Richard Coombes
@richtranslator.bsky.social
Ukrainian and Russian speaker, translator of verse, lyrics and literary prose. Out now: Disbelief, Dislocation, Someone Else’s Life, The Food Block. https://richardcoombeslanguageservices.com
All Republicans have to offer voters in the midterms is failure, lies, corruption, cover ups, fear mongering, name calling, enrichment of oligarchs, christian nationalism, racism, data centers everywhere, flock cameras, higher prices, new wars and fake bribes. Hell of a platform.
Russia thinks in tactics. From a reflexive control perspective Lavrov’s statements around "peace initiatives" target several distinct desired behaviors from both Ukraine and the West. Let's have a look to see what is really going on. /1
On this last Thursday of #WITmonth 2026, enjoy the voice of translator @richtranslator.bsky.social reading the exquisite poetry of Ukrainian poet Maryna Ponomarenko. Don't miss it. buff.ly/n0vEV5U
Richard Coombes reads a selection of poems by Maryna Ponomarenko
Translator bio: Richard Coombes translates from Russian and Ukrainian into English. Recent publications include poetry in the bilingual anthologies ‘Disbelief’ and ‘Dislocation’, Elena Dolgopyat’s…
youtu.be
In May I went to the Kyiv Book Arsenal and enjoyed a number of panel discussions and presentations. Here are Maksym Butkevich, Mariana Savka with Illarion Pavliuk, Pavlo Derevianko, Artur Dron and Yevhenia Kuznetsova, YK again, and Julia Musakovska with Oleksandra Matviychuk
In May I went to the Kyiv Book Arsenal, and was overjoyed to meet a number of people who mean a lot to me. Natalie Skorykova (Orlando Publishing), Maryna Ponomarenko, whose poetry I translate, Yevhenia Kuznetsova, whose novels I love, and Valentyna Merzhyievska, co-host of the podcast Repainted Fox.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 7 of 7. The two escalators, stacked one on top of the other at Arsenalna metro station, making it the deepest underground station in Europe. And the famous St Michael and St Sophia.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 6 of 7. Windows in my hotel, broken in a Russian attack a couple of days before my arrival.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 5 of 7. Babyn Yar.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. Touristy post 4 of 7. The Holodomor Museum. A 1932 law forbade picking up even leftover ears of grain. Mill wheels of farmers who missed their quotas but were found with food in their houses were broken.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 3 of 7. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 2 of 7. Dnipro views.
In May this year I went to Kyiv, partly as a tourist but mainly to attend the Kyiv Book Arsenal. This is touristy post 1 of 7. Майдан Незалежності (Independence Square). A general view by day; the same view from my hotel window by night and then day; the Maidan on Kyiv Day.
In April this year I went to Lviv. Here are the Field of Mars resting place of those killed by Russia in the current war, the quirky cafe-bar травень ('May'), built from nothing by evacuees from Kharkiv, and the grave of Solomiia Krushelnitska, famous relative of @imperfectimpostor.bsky.social.
In April 2026 I went to Lutsk, Ukraine, where I met my friend Ihor, who treated me to a meal and a tour of Lutsk Castle. Also pictured here is the memorial to those killed by Russia in the current war, and the lovely statue of Lesia Ukrainka by day and night.
In April 2026 I went to Ternopil, where I met my teacher Anna, found a statue of Solomiia Krushelnitska (the relative of my friend @imperfectimpostor.bsky.social), saw the memorial to those killed by Russia, which every Ukrainian settlement has, a memorial to victims of the Holodomor, and much else.
The gargoyle midget tsar is delusional. The stock market is crashing, nobody is buying government bonds, inflation is approaching hyperinflation, there’s no fuel, the harvest is failing, and for some reason deliveries from Wildberries are being delayed.😁
BBC in ecstasy this morning: (1) they’re finally going to get rid of Starmer, and (2) after what must seem to them an eternity they are at last able to announce that Ukraine is understating the risk to Kostyantynivka, and if Russia manages to take it they’ll be on their way to seizing Donbas.
Stunning. Worth watching right through. It’s short but packs a mighty punch.
Anton Gerashchenko@antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 4mo ago❗️President Zelenskyy on Belarus and Lukashenko: if Lukashenko doesn't take down repeaters that help attack Ukrainian civilians, Ukraine will do that for him: Now Russia will continue to push him [Lukashenko] into this war. Now he understands that Ukraine will respond.
I went to bed specially early here in Central Kyiv with everything I’d need in the shelter ready to hand. The weirdest thing was waking up to silence. The surprise that no attack came. But that doesn’t mean it won’t come tonight. Or tomorrow night. Everyone I know is waiting.
REP. JIM HIMES: Lavrov's threats against diplomats in Kyiv are three things. Number one, it's a sign of utter desperation. Russians are losing ground on a net basis in Ukraine. And the price they are paying is staggering.
Xi has sent a very clear warning to Putin: during today's banquet dinner, the band played Swan Lake. State media did not note whether the bunker midget started choking on his Peking Duck when the music started. 🦢🦢🦢🦢
If Kaja Kallas can’t be involved in any negotiations to end the war because she’s said “too many bad things” (Peskov), do we have a reciprocal right to pick negotiators from Russia who’ve demonstrably had no involvement in the war?
Russia’s overreach will become evident. Soon, I desperately hope.
Democracy will always win in the end@utrecht01.bsky.social · 5mo agoA country that is militarily incapable of anything other than bombing civilians, puts its own soldiers in a meat grinder, and stands on the brink of economic collapse, actually has nothing left to demand. Humility is what Ukraine will brutally beaten into Russia.
Zelenskyy: "It's time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, if the Russian Ministry of Defence believes that it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine's consent."
fuck, man, let's go a step further and imagine gas stations start paying us to fill our tanks
Asymptote have published three of my translations of poems by Maryna Ponomarenko on their Translation Tuesday blog www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2026/04...
Translation Tuesday: Three Poems by Maryna Ponomarenko - Asymptote Blog
The sky is closing.
asymptotejournal.com
Hello Tory-lover. Trump’s barbs are a sign that you’ve done the right thing. BBC headline: Chris Mason: Why Starmer thinks he's called it right on war despite Trump barbs
“The change of regimes in Russia has not changed its essence,” Zelensky’s office chief Budanov said. “We should create conditions under which Russia as an empire will disappear. Only then will Ukraine, Europe and the whole world feel more secure.” www.kyivpost.com/post/70872
