It’s rare for me to do this in this war, but this time I was lucky. When a request came from Warsaw to do a story about dragon drones in Ukraine, I asked the branch where I was staying if they knew anything about it. At first they didn’t know what “dragon drones” were – that’s the name CNN published – but when I explained that they were talking about drones dropping fire on Russian positions, they pointed me next door – that’s where we have a workshop and we make them. Telewizja wPolsce24 quickly received a report about the Ukrainian innovation.
HOW DRAGON DRONES ARE MADE – wPolcce24 News:
The Ukrainian comrades were surprised that someone would be interested in this particular topic, that it was a sensation in the world media, and, moreover, that someone would name it in such a way that they were hearing about it for the first time. They did not expect such a question. According to their reports, the invention was first used in the Zaporozhye Oblast, but they were the second to use it (I keep the details to myself). They showed, told, and went about their routine business.
The interesting fact about “drones” is a good example of the incompatibility of two worlds – wartime Ukraine and the peaceful West. Some see sensations where others see everyday life. And vice versa. We do not understand each other. When I am in the East, I feel that I have one foot on the ground called “The Republic of Poland in the Age of Peace” and the other on the ground called “Ukraine in Defense Against Total Invasion”. These are two different worlds, like walking through a magical wardrobe in the stories of Narnia. You cannot imagine what a slander the protest of the farmers on the border was considered, as well as the spilling of grain – a symbol of the memory of the Great Famine – on the road.
Therefore, partly the incompatibility of two realities, and probably partly the lack of talent, does not allow me to explain the Polish point of view to Ukrainians and the Ukrainian point of view to Poles. People in Poland don’t believe me that Ukrainians have rarely heard of Bandera, and if they do, it’s in pop culture, a harmless version. In Ukraine, they don’t believe that such a dramatic crime took place in Volhynia, the memory of which destroys part of their political class. Neither side believes that each has such a distorted idea of the other. Poles ask: what do they think of Kuleba’s shameful statement? And they don’t think about it because they don’t know or are interested in the reality of war. Bombs fall, a child is traumatized by the death of a classmate and the shelling of a city square, and I walk around with a microphone and ask: “What do you think of the Poles?”
THIS STREET SURVEY HAS ALREADY BEEN WATCHED BY 200,000 PEOPLE!:
Ukrainians, on the other hand, do not understand geopolitics. For them, the world is wild Russia on the one hand, and paradise on Earth on the other, pure and immaculate Europe as a monolithic unity that loves freedom and democracy. Explaining Olaf Scholz’s actions to them is like telling a fairy tale about the Iron Wolf.
And so, both the stupid haters and political enforcers spread more misunderstandings, alleged and real scandals, and disinformation that increases tension between our nations.
Therefore, Poles will be offended by Ukrainians, and Ukrainians will be surprised by Poland – the seeds of new hostility have been sown.. My attempts to dig them up with my clumsy fingers in the soil of history are ridiculous and pathetic, but what else is left when you are certain that this will grow into fruits that will be poisoned for decades to come?
