The United Nations were not able to stop Russia's attacks on Ukraine.
Can ordinary citizens make a difference? Yes.
The situation is terrible, hell on earth
Mass killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals, schools, water and energy supply infrastructure, committing atrocities… Russia has been breaking every moral standard and the fundamental international laws, including the United Nations Charter, humanitarian aid law, an International Court of Justice decision, as most Countries stated in the United Nations General Assembly on March 23rd and 24th, 2022.
Unfortunately Russia has a lot of power over other countries, because many depend on imports of oil, coal and natural gas from Russia. This gives Russia leverage over the other countries but it is also a major source of funding for Russia. – according to the International Energy Agency, in January 2022, 45% of Russia’s federal budget came from oil and gas-related taxes and export tariffs alone. So Russia depends on the sales and exports of fossil fuels to fund its mad war.
You may be able to do more than you think
Here are some ideas. If you have other experiences or suggestions to share, please leave your comment below.
Save energy, help Ukraine!
So this means that there is at least one thing that we can all do that will help Ukraine, and that is to save energy. Of course this also has other benefits that I will not go into right now.
Save as much energy as possible and explore the possibility of getting energy from local renewable resources – energy independence actually means energy security and (surprisingly) political freedom!
The more your country relies on energy imports from Russia, the more significant your energy saving actions will be.
Leverage your consumer power
Whether you are a household consumer or run a large company, consider whether you are purchasing Russian services or goods that are giving profit to the Russian government and helping it to fund its terrorist activities in Ukraine's territory.
You might ask, is this really something that could make a difference? Yes, it can. Here is the example of the Austrian-branch of a Russian bank that went bankrupt after its clients starting withdrawing their deposits after Russia invaded Ukraine:
Donate to support humanitarian assistance
You will not find any bank account to make donations in this blog, but there are many organisations providing humanitarian support in Ukraine, and support to Ukrainian refugees in other countries. Here are a couple of examples of initiatives to repair homes damaged by russian air strikes to help the people of Ukraine stay warm throughout the winter:
Rally for peace
On the night of 23 to 24 of February 2023 it will be one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. All over the world there will be demonstrations of solidarity towards the people of Ukraine. Here is an example of a demonstration that will be taking place in
Bonn, Germany on February 24, 2023.
Speak with Russians you know
The Russian people has been exposed to
falsehoods from their State Media for many years now, and they have a culture that encourages and conveys the idea that
militarization is normal. Since the begin of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, they have been bombarded by hate speech and disinformation against the Ukrainian people, so that they will accept and support the de-humanization of Ukrainians, the killing of civilians, the destruction of homes and entire cities, the illegal kidnapping of children, destruction of food supplies and many more war crimes that Russia is carrying out on a daily basis. If you can, help Russians see that they are being fooled. Tell them about human rights and how hate speech is often used by states to justify and encourage atrocity crimes - here are a couple of related webpages from the United Nations on hate speech and how to stop it:
Be creative
How about you? Are you using your skills to try to make a difference? Leave a comment, share your experience. The more people take action, the bigger the impact will be.
If you are interested in reading more blog-posts about this or related issues, please write it in the comments below.
Act now!
Do what you can, every person, every voice counts. Don't wait. According to UNICEF, every second that passes, a Ukrainian child becomes a refugee. Ukrainian civilians and hospitals are being targeted, rape is being used as a weapon of war, children are being stolen, entire cities are being destroyed, a dam used for irrigation was destroyed, food supplies were destroyed... Russia is committing crimes against humanity. Every day the number of victims of this war increases.
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