Antonina and her two children escaped #Ukraine last year, evacuating their beloved city of #Kyiv for a safer home in #Germany.
But what happened next was like a slap in the face.
Her son, eight years old, was enrolled in temporary schooling for refugees – and was given an atlas that took Russia’s side in the conflict.
It did not depict #Crimea as part of #Ukraine. The map showed it as part of Russia.
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
History is deeply intertwined with how we view territory on maps.
And history is being manipulated as we speak: the #Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group announced that a new Russian textbook makes the outrageous claim that #Ukraine started the war.
The public’s conceptions of states, where borders are drawn, undoubtedly influence their opinions on justice. https://khpg.org/en/1608812607
All across #Europe, even in countries that are ostensibly favorable towards #Ukraine, like Italy, the effects of Russia’s threats and violence are evident in maps.
Tetyana Bezruchenko moved to Italy 20 years ago. Though she has since received citizenship and gotten married, a part of her heart still remains in her native #Ukraine
Her mother still lives in Tetyana's hometown of #Mariupol, and was trapped there for months during the start.
And although her life is centered in #Milan, she cares about the fate of #Ukraine.
She was shocked when she saw one of the #Italian geography textbooks from her daughter’s secondary school.
It depicted Ukraine as a region of #Russia, along with #Belarus, #Moldova, and the #Baltic states.
"At first, I was shocked. I wanted to do something. I could explain something. I thought I would tell a little more, and people would see this lie. But I realized that it didn't work," Tetyana said.
"Italy is deeply attracted to the Soviet Union and Russia. For many years there has been no objective information about #Ukraine.
All the information comes from Moscow.
From school, Italians know what Russia teaches them.
Tetyana’s daughter Sofia, 11 years old at the time, was the one to notice this particular case of manipulated map history.
Sofia herself prepared information about Ukraine for her classmates when they studied history. Her classmates used her notes to learn about Ukraine.
Many maps, globes, and guidebooks sold in Europe depict Ukraine's territory not in terms of internationally recognized borders but in terms of #Russian declarations or Russian law.
Such disinformation about #Ukraine is spread by some of the largest publishers in #Europe.
These include the Austrian company Freytag & Berndt; the Swiss company Hallwag, and the German companies Mair Dumont, Westermann, and Cosmographics.
In fact, some of the most common incidents of mapaganda can be found in #Germany.
Mykola Golubei, a Ukrainian, saw dozens of such maps, atlases, and textbooks in bookstores there.
He left #Ukraine during the full-scale invasion.
First, he ended up in #Poland, where he spent two months helping refugees as a volunteer, then went to Germany.
"I bought myself a map of #Europe,” he told us. “It showed Ukraine without #Crimea. But then, I saw that it was not just one map. There are many of them."
"It hurts me very much... When people read articles, they look at pictures. They will consciously remember them. If there is no #Crimea, #Donbas, or half of #Ukraine in their minds, what will it be for them? A part of #Russia or a disputed territory?"
To focus attention on this problem, Mykola Golubei launched the #Mapaganda project.
Here, you can report maps that inappropriately lay out Ukraine's borders and send a photo to prove it.
"People with a background in history or geography made the materials. They know for sure that this is disinformation."
He thinks Western countries often do not understand the history, background and territory of #Ukraine. So, they are reluctant to provide it with weapons.
"We often hear such narratives: we should help #Ukraine, but give weapons for defense,” he said.
The only response that works is a public outcry,
"These companies have to suffer, if not economically, then reputationally."
At the same time, Tetyana Bezruchenko is convinced:
"Even when we win, recapture our borders, the war will continue as long as this information exists."
And now for the news:
The frequency of drone attacks on Russian soil has increased as drones targeted Moscow for the sixth time this month.
This tit-for-tat rise in attacks marks a stark escalation in drone warfare.
Two drones were shot down outside the Russian capital, while 11 more were downed electronically near #Crimea, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
The drone attacks in #Moscow have created disarray in the city's airports, causing delays and redirected flights. As a comparison: no commercial flights have operated in #Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.
https://news.yahoo.com/moscow-airports-chaos-multiple-reports-094200724.html
Besides attacks in #Russia, air alarms rang out throughout Ukraine multiple times last night, the first few were false alarms but by midnight there were multiple drones over #Ukraine.
Our team moved from their bedrooms to a more protected area.
Seven out of ten suicide drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defence but a few of the drones managed to destroy a fuel depot in #Rivne, west of #Kyiv.
Last night, #ZNPP switched to reserve power as the connection with the last external power line was lost. #Energoatom said that it would be necessary to urgently cool the reactor in the absence of cooling pumps connected to the main outside power line.
❗️ Вночі ЗАЕС втратила живлення з основної високовольтної лінії 750 кВ – станція на межі чергового блекауту Тимчасово окупована Запорізька атомна електростанція вночі 10 серпня втратила живлення з основної зовнішньої лінії електропередачі напругою 750 кВ. Після цього ЗАЕС довелося переключити на єдину доступну резервну лінію 330 кВ, відключення якої загрожує втратою зовнішнього живлення (блек-аут). У разі цього сценарію головну загрозу ядерній та радіаційній безпеці несе перебування 4-го енергоблоку Запорізької АЕС у стані «гарячий зупин», який окупанти експлуатують з порушенням умов ліцензії на експлуатацію Реакторних установок АЕС українського регулятора (Держатомрегулювання). Як зазначив тво виконавчого директора ДП «НАЕК «Енергоатом» Тарас Ткач, в разі повної втрати зовнішнього живлення відбудеться відключення головних циркуляційних насосів станції і енергоблок перейде в режим «природної циркуляції»: «В цьому випадку необхідно терміново «розхолидити» його за умов відсутності охолоджуючих насосів». Такий режим важкий для реакторної установки, його тривалість обмежена проєктом, і він може призвести до відмови основного обладнання енергоблока. ▪️Наголошуємо: подальша окупація ЗАЕС росією, керування станцією нелегітимним та непідготовленим рашистським керівництвом, яке не несе ніякої відповідальності за ядерну і радіаційну безпеку об‘єкта, постійно наближає ЗАЕС до катастрофи. Саме тому Запорізьку АЕС необхідно негайно повернути під повний контроль законного оператора – НАЕК «Енергоатом», із подальшим приведенням станції до нормального режиму експлуатації й поновленням ядерної та радіаційної безпеки об‘єкта. Для цього необхідні термінові дії всієї міжнародної спільноти! Ядерний тероризм рф має бути негайно зупинений, а загарбники повинні покинути територію станції та її міста-супутника Енергодара! #ЗАЕС Написати нам 🇺🇦 | FB | IG | YT | TW | IN | TH | EA
Hi! I’m Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova, 22, and I’m from Zaporizhzhia. I’m the newest member of The Counteroffensive team!
For the last twelve years, I’ve been living in Kyiv. I like to read detective novels, watch comedies, and listen to Ukrainian folk music.
I studied International Journalism at the Taras Shevchenko National University, graduating last year.
It’s now my fifth year in journalism.
I love to travel around #Ukraine.
There are so many amazing places here, I can’t even describe. I’ve been to most Ukrainian regions.
And now I have a big dream - to see sites that are now occupied by the Russians, places like the Aktovsky Canyon, Radon Lake, and Kinburn Spit.
Since 2022 I have been married to the best guy ever - Andrii.
This week it’ll be a year since we’ve become a family.
Together we adore animals, that’s why we have a little cat.
And our bonus animal of the day is Tony, our first Gorilla of War: he’s one of the oldest gorillas in Europe.
We went to wish him a happy birthday at the #Kyiv Zoo – he turned 49 this week, which by human standards is about 90 years old.
(Tony is sleeping below)
Stay safe out there,
Myroslava
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.
This is the ONLY news I have seen on this.
You'd think major outlets would be at least interested.
@timkmak Tim, how recent are these guidebooks? Prior to 2022 it would probably be helpful for tourists to know which areas of Ukraine might be unsafe due to foreign countries inciting an insurgency.
Of course, labeling those areas as Russian or even disputed is offensive & incorrect
@postelonelan I think there’s an important distinction between the two!
And also it would take some epic blundering to find yourself accidentally in the combat zone even before the full scale invasion
@timkmak Putin's Mafia-ruled Russia is the state of lies.
#TruthWins #StandWithUkraine #PutinsWar #WarOfAggression #WarCrimes #Genocide #CrimesAgainstHumanity #CrimesAgainstPeace #PutinTribunal #KremlinTribunal #ICC #ICJ #ArrestPutin #FuckPutin
@timkmak reminds me of going to a bilingual school I. Honduras. In English, the earth was always represented at noon at the summer solstice over roughly Indiana. The Lower 48 gleamed and the rest of the world was in shadow.
In Spanish, the earth was represented at the vernal equinox, at noon over Quito. The whole American hemisphere was lit.
I learned at age 8 that America only cares about itself.
Joe Bodnar
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