I haven’t always been a fan (once again, putting it mildly) but Ukraine’s president Zelensky is a total badass. With Russian troops moving in on the capital with the express orders to kill Zelensky, he refused to be evacuated and stayed with his people. This is a young guy, with a family. He has every excuse to go. Which US president would have stayed?

But there is more. A group of nuns in Kharkiv, my city, refused to get evacuated and stayed to pray where prayer is most needed.

Let’s hope these incredible people survive the night.

You learn a lot about people in difficult times. Somebody I never suspected of sensitivity and great people skills (and that’s putting it mildly) suddenly came through for me in a really big way and unasked, which is important because I don’t have the mental resources to ask anybody for anything. Somebody I suspected of being an idiot showed she’s an even bigger idiot. A former friend with whom I’d had a falling out and didn’t talk to for several years is now back to being a friend.

I deleted half of my Twitter feed because for some strange reason people can’t sit it out if an issue is of no interest to them. It’s perfectly fine to have nothing to say but if you are driven to comment, it might be a good idea not to be an asshole. And by the way, “there is no war, this is fake news” has absolutely become a thing in the US. Just as I expected.

Also, I really don’t appreciate the endless questions of “but why do you care if you didn’t want to live there in the first place?” I’m not a freak for caring. If you can really imagine the place where you grew up being bombed into rubble and not care, then maybe you are the freak.

Everybody on this blog has been great and very supportive. I appreciate all comments and the discussions because the time I spend on the blog is the time I don’t spend staring at footage of severed body parts online.

This hit me very hard, people. The only way not to let it hit you hard is to disassociate, and I’ve spent too much time learning not to do that to now go back.

God, I’d really like to go back to worrying about the mask mandates right now.

Klara was invited to a friend’s birthday party. I agreed without looking up the address on a map. Turns out it’s a 40-minute drive for a 9 am Saturday party. The roads are icy. And I have a kid who has literally not been in the car for 40 minutes straight for more than a dozen times in her whole life. We aren’t living a driving lifestyle because everything is so close.

There are no lockdowns. All kids’ activities have been completely open for over a year. The hosts and all the guests live in the 2-mile radius from me. Am I right to be upset that people chose this enormous hassle for the guests? I have to get up at 7:30 am on a Saturday and drive a total of 80 minutes there and back for a 2-hour outdoor party.

I feel punished. Yes, I should have checked the address. But how was I supposed to know people would do something like this?

Here’s an easier way to donate to the Ukrainian army:

Tonight and next morning will be brutal.

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to refer to the invaders in conversations with my husband. To say “your people” or “Russians” is unnecessarily hurtful. I switched to “fascists” but this word has humorous connotations in Russian. I refuse to say “Putin” because the problem is precisely that it would all be the same if Putin never existed. The closest word to invaders is захватчики, but it’s long, impossible to pronounce several times in a row and also sounds humorous, like I’m making fun of the situation. Nazis also has humorous connotations.

I’d use swear words but my husband is sensitive and swear words don’t work to move the conversation along.

Also, on a different topic, people ask if N would get vaccinated if it weren’t for me. The question is, though, how would he find out that vaccination existed if it weren’t through me? The man is practically a hermit.

The National Bank of Ukraine has decided to open a special fundraising account to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This account accepts multiple currencies. It has been established and opened to receive transfers from international partners and donors in both foreign currency (U.S. dollars, euros, UK pounds) and hryvnias.

Support the Armed Forces of Ukraine!

Account information

For UAH remittances:
Bank: National Bank of Ukraine
MFO 300001
Account No. UA843000010000000047330992708
EDRPOU Code 00032106
Payee: National Bank of Ukraine

For USD remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 400807238
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, New York
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASUS33
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For EUR remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: DE05504000005040040066
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: DEUTSCHE  BUNDESBANK, Frankfurt
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: MARKDEFF
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: Wilhelm-Epsteinn-Strabe 14, 60431 Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For GBP remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: GB52CHAS60924280033041
Sort code 60-92-42
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA, London
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASGB2L
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, UK
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For CHF​​​​​​​ remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: CH32 0070 0070 0012 2757 2
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: ZURCHER KANTONALBANK, ZURICH
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: ZKBKCHZZ80A
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: Josefstrasse 222, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For AUD​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 81753-2
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: RESERVE  BANK OF AUSTRALIA, Sydney
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: RSBKAU2S
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: GPO Box 3947, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For CNY​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 447-0-946243-6
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, Hong Kong
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: SCBLHKHH
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: GPO Box  21, Hong Kong
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For CAD​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3144-1044-166
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: BANK OF MONTREAL, Toronto
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: BOFMCAM2
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 100 King Street West, 24th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1A1, Canada
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

For JPY​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 653-0430048
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: MUFG BANK LTD, Tokyo
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: BOTK JP JT
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 1-2-3, Nihombashi HONGOKU-CHO, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 1003 -0021 Japan
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708

https://twitter.com/MaajidNawaz/status/1497199861191655427?t=S334MOc-Dj26sdvCmwIhRA&s=19

The #1 target is the Jewish president of Ukraine. Still no sanctions on Russia from the West.

Russia has a military force of 70,000 Chechens ready to be unleashed on Ukraine. This is when it’s going to turn into a religious war with tens of thousands Islamic fanatics being let loose on the cradle of Slavic Orthodox Christianity.

If you don’t see who’s on the side of civilization and who stands for barbarity, I can’t help you.

Want somebody to admire, admire these people. Not the brothers and sisters of the murderers who are “protesting.”