REGISTER: Bette's Happy Hour with Zarina Zabrisky, Thursday, noon Pacific
Bette members—please register for a special Happy Hour with war correspondent and filmmaker Zarina Zabrisky, reporting on the ground from Ukraine
***Bette members will find the registration links below the paywall. To join our community events and to help support independent investigative journalism in a time of grave peril, please upgrade to a paid membership.***
Our guest this week is war correspondent and filmmaker Zarina Zabrisky, whose film, Kherson: Human Safari, continues to screen all over the world.
The film tells the full story of Kherson since Russia’s 2022 invasion: occupation, resistance, liberation, the dam flood, and the ongoing attacks where drones are used to hunt civilians in what locals call a “human safari.” Since its June 2024 release, the film has screened in dozens of cities across 11 countries, earned an 8.6 on IMDb, and received endorsements from United24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and members of the US Congress. It was also screened on Capitol Hill. It’s been covered by Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, Times Radio, and others.
This week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement to “draw the international community’s attention to the severe humanitarian crisis in parts of the temporarily occupied Kherson region as a result of Russian occupying forces’ crimes, which flagrantly violate international humanitarian law.”
The MFA noted:
“The situation is particularly alarming in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka. In these areas, basic living conditions are entirely non-existent. Russian forces are artificially blocking evacuations and obstructing the delivery of essential goods, food, and medicine. The regional population has plummeted from 40,000 to approximately 6,000. In Oleshky specifically, the population has dropped from 24,000 to just 2,000 residents. Critical infrastructure is destroyed; there is no electricity or gas. Residents attempting to buy food or flee in private vehicles are being targeted by Russian drone attacks…
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on international partners to exert pressure on Russia to comply with international humanitarian law, demand the creation of evacuation corridors and necessary conditions for safe passage. Information regarding these crimes will be submitted to international monitoring missions. Ukraine will officially raise this crisis at the UN and OSCE platforms. For Ukraine, nothing is more valuable than human life. We urge the international community to take immediate, concrete action to save our citizens in the occupied Kherson region.”
And today, President Zelensky addressed the crisis in Kherson and surrounding villages.
I asked Zarina to offer us a personal update in advance of our meeting, and here’s what she reported:
For months, Russian-occupied towns and villages in the Kherson region have been surviving under a drone and siege mine, a brand new tactic of warfare. No food, drinking water, electricity, medicine, or safe evacuation routes. Russians obstruct humanitarian access. The situation is deteriorating rapidly.
Since late February, I have been investigating and documenting the crisis. In April, I traveled to Brussels and Kyiv from Kherson, raising the issue with Ukrainian officials, European diplomats, the Ombudsman’s office, and international organizations because civilians remaining in these settlements are largely cut off from international visibility and protection.
International attention is critical right now because thousands of Ukrainian civilians, many elderly and immobile, remain trapped in conditions that worsen by the day.—Zarina Zabrisky for Bette Dangerous
Thanks in large part to her unyielding efforts to raise global awareness about Kherson, multiple reports by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have been published designating the hunting of civilians in Kherson as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Many of you are new here, and I invite you to watch the documentary:
I had the distinct honor of being an executive producer on the film, and many Bette members also contributed.
I invite anyone who wants to contribute to the second film in what is now a trilogy to reach out to Zarina directly at khersonhumansafari at gmail. You can also coordinate a screening in your city and get updates on rallies in support of Kherson. And thank you to those of you who already made a contribution to the sequel.
Another note to new members: if you are interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of Russia’s assaults on Ukraine dating back more than a century, please read my reporting with Ukrainian historian Tetiana Boriak:
Looking forward to seeing many of you at our Happy Hour with Zarina — full registration details found below the paywall. On Sunday, our Speakeasy will feature soldiers reporting from Ukraine and how you can help the war effort. Look for that invite shortly.
More about Zarina Zabrisky:
An award-winning author of five books, Zarina Zabrisky is a U.S. journalist reporting from the frontlines in Ukraine as a war correspondent for Byline Times (UK). She has contributed to BBC News, CBC Radio, Voice of America, TVP World, The Sunday Post, Times of India, and more. In 2023, she co-produced and starred in the award-winning documentary Under the Deadly Skies, exposing Russian war crimes. Her literary work has appeared in The Paris Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Longreads, Guernica, Rumpus, and other publications, earning honors such as the 2013 Acker Award. She is a member of Pen America. Born in the USSR and having spent most of her life in San Francisco, she moved to Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion. Her latest film, Kherson: Human Safari, is screening globally and can be viewed here.
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