Richard Coombes

For me, it's not understandable how we can talk about the ceasefire, presenting the requirements&imperatives only for the one side." 🇪🇪 Estonian PM Kristen Michal: "I’ve said publicly in Estonia that the faster all the Russian refineries&ability to sell energy will be blown to smithereens,the better

All Republicans have to offer voters in the midterms is failure, lies, corruption, cover ups, fear mongering, name calling, enrichment of oligarchs, christian nationalism, racism, data centers everywhere, flock cameras, higher prices, new wars and fake bribes. Hell of a platform.

On this last Thursday of #WITmonth 2026, enjoy the voice of translator @richtranslator.bsky.social reading the exquisite poetry of Ukrainian poet Maryna Ponomarenko. Don't miss it. buff.ly/n0vEV5U

In May I went to the Kyiv Book Arsenal and enjoyed a number of panel discussions and presentations. Here are Maksym Butkevich, Mariana Savka with Illarion Pavliuk, Pavlo Derevianko, Artur Dron and Yevhenia Kuznetsova, YK again, and Julia Musakovska with Oleksandra Matviychuk

In May I went to the Kyiv Book Arsenal, and was overjoyed to meet a number of people who mean a lot to me. Natalie Skorykova (Orlando Publishing), Maryna Ponomarenko, whose poetry I translate, Yevhenia Kuznetsova, whose novels I love, and Valentyna Merzhyievska, co-host of the podcast Repainted Fox.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 7 of 7. The two escalators, stacked one on top of the other at Arsenalna metro station, making it the deepest underground station in Europe. And the famous St Michael and St Sophia.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 6 of 7. Windows in my hotel, broken in a Russian attack a couple of days before my arrival.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 5 of 7. Babyn Yar.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 4 of 7. The Holodomor Museum. A 1932 law forbade picking up even leftover ears of grain. Mill wheels of farmers who missed their quotas but were found with food in their houses were broken.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 3 of 7. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 2 of 7. Dnipro views.

In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 1 of 7. Майдан Незалежності (Independence Square). A general view by day; the same view from my hotel window by night and then day; the Maidan on Kyiv Day.

In April this year I went to Lviv. Here are the Field of Mars resting place of those killed by Russia in the current war, the quirky cafe-bar травень ('May'), built from nothing by evacuees from Kharkiv, and the grave of Solomiia Krushelnitska, famous relative of @imperfectimpostor.bsky.social.

In April 2026 I went to Lutsk, Ukraine, where I met my friend Ihor, who treated me to a meal and a tour of Lutsk Castle. Also pictured here is the memorial to those killed by Russia in the current war, and the lovely statue of Lesia Ukrainka by day and night.

In April 2026 I went to Ternopil, where I met my teacher Anna, found a statue of Solomiia Krushelnitska (the relative of my friend @imperfectimpostor.bsky.social), saw the memorial to those killed by Russia, which every Ukrainian settlement has, a memorial to victims of the Holodomor, and much else.

The gargoyle midget tsar is delusional. The stock market is crashing, nobody is buying government bonds, inflation is approaching hyperinflation, there’s no fuel, the harvest is failing, and for some reason deliveries from Wildberries are being delayed.😁

BBC in ecstasy this morning: (1) they’re finally going to get rid of Starmer, and (2) after what must seem to them an eternity they are at last able to announce that Ukraine is understating the risk to Kostyantynivka, and if Russia manages to take it they’ll be on their way to seizing Donbas.

Stunning. Worth watching right through. It’s short but packs a mighty punch.

I went to bed specially early here in Central Kyiv with everything I’d need in the shelter ready to hand. The weirdest thing was waking up to silence. The surprise that no attack came. But that doesn’t mean it won’t come tonight. Or tomorrow night. Everyone I know is waiting.

REP. JIM HIMES: Lavrov's threats against diplomats in Kyiv are three things. Number one, it's a sign of utter desperation. Russians are losing ground on a net basis in Ukraine. And the price they are paying is staggering.

Xi has sent a very clear warning to Putin: during today's banquet dinner, the band played Swan Lake. State media did not note whether the bunker midget started choking on his Peking Duck when the music started. 🦢🦢🦢🦢

If Kaja Kallas can’t be involved in any negotiations to end the war because she’s said “too many bad things” (Peskov), do we have a reciprocal right to pick negotiators from Russia who’ve demonstrably had no involvement in the war?

Russia’s overreach will become evident. Soon, I desperately hope.

Zelenskyy: "It's time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, if the Russian Ministry of Defence believes that it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine's consent."

fuck, man, let's go a step further and imagine gas stations start paying us to fill our tanks

Asymptote have published three of my translations of poems by Maryna Ponomarenko on their Translation Tuesday blog www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2026/04...

Kaja Kallas should have been NATO secretary general.

Hello Tory-lover. Trump’s barbs are a sign that you’ve done the right thing. BBC headline: Chris Mason: Why Starmer thinks he's called it right on war despite Trump barbs

“The change of regimes in Russia has not changed its essence,” Zelensky’s office chief Budanov said. “We should create conditions under which Russia as an empire will disappear. Only then will Ukraine, Europe and the whole world feel more secure.” www.kyivpost.com/post/70872

Coalition of the “Russia can do whatever it likes inside and outside its borders but we need Russian permission to do stuff even inside our own borders” brigade.

Today, people are rightly focusing on Ukraine. But it’s also worth taking a moment to think about the monumental stupidity and failure of Putin and his subordinates, who started the longest, most destructive European war since WW2 even though there was no threat to Russia. 🧵

Sir Laurie Bristow, former UK amb to Russia: If you want to know what Putin thinks, listen to what he says. He’s saying it out loud & clear & has been for many years. The problem is we haven’t wanted to hear. Btw, it’s different from him telling us what he’ll do. That’s another matter altogether.”

In buff.ly/lmoERvQ the Repainted Fox podcasters use Oleksii Storozhenko's 'Lovestruck devil' to prompt discussion of: living peaceably with people of other persuasions; learning to live with uncertainty; self-discipline; training oneself to manage stress; interaction with AI, robots and gadgets.

In this episode of the Ukrainian podcast I Hear Others Yevhen Hlibovytsky offers fascinating observations on: security not being a 'given'; Europe's timid response to the war and Ukraine's greater readiness for an unstable world; possible Ukrainian futures. hromadske.radio/podcasts/ya-...

In buff.ly/28BEvVi the Repainted Fox podcasters use Lesya Ukrainka's play "Rufin and Priscilla" to discuss the need for: self-knowledge; foundations that can't be taken away; responsibility; the need, when making any major change, not to start with destruction, but first to preserve what's good.

We’d kinda noticed New US security strategy aligns with Russia's vision, Moscow says www.bbc.com/news/article...

In this episode of "I hear others", Daria Kaleniuk talks with Maksym Butkevych and Daria Bura about corruption, describing defeating corruption as integral to Ukraine's victory and survival and calling on President Zelenskyy to admit his mistakes and lead the effort. hromadske.radio/podcasts/ya-...

I have a strange feeling that this has been blindingly obvious since about 1 March 2022

In this absorbing interview, Maksym Butkevych recounts to Volodymyr Anfimov something of his experience of being both a human rights activist and a soldier, about his 2+ years in Russian captivity, about his attitude towards Russian people, and much else besides. podcasts.nv.ua/episode/4949...

In this episode of "I hear others", Maksym Butkevych and Darya Bura discuss with Valentina Potopova the 'insane' amounts of money Russia is pouring into 're-educating' Ukrainian children in the occupied territories. hromadske.radio/podcasts/ya-...

In youtu.be/vj4eVG74qSU?... the Repainted Fox podcasters use a selection of short stories by Geo Shkurupiy to prompt discussion of such themes as valuing oneself/valuing others, and being motivated by external pressures vs finding an internal drive that comes from the essential you.

It's kind of frustrating when world leaders have to take days out of their schedules to discuss a Russian wish list that's been run through Google Translate by a real estate broker working for a convicted criminal.

Well, this is an extract from an email I wrote to my Member of Parliament on 17 February 2025, a few months after he had been elected:

Today is День пам’яті жертв Голодомору (Holodomor Remembrance Day). The USA has finally stopped pretending to help you and the lights are going off all over Ukraine, but Ukrainians: there are many people in many parts of the world who remember you and are on your side. You are not alone. #ukraine

This is a bit more like it

“This is a Russian-led settlement translated into English by Americans …”

Wow! Witkoff is actually good at something! Taking dictation.

The whole absorbing interview (you'll need to understand Ukrainian, however) youtu.be/2m5Ns_wgjI8?...