My two cents
While I use my LJ account mainly for reading and commenting, and I never really intended to write here myself, I feel that the situation at hand leaves me no choice, so here are my two cents:
The city which I now consider to be my home, Kyiv, is currently being bombed by the Russians. People dying, babies crying, these are not just words out of a song, this is the reality we live in, thanks to the bunker-dwelling midget-in-chief of Mordor. Innocent Ukrainians of all ages getting shelled indiscriminately, shot at on the streets of their home towns and villages by foreign soldiers sent here by a deranged dictator. This insane maniac will not stop until either our country is destroyed and our people are deprived of all rights and liberties, pulled into the abyss of the so called "Russian world", or until the evil empire itself is dealt with such a blow that, if not shattering it into peaces, at least forces the rabid beast back into its cave to lick it's wounds.
Obviously, no Ukrainian will find the former acceptable, so we will fight with all of our might to ensure the latter. While the fighting spirit of the Ukrainian people is as high as ever, and as I write these words, our brave heroes in the Ukrainian army are effectively fighting off the endless hordes of agressors, but the help of the international community is still crucial against such a Goliath. Therefore, I appeal to the conscious citizens of all countries, to do whatever is in your power to help us overcome in this stuggle for our very existence as a country and as a people.
Actually, having friends all over the world, a lot of them were expressing their concern for me and my family in the past few days. Notably, a couple of days ago, several friends from Japan called me to ask about my wellbeing. I told them that now is the perfect chance for them to retake the Northern Territories occupied by Russia, considering that most of their military is now concentrated on the opposite end of the world. While they shrugged it off as a joke, to my surprise and delight, Japan made statements about their Russian-occupied territories today, so things might actually be moving in the direction I suggested.
All this got me thinking, Russia really does need to get a taste of their own medicine, for once! They say parts of Ukraine are 'historically' part of Russia? Great, then Japan can say the same thing about its Northern Territories. Next, China's northeastern territories unfairly annexed by Russia, the cities of Haishenwai, Boli, Hailanpao etc. I know China has its sights set on Taiwan and all that, but wouldn't it be a much better option to avoid bloodshed between fellow Chinese, when they get back a much greater territory virtually bloodlessly (let's be honest here, the residents of those desolate regions would probably vote with both hands in a 'referendum' to join a prosperous China, not to mention that once Russia is devastated by the crippling sanctions resulting from their agression, the Russian gov't could be pressured to voluntarily return these areas in exchange for food and basic commodities from China). That's not even mentioning the territories that used to be under the rule of the Yuan dynasty...
So anyway, what I'm getting at is, if your country has any disputed territories under Russian occupation, now is the time to remind your politicians and fellow countrymen to take action. As for others, you can always suggest for more sanctions against the Agressor, and to cut all possible ties to such a toxic entity.
Last but not least, every person could make a difference and help Ukraine in this unfair fight by supporting the armed forces of Ukraine. The National Bank of Ukraine has created a special multi-currency account for collecting donations to the Ukrainian Army, you can choose to wire whatever sum you're comfortable with in one of the following currencies using the bank details provided below. United we stand, divided we fall, a free Ukraine is crucial for the existence of the Free World!
USD:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 400807238 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, New York BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASUS33 ABA 0210 0002 1 BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
EUR:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUAUAUX IBAN DE05504000005040040066 PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
GBP:
BENEFICIARY/RECIPIENT NAME: National Bank of Ukraine SORT CODE: 60-92-42 ACCOUNT NUMBER: GB52CHAS60924280033041 REFERENCE FOR CREDITING ACCOUNT: 47330992708 BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA, London BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASGB2L BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, UK
CHF:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0700-01227572 IBAN CH32 0070 0070 0012 2757 2 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: ZURCHER KANTONALBANK, ZURICH BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: ZKBKCHZZ80A BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: Josefstrasse 222, 8005 Zurich, Switzerland PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
AUD:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 81753-2 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, Sydney BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: RSBKAU2S BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: GPO Box 3947, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
CNY:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 447-0-946243-6 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, Hong Kong BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: SCBLHKHH BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: GPO Box 21, Hong Kong PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
CAD:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 3144-1044-166 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: BANK OF MONTREAL, Toronto BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: BOFMCAM2 BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 100 King Street West, 24th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1A1, Canada PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 47330992708
JPY:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St, Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine ACCOUNT NUMBER: 653-0430048 BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: MUFG BANK LTD, Tokyo BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: BOTK JP JT