pomegranate, apple, plum and others wines. But the progenitor of all wines is grape wine. The controversy about the dangers and benefits of wine has not subsided for many decades.
Home wine
Making wine at home is a very laborious and time-consuming process. Subject to all the rules and regulations for the manufacture and storage of the drink, a high-quality product of great benefit is obtained.
Benefit
A huge advantage of homemade natural wines is that they do not add dyes, alcohol, flavor enhancers, chemical impurities, preservatives. Also, the winemaker himself can control the desired taste, sweetness, saturation. Homemade wine contains vitamins B, C, PP, useful trace elements and amino acids.
Homemade wine is beneficial only when used in moderation.
In certain situations, homemade wine even has a healing effect.
White wine is more suitable for those who follow the figure. They are low in calories. And helps fight cellulite. Red wine is more vitamin-rich and helps with problem skin.
General healing effect of homemade wines
1. Wines remove poisons from the body.
2. They have anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Reduce blood pressure, help with fatigue, lower blood sugar. Thus, it is shown to the elderly in the amount of one glass per day.
4. Prevent heart attacks and strokes, strengthen the entire cardiovascular system.
5. Prevents the development of diseases of the mouth and throat.
6. Prevents the development of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
7. Suppress the development of bacteria, cholera, tuberculosis and malaria.
8. They are a good prophylaxis against radiation exposure.
9. Wines help in the treatment of lung diseases.
10. They are pain relievers and help in the treatment of colds.
Harm
1. Sulfur is used in wine making at home and this can in some cases lead to attacks in people with asthma.
2. White wine can lead to tooth decay and crumbling. Red wine can cause allergies.
3. If homemade wine was prepared incorrectly, then methyl alcohol may appear in it, the presence of which is deadly to humans.
4. Household wine can cause food poisoning. For example, if wine was prepared with seeds, then a large amount of hydrocyanic acid could get into the drink. Symptoms of such poisoning appear quickly and pose a great danger to human life.
5. If a winemaker uses metal utensils, then during the fermentation process a huge amount of chemical compounds is released into the drink, which is also harmful to health.
Shop wine
It is often believed that all store-bought wine is made on the basis of a special powder. This is actually a myth. Grapes are a very common raw material and there is no point in making powder out of them. The production of such a powder will take much more financial costs. But this does not mean that store-bought wine in terms of quality and benefits coincides with homemade wine.
In addition, when buying wine in a store, you can often run into not so much a fake, but simply a wine that was produced in conditions of a total reduction in production costs.
Of course, such a product does not have any medicinal and beneficial properties.
The methods for making such an inexpensive wine are as follows:
1. Mix of a quality product with a base one. In this case, the taste is achieved by adding dyes and sugar.
2. Dilution of wine with water. Then add alcohol.
3. Acceleration of the fermentation process. This is the most common form of production cost reduction in wineries. The point is adding sugar before fermentation starts or right after it starts. This speeds up the maturation of the wine, but greatly reduces its properties and quality.
4. Glycerin is added to a wine with a bad taste, and it becomes sweeter and more pleasant.
5. Use of concentrates and paints. Using these methods, they are trying to make an elite wine from cheap wine and sell it several times more expensive. Synthetic dyes are often used, which can be harmful to health.
6. Artificial wine occupies a special place among the harmful shop wines. It completely eliminates the use of grape juice and uses chemical substitutes.
Contraindications
Everything is good in moderation.
When wine is abused in the body, the process of cell destruction begins. This leads to numerous problems.
1. Ischemic heart disease.
2. Stomach ulcer.
3. Nervous diseases.
4. Cirrhosis of the liver.
5. Osteoporosis.
6. Hypertension.
7. Cancer of the throat and liver.
8. Alcoholism.
You can not drink wine for people who have the following problems:
1. Sick pancreas.
2. Sick liver.
3. If there is any allergy. Wine will strengthen it.
4. Migraine. Even a glass of wine can trigger an attack.
5. Heart disease and hypertension.
6. Kidney disease.
7. Do not mix wine with medicines. This combination is dangerous for all organs and can even lead to respiratory arrest.
8. Asthma. Small amounts of sulfur in wine can lead to a seizure.
9. Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
The main difference between homemade and shop wine is that homemade wine is natural, it contains vitamins, and helps with many ailments.
The main elements of homemade wine are:
1. Tannins – kill all bacteria and are natural antibiotics.
2. Substances that can break down harmful fat in the body, including the liver.
3. The antioxidant resveratrol is found in the skin of grapes. It protects our blood vessels and resists the formation of cancerous tumors.
But all these substances are found only in natural homemade wine and do not belong to cheap store wine, which consists of alcohol, sugar, dyes and many preservatives.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, like all Balkan countries, has a diverse cultural, historical and religious heritage, and the speech you will hear there is far from unfamiliar compared to the rest of the Balkan Slavic language family.
Yet for most people, this remains an unfamiliar country. We all associate it with the horrors of war, which has undoubtedly left its deep wounds.
But life there continues, and today many people are rediscovering Bosnia and Herzegovina both because of the interesting history and the picturesque nature.
And because of its proximity, it is very likely that sooner or later you will be tempted to go there, it is important to know some rules for communicating with local people.
See what you should do and what you should never do when you are in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What to do
– If a Bosniak offers to do you a favor, accept kindly and gratefully. Foreigners can often be cautious and skeptical when someone offers to help them, especially if they do not know them well. Try to recognize the gesture as a sign of local hospitality and show gratitude.
– Try to talk about the regions and regions of the country with the greatest possible accuracy. Provincial identity is important to people. For example, it is better to talk about someone from the south as a Herzegovinian than a Bosniak. But keep in mind that it can be difficult to hit a person’s birthplace, as many people have fled during the war and may not be able to return to their homelands.
– Expect people to ask you direct questions about age, marital status and children when they meet you, informs Cultural Atlas.
– Expect Bosniaks to have heated debates in public, especially on politics. Try to stay calm and don’t worry that these conversations can turn into quarrels. Bosniaks in general are very expressive, especially when they talk about something they are firmly convinced of. These discussions happen often and rarely end in bad feelings.
What not to do
– Avoid being too tight on money and time around Bosniaks, especially in social situations. Those who do not show generosity soon gain a bad reputation.
– Do not accuse a Bosniak of doing something wrong, especially in front of other people. They can be very sensitive when condescending remarks are made to them.
– Avoid expressing opinions about the causes and course of the war in Bosnia. A particularly sensitive topic is to discuss the participation of each ethnic group in the war.
– Avoid equating Bosnian culture with post-communist Eastern European countries or believing that there is heavy Soviet influence there.
– Do not pressure the locals to tell you their ethnicity if they are reluctant to do so. Also, if they have not already shared this information, it is best not to ask such questions unless you have a close relationship with that person.
Lenin and Krupskaya lived together for 26 years, but they never had children. Why?
Expert answer:
“Vladimir Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya really wanted to have children, but this did not happen due to the illness of their wife,” says Art. Polina Savchenko, researcher at the Shushenskoye Museum-Reserve. – Soon after her marriage in 1898, Krupskaya suffered a serious female illness: months of imprisonment affected her (from October 1896 to March 1897 in the St. Petersburg House of Pretrial Detention). Her mother wrote a petition for her daughter’s release 6 times due to her extremely difficult condition.
In 1899, Maria Aleksandrovna Ulyanova, in a letter to Nadezhda Konstantinovna, asked her if she was healthy and how long to wait for the “arrival of the bird”. Krupskaya replied to her mother-in-law: “As for my health, I am perfectly healthy, but unfortunately, the situation is bad with regard to the arrival of the bird:“ no bird is going to fly in. ” In May 1900, when Nadezhda Konstantinovna arrived in Ufa to complete her term of exile, she consulted a doctor. After the Leninist Grigory Khait found in Ufa a record of the final diagnosis made by Dr. Fedotov: “genital infantilism”. No treatment could help in those days. “
Most of the widows of the first persons of the Russian state ended their lives in seclusion. The only exceptions are Nadezhda Krupskaya and Naina Yeltsina.
The wife of the founder of the Soviet state, Vladimir Lenin, is undoubtedly the most famous of the widows. Krupskaya was not only the wife of Vladimir Ilyich, but also not the last person in the party. Because of this, many today believe that personal relationships in this couple were replaced by a great common cause.
At the same time, they start from the later photos of Nadezhda Konstantinovna, where, frankly, she really does not look attractive.
But in her youth, Nadya Krupskaya impressed men not only with her sharp mind. She was a beauty, and their romance with Vladimir Ulyanov, which ended with a wedding in exile in Shushenskoye, became a manifestation of sincere feelings.
The life of Nadezhda Konstantinovna was by no means broken by exile, but by a serious autoimmune disease – Graves’ disease, or, in other words, diffuse toxic goiter.
The bulging eyes of elderly Krupskaya are just a consequence of the disease. But even worse is the fact that the disease prevented her from giving birth to a child.
She always hid this pain from those around her, heading into work. Nadezhda Krupskaya was not just Lenin’s wife and assistant, but a person on whom much depended on the Bolshevik party.
In the early 1920s, she had to fight for her husband, who was struck by a serious illness. Nadezhda brought the semi-paralyzed Ilyich back to life, using all her pedagogical talent, re-teaching him to speak, read and write. She succeeded almost impossible – to return Lenin to active work again. But a new stroke nullified all efforts.
After the death of her husband in January 1924, work became the only meaning of the life of Nadezhda Krupskaya. She did a lot for the development of the pioneer organization, the women’s movement, journalism and literature in the USSR. At the same time, she considered Chukovsky’s fairy tales harmful for children, criticized Anton Makarenko’s pedagogical system.
But in general, Krupskaya had to struggle with the stigma of “Lenin’s wife,” because of which she was no longer regarded as an independent figure. She did not manage to win this fight.
On February 26, 1939, Nadezhda Konstantinovna celebrated her 70th birthday. At the celebration, she allowed herself to deviate from the strict diet prescribed by doctors. Sweets by that time remained for her almost the only joy in life. Women’s weakness turned into acute appendicitis, which turned into peritonitis. The next day, Lenin’s widow died.
Photo: Vladimir Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya, 1919 RIA Novosti
Red wine protects against coronavirus according to a new study. Drinking more than five glasses of red wine a week reduces the risk of infection with COVID-19, which experts say is due to the high content of polyphenols in the drink. But beer and cider increase the chances of contracting the virus by almost 28%. According to the Daily Mail, researchers who drank more than five glasses a week had a 17% lower risk of contracting the virus. Experts believe that this is due to the content of polyphenols, which can stop the action of viruses and infections related to the respiratory tract.
White wine lovers who drank one to four glasses a week had an 8% lower risk of contracting the virus than those who did not. But, on the other hand, the chances of beer and cider lovers getting COVID-19 were 28% higher, no matter how much they drank. Data from the UK Biobank database were analyzed at China’s Shenzhen Kangning Hospital. In February 2021, a study was reported suggesting that the tannic acid contained in grape skins may help suppress COVID-19. A study by the Chinese Medical University in Taiwan, led by Mien-Chie Hung, found that tannic acid can successfully limit the replication of the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus in sick patients. Dr. Hung and his colleagues studied tannic acid along with five other natural compounds to test their effectiveness against viral activity. “Among the six compounds tested (catechin, kaempferol, quercetin, proanthocyanidins, resveratrol and tannic acid), tannic acid alone showed significant activity in inhibiting up to 90% of the enzymatic activity of SARS-CoV-2,” the statement said. a study published in the American Journal of Cancer Research.
The results do not mean that drinking wine can cure patients with COVID-19, the researchers note. But research shows that the wine ingredient can lead to new treatments. “This compound can be used as a medicine to treat COVID-19,” says Dr. Hung. “But further research is needed to test its activity at the cellular and animal levels.” Clinical trials in humans are then needed to test for efficacy and possible side effects. “
According to a new study, house sparrows in Europe are 247 million less than in 1980, and other once ubiquitous bird species have suffered huge declines, according to the Guardian.
In less than four decades, one in six birds has disappeared – a total of 600 million nesting birds. Among the common species that have disappeared from the sky are the yellow bunting (97 million less), starlings (75 million less) and larks (68 million less).
A study by scientists from RSPB, BirdLife International and the Czech Ornithological Society analyzed data on 378 of the 445 bird species inhabiting the EU and the UK, finding that the total number of nesting birds fell by between 17% and 19% between 1980 and 2017
The general and proportional reduction in the number of birds is particularly large among the species associated with agricultural land.
The house sparrow has been hardest hit, losing half of its population, while its close relative, the tree sparrow, has seen a decline of 30 million birds. Both species have declined due to changing agricultural practices, but house sparrows have also disappeared from many cities for reasons that have not yet been identified, but probably include food shortages, diseases such as avian malaria and air pollution.
There are 4 species on the territory of Bulgaria – the most widespread is the house sparrow, and in the villages and among the nature there are the field sparrow, the rock sparrow and the relatively newly registered species with low numbers – the Spanish sparrow.
Although the intensification of agricultural habitats, which is leading to habitat loss, and chemical farming, which is causing a large decline in the insects that many birds feed on, have led to declining populations of many of them migrating long distances, such as the birch songbird. and yellow-tailed deer have decreased proportionately more than the other groups. Coastal birds such as the common nun and the mountain rainforest have also declined.
“Our study is a signal of a real threat of extinction and a ‘quiet spring,'” said Fiona Burns, lead author of the study and a senior environmental scientist at RSPB.
Burns said next year’s meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is crucial to creating a stable framework for preventing the extinction and restoring the lost abundance of many species.
She added: “We need transformative action across society to tackle nature and climate crises. This means increasing the scale and ambition of green farming, species conservation, sustainable forestry and fisheries, and rapid expanding the network of protected areas. “
Although a total of 900 million birds have become extinct, the number of 203 of the 378 species studied has increased. 66% of the additional 340 million birds are of only eight species that are experiencing a boom: the great black-headed nettle, the fir songbird, the blackbird, the nutcracker, the goldfinch, the red-throated diver, the wild pigeon and the blue tit.
The number of 11 species of birds of prey has more than doubled since 1980, such as the peregrine falcon, marsh harrier, buzzard, snake eagle and bald eagle, although these species are relatively rare and therefore their populations are still mostly small. . Scientists claim that these birds of prey have benefited from increased protection and reduction of harmful pesticides and persecution, as well as from specific species recovery projects. The Birds Directive and the EU Habitats Directive have also provided legal protection for priority species and habitats that have been identified as beneficial to bird species.
Although the rate of decline of many species has slowed over the last decade, the decline is not only a consequence of harmful practices from previous decades, but the study supports previous research that reveals significant biodiversity loss in recent times.
The scale of the loss and the species of endangered birds are comparable to the declining populations in North America, where 3 billion birds have disappeared since 1970.
Anna Staneva, acting head of BirdLife Europe’s environmental department, said: “This report clearly and strongly shows that nature is alarming.
Although the protection of birds that are already rare or endangered has led to some successful restorations, this does not seem to be enough to maintain populations of numerous species. Ordinary birds are becoming less common, mainly because the areas on which they depend have been destroyed by humans. Nature has been uprooted from our agricultural lands, seas and cities. Governments across Europe must set legally binding goals for nature restoration. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe, including for our own species. “
The habit of dogs to tilt their heads is not just touching …
The habit of dogs tilting their heads to the side when communicating with their owners is undoubtedly touching.
However, scientists from the University of Budapest, Hungary, have found that it also has practical significance, according to the school’s website.
The authors of the study analyzed the behavior of 40 dogs, while their owners introduced them to new toys and asked them to bring the new object.
It turned out that the dogs, which tilt their heads to the side, absorb the material faster and better and execute the commands accordingly.
The researchers concluded that tilting the dog’s head showed interest in what the owner was saying. The researchers explain that at the same time, the animal’s brain is looking for appropriate associations to visualize the image.
Dogs are the only animals, apart from humans, that can recognize emotions. It only takes them a second to look at you and immediately know if you are happy, sad or angry. They are even able to empathize with people, experiencing the same emotions as their master.
When dogs come in contact with humans or other dogs, oxytocin or the love hormone is released into their brains. This is the same process that takes place in a person’s brain when he hugs someone or kisses someone.
Dogs can memorize hundreds of words. An average dog can be trained as easily as a human baby. The dog is also able to memorize 200 to 500 words. That is why people say that the dog speaks a certain language, such as English, and it will be difficult for him if he finds himself in another environment, such as Russian-speaking. In addition, dogs can learn the basics of math, for example, learn to count or arrange numbers in ascending or descending order.
The dog’s fingerprint is as unique as our fingerprints. Dog nose prints are unique, so they are sometimes used to identify animals, just as human fingerprints are used to identify them. Forensic scientists often use this trait to uncover crimes involving dogs and their owners.
The sound of rain damages the dog’s ears. Dogs do not like to go outside when it is raining, not because they are afraid of getting wet, but because the noise of the rain can adversely affect their sensitive ears.
Kidscan Children’s Cancer Research calls for MPs to support debate calling for improvements in childhood cancer care, treatments, and increased research.
On Thursday 26th April (moved from 21st) there is due to be a ‘Backbench Business Debate: Childhood Cancer Outcomes’ in the House of Commons.
This will be the first time since records began (in 40+ years) that childhood cancer will be debated in the main chamber of the HoC.
This has come about thanks to Gareth and Charlotte Fairall whose daughter Sophie gained her angel wings aged 9, when treatment could no longer stop the spread of her cancer. The Fairall’s set up ‘Sophie’s Legacy’ to lobby for change; changes to hospital care, to raise awareness so that children are diagnosed earlier and to fund more research into effective treatments.
Kidscan is one of the only charities in the UK dedicated to finding safe new treatments for children with cancer. We support Sophie’s Legacy and encourage people to email their MP, whether a backbench MP who can attend and contribute to the debate but also all MPs to help raise awareness:
AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:DrEmma McMurtry, Kidscan Trustee and Drug Development ScientificConsultantsays:
“The team here at Kidscan are backing this campaign and call on us all to contact our MPs and ask for their support as this historic and essential debate looks at ways to improve treatment and care for children with cancer. We also hope they recognise the need for greater investment into vital research seeking new and improved targeted childhood cancer treatments, so that not only will these children survive, but they will also go on to thrive. As a Drug Development Scientist within the pharmaceutical industry with 20years experienceI have always beenastounded bythe lackof funding andresearchand development for children’s cancertreatment”
– ENDS –
Notes for Editors
Images l-r: Kidscan logo, Dr Emma McMurtry, Kidscan Trustee and Drug Development Scientific Consultant, link to brand film ‘About Kidscan’
About Kidscan
At Kidscan, we recognise that adult and childhood cancers are different and need their own specific treatments. We are one of the only charities in the UK dedicated to finding safe new treatments for children with cancer. We invest in research that aims to both improve survival rates and stop the late effects that current treatments cause.
Our research focusses on:
• Improving or supplementing current treatments to eliminate the damage they cause to healthy cells
• Finding new ways to deliver treatments, to reduce the damage they cause whilst increasing the number of cancers they can safely reach
• Developing new treatments that only target cancerous cells, keeping healthy cells safe
In the UK, only 3.5% of cancer research spend is focussed on children, making our work incredibly important.
About Childhood Cancer
In the UK, over 20% of children who are diagnosed with cancer will not survive because treatment options are limited.
Of those who do survive, 60% will develop life-altering disabilities such as hearing loss, infertility, major organ & bone problems and even heart failure. These side effects are progressive, can appear long after treatment has finished, and mean that 25% will not see their 30th birthday.
“The journey for children doesn’t finish when they are cured, because the poisonous treatments used cause these late effects that manifest themselves many, many years down the line. The problem is getting people to understand that there is a difference between treating childhood cancer and that we are not funding it enough”
Dr David Pye, Kidscan Scientific Director
Sophie’s Legacy calls for:
1. Play specialist 7 days a week in hospitals
2. Improvements to food for children in hospital
3. For parents to be fed when staying with their child
4. For GP’s, nurses and health professionals to be trained in childhood cancer
5. To increase the funds (currently 3%) in childhood cancer research
Sophie’s Legacy debate campaign aided by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (Conservative, Gosport), local MP of Gareth and Charlotte Fairall, parents of Sophie. This will be the first time since records began that childhood cancer will be debated in the HoC main chamber. It was debated in Westminster Hall in 2020 and 2016 but never on the floor of the house. Video available:About Kidscan Children’s Cancer Research Kidscan brand film featuring interviews with childhood cancer survivors, our Scientific Director Dave Pye plus Kidscan funded researchers searching for safer, more effective treatments for children’s cancers.
www.kidscan.org.uk For additional details and original photographs please contact: Beth Jones, Content Manager – Beth@kidscan.org.uk– 07931516960
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of Kidscan Children’s Research Charity, on Friday 22 April, 2022. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
SocialBox.Biz, a Community Interest Company supporting refugees and the homeless community in the UK, is currently increasing their collection of old, usable technology to donate to these populations. With the recent increase in refugees coming to the UK, the organization needs more tech collections than ever before. By donating old, usable technology to SocialBox.Biz long standing-initiative on an ongoing basis, businesses and organisations can help supply these less fortunate communities with laptops to help them reintegrate into society. Having a laptop can help refugees search for jobs, get in touch with loved ones and perform essential activities.
From his own experience, the founder of SocialBox.Biz knows what kind of an impact a used laptop donation can have on a person in need. “Having a used laptop donated to me helped me immensely when I was a child refugee coming to London. Providing technology to people in need can help improve society as a whole. One can not do much without a computer these days in London.” said Peter Paduh, founder and chairman of SocialBox.Biz. “Many recipients have greatly benefited from our donations. Our donated laptops have provided access to opportunities and learning tools to several clients through our recent partnerships.”
SocialBox.Biz has recently partnered with Migrant Help, a charity who supports people affected by displacement and exploitation, helping them thrive as individuals and recover from their trauma. Reused laptops provide a crucial lifeline for those they support enabling access to vital services, online learning, language skills, aiding integration and making them feel safe and secure.
The organization is now working hard to increase their collection of usable technology donations and calling for the help of business heroes to help supply the refugees the UK is seeing after recent events. With the help of the local community and businesses, SocialBox.Biz is collecting technology tools that are no longer needed but still usable and helping people in need by supplying them with this still usable technology to allow them to gain access to vital resources. SocialBox.Biz also offers support for training to refugees and to people who have experienced homelessness on basic computer skills, resume-building, and technology-focused job skills.
The British Red Cross also teamed up with SocialBox.Biz to expand the reach of their laptop program. With the help of the British Red Cross, SocialBox.Biz will be able to reach even more youth and refugees who are in desperate need of online access. “It’s never been more important to ensure our young people are able to access online courses and vital resources. We live in a computerized age and our work with SocialBox.Biz ensures we are able to connect these young people to life-saving technology,” stated ember Hibbert, Young Refugee Services Manager at British Red Cross.
“The Passage is dedicated to finding a sustainable route off the streets for those we support. Quite often, supporting our clients into education and employment is a key factor in finding a long-term solution into housing. The laptop donations we received from SocialBox.Biz have helped us to provide greater and more stable training and development opportunities to those starting their career journey. Thank you SocialBox.Biz! Your donations have and will continue to make a big difference to those we support, and in our mission to end street homelessness.” – Claire Matthews, Head of Community Services www.passage.org.uk.
Press release distributed by Pressat on behalf of SocialBox.Biz Trading Enterprises CIC, on Friday 22 April, 2022. For more information subscribe and follow https://pressat.co.uk/
Ukraine Portugal alice-kotlyarenko-urt5o3L9gNo-unsplash
Throughout the development of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the communities inside and outside the country transform. They attempt to survive this crisis through unity. But, there were already wounds in Ukrainian society before the war. The person interviewed for this article prefers to maintain anonymity.
The war is lasting much longer than expected; long enough to show its impact on Ukrainian and Russian societies. As a result, the world dramatically changed for the people of Ukraine and Russia in a matter of weeks. Ukrainians now face a homeland damaged by the war. They face a refugee crisis. And at the same time, the country reaffirms its existence against the invaders. Concurrently, the Russians are now facing a country in a desperate financial situation. Russia is now an international pariah.
“The hate sentiment towards Russians is growing stronger and stronger with each day of the war. This is so, especially after Bucha, Mariupol, and lately Kramatorsk.”, says a Ukrainian immigrant living in Portugal.
He explains that “in the beginning, there was the sentiment that it was not the fault of the Russian people, that they were victims of Putin’s regime too,” said my source. “But as time went by, and as we continue to see in the opinion polls regarding the war, the lack of protest, and the complete disregard for all the crimes Russia is committing…” Ukrainians are now just “angry” and “sad”, and Russians are increasingly using “racial slurs towards Ukrainians.”
There is a tone of frustration, as the Ukrainian citizen says, that there are “Russians putting Z-symbols on their cars, and calling the police over “treason” because their neighbour put up a Ukrainian flag on the window, instead of blaming the government and Putin for starting the war”.
This ongoing and everyday hotter debate about the division between pro-Russia and pro-Ukraine reminds him that “following the annexation of Crimea, there were many people who interpreted the war differently. The people who got their news from Russian sources in 2014, clearly, don’t support Ukraine and believe Russia’s propaganda. It’s a minority, but those people still exist.”
He says that those people want Ukraine to surrender and a Russian victory, as they are promised an “economic miracle” by the propaganda.
The tension between pro-Ukraine Ukrainians and pro-Russia Ukrainians is reportedly increasing. “If it’s inside families, then there are arguments and extremely heated debates. But, outside this circle, the pro-Russia Ukrainians must conceal their views.”
About the pro-Ukraine Ukrainian community, he mentions that Ukrainian emigrants: “have a feeling that they can’t do anything”. That they try to help mainly through volunteer centres that ship basic necessities to Ukraine. And he doesn’t forget those who go fight in Ukraine or send money to the army. Yet, there are many who “do nothing” because “they don’t have the time” or money.
Responding to the question, “Do you believe that a Ukrainian victory is possible?” He said that people are now more motivated to fight than ever, as the initial shock is over, and so he believes that a “Ukrainian victory is highly possible.”
“People in Kherson, despite the occupation by Russia and repression by soldiers, still protest every Sunday.”
He states that there is a “growing sense of national pride and healthy patriotism” and a “renaissance of Ukrainian culture, language, and art.” “Many Youtubers are now speaking Ukrainian instead of Russian”, and “even I switched my phone language to Ukrainian.” For now, he only fears the possibility that “despite popular discontent, Russia could order general mobilization, and simply flood Ukraine with soldiers.”. This would most likely expand the conflict as a consequence. This may be very improbable, he says. “Because one thing is to say that you support the war, because Soloviev [a popular Russian TV host] says so on TV, and it is something else having to go yourself or sending your son and husband to the war.” said my source.
Regarding the treatment of Ukrainian emigrants receive since the war, he points out that “people are quite nice.” “They ask me about my family and my overall well-being. It makes me feel quite better when I go around the city and see Ukrainian flags all over the buildings.”
He also states that in Portugal, the war has united the Ukrainian community. “People in Facebook groups have been helping the refugees and each other.” They now feel like they “are not alone and that the world is on our side”.
