a rusalky post for rusalky week. i want to share some ukrainian folk stories about relationships between the rusalky and their living relatives. and if you don't know, rusalka is an undead natural spirit, usually (but not always) of a girl who died a violent death, or died prior or during the rusalka week. recordings of folk texts are taken from the work "ukrainian mythology" by volodymyr halaichuk, translated by me.
• a girl died before rusalka week. and her sister remained. the dead girl was buried in her clothes, but they forgot to give her her favorite skirt, that she wanted. she came back as a rusalka. she came to her sister, and asked: "oksana, can you get me my skirt?". oksana asked: "what do you need it for?" "i will go party". and so for the whole rusalka week, she visited her sister. every evening oksana left her the skirt on the hedge, and her sister took it and partied. but then the mother noticed it, as the skirt was constantly dripping wet. the rusalka sister told oksana to not utter a single word to her mother about what is happening. but once her mother pressured her, and the girl told her so and so. after that, the rusalka stopped coming.
• there was a good girl, and she died. she wanted to be buried in her silk skirt, but the mother didn't fulfill her wish. the girl died before rusalka week. then the neighbors started dreaming that the girl was asking "why didn't mother give me my skirt?". then, when the rusalka week came, the mother placed the skirt in the corner of the house. then, when the next day came, she looked at it, and the skirt was dripping wet. and so they knew that the rusalka girl came
• a girl died on rusalka week. and so a year came by, but the parents still mourned. but during rusalka week, they saw her khustka move, and so the father pounced on it, and hugged it tightly, and didn't let it go. turned out it was their girl. he placed her on the corner of the house. and so she stayed in one place for a whole year. only when the dziady (ancestors' holiday) came, she ate the steam from the food offering, and then again returned to her corner. but then when the rusalka week came, she looked through the window, and clapped her hands, and exclaimed "my people are coming!" — and she was gone.
• there was a dead girl of 15 or 16 years, who's parents catched her, and locked her in the house. she sat at the clay stove in the corner, her face to the wall, as she refused to turn her face to them. then they noticed that when they cook food, she disappears, and so they knew she was eating the steam from the food. from now on, they left the house before eating, so that she could eat the steam in peace. and so she lived here for a whole year. but then pentecost came, and then three days more, and then she jumped from the stove, and exclaimed "oh! oh! my people are here! my people are here!" — and nobody saw her afterwards.
• once a group of musicians returned from the party late at night, and their way was through the fields. and towards them another group of musicians walked on the same road. when they finally crossed paths, the living recognized that the other group was dead. the dead musician spoke "so what are we gonna do now? now we are doing a playing competition. the one who wins gets the girl from the others' group". and so they played, and the living won. the musician who won chose a girl and said "you're going with us". in that village was a mother, who's daughter drowned herself on the pentecost. when the rusalka got to the village, she recognized the girl as her daughter. she stood in the corner of the house for the whole rusalka week, never talking, facing the corner. and when the week passed, they never noticed when and how, but she disappeared.
by the way please share this post because i’d really like some people to reconsider using communist symbols and labels, especially the hammer and sickle / soviet flag, because i have seen lots of things like this:
and there’s several posts here about not using imperial japan flag or nazi imagery because of the mass crimes these symbols are associated with, but none about the flag under which my country and my family, and many others, have suffered.
i know tumblr is very american-centered, and not many people here care about the history of countries that are not the united states or white western europe, but seeing the above imagery can really hurt some people.
if you are a young person who just decided that communism was synonymous with “perfect justice utopia”, please reconsider because it wasn’t exactly like that for people whose lives were actually directly/undirectly altered for the worse because of your “harmless intellectual ideology”. please ask yourself why you use symbols and flags under which literal ethnic cleansings and discriminatory crimes were commited, under which disabled people (or “invalids”, how we were called in my country) have suffered. the working class was outwardly praised but secretly starved to death. women were used behind false statements of equality.
you’re no better than a fascist if you think pretending to be one of the people that fucked up my country and family is “badass” or “edgy”. you’re no better than a fascist if you hope “communism will win”.
Marxists are self-promoters and love to disguise things as grass roots advocacy. “Just to start conversations.”
The problem with that is the victims of the Soviet Union and the bad kool-aid that inspired and encouraged it are still alive, the history books are still readable, and written by those that survived it.
Marxism is a garbage sociological view, philosophical view and set of shitty platitudes and ideals. It belongs in the dumpster of history and to be just as vilified as those whom advocate for Nazism, as when a Marxist advocates for “equality,” their definition hinges on a Marxist definition of equality. One where you have to treat class struggle theory as absolutely true and governing logic of resolution and justice.
They do not care about justice and truth, they care about their ideological supremacy and violent revolution in the name of it, and define those as justice and truth.
And the only reason Marxist and Marxist adjacent symbols aren’t reviled as much as the hakenkrauz, is because so many Marxist infest education, human resources, and other forms of unelectable committes that have power but no oversight over how they govern. If I had my way, the proper reaction to a communist and a socialist would be the same as reacting to a Nazi. It’s the wrong headed way to pursue advancement and it just results in desolation, death and futility in the name of principle and ideals. By all rights, they’d teach Marxism as being as hateful and abusive as Fascism. One demands you bow to the absoluteness of a strongman, the other demands you bow to an abstract set of ideals and principles as absolute.
‼️In Dnipro, 9 people were killed as a result of a Russian attack. The fate of 6 more people is unknown, the search is ongoing, President Zelenskyi said.
‼️In Dnipro, the bodies of a woman and an 8-year-old boy were pulled from the rubble. The number of people killed in the city has increased to 11 people.
Residents of Kyiv are flooding the metro stations to spend the night there following Ukraine's intelligence services warning that ruZZians have prepared for the next mass air attack on Ukraine. Russian reconnaissance drones have been flying over Kyiv for the whole evening. Putin also did a sudden late evening meeting an hour ago where he talked to some of his officials saying how Kyiv Junta must be destroyed.
TL: There are so many people in Dorogozhychy that the staff asks people to take the train to Pecherska, Klovska, Zoloti Vorota.
Turns out a metro station has the capacity to take in up to 2000 people.
And after a sleepless night you have to go to work/school and keep living your life. Every day next to russia is a roulette — you either die or live surrounded by death.
❗Three women aged 47, 79 and 80 were injured in the Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia.
Two cars and a low-pressure gas pipe caught fire. Rescuers extinguished the fire. Another 10 cars and a multi-storey building were damaged by the blast wave and debris.
‼️Four people were killed and 58 injured in the Russian overnight attack on Kyiv, with damage reported in various parts of the city, Mayor Klitschko said.
I wish I said this phrase to a man who was screaming at me last Sunday, comparing me, Ukrainian, to a Palestinian. It took me a week to cry this situation out, and then another few days to try and put it into words. So, here’s a story of how an apartment viewing turned into a political fight and (sort of) a harassment case.
Ukraine is in a funny spot. It’s abandoned by the people on the left because they see the West as inherently bad, and refuse to see russia for the imperial hellhole that it is, sticking to its romanticised communist-dream past. Ukraine-russia war is not viewed through an imperial lens, because people cannot fathom the idea that imperialist agenda does not have a skin colour. It’s abandoned by the right because why should anyone get involved in a war that’s not theirs? Ukraine is seen as an altogether separate entity from the so-called West — what happens there has no real bearing on life of an average American or European, so it should be none of their business.
Ukrainians are even in a funnier spot — seen as too white to be suffering the consequences of imperialism, too Christian to be suffering from a religious persecution, too similar to the neighbours who attack them to be differentiated from them. We’re all the same, the Slavs, right? A vast and empty steppe full of Russian-speaking people (oh wait, do you have your own language?) Can’t you just divide up a territory, if you’re one of the same?
(Ver. 2 updated Aug 13th, 2024)
I will be reformatting this and adding more in the future when I have time.
Also a quick note, all of the groups I have found through twitter have been around long enough for them to be vetted by each other and the brigades they work with. In fact, a lot of these groups collaborate with each other too. Those that are in the fight for Ukraine have been diligent in calling out those that are grifters. Word spreads around quickly if an organization doesn't show up with what they promised. They also use their social media (often Twitter) as a means of transparency for their work.
Remember: When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.
Multi-Purpose
United 24 has various fundraisers dedicated to defense and drones, medical aid, rebuilding Ukraine, humanitarian demining, and science and education. You can pick which one you want to contribute to under their various projects.
Liberty Ukraine uses funds for humanitarian aid, medical supplies, protective gear and equipment, and rehabilitation therapy. You can choose which campaign of theirs to donate to.
Come Back Alive is a charitable foundation that supports Ukraine's military with competent assistance while also focusing on security and defense. They also have projects that use sports to help veterans rehabilitate. You can choose which campaign to donate to.
Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation works to help both civilians and Ukraine's army. You can choose to donate to an active project or any of their general campaigns. Civilian aid campaigns cover temporary housing, supporting crisis and emergency responses, schools, demining, and healthcare. Military aid campaigns cover drones, optics units, communications equipment, and support of air defense teams.
Food Aid
World Central Kitchen works with local partners wherever they are providing food aid. They make sure meals and meal kits are what the local population eats. Even though there is no separate fundraising campaign for Ukraine (that I can see), they still do great work.
Animal Rescue
Hachiko Foundation works to help displaced pets and strays in frontline areas. They help with veterinary care, outdoor shelters, setting up feeding stations, and rehoming animals.
Medical Aid
Hospitallers (Website) is a volunteer organization of paramedics that was founded in 2014. They evacuate the wounded, provide medical aid on the frontlines, assist in rehabilitation, and transfer of the deceased to burial sites. They are also supported by Ukraine Charity. Visit Hospitallers' website to see how many they have evacuated, different methods you can donate, and more information about them.
Other
Saint Javelin (Twitter; Website) is a great place to get apparel, gear, and other cool loot to show your support for Ukraine. They don't take donations, but instead raise funds through their shop with a portion of their sales going towards humanitarian aid and critical items needed by the defenders (generators, pick-up trucks, medical supplies etc). Part of their shop has items made in Ukraine to support Ukrainian businesses. Overall, their products are high-quality. I include them due to their impactful presence in the Twitter community I follow and how they make Ukraine visible in an alternative way. Consider buying someone a gift from their shop.
The Kyiv Independent (Twitter; Website) is a great English language resource for news about Ukraine. I include them because I think supporting good journalism is incredibly important, especially now when the information space is fraught with Russian propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation. My followers have probably noticed I've pulled a lot of quotes from their stories in an effort to amplify Ukrainian voices and experiences. Look on their website for more information on different way to support them, such as their Patreon.
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If you're on twitter, there are a number of groups and people that fundraise for Ukraine and for specific units fighting on the frontlines. If there is no official website, a PayPal for donations is listed in their profiles. When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.
@/Teoyaomiquu almost always has a fundraiser for Liberty Ukraine with a specified purpose. At the time of writing this, he is currently raising funds for engineering equipment such as excavators. One such excavator is already in Kursk. Follow him to stay up to date with what he's fundraising for.
Dyga's Paw (Twitter: @/dzygaspaw) is a smaller group that has recently raised funds for starlinks, drones, batteries, and Ecoflow generators. You can look at the fundraising campaigns they currently have on their website.
@/DefactoHumanity represents and founded Planet of the People with their website U(a)nited for Freedom. She frequently posts updates about their fundraisers and what their partners need. They are known for providing Frontline medical aid supplies, protective equipment and other military aid, technical equipment (starlinks, drones, scopes, etc), and infrastructure equipment (generators, vehicles, power stations, etc). They even have a merch store of the battalions they partner with if that's your jam. Here is their link tree if you wish to explore more. And in case you're curious, there is an article bout the founder here.
@/wilendhornets (Website) specialize in making high quality drones that have gotten a lot of praise from Ukraine's army. They have attracted a lot of media attention too. Check out their website for the list of articles that have been written about them. Their Twitter is very active with strike footage.
Ants Kitchen Hub (@/ants_kyiv) is a volunteer kitchen that makes dry rations for the Ukrainian army. They are more active on their other social media. To learn more about them, check out their link tree.
@/frontlinekit (Front Line Kitchen) is represented by Richard Woodruff. Originally they made shelf stable food for the Ukrainian army, but now their fundraising has branched out to other campaigns such as raising funds for medical supplies and drones. They are a well known group that many battalions have come to for help.
@/bekamaciorowski (Rebekah Maciorowski) is as combat medic and nurse who helps provide medical care to soldiers and civillians at the frontlines. She raises funds for medical supplies and other equipment, but also helps train soldiers in first aid. More of her social media that features her work can be found in her link tree.
@/UkraineAidOps (Website) is another organization battalions frequently go to for help. They fundraise for all sorts of equipment from medical supplies to drones. If you're interested, they also have a shop with patches from different brigades and flags signed by soldiers. Their shop also includes a separate section called the Victory Gallery where artifacts from the war are turned into art. This includes shells that are painted on, scrap metal from downed enemy planes are turned into keychains, and pieces of a rocket are turned into lamps.
Chris Garrett is the co-founder of Prevail. His organization deals with humanitarian demining as well as training for trauma care, training of bomb disposal, and education to the public. Prevail works with local agencies in Ukraine as well as the army.
Project Konstantin (Twitter; Website; Linktree) is still going strong after the death of their founder, British paramedic Peter Fouché. His digital ghost can be found here. They collaborate with the military, thus giving them an insight into what is dearly needed. They often raise funds for starlinks, personalized first aid kits (IFAKs), generators, portable power stations, and other nonlethal military equipment. I regret forgetting them the first time this post went around. Visit their website to see everything they have done and more. It has more information on what and how they do it than this post can cover.
One Team One Fight (Twitter; Website; Linktree) has some of the original members that worked for Ukraine Aid Ops. They formed their own group after differences with the previous one, and are still helping Ukraine. They are very visible on various social media showing what they have accomplished in their deliveries to various brigades. They're another group that seeks to bring starlinks, drones, medical supplies and protective gear to the battalions that come to them for help. Check out their website for more information on their current fundraisers, their achievements, and received recognition.
NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade (Twitter; Website) Another small group that focuses their funds on delivering drones, generators, vehicles, and saving the occasional furry companion. They are very diligent in their updates for their fundraising campaigns. Check out their website for more information and the articles written about them.
Postmaster General Boomer (Twitter; Website) focuses on humanitarian aid, animal aid, and logistics. Boomer is the beloved pet of one of the founders and the secret boss/mascot. They have many transparency reports and are diligent in reporting the various "tours" they do in getting supplies where they are needed to go. They are based in Germany but have built up many connections during their existence. They have also worked closely with Ukraine Aid Ops.
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I am sure I have forgotten some, so please reply or comment with any more I should add to this master post. I will edit and update as I see and evaluate more.
