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Ukrainians Find That Relatives in Russia Don't Believe It's a War
Many Ukrainians are encountering a confounding and frustrating backlash from family members in Russia who have bought into the official Kremlin messaging.
(NY Times)When Valentyna V. Kremyr wrote to her brother and sister in Russia to tell them that her son had spent days in a bomb shelter in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha because of the intensive fighting there, she was also met with disbelief.
"They believe that everything is calm in Kyiv, that no one is shelling Kyiv," Ms. Kremyr said in a phone interview. She said her siblings think the Russians are striking military infrastructure "with precision, and that's it."
She said her sister Lyubov, who lives in Perm, wished her a happy birthday on Feb. 25, the second day of the invasion. When Ms. Kremyr wrote back about the situation on the ground, her sister's answer via direct message was simple: "No one is bombing Kyiv, and you should actually be afraid of the Nazis, whom your father fought against. Your children will be alive and healthy. We love the Ukrainian people, but you need to think hard about who you elected as president."
Ms. Kremyr said she sent photos from trusted media sites of mangled tanks and a destroyed building in Bucha to her brother, in Krasnoyarsk, but was met with a jarring response. "He said that this site is fake news," she said, and that essentially the Ukrainian Army was doing the damage being blamed on Russians.
"It is impossible to convince them of what they have done," Ms. Kremyr said, referring to Russian forces.
The New York Times article gives more examples of Ukrainians who are met with disbelief from Russian relatives.
