12.10.2015. www.delfi.lv In the pre-war period, there was a „Bird’s House” in the centre of Donetsk – a wonderful bookstore having collection of the best children books in various languages, “smart” toys, materials for creative activities; groups of children were set up there to be involved in drawing, modelling, learning the English language, creating fairytales, staging […]

07.09.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv Human being is a wonderful creature – he gets used to everything (in order to survive and not become insane), even to the things to which he should not get used. Over the period of occupation, we have accustomed ourselves to firing, dying people, ruined houses, the situation when the City is […]

31.08.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv I am asked sometimes: “Why are you still staying in Donetsk, where the living conditions are so bad and when most of residents have left the City?” It may sound strange, but Russia’s military aggression has brought also some positive results: it has relieved many of us of the illusion called “brotherly […]

24.08.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv – How can it happen?! Something like that! Now, in the 21st century?!! – A young woman, my acquaintance, would not calm down. – My mom! She was coming from Donetsk to visit me! And she just had done everything properly; she bought a ticket to a share taxi at Krytiy Market […]

17.08.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv “People, living in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) zone, often die not being ill, as if their life force has left them”. Such phrase in one of the articles literally caught my eyes. I fully agree with it, everything is exactly like that: because of constant stress and danger waylaying at any moment […]

10.08.2015. www.delfi.lv, www.lsm.lv That warm calm morning of June was filled with birds’ singing, water rustling in a fountain and a soft aroma of blossoming roses for which Donetsk has always been well-known. I was walking along Lenin Square. It was empty, there was nobody even around the monument of Lenin. Just occasionally rare passers-by […]

Beginning with this August 3, on Mondays, portal Delfi (in the Latvian language) and Latvian public media portal (in the Russian language) will publish the blog series “Letters from Donetsk”. Their author’s – Donetsk resident’s – name will be Veronica (the name is changed because of security considerations). Veronica will describe her own and the […]

03.08.2015. www.delfi.lv (LV), www.lsm.lv (RUS) Since the very beginning, even since the students’ Maidan massacre in Kiev, I knew: “That should be written down! Tragic, but also fateful events are rapidly developing, the Ukrainian live history is created, therefore, everything should be fixed, any detail, otherwise later on they may be forgotten under the layer […]

Western political leaders should speak clearly about Russia’s war against Ukraine, including Russian forces fighting in Ukraine and the Kremlin’s direction of the campaign. To do otherwise buttresses Putin’s attempt to obfuscate Russia’s direct role in the conflict. The West must also recognize that Putin has used each lull in combat, now under the cover […]