BRANDSEN, ARGENTINA — It was a small act of kindness: A schoolteacher in the Coronel Brandsen district outside of Buenos Aires held a baby in class so her teenage mother could study in peace. Federico Tenreyro said he offered to hold the infant while teaching in order to help dissuade his pupil, Ludmila Disante, from any thought of dropping out of school to raise a child.
Tenreyro didn't just hold the baby, Pilar, but also sang and cradled her to sleep, allowing Disante to write about her political economy course work. It evidently meant the world to her; Disante published a Facebook post about it, making her teacher an instant celebrity.
The teacher said the attention and calls from reporters has left him "surprised and emotional," tellingClarín: "I keep a low profile and initially I was a little frightened by so many calls, but I'd like the viral incident to encourage students to finish [secondary] school."
Tenreyro is also no stranger to caring for infants, as he has five children of his own.
70,000 teenage moms in Argentina
Besides teaching history at Brandsen's private Santa Rita de Cascia high school, Tenreyro is also a volunteer firefighter on weekends.
To her Facebook friends, Disante had written, "all schools should have teachers like this, so girls who are moms and want to finish school can do it. Really, I don't know what to say to thank this teacher."
The Argentine Health Ministry estimates some 70,000 teenagers give birth each year, in 70% of cases unplanned, which often leads the young mothers to interrupting their education.
BRANDSEN, ARGENTINA — It was a small act of kindness: A schoolteacher in the Coronel Brandsen district outside of Buenos Aires held a baby in class so her teenage mother could study in peace. Federico Tenreyro said he offered to hold the infant while teaching in order to help dissuade his pupil, Ludmila Disante, from any thought of dropping out of school to raise a child.
Tenreyro didn't just hold the baby, Pilar, but also sang and cradled her to sleep, allowing Disante to write about her political economy course work. It evidently meant the world to her; Disante published a Facebook post about it, making her teacher an instant celebrity.
The teacher said the attention and calls from reporters has left him "surprised and emotional," tellingClarín: "I keep a low profile and initially I was a little frightened by so many calls, but I'd like the viral incident to encourage students to finish [secondary] school."
Tenreyro is also no stranger to caring for infants, as he has five children of his own.
70,000 teenage moms in Argentina
Besides teaching history at Brandsen's private Santa Rita de Cascia high school, Tenreyro is also a volunteer firefighter on weekends.
To her Facebook friends, Disante had written, "all schools should have teachers like this, so girls who are moms and want to finish school can do it. Really, I don't know what to say to thank this teacher."
The Argentine Health Ministry estimates some 70,000 teenagers give birth each year, in 70% of cases unplanned, which often leads the young mothers to interrupting their education.
Early Friday, Russian authorities accused the Ukrainian forces of targeting the prison to either prevent them from testifying against Kyiv or to discourage other Ukrainian armed forces from surrendering. In a statement, the Russian defense ministry said the prison “was hit by a missile attack from the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system."
Ukraine quickly denied any involvement in the attack. The general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement: “The armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out targeted artillery shelling of a correctional institution in the settlement of Olenivka, Donetsk oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners were also held. In this way, the Russian occupiers pursued their criminal goals — to accuse Ukraine of committing war crimes, as well as to hide the torture of prisoners and executions.”
This is a developing story, and it is unclear if independent authorities will have access to verify the details and responsibility.
Lavrov Acknowledges Blinken Request For A Call, Barely
According to Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will “pay attention” to the request of his counterpart U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to set up a call “when time permits.”
It was a expressly chilly response to the American overture. The call, which would be e first time Blinken and Lavrov would have direct contact since the beginning of the war on February 24, was requested to discuss Blinken’s proposed prisoner exchange between Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer, and two U.S. citizens detained in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner and ex U.S. marine Paul Whelan.
The U.S. State Department has confirmed that Russia had "acknowledged" the request from the United States for a call.But State Department spokesperson Ned Price does not seem to have much faith in the potential exchange, “The fact that, now several weeks later, we are where we are, I think you can read into that as being a reflection of the fact that this has not moved to the extent we would like," he said.
Russian Mercenary Wagner Group Handling “Regular” Duties, Sign Of Troop Shortage
\u201cLatest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 29 July 2022\n \nFind out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/CD3LU2jI92\n\n\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 #StandWithUkraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\u201d
— Ministry of Defence \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@Ministry of Defence \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7)
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Intelligence reports from the U.K. Defense Ministry says the Russian-controlled private military Wagner Group is now being assigned duties similar to Russia’s regular army units on the front line in Ukraine. This marks a “significant change” from previous duties of the Wagner Group since 2015 when it “typically undertook missions distinct from overt, large-scale regular Russian military activity.”
The UK ministry believes the the Wagner Group’s role has changed because of Russia's “major shortage of combat infantry.” However, the Wagner Group’s forces are “highly unlikely to be sufficient to make a significant difference in the trajectory of the war,” the ministry said.
Belarus Recalls UK Ambassador, Citing “Hostile And Unfriendly” Actions
Belarus has recalled the UK’s ambassador to the country, as tensions rise in the midst of the war in Ukraine. In a statement, Belarus' foreign ministry said Britain had adopted policies that were "systematically aimed at causing maximum damage to Belarusian citizens and legal entities," citing sanctions on its companies, a ban on national airline Belavia and restrictions on Belarusian state media.
Tensions between Belarus and the West have risen as the country’s leader Alexander Lukashenko, stays close to the Kremlin for financial, military and diplomatic support, and allows the Russian army to fire missiles at Ukraine from its territory.
U.S. Senate Resolution Calls On Blinken To Name Russia State Sponsor Of Terrorism
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to name Russia a state sponsor of terrorism for its crimes against humanity in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria and Ukraine, resulting “in the deaths of countless innocent men, women and children.”
The House of Representatives is expected to pass a similar motion, though it is by no means a guarantee that the State Department will go through with the suggestion. State Department spokesman Ned Price has previously rejected the idea of designating Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, since such a move could have a negative impact on any potential peace talks in the future.
EU Foreign Affairs Chief Borrell: Europe Will Need Time To Wean Off Russian Gas
European Union countries will eventually stop buying any Russian gas in the future, but it will take time. That was the stark message from the EU’s foreign policy leader Josep Borrell in an interview with Spanish media outlet Television Espanola, who added that: “Russia knows that we will stop buying gas from it."
“We’ve decided that we will get rid of excessive energy dependence that has been built on Russia. First should be coal, then oil, a longer period may be needed to ween off gas, because we must adapt, we cannot go from 40% to 0% overnight.”
The interview comes after the EU decision Tuesday to voluntarily reduce EU gas consumption by 15% from August 1 to March 31, 2023. It also includes the possibility of moving to the second mandatory phase of reducing consumption by the same 15% if the European Commission considers that there is a threat to cut off supplies.
Hanover Prepares For Gas Crisis: No Floodlights On Monuments, Cold Showers In City Pools
Hanover is the first major German city to have begun turning off floodlights on public monuments, fountains and introducing cold showers in municipal swimming pools and gyms, reports German daily Die Welt. In so doing the country is hoping to reduce energy consumption in the face of the threat of the Russian gas crisis.
Municipal buildings in the capital of Lower Saxony will only be heated from October 1 to March 31, the room temperature will not be allowed to exceed 20°C, and the use of mobile air conditioners and heaters is prohibited. Kindergartens, schools, care homes and hospitals will be exempt from austerity measures.
A phone call Thursday between Presidents Xi and Biden may have avoided adding tensions to U.S.-China relations, but now all attention will be back on the question of whether Nancy Pelosi lands in Taipei next month for a meeting that Beijing has been warning against and the Chinese media stirs the pot.
Laura Valentina Cortes Sierra, Lila Paulou, Lisa Berdel, McKenna Johnson and Bertrand Hauger
Central to the tragic absurdity of this war is the question of language. Vladimir Putin has repeated that protecting ethnic Russians and the Russian-speaking populations of Ukraine was a driving motivation for his invasion.
Yet one month on, a quick look at the map shows that many of the worst-hit cities are those where Russian is the predominant language: Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson.
Then there is Mariupol, under siege and symbol of Putin’s cruelty. In the largest city on the Azov Sea, with a population of half a million people, Ukrainians make up slightly less than half of the city's population, and Mariupol's second-largest national ethnicity is Russians. As of 2001, when the last census was conducted, 89.5% of the city's population identified Russian as their mother tongue.
The martyrdom of Mariupol
Between 2018 and 2019, I spent several months in Mariupol. It is a rugged but beautiful city dotted with Soviet-era architecture, featuring wide avenues and hillside parks, and an extensive industrial zone stretching along the shoreline. There was a vibrant youth culture and art scene, with students developing projects to turn their city into a regional cultural center with an international photography festival.
There were also many offices of international NGOs and human rights organizations, a consequence of the fact that Mariupol was the last major city before entering the occupied zone of Donbas. Many natives of the contested regions of Luhansk and Donetsk had moved there, taking jobs in restaurants and hospitals. I had fond memories of the welcoming from locals who were quicker to smile than in some other parts of Ukraine. All of this is gone.
Putin is bombing the very people he has claimed to want to rescue.
According to the latest data from the local authorities, 80% of the port city has been destroyed by Russian bombs, artillery fire and missile attacks, with particularly egregious targeting of civilians, including a maternity hospital, a theater where more than 1,000 people had taken shelter and a school where some 400 others were hiding.
The official civilian death toll of Mariupol is estimated at more than 3,000. There are no language or ethnic-based statistics of the victims, but it’s likely the majority were Russian speakers.
So let’s be clear, Putin is bombing the very people he has claimed to want to rescue.
Putin’s Public Enemy No. 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is a mother-tongue Russian speaker who’d made a successful acting and comedy career in Russian-language broadcasting, having extensively toured Russian cities for years.
Rescuers carry a person injured during a shelling by Russian troops of Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine.
Yes, the official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, and a 2019 law aimed to ensure that it is used in public discourse, but no one has ever sought to abolish the Russian language in everyday life. In none of the cities that are now being bombed by the Russian army to supposedly liberate them has the Russian language been suppressed or have the Russian-speaking population been discriminated against.
Sociologist Mikhail Mishchenko explains that studies have found that the vast majority of Ukrainians don’t consider language a political issue. For reasons of history, culture and the similarities of the two languages, Ukraine is effectively a bilingual nation.
"The overwhelming majority of the population speaks both languages, Russian and Ukrainian,” Mishchenko explains. “Those who say they understand Russian poorly and have difficulty communicating in it are just over 4% percent. Approximately the same number of people say the same about Ukrainian.”
In general, there is no problem of communication and understanding. Often there will be conversations where one person speaks Ukrainian, and the other responds in Russian. Geographically, the Russian language is more dominant in the eastern and central parts of Ukraine, and Ukrainian in the west.
A daughter of Kyiv
Like most central Ukrainians I am perfectly bilingual: for me, Ukrainian and Russian are both native languages that I have used since childhood in Kyiv. My generation grew up on Russian rock, post-Soviet cinema, and translations of foreign literature into Russian. I communicate in Russian with my sister, and with my mother and daughter in Ukrainian. I write professionally in three languages: Ukrainian, Russian and English, and can also speak Polish, French, and a bit Japanese. My mother taught me that the more languages I know the more human I am.
At the same time, I am not Russian — nor British or Polish. I am Ukrainian. Ours is a nation with a long history and culture of its own, which has always included a multi-ethnic population: Russians, Belarusians, Moldovans, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Romanians, Hungarians, Poles, Jews, Greeks. We all, they all, have found our place on Ukrainian soil. We speak different languages, pray in different churches, we have different traditions, clothes, and cuisine.
My mother taught me that the more languages I know the more human I am.
Like in other countries, these differences have been the source of conflict in our past. But it is who we are and will always be, and real progress has been made over the past three decades to embrace our multitudes. Our Jewish, Russian-speaking president is the most visible proof of that — and is in fact part of what our soldiers are fighting for.
Many in Moscow were convinced that Russian troops would be welcomed in Ukraine as liberating heroes by Russian speakers. Instead, young soldiers are forced to shoot at people who scream in their native language.
Starving people ina street of Kharkiv in 1933, during the famine
Putin has tried to rally the troops by warning that in Ukraine a “genocide” of ethnic Russians is being carried out by a government that must be “de-nazified.”
These are, of course, words with specific definitions that carry the full weight of history. The Ukrainian people know what genocide is not from books. In my hometown of Kyiv, German soldiers massacred Jews en masse. My grandfather survived the Buchenwald concentration camp, liberated by the U.S. army. My great-grandmother, who died at the age of 95, survived the 1932-33 famine when the Red Army carried out the genocide of the Ukrainian middle class, and her sister disappeared in the camps of Siberia, convicted for defying rationing to try to feed her children during the famine.
On Tuesday, came a notable report of one of the latest civilian deaths in the besieged Russian-speaking city of Kharkiv: a 96-year-old had been killed when shelling hit his apartment building. The victim’s name was Boris Romanchenko; he had survived Buchenwald and two other Nazi concentration camps during World War II. As President Zelensky noted: Hitler didn’t manage to kill him, but Putin did.
Genocide has returned to Ukraine, from Kharkiv to Kherson to Mariupol, as Vladimir Putin had warned. But it is his own genocide against the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine.
