Russian missiles that attacked a TV tower in Kyiv – an attack that killed five people and wounded five others - landed close to the memorial site that commemorates the victims of Babyn Yar, the ravine where Nazi soldiers massacred up to 150,000 people during the second world war, including more than 30,000 Jews. As the world continues to watch the Russian invasion of Ukraine with horror and condemnation, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Twitter: “What is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least five killed. History repeating …”

Israel’s Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre voiced its “vehement condemnation” of the Russian attack. “We call on the international community to take concerted measures to safeguard civilian lives as well as these historical sites because of their irreplaceable value for research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust,” it said.

Yevgeni Yevtushenko’s poem about the massacre was written partly to expose the Soviet government’s initial refusal to raise a monument to the thousands of Jews executed there by Nazi troops. His poem includes these lines:

 

O, Russia of my heart, I know that you

Are international, by inner nature.

But often those whose hands are steeped in filth

Abused your purest name, in name of hatred.

 

You can read the whole poem here

 

We at Write Out Loud express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, and our horror at what is befalling them as the Russian invasion of their country unfolds. But what can we do, except wring our hands? The wonders of social media have thrown up a post from 2020, that shows the richness of current Ukrainian poetry, with six poems as examples. The introduction to the article says:

“Ukrainian literature has a long tradition that goes back to the 11th century. One of its best known poets is the 19th century Taras Shevchenko, who started off with romantic verse, before later moving to more sombre lines on Ukrainian history. Poetry and history-making are still intertwined in today’s Ukraine. A diversity of styles defines contemporary Ukrainian poetry, ranging from rhymed to free verse, and from print collections to slam and spoken word. But the country’s recent political upheavals, from the Maidan Revolution to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, have made bold, direct poetry particularly prominent in Ukraine today, with readings and performances often well attended. The selection below takes you on a tour from the personal to the political, and from literary superstars like Serhiy Zhadan to strong and promising debutants like Ella Yevtushenko.”

Here are some lines that particularly struck us:

 

Men that dance the way they quench

steppe-fire with their boots.

Women that hold onto their men in dance

like they don’t want to let them go to war.

Eastern Ukraine, the end of the second millennium.

(‘So I’ll talk about it’, by Serhiy Zhadan and translated by John Hennessy and Ostap Kin)

 

He pours a few of his precious stories into the empty space.

I see all the protagonists as old acquaintances. KGB officers squatting on the same hospital bed, in shiny Hungarian shoes — for these he could kill. The look is mocking.

He said, these Beatles, this foreign languages department, would not do you any good.

(‘Do not kiss me on the forehead like a corpse’, by Yulia Musakovska and translated by Yury Zavadsky)

 

The Calvert Journal daily features culture, innovation, photography and travel in the New East: Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It is based in Somerset House, London.

You can read all six poems here

 

Meanwhile an international poetry fundraiser for Ukraine is taking place on 9 March. Poetry for Ukraine will be raising money for the Ukrainian Red Cross and the Refugee Council. There will be readings from Charlotte Shevchenko Knight, Oleh Shynkarenko, Tetyana Denford, Joy David, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Stephen Komarnyckyj, Julia Kolchinsky Dasbach, and Nicola Yurcaba. More details here 

 

Here are some links if you wish to donate to humanitarian aid for Ukrainians 

Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal 

UNICEF 

Christian Aid