The Russia-Ukraine war up close
"Ukraine. In the hell of the last war in Europe ”by Fausto Biloslavo read by Tullio Fazzolari
The war in Ukraine continues but there is much less talk of it. Above all, television information has shifted its attention elsewhere and, in practice, it is more interested in Russian gas than in the evolution of the conflict. Paradoxically, it might not be a bad thing: no more news overdoses that are sometimes unfounded, often contradictory and almost always the result of the propaganda of one or the other side, no more geo-political or strategic analyzes bungled. Perhaps this is the right time to learn more with a more in-depth and unconditional reading of the events. Among the many books published on the subject, few are really useful. One is Francesco Battistini's "Ukrainian Front" which was already discussed in May. The other is definitely “Ukraine. In the hell of the last war in Europe ”(Signs Publishing, 272 pages, 20 euros) by Fausto Biloslavo which is finally an authentic reportage from the front line.
The first observation is that a book manages to "show" everything that has been seen relatively little on TV. As already done by other authors, Biloslavo reconstructs the events that precede and explains the causes of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine: from the dissolution of the Soviet Union to the barricades in Maidan Square up to the occupation of Crimea. The difference compared to many books seen so far is that “Ukraine. In the hell of the last war in Europe ”he mainly tells what is happening now, describing facts and people. Figures in hand, Biloslavo demolishes in a few lines the so-called work of denazification boasted by Putin. The truth is that far-right departments, such as the infamous Azov battalion, are less than 3 percent of the military fighting to defend Ukraine. And to be honest, there are also neo-Nazi groups that are instead on the side of Moscow. It is clear that ideological differences matter little. The Ukrainians are united by the need to defend their homeland from Putin's aggression. On the other hand, among the pro-Russians of the Donbass, ethnic nationalism holds together the neo-Nazis, the nostalgics of the Soviet Union and those of the Tsarist empire.
Biloslavo manages to tell all this by describing above all the protagonists. That it is not the political or military leaders that are talked about most often but the fighters and civilians who are experiencing this tragedy. There are the families forced to live in the bunkers or in the basements of the stations to escape the Russian bombing, the veterans who fought in Afghanistan for the USSR and are now fighting to defend Ukraine, the volunteers who have arrived in Kiev from half the world and they use special badges to indicate their nationality. "Ukraine In the hell of the last war in Europe" reiterates that a conflict is always inhumane but it is people who experience it and bear the consequences. Telling it helps not to make it forget. And Biloslavo, who as a reporter has always lived wars on the front line, one day gives up going into the trenches. The Ukrainian soldiers who are with him do not call him a coward. On the contrary, they tell him that it is the right choice because in this way he can tell what they are experiencing. It cannot be said that their expectations have been disappointed.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-guerra-russia-ucraina-vista-da-vicino/ on Sat, 27 Aug 2022 08:09:09 +0000.