Fighting For Ukraine

October 1st 2024

Yuriy underscores the critical role the Ukrainian army plays in defending not just Ukraine but the broader Western world against Russian aggression. He highlights Russia's inhumane military practices and warns of their intentions to use subjugated Ukrainians to wage war against NATO, emphasizing the importance of supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

 I think some of my listeners abroad believe that I'm exaggerating a bit when I say that the Ukrainians are now defending them too, that I'm deliberately overstating the importance of the Ukrainian army, but that's not the case. In the description of this episode, I will leave a link to the military plans of so-called Russian Ministry of Defense. You will be able to read them using an online translator, or you might not need to read them- I will tell you a bit about them and provide some explanations. 

Let's start with the fact that they still call the war in Ukraine a, liberation one. They came to "liberate" Russians according to very bizarre calculations. Just recently, 96.7% of people in Ukraine were Russians. Where this number came from, don't ask. I don't know. It's some special Putin science- counting Russians where they don't exist. So, next, the Russian military rights that were insidious West imposed some wrong values on these Russians and turn them into enemies of Russia. And that's precisely why putin started this war to turn this, 96.7% of Ukrainians into Russians.  

And do you know why Putin needs these people- and we are talking about millions of people? Can you guess? Well, okay. I will tell you to be at the forefront of the armies that will march under Putin's command   to destroy the West, which on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense is called 'Satanic'. The ultimate goal is to bring all of Eastern Europe back under Moscow's control. In other words, the Russians openly say, they want to fight NATO, but with the hands of subjugated Ukrainians. 

Is it possible to send Ukrainians to fight against their Western neighbors? Well look at two. Today's Russian army, it is more than half made up of conquered peoples from the Caucuses,  Siberia, and other regions. It has thousands of Chechens, including wars, who just recently -20 years ago- fought against Moscow for independence, but now they're fighting for the very people who turned Chechnya into a damn feudal khanate with portraits of Putin who killed tens of thousands of Chechens on every corner. 

And there are also many Ukrainians in the Russian army from the occupied territories. They did not join because they suddenly wanted to fight for the invaders. No, they were simply grabbed of the streets, taken to the military base and made cannon fodder. That's right, cannon fodder. The Russian army does not know how to fight any other way. 

And the fact that you haven't experienced it yourself yet, the fact that this father isn't storming your cities, the fact that your loved ones haven't been forcibly sent to be part of this Russian cannon fodder, all this is thanks to Ukraine. By the way, today is October 1st, the day of Defenders of Ukraine. So don't forget to congratulate your Ukrainian friends. They deserve it.   

September 23rd 2024

Yuriy he recounts his recent travels across war-torn Ukraine, including a visit to his hometown of Kharkiv. In this episode, Yuriy delves into health issues exacerbated by constant stress, the agony of seeing his city under attack, misguided foreign perspectives on the war, and heartbreaking stories of Russian oppression. He ends on a hopeful note by discussing his involvement in a veterans' theatre project and plans for a new podcast initiative.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

Hello, I'm back with you again. It's September 23. 

I've been away for quite some time. This is partly due to health issues, which are certainly not getting any better under constant stress, and partly because over the past few weeks I've had to travel around Ukraine for my military duties. I even visited my hometown of Kharkiv, which suffers from daily bombings, where soon there won't be a single intact window left and which the Russians are trying to simply destroy. It's an incredibly heavy feeling- being in the city of my childhood, the city of my daughters childhood, and witnessing how it suffers from shelling, how people there are in agony, it's unimaginably difficult.

The only thing harder is reading how foreign commentators are teaching us how we should deal with Russians. Lately, I've been coming across more and more advice from foreigners directed at Ukrainians, which sounds more like calls for capitulation. Of course, if they don't phrase it that way. Usually, it's just amusing about how one can live under any regime and, but it's not necessary worth suffering and dying just to prevent your state's flag flattering over your city being replaced with that of another country. I even suspect that these aren't Russian bots, but real people from Western countries who just don't fully understand what's actually happening here. What this war is truly about. Let me give you some examples. 

A few months ago, two Ukrainian priests were released from Russian captivity. They had been captured in the Kherson region at the beginning of a full scale invasion.  They weren't chaplains. They had no ties to the military. We were simply from a church that were Russian authorities deemed uncanonical and incorrect because it does not recognize the primacy of Moscow and holds services in Ukrainian language. Just four this, the two priests were arrested, sent to camps, tortured and abused. Naturally their congregation, was given a "proper" priest. One with a Russian passport, a prayer book edited to feed the times, and probably an FSB ID too. 

In occupied territories, not only praying in Ukrainian forbidden, but even speaking, it is prohibited. That's why the occupiers immediately destroy all books in schools and libraries burned down the offices of Ukrainian language publications and bomb printing houses. Russians boast in very news about sending a young shop assistant from the occupied territories to prison for greeting customers in Ukrainian, out of habit, not knowing that they were Russian soldiers. For the simple words, 'good day' in a banned language, she was sent to the torture chamber. 

The Russians aren't just replacing one flag with another; they want everyone to immediately become Russian to forget, their language renowned their faith and even throw away favorite books into the fire. This is a deliberate destruction of everything that matters to a person. Everything that makes a person human. Their history, their roots, their understanding of the world. None of that is supposed to remain. The Russian government has restructured its own country into a vast territory, full of people without their own thoughts, without their own views, without their own values. Everyone is ordered to love what we're told to love, hate what we're told to hate, and ignore everything, not mention it by the authorities. And this is precisely the order they want to force upon Ukraine. And kill anyone who disagrees.  

I don't think it's worth ending on a said note again. So here's some good news. I'm currently serving in a unit that, among other things, focuses on the rehabilitation of veterans and war disabled individuals. We even have a special project, the Veteran's Theater, where 15 veterans have been trained in the basics of dramaturgy and have written their own plays about our war. I've joined this work and now I'm working on creating a Veterans Podcast where we will record the plays in radio format and discuss them. 

I'm slowly putting together a studio for this. I've already bought a recorder and one microphone. I'll be ordering two more microphones and a mixer, even if we're slightly used, very soon. And all of these. Thanks to you. Without your help, I would not have the money to set up the studio that we are building right now. There wouldn't be the opportunity for war scared people who engaged in creativity and share the stories of the world. True stories of heroism and resistance. And you are all directly part of this because if you are listening to me and helping -you are the resistance.  

August 28th 2024

Yuriy notes that last weekend marked two and a half years since the start of the war in Ukraine and he reflects on the profound losses and relentless struggle for survival. He calls on listeners to support Ukraine, emphasizing the dire consequences if the world neglects their plight.

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: [email protected]   

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It is August 28th. 

Last weekend, marked exactly two and a half years since I joined the Army. It's quite a long time. During this period, I found many new friends and lost many old ones to death or disappearance. During this time, my parents became refugees, my brother turned into a traitor and I started and almost gave up on making a podcast. I've been on many fronts, hid from shelling in Bakhmut, and saw the' Russians fleeing from Kharkiv. So much has happened. So many people have died in these two years. So much pain and blood.

I've also seen how the rhetoric of Kremlin agents in the West has changed. At first, they claimed that helping Ukraine was pointless, but it wouldn't last even a couple of weeks and that the Russians would quickly seize the entire country. Then we screamed about Nazis, about terrible oppression of Russian-speaking Ukrainians that Putin was supposedly rescuing. Later, when it became obvious that the regions suffering the most destruction and deaths were war with large Russian speaking populations, these creatures started scaring the world with the threat of nuclear war if Putin began to lose. 

Now we have a new narrative. I constantly see Americans and Europeans saying things like, "Not a cent of aid to Ukraine as long as our country has homeless veterans." This is not just nonsense, it's a crime. If the citizens of free countries stop helping Ukraine, you will all turn into homeless veterans- your children, your elderly parents, your friends, and your loved ones. If Ukraine falls, you'll all even be dead or homeless veterans. And you will consider yourself lucky if you become homeless veterans of your own national armies that have defended their independence at the cost of completely destroyed cities and enormous human losses. 

Because there is a high chance that you'll become homeless veterans of fascist Russian army. It is forming entire brigades of people from occupied territories. It does not care about the motivation or loyalty of such soldiers. They are expendable. Most people driven into these brigades spent a couple of weeks on the front lines.  Then they either die or are severely wounded and remain disabled homeless veterans for life. And you'll be among them if Ukraine does not stand. Putin will need a lot of canon fodder for world domination and he's delighted when in another fool writes "not a cent for Ukraine" because that fool is his potential soldier. Help Ukraine. Two and a half years of war is very long and very difficult, but we are holding on and you should too. Believe me, it's much, much harder for us here.  

August 22nd 2024

Yuriy vividly recounts Ukraine's bold offensive into Russia, drawing parallels with General Sherman's historic march. As he shares his personal reflections and hopes for a decisive victory, Yuriy provides a raw and insightful perspective on the ongoing conflict.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

 It is August 22. 

What you've read in textbooks, what you've seen in Epic paintings, and what has inspired you is happening right now. The Ukrainian Army is now replicating General Sherman's March through Georgia in Russia's Kursk region. Yes, it is the closest historical analogy. It's a strike at the enemies rear, a demoralizing strike, a painful strike with a far reaching, though still unclear to many, consequences. 

One of the main tasks of any army forced to fight a war on its own territory is to transfer this war to the enemies territory. So that it's their, the enemies, cities and villages being destroyed by artillery. Their civilian population turning into refugees and their, not our, fields and factories burning from direct shelling. 

For two and a half years, Ukraine fought with a wild and impossible limitation: our partners gave us weapons, but forbid us from using them outside of Ukraine. We had no rights to strike military targets in Russia while Russia had no such restrictions. Now, everything is changing. We are bringing the war to the territory of the aggressor country. They have sown the wind, and now we will reap whirlwind. 

I would like our offensive to be exactly like Sherman's- all, the way to the sea, the baltic or the white sea, with the destruction of everything in its path, cutting the enemy fronts in half. Of course, it won't be that way- these are different times with different weapons, tactics, and logistics. But what is happening now is history, something that could become a turning point in this war. The Russians dreamed of capturing Kyiv in three days, but now over 900 days into their three day war, they are losing village after village on their own territory.

It's been a long time since I have had a real reason for good cheer, but now I'm almost dancing- we have thrown the fire of war back to where it came from. Now we must push forward and not stop. I confess I'm a bit envious of my comrades who are now fighting in the Kursk region. When I left Russia more than 10 years ago, I told myself I would never return to that wretched, racist country. But now I realize that I would gladly go there for a couple of months in a Ukrainian tank. 

If I do get there, and there is always a chance, I will certainly tell you about it. But for now, wish us all and all of Ukraine luck. Let Moscow be burned and its cannibalistic regime destroyed forever.   

August 5th 2024

Yuriy unravels the shocking truth behind a supposed ally—a Spanish journalist who turned out to be a Russian spy. Yuriy describes a real-life encounter with a Russian intelligence agent and the haunting aftermath of betrayal on the front lines of Ukraine.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It's August five. 

I'm truly burnt out, which makes it difficult for me to do even simple tasks. Honestly, I even wanted to take a couple more weeks off from recording any episodes, but a few days ago I received a few dozen dollars on PayPal from you and realized that I still have an obligation to you. Today, I will tell you a real spy thriller to which I, for a long time without realizing it had a connection. 

You have probably heard that last week there was an exchange of convicts between Russia and Western countries. The Russians sent to Europe and the USA journalists and several minor local and anti Putin politicians, and in return, they received a bunch of real criminals, illegal agents who hunted for secret information, hackers who stole money from Western citizens and transferred it to accounts associated with Russian special services and even real hired killers. I must admit, I personally know one of  those whom the Russians pulled out from behind bars. 

We met in 2014, a few weeks after the then limited Russian invasion of Ukraine. At that time, we seized Donetsk and Luhansk, and there was a threat of an advance on the city of Dnipro. In the summer and autumn of 2014, there were a lot of journalists there, including foreigners. Among them was a Basque with a Spanish passport who spoke Russian with a noticeable accent, but very well. He eagerly told everyone that his grandmother and grandfather fled to the Soviet Union during the Spanish civil War, learned the language there, passed the knowledge on to their grandson. His name was Pablo Gonzalez. 

At first, this name seemed too charicatured to me; there is no more stereotypical Spanish name in the world than Pabla Gonzales, but I did not pay attention to it at that time. Gonzales was as pro Ukrainian as possible. He condemned the Russian aggression, supported the revolution, and even criticized the West for insufficient support for Ukraine. He visited Kyiv and our cities quite often, and he even had a Ukrainian girlfriend. Usually, he wrote to me a few days before his arrival and invited me to a bar. I always declined and instead invited him to my radio show. It was actually interesting- a Spanish journalist, a Basque supports Ukraine, talks about what Europe and USA should do to help us and mentions details of political life in Spain and other countries unknown to the broader Ukrainian public. 

I even encourage my colleagues from our media to contact Pablo if they needed someone knowledgeable about European affairs and people indeed contacted him. Pablo's round face with a truly Spanish conquistador-like beard occasionally appeared on Ukrainian television. 

Then the big war came. I quit journalism and joined the Army, and I forgot about Pablo as well as almost everything from my peaceful life. And a few days ago I read about the exchange. The article had a photo of the exchanged. Among them was the portrait of Pablo Gonzalez. As it turned out, he was neither Pablo, nor Gonzalez. His name was Pavel Rubstov. He's a Russian intelligence agent. His task was to establish friendly relations with journalists and politicians in Ukraine and neighboring countries. He was detained in Poland a few days after the start of a full scale invasion in February, 2022, he was snooping around the Ukrainian border.

He definitely did not learn anything secret from me- I never had access to any secrets, but unfortunately I helped legalized him in Ukraine. Made him recognizable without knowing the truth about him and recommended him to others as a speaker. I feel ashamed and hurt because of this. 

Pablo Gonzales. This name is not caricatured as it seemed to me. It is a cover name. Go and try to find data about every Gonzales in the world. He chose it, or rather it was chosen for him by his commanders to lose him among millions of real Gonzalez's.  

It's a pity that he was handed over to the Russians. I would like spies to stay behind bars, and I'm also curious about what happened to his Ukrainian girlfriend. Is she also a victim of his deception or an accomplice of a enemy who helped him in his wild work?  

July 26th 2024

Yuriy delves into the story of the small Ukrainian town of New York, which is facing relentless destruction by Russian forces. He highlights the stark contrasts and tragic connections between this town and its namesake in America, highlighting the symbolic and brutal nature of the ongoing conflict.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It is July 26. 

In Western News, this is not being mentioned, but the Russians are currently wiping New York off the face of Earth. They are dropping bumps from planes, launching missiles and destroying buildings one by one with FPV drones. Many New Yorkers have been killed, and even more locals have become refugees. It is so dangerous to be in New York, but the authorities have banned journalists and our civilians from entering. And this is all true. Except it is not the American, New York, it's a small town with the same name in the Dansk region. 

Why and when this Ukrainian town became New York is unknown, but it has been called that at least since 1860. After Second World War during the Cold War, the Soviet authorities renamed the town, but a few months before the full scale invasion, New York once again became New York. Even when it was a frontline town. Since 2014, the frontline has been just a few miles away. The town was constantly sheltered by the Russians who had taken over parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the guise of local separatists 10 years ago. 

Yet the town was alive. A lot of interesting things were happening there. It even had its own literary festival attracting writers from all over Ukraine and even abroad. For a town with a population of just 2000 people, this is very impressive. However, there have not been 2000 people there for a long time. Now, only a few dozen residents remain.  The rest either fled or died. Several neighborhoods of a town no longer exist only ruins remain of the homes. The Russians are thrilled about this. Their social networks celebrate with destruction of every house, the killing of every local resident as a holiday. "New York must be destroyed" openly, write, Russian soldiers and propagandists.

There is almost no strategic sense in this destruction. But there is a symbolic one. Propaganda depicts the war for Russians as a heroic confrontation with the West. At the beginning of invasion. Central Russian TV channels showed plans for advancing not only on Kyiv and Lyiv, but also on Warsaw, Berlin, and London, the most zealous propagandists called for immediate bombing of American cities, especially New York as a symbol of American might. Now, after two and a half years with none of their plans realized, the Russians are bombing the New York, they can reach -a small town that bears no resemblance of American one- but we do it with the pomp as if we are destroying the entire Manhattan. 

They are obsessed with a desire to destroy, the desire to kill. Honestly, they would bomb the American New York along with Paris, Warsaw and other cities, but in their way stand, small Ukrainian towns and their defenders. The large and vibrant American, New York still lives its usual peaceful life only because the small, unremarkable Ukrainian, New York is dying for it now. Please remember this.   

July 16th 2024

Yuriy explores the chilling synchrony between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's acceptance of an honor from Putin and a missile strike on a Ukrainian hospital, showing how tyrants like Putin are normalizing evil today. He also examines how cultural icons and global politicians still engage with Putin, reflecting a troubling ambiguity in the world's stance against Russian aggression.

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: [email protected]   

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It is July 16. 

At the very moment when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, standing in the Moscow Kremlin bent his neck before Putin to receive the Order of Saint Andrew Kyiv, rescuers were pulling children killed by a Russian missile from the rubble of a hospital. This was not a coincidence. Putin wanted these to events to occur one right after another. It was important for him to show the world that he's not an outcast, that being a criminal and still being a reliable partner for many countries is entirely possible. 

One could say that Putin bonded Modi with blood. He orchestrated everything so that these two news stories would follow each other: first, a Russian missile kills Ukrainian children, and then the one who gave order to launch the missile bestows an order on the Prime minister of the country, that calls itself the world's largest democracy. The Indian Prime Minister then muttered something about the necessity of peace, about war not being the answer. But Modi did not discard the foolish dog-collar like order, nor did he admit that his visit to Moscow was a mistake.

Did he not know he was visiting a murderer? A person who has unleashed the bloodiest war in Europe in the last 80 years? That Putin had already killed children in Mariupol, Bucha, and many other cities. He knew everything, saw everything, and accepted everything. He only disliked that Putin decided to strike the Children's Hospital on the very day the Indian delegation arrived. If it happened a day earlier or later, Modi would have completely ignored the death of Ukrainian children. 

Perhaps you have not noticed yet, but we are witnessing the normalization of evil. For decades, tyrants of all kinds have hidden way crimes trying to appear courteous and honest. Since Pol Pot, who sent Khmer youth to kill our parents with Host, no one has openly boasted about mass murders and destruction of entire cities. Putin has become the first after Paul Pot, and many are fine with this. It's not just about Modi. A couple of weeks before him, a whole delegation of world musicians who can without ation be called jazz greats visited Moscow. Richard Bona, Allan Harris, Avishai Cohen, Dhafer Youssef and others. 

They played at a state organized jazz festival, the faces of this festival were are propagandists who daily talk about how main task of Russians is to kill Ukrainians. Fees came from the same state budget that pays for the production of bombs and missiles to destroy Ukrainian schools and hospitals. And all these stars knew this very well. But they went anyway because evil has been normalized. Because the democratic world has not fully defined its attitude towards Russia. First, greedy fools like Youssef and Cohen go to bow to Putin, then ultra right politicians like Modi and then he will start being accepted in your formerly democratic countries. Or will he not? It depends only on you, on your attitude towards evil and your resistance to its normalization.

Sorry to remind you, but please, if you like my stories, you can always support me with a couple of bucks while donating. You are also fighting against evil.

July 8th 2024

Yuriy shares his dislike for cinemas but draws powerful parallels between the movie 'Dunkirk' and Ukraine's current war against Russian aggression. He describes the devastating impact of the conflict on civilians, particularly children, and calls for global support to stop the atrocities committed by Russian forces.

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: [email protected]   

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It is July 8th. 

I don't like going to the cinema. It usually makes me very uncomfortable. Too many people, everything is too loud. It's just not my thing. I went to cinemas so rarely, but I even remember the last movie I watched on the big screen. It was Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. Moreover, I vividly remember the beginning of a movie. The scene where a British soldier runs through the streets of Dunkirk, stumbles upon the French barricade, and the French let him through with one shouting after him, "Bon Voyage."

You know, this  it reflects our reality, our war. In Ukraine, we are like those French soldiers in the film- holding back the Nazi onslaught while the world runs away from reality. Just as the British soldiers fled in the movie. The French on the barricade wear helmets from the First World War, their machine guns are also very old. But we hold on and fight just like Ukraine fights now often gasping without new modern weapons. 

It's fascinating to watch such films from our time knowing that those British guys are neither cowards, nor traitors, but we continue to fight against Nazism and will return to France to liberate it.  As for the future of our war, we know nothing. Will we continue to fight alone against terrorists who destroy entire cities and dream of conquering Europe? Will our partners continue to help us or will we betray us for cheap fuel and Putin's promises not to attack them? We don't know any of this. Nolan has not made a film about us: our future's script is being written right now and it is being written with the blood of Ukrainians. 

Just today, the Russians launched a massive missile strike on Ukrainian cities. In Kyiv their missile hit a children's hospital. The ward for children with cancer. These Russian monsters have nothing sacred, where not humans, where mindless values immoral scum. Russia is at war against children with cancer. Brave Russian pilots drop bombs and missiles on children's hospitals without hesitation, and they even receive promotions and medals for it. This is not a coincidence when you, what we are doing and did it intentionally. And we will keep doing it as long as we have missiles and bombs.

These children are Russia's terrible enemies; they committed an unforgivable crime in the eyes of the Russians, they they are born Ukrainians. And for this, were being bombed. For this, we are all being bombed and we hold on while the rest of the world mentally  evacuates from our bloody modern Dunkirk. 

Perhaps I don't like going to the cinema also because I can't help with people on the screen who get into trouble. It's like I'm spying on them, when I should at least do something for them. But the war in Ukraine is not a movie, and when democratic world is not an audience helplessly watching a tragedy and not helping wars suffering before their eyes. The world can help, can provide weapons, can show Putin and his humanoid scum that they, cannot bomb children with impunity. And I really hope that this  will be the case.  

June 24th 2024

Yuriy shares the emotional journey of his film's premiere and gives a sneak peek into his next project dedicated to the realities of war. Discover the stories behind the scenes and the people who inspired them.

https://yuriymatsarsky.substack.com/p/unleashing-azov-why-one-of-ukraines

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: [email protected]   

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

 It is June 24. 

Well, my film has finally premiered. In fact, there were two premieres. First Kyiv at the War film festival, and one in Cherkasy, the hometown of a person the film is about. I have to admit, the audience liked the film, the mother and sister of the film's hero cried and thanked me for preserving the image of the loved one on screen. The film is already on YouTube and there will be a link to it in the podcast description. I must note that it is in Ukrainian and the people in it are unlikely to be familiar to a Western audience, but it is still worth your attention. 

Also, I have a cameo in the film. I appear on screen for a few seconds. You probably won't recognize me because the scene ends so quickly, but I'll give you a hint. The soldier with a camera around whom a small dog is running, is me. It's such a successful scene during the shooting of which we all almost died, that it'll be also included in the next film I'm working on.

It'll be dedicated to Bakhmut from which I have several hours of footage. Unfortunately, not all of the people in these shots are still with us. At least one person, a young, cheerful girl, died a few months after I filmed her story. I don't know if all this will be interesting to the viewer, but it is a reflection of reality -life in war, unembellished and uncolored, just as it is.

I also have three links for you today to my film and to two of my new articles. I hope you not only enjoy listening to me but also reading my works. By the way, I have a video somewhere where I talk about my combat scooter and its strange journey. I used it to get around in the early days of the war. If you are interested, let me know and I will edit it at English subtitles and post it on Substack, and don't forget what GoFundMe operates daily, that there are no small donation and that without your help, neither the podcast, the articles nor videos from me can exist.  

June 18th 2024

Yuriy reflects on the grim reality of war, where death becomes an all-too-familiar presence. He discusses the heavy emotional toll of losing friends and colleagues, both through warfare and other tragic circumstances, highlighting the insufficiency of psychological defenses built for war when faced with non-combat deaths.

https://yuriymatsarsky.substack.com/p/unleashing-azov-why-one-of-ukraines

You can email Yuriy, ask him questions or simply send him a message of support: [email protected]   

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TRANSCRIPT: (Apple Podcasts & Podbean app users can enjoy accurate closed captions)  

It is June 18. 

We have become accustomed to people dying in war. It is very clinical, but there is nothing you can do about it when every day, hundreds of people die from bombs sharing mine explosions and missile strikes. You get used to it. You just know that by the end of the month, several of your friends will have died, and by the end of a year, several dozen. By the end of the war, it'll be hundreds and hundreds. This is a kind of forced fatalism that is unavoidable in war. It quickly becomes part of each of us. 

We have indeed become used to the fact that war constantly takes away friends and relatives. This has become the grim norm of war time. We are so accustomed to it that we forget that death can come not only from bullets and shrapnel but also from cancer, heart attacks and accidents. And when such a non-war death suddenly intrudes into our difficult pain field lives, the usual psychological safeguards fail. We are turned to a different kind of pain. They are entirely focused on war, and so they don't help. 

A few weeks ago, my senior colleague, who had greatly helped me in my profession, died of a heart attack right at his workplace. He was an excellent specialist who knew everything or almost everything about Ukrainian politics. I used to invite him to my show every month and when we would discuss for a couple of hours more what we didn't have time to cover on air. After I joined the Army, I saw him only once- we met by chance in Kyiv when I came last year to receive an award from Zelensky.

His death was a very heavy blow for me and it wasn't the last one. My colleague in journalism who is much younger than me, but from whom I have learned a lot. Was hospitalized with cancer in a stage that leaves almost no hope for recovery. I don't know, maybe it is somehow connected, but a few months ago, her boyfriend died in the war and she has significantly declined since then. 

Death has become routine, we get used to it, but nonetheless, it can still shock us. Because of all this news, I fell ill and for several weeks, could barely think clearly. Today I have prepared two links for you. The first is a new text about how Russian propaganda has painted Azov as Nazis, and the second is a video from my native Kharkiv. Read, watch and leave comments if you like it.