Yesterday my wife gave birth to lovely twin babies — a boy and a girl. We can’t choose our parents, we can’t choose where we are born. Ours were born to parents who unconditionally love them, and they were born in the capital of a free country, Kyiv of Ukraine.

But just because the nation of a neighboring country, in its absolute majority, is sick with chauvinism and has dark barbarian worldview, our newborn babies had to spent their very first night in this world in the basement of a maternity hospital along with dozens other newborns, their parents, and those who are only about to give birth; a basement which serves as an improvised shelter for more than two years already and not only saves lives, but is occasionally a place to give lives — some women give childbirth right there. Last night russia sent 11 strategic bombers to launch 29 cruise missiles towards Ukrainian sleeping cities; then, expecting that they’ve exhausted Kyiv’s air defense, they tried to break through with 2 more ballistic missiles, which they long claimed and threatened to be “impossible to intercept”. Thanks to all partners who supplied Ukraine with anti-missiles systems, and to titanic efforts of Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, all missiles were shot down over Kyiv. No people were killed, 13 were wounded, 4 hospitalized, as missiles debris damaged several buildings and burned a few cars.
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This time all our newborns are alive. But we should remember that more than 500 Ukrainian children have already been killed in this war. And it’s ongoing. Please, support Ukraine, give us more weapons to defend ourselves. This weapon is just some money that literally can save a lot of lives, and stop aggressor from doing even more evil, to stop even more newborns coming to this world in basements hiding from missiles that are targeted to kill them the very first day.
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#Ukraine #russia #russiaukrainewar

@artoix Mazel tov to your family! May you live long healthy lives, and may your enemies be vanquished soon.
@artoix I am so sorry to read this. I hope mother and babies are well and safe. And I will do what I can to increase UK support.
@picard thank you so much Matthew! 🙏
@artoix
Congrats to you and your wife! I wish you happiness with the babies and that by the time they know more than their immediate guardians, they will be forming memories of a nation at peace.
@osma thank you! It’s in our hands and responsibility now to give them the good memories and the right knowledge of history, which my generation of millennials here lacks desperately, infected with russian imperialism.

@artoix

#Alt4You
1. A Caucasian woman on a narrow bed holds a newborn in a blanket. In the foreground is another baby in a similar blanket with a white knitted cap on its head.
2. A burnt-out multi-story building.
3. A seated Caucasian man cradles a newborn in his arms, his back against a wall.
4. a crater in a residential road with a pool of water in the bottom.

@artoix

congratulations! How will the babies be named ?

@luca Thank you! 🙏 They are Lev (Ukrainian form of Leo) and, 7 minute younger, Olivia (though very uncommon name here, we decided to give it in its original Latinate form).
@artoix
Congratulations and thank you for sharing. It’s so important for people around the world to have these glimpses into what it’s like to bravely carry on living under such horrendous circumstances. I’m an American in Kyiv and I spend much of every day trying to communicate to friends in the USA what is happening in #Ukraine and why they must demand action from Congress. Best wishes to your family.