REFLECTION: Kyiv has the Blitz 2, and it’s bigger and badder

I am in Kyiv and the first thing I have to say out loud: THERE ARE NO RUSSIANS HERE. Zero, Niks, Zlich, Klum. Nada. And I love it. I do not like Russians at all. They are bombing Kyiv and the other parts of Ukraine non-stop. I have heard explosions all week, literally every few hours. Yesterday, on Saturday afternoon, I was walking in the city centre and a ballistic missile was shot down directly above where I and a bunch of people were standing. I must have jumped a metre in the air. So did everyone else on the street. One never gets used to this evil. It is loud, stressful and very scary.

Now, before someone reading this starts playing along with the Russian propaganda (which is extremely effective) I will be the first to say, yes, there is corruption in Ukraine and people here are very angry about it. If you want to talk about corruption then focus on Donald Trump and his pals because they are the leaders by a mile. Corruption has always been in Ukraine and things have been getting better year after year. But the problem here is not corruption – it is that the Russians have been trying to wipe out Ukrainians for almost five years. And it will only end when Vladimir Putin dies. That day cannot come soon enough. And may Trump be gone too by that time. They are both evil.

When I am not in Kyiv I am in London. We have been there for more than a year and a half and when you talk to some older folk they remember the Blitz during World War 2. They gave it a name. Kyiv has the Blitz too, or the Blitz 2, and it is bigger and badder. Everyone here prays it will end, but with Europe being half asleep and with Trump siding with Putin, things are harder than ever for Ukraine. It is cruel and unfair, but having said that, I do not hear victims here. Just brave souls who love life.

I am in Kyiv spending time at “home”, seeing friends, trying to support various projects, and also we are working on Kyiv of Mine, a documentary project, which started in 2018. Life in Ukraine’s capital has changed dramatically in the past eight years, as you can imagine.

This weekend the weather has been lovely and the city is busy. You see people jogging, cyclists, kids running around, pets being walked, buzzing cafés… life goes on. But nothing here is normal. Ukrainians are dying to keep the evil at bay. They are suffering and they are exhausted. But they are also brave and will never give up.

Occupation = death. That is what Ukrainians understand. So there is no choice here. They will not live under Russian rule ever again.

No one here wants to hear about “good Russians”. I totally support this. Russians all voted for Putin and he won recently in what looked like a landslide victory. When you are in London you see/hear Russians everywhere. Ask them who their friends and family back in Russia voted for. I rest my case.

The thing I really don’t understand is how certain politicians can be pro-Putin or pro-Russian. Marine Le Pen in France is a prime example. If she wins next year this is bad news for everyone. How can anyone support an evil murderer like Putin?! If I was a mass murderer would you support me?! I don’t think so.

There are Russian tourists all over Europe and other hotspots of the world. It is shameful. In my view it all goes back to America. There is zero pressure put on Putin and Trump is always lashing out at Volodymyr Zelensky, as he did this weekend, which took Trump to an all-time low. But I am sure he will go much lower. The craziness is going to get a lot more crazy. Just wait for the midterms. The writing is on the wall.

Something to believe in

As I write this there is a drone strike under way. I stay away from the windows, but I can hear explosions in the distance. A few hours ago the building shook a wee bit from a blast wave. Winter is a big talking point here. It is not far away and people are worried. Last winter was seriously rough and it will get worse. I don’t believe Ukraine is going to fall apart, and I have faith that good will triumph over evil, but if you look at the raw data, things do not look good. How will Kyiv get through the winter if the heating systems are hit and if the electricity supply is diminished. Can it all eventually stop working? What if the water infrastructure ceases to function and you can’t flush the toilet. Again, no one believes this will happen, but this is what the Russians are trying to do. Putin would kill everyone here if he had the chance. And if you are in the West and you are reading this, then understand something: he would kill you too if he had the chance. His regime hates all of us in the free world.

Being in Kyiv is hard on the nerves and it is dangerous, but it is good for the soul. Things here are very black-and-white. This place gives one something to believe in – something good. If you are in America, say, and you are reading this, then what do you believe in? Is life really all about power and money?

To understand life in Kyiv during 2026 please watch the latest chapter of Kyiv of Mine: The light that remains.

After eight months of work it went live on 24 August, Ukraine’s Independence Day. I encourage you all to watch it.

Sure, it is lots of fun to live on an ostrich farm, but consider where unpunished terrorism may lead to. One of my fears currently is that the policies of the West are becoming better at managing the consequences of Russian aggression than at changing the calculus that is driving it forward. DM

Ronnie Apteker is a South African internet pioneer, author and film producer.