MADRID — I recently tried telephoning my mother in Tehran. By that, I don't mean some kind of 1950s rotary phone or 1990s cordless relic. I've long embraced the convenience of using my mobile phone — though now we are told that it is a smart phone.
Well, I couldn't do it. A bit too smart? Once the Tehran number began ringing, I began to hear a strange digital whimper before the call up and died on me. Combining logic and paranoia, I concluded that I cannot use "my" phone to call a landline in Tehran. It has nothing to do with the receiving end, but rather that it's not included in my outgoing Spanish tarifa, the fixed 10-euro fee I've picked, valid for a month.
But you apparently can't use it for one big long faraway call if you wanted. If I "top up," the money just gets sucked into more computing bytes rather than what I want to do: talk to my mother.
Technology does not always favor free-market capitalism
Calling used to be an ordinary if not always a pleasurable activity. Just five years ago, I would recharge my phone with 5 or 10 euros, and speak to relatives in Tehran until the money ran out. And then recharge.
It was expensive, but I was making my consumer choice. One reason for buying my first mobile phone in London in 2001, was precisely for essential calls, which means family in Tehran. I remember using it to call my parents after the 9/11 attacks. The other reason, of course, was consumer compulsion — everyone else had one.
There is WhatsApp of course, which they tell us is the telephone. And although I like to tell myself Iran "keeps cutting the Internet," the application regrettably works most days. The point is, I don't feel I am calling. There is no formality in touching a screen and being connected for free. No, what I want is to make a call and pay for it in cash. Anyway, they're going to get my money...
A few days ago, the service provider, Vodafone, called again to propose a package to include far more bytes than I could ever eat, and stuff I could never understand. They want a contract, but I won't give them my bank account. I told the saleswomen that I don't look at the internet on my phone, so I don't need a xillion bytes. I adopted what was for me a benign, respectful tone, but realized afterward I may have sounded more like Doctor Evil in therapy.
Clearly, the problem is at this end of the line. I'm a bad consumer of our electronic world. I admit I've used the microwave every now and then, and I remember successfully sending a fax, circa 1999. The answering machine came and went and I never left anyone a message. I hate LED lighting. You get the idea.
Having said all that, maybe you can still call Tehran on my phone, and I just bungled it all. I don't care to find out. I know that near my apartment in Madrid, there's a Bangladeshi-owned shop that still has telephone booths.
This comes after having taken back control of Kharkiv, the second biggest Ukrainian city, as Russian troops appear to be making a hasty retreat. This latest development continues to indicate the inability of Russian troops to dominate Ukrainian forces.
Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.
After this successful counter-offensive, Ukraine’s defense ministry posted a video showing soldiers gathered around a yellow and blue painted post upon arrival at the Russian border. “Today the 15th of May, Kharkiv's territorial defense forces of Ukraine - 227th battalion, 127th brigade - went to the border with the Russian Federation,” said one soldier. “We are here.”
The milestone for Ukraine follows a statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a meeting in Berlin: “The invasion is not going as Moscow had planned. They failed to take Kyiv. They are pulling back from Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbass has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives.”
Kharkiv is located about 30 miles from Russia’s border and has faced weeks of heavy Russian artillery assaults.
The military situation is somewhat different in the south and east, though Moscow’s forces are not moving as quickly through Donbas as they’d hoped. The governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Gaidai, said the situation "remains difficult" as the Russian forces are trying to capture the town of Severodonetsk. Russian troops have also launched a new round of missile strikes in and around the strategic port city of Odessa.
Teacher Gave Classes From Bomb Shelter For 42 Days
Valeria Gukova, a 24-year-old teacher from Kharkiv, taught her young students from a bomb shelter for 42 days, reports Pravda Ukraine.
Gukova was living in a room that was part of World War II bomb shelter, and had been equipped with Internet and hot water, though there was no shower. The teacher and her boyfriend slept on tables in their sleeping bags.
The teacher welcomed students of different ages: “The younger children were more open, and the older ones are more serious and more sensitive to the situation.”
She recalled a phone ringing one day with a strange ringtone. “The pupil’s face immediately changed expression and asked: "Are these some kind of bombings? No, dear, we're under the ground, you can't hear it here, just the walls might shake.”
Gukova’s boyfriend is a chef, and he and two colleagues have been cooking food in the shelter, and finding safe moments to distribute in Kharkiv during the fighting.
For First Time, More Ukrainians Returning Than Leaving Across Border
A long queue of vehicles with Ukrainian civilians seen at the Polish border to enter Ukraine
The number of people entering Ukraine through its western border now exceeds those leaving the country. According to the State Border Guard Service, more than 37,000 people left Ukraine on May 14, but nearly 46,000 arrived. It is the fifth straight day that there is a net influx.
Still, the shift is by no means a sign that people think the war is ending or that they don’t see risks in returning. People are coming back to their cities not only "out of optimism, but also because they are experiencing financial difficulties," said Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar on a telethon, RBC-Ukraine reports. “We need to understand that people are running out of money, having to live somewhere (new), just like that, to pay for housing, to eat, without working.”
Russia Says Finland And Sweden Joining NATO Would Be “Grave Mistake”
After Finland confirmed its intentions to join NATO, Sweden followed suit on Sunday. Sweden’s governing Social Democrats voted in favor and, in doing so, paved the way for a membership application that would see the Scandinavian country say goodbye to decades of neutrality.
In response, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Monday that "this is another grave mistake with far-reaching consequences." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the accession of the two "consolidated democracies" with their strong armies will "make NATO stronger," the German newspaper Die Welt reported.
As their Nordic neighbors, Sweden and Finland, edge closer to NATO membership, Norway (already a NATO member) is watching developments closely as Vladimir Putin threatens consequences.
Here is Monday's front page of Oslo-based Dagbladet
Germany To Stop Russian Oil Imports Regardless Of EU Plans
Germany plans to stop importing Russian oil by the end of year, even if the European Union fails to implement EU-wide sanctions. The EU discussions are currently blocked as Hungary, which is extremely dependent on Russian energy supplies, objects to the phased-in oil ban.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, however, has now indicated to it will push ahead regardless.
Russia’s share of German crude consumption has already declined considerably, from 35% to 12% since the start of the war in Ukraine. It hasn't been confirmed which countries will make up Germany’s oil shortfall, but Scholz will travel to the Netherlands next week to speak with Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the issue. On Friday, Scholz will host Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Berlin.
Moscow Takes Over Renault’s Russian Assets, McDonald’s To Exit Market Completely
Russian assets of the French automaker Renault will be transferred to Moscow state ownership, reports Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Russia was the second largest market for Renault, behind Europe.
French daily, Les Echos, reports that Renault will sell its 68% stake in AvtoVAZ, the parent company of the Lada brand (a Russian company owned by Renault), to NAMI, the state body responsible for approving new vehicles. The factory owned by Renault will be transferred to the city of Moscow. The sale of its stake in AVTOVAZ provides the option for Renault to buy back its interest within six years, said the statement.
The management of the French group had been seeking another solution, but with the sanctions imposed on Russia by Europe and the United States, there was no possibility for a takeover by a Western brand. An agreement with Rostec, the other shareholder of AvtoVAZ, was excluded, as the group is one of the companies targeted by Western sanctions.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s announced Monday it will sell all of its restaurants in Russia after more than 30 years. The fast-food chain had already closed 847 restaurants in the country, but this decision will make it one of the biggest global brands to exit Russia completely since the invasion of Ukraine.
"It is impossible to ignore the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine," Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said in a letter to employees. “And it is impossible to imagine the Golden Arches representing the same hope and promise that led us to enter the Russian market 32 years ago.”
Ukraine Children’s Summer Camp Became Execution Ground
A BBC investigation conducted by Sarah Rainsford has revealed haunting details about what was once a children’s summer camp in the Bucha region of Ukraine, a popular get-away spot before the war. When Russian troops arrived, ‘Camp Radiant’ was turned into an execution ground. The bodies of more than 1,000 civilians have been discovered in this area, some “hastily buried” in shallow graves. According to a senior police official, more than 650 were shot dead by Russian soldiers.
After five bodies were found under the camp, it became a crime scene. Reporters and police are now collecting evidence, such as the remains of Russian military ration packs. According to Rainsford, the walls were covered in children’s graffiti and art, as well as a dozen bullet holes.
Ukraine Vows To Host Next Year’s Eurovision In Mariupol
Ukraine won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest this weekend after receiving overwhelming support in the public vote. Under the rules of the competition, the winning country is supposed to host the contest the following year. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky vowed that Mariupol will host Eurovision in 2023, “for the third time in history, and I trust not for the last time.”
Still, with Russia in virtual control of Mariupol and surrounding territory, many doubt whether this is possible. There have been six exceptions where the winning country has not hosted the following year, the primary reason being the country could not afford to financially. During four out of these six exceptions, the UK ended up stepping in. Not because they came in second, as was the case in 1959 and this year, but because they had the means to.
French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a new European Political Community, with support from Germany's Olaf Scholz, that would include Ukraine in a second-tier union. No, this is not about European "core values" — it's just the latest attempt by the EU's two biggest players to be sure not to upset Vladimir Putin.
As cannabis is legalized in more places, investors are taking note. One Luxembourg-based, Uruguayan-led fund has found an innovative way to bypass banking obstacles and raise capital.
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.
