Stand with Ukraine!

(17 May 2022)

What happened?

On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, and since then has been waging all-out war on Ukraine.  Many people have been killed, and an even larger number are continuing to suffer.  The worst suffering has been within Ukraine, but the negative consequences of Russia's invasion have also spread around the world.  

One hundred and forty-one (141) countries have condemned this invasion, supporting a resolution of the United Nations (UN) demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders”.  Only five (5) countries — Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia, and Syria — opposed that resolution.  

What we are doing

Division One Academic and Language Services stands with Ukraine and the people of Ukraine as they resist the brutal Russian invasion of their country.  

10 % of all revenues received for language services (poof-reading, editing, and translation) since the start of this all-out war will be donated to support the people of Ukraine (and refugees of Ukraine) through the official fundraising account established by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).  

NOTE:  this decision does not have any effect at all on the amount paid by our clients.  Clients pay the same amount as they would have before the invasion.  The only difference is that now some of our income will be dedicated for helping people who are (or have been) under attack and suffering.  

We would also decline work from clients in Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia, and Syria.  

What others are doing

With several million refugees and numerous injured or traumatised (or both), apart from those killed and all of the physical destruction, around the world many have already recognised the huge need for assistance, including: 

• sovereign nations (including Australia, Canada, China, France, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, the U.K., the U.S.A., Vietnam, ...)^*; 
• major global companies (including Microsoft, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Electric, Samsung Electronics, ...); 
• other medium–large businesses (including Tracker Software, Bitdefender, ...); 
• small businesses (Aliño Pizzeria, Fleur Florist, ...); 
• universities (including TU Berlin, the University of Tübingen, the University of Glasgow, ...); and 
• ordinary individuals, just like you.  

^* One hundred and forty (140) countries have upheld the need to support the people of Ukraine, demanding civilian protection and humanitarian access in Ukraine, while also criticising Russia for creating a “dire” humanitarian situation through its invasion of Ukraine.  Only five (5) countries — Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Russia, and Syria — opposed that resolution.  

What you can do

You can support Ukraine too by:  

• educating yourself^** about the war launched by Vladimir Putin;  
• boycotting Russian & Belarusian products, services & investments;  
• donating to reputable charities^*** supporting Ukrainians in need; 
• raising this issue with other people.  

^** If news is censored in your country, learn how to access international news sites through a VPN, and survey a variety of reputable publications from a diverse set of countries to understand how most of the world perceives the Russian aggression and (apparent) war crimes.  

^*** DefendUkraine has a curated list of "Verified fundraisers, charities and donation links in support of Ukraine", which are generally Ukrainian and international organisations.  Australian Philanthropic Services has a list of Australian and international organisations who are providing support. (See also ukrainians.org.au.)  Similarly, WISE has a list of British and international organisations who are providing support.

#StandWithUkraine
#StandWithUkraine

Update (24 November 2022)

Action by Russia's military

Evidence of Russian soldiers committing war crimes — through acts such as torture and extra-judicial killings of civilians — is growing. 

Russian rockets have targeted civilian infrastructure, trying to cut supplies of utilities — such as electricity & water — that are vital for life, besides direct strikes on apartment buildings, schools and hospitals.  

Ukrainian resources, such as grain, have been stolen by Russian forces, at the same time as Russia has blocked exports of foodstuffs from Ukraine to countries in need of food imports.  

Sham referenda directed by Russia

Russia held so-called referenda that are illegal under international law.  One hundred and forty-three (143) countries have condemned this invasion, supporting a resolution of the United Nations (UN) calling on countries not to recognise the four regions of Ukraine which Russia claimed after the so-called referenda, and demanding that Russia reverse its “attempted illegal annexation”.  Only five (5) countries — Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, and Syria — opposed that resolution.  

The claimed results of the so-called referenda therefore have no legal standing;  furthermore, they should be regarded as meaningless: 

• in the lead-up to the so-called referenda many civilians were forced to flee the Russian army's bombardment of their homes — those who stayed would include those too feeble to move, and their carers, and some small minority of Russia-supporters;  
• so-called voting was conducted with gun-toting Russian soldiers door-knocking residents' homes;  and 
• there was no credible verification of the results by neutral observers.  

Moreover, after Ukrainian towns, cities and regions have been liberated by the Ukrainian army, locals have celebrated and those who had fled the invasion have begun to return.  

Action by Ukrainians

Ukrainians have liberated numerous towns and cities, notably including Kherson.  They have also been documenting evidence of numerous war-crimes by Russian soldiers.  

Action by us

We have adhered to the policy of donating 10% of all income for language services to support Ukrainians (through the National Bank of Ukraine's fund, accessed via the Reserve Bank of Australia).  

Your action

Aside from the above suggestions and links, Olivia emailed to recommend another site.  She wrote:  

"[...] I came across a great resource that lists Ukrainian businesses and charities we can support in these difficult times: https :// www . safetydetectives . com / blog / supporting-ukrainian-businesses-charities/
I think it could be a great additional resource to your page, for the readers of yours who are looking for safe and trustworthy places to donate to."

UPDATE (22 August 2023):  The above email was 'manually' submitted via my website, rather than being a bulk email, on 24 August 2022.  After inspecting the abovementioned webpage and its links, and having a quick check of the site in general, it seemed OK.  Furthermore, the link was not published here immediately;  rather, a few months were allowed to elapse, in order for more reviews about the website to accumulate.

However, new information indicates that caution is advised:  I was subsequently contacted in 2023 by a different "Olivia" in an identical fashion with an identical email message;  it also turns out that more recent online reviews indicate that safetydetectives.com may not be entirely trustworthy (scamdetector.com, wot.com, and trustpilot.com).  This reinforces the need to do one's own due diligence, and even then to remain extremely cautious of unfamiliar email addresses and websites.  

Update (23 January 2023)

Historical context

Two books of interest are Killer in the Kremlin by John Sweeney (2022) and An Inconvenient Genocide: Who Now Remembers the Armenians? (2014) by Jeffery Robertson.  The first of these books is most interested in the past couple of decades, while the latter  book covers events — namely genocides — dating back to circa 1915.  

The parallels in history are chilling.  Regularly the calls have come after such horrors, "Never again!  We must never allow such barbarity to occur again!"  Yet vigilance is ever necessary.  

Another parallel is the reported use of criminals released from prison to do the 'dirty work', along with soldiers in uniforms devoid of any identifiable marking, at arm's length from the leaders of the aggressor nation — to wit the chetti gangs in Anatolia and the Wagner Group, along with the so-called "Little Green Men" in Ukraine.  

For the record, genocide is categorised by Robertson as the most serious crime against humanity, with universal jurisdiction applying, and it is defined irrespective of whether or not a state of war exists or is declared.  

Update (22 August 2023)

Arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin

The International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Vladimir Putin and Russia’s "Commissioner for Children’s Rights" (Maria Lvova-Belova) on 17 March 2023 in connection with alleged war crimes concerning the "deportation" and "unlawful transfer" of Ukrainian children into Russia from parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia.  

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent judicial body. The court’s jurisdiction is limited to crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.  123 countries are States [that are] Parties to the Rome Statute under which the International Criminal Court operates — in other words, those countries officially approve of the general structure of the court, including the ability of the court to take independent actions (not directed by any country) in accordance with international law. Those 123 countries comprise 33 African States, 19 Asia–Pacific States, 18 Eastern Europe States, 28 Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 Western European and other States.

Real reasons for the war

Yevgeny Prigozhin revealed some of the real reasons for Russia's war on Ukraine in a video posted by him on Telegram on 23 June 2023. 

"Война нужна была, чтобы кучка тварей попраздновала и попиарилась, показал, какая она сильная армия. Чтобы Шойгу получил звание маршала — приказ уже был готов. И получил вторую звезду героя."

"The war was necessary for a bunch of creatures to celebrate and promote [themselves], to show what a strong army it is. So that Shoigu got the rank of marshal — the order was already ready. And he got a second hero's star." (machine translation by DeepL, Bing & Google)

In short, he railed that the war was not only being badly run, but it had been launched merely for the self-promotion of a bunch of "bastards" or "scumbags" (news media translations) in the upper echelons of Russia's government & military.

Prigozhin is one of the most integral figures in the war on Ukraine from the Russian side, with direct experience both within the warzone and dealing with the Russian military commanders and politicians.  Prigozhin's crude, thuggish and allegedly criminal behaviour has been extensively reported, as has his history of spreading disinformation, but that is not sufficient grounds for discounting his comments, above.  

Update (06 January 2024)

Stand with Palestine

Just as Ukraine has been subjected to ongoing aggression from Russia, including invasion, occupation and (alleged) war crimes against its people, so too Palestine (in particular the Gaza Strip) has been subjected to ongoing aggression from Israel, including invasion, occupation and (alleged) war crimes against its people.  

A decision has therefore been taken that henceforth 10 % of all revenues received for language services (poof-reading, editing, and translation) will be donated to support the people of Ukraine & Palestine (and refugees of those nations) — divided equally.  

Also, the business stance has been further updated such that no jobs would be accepted from clients in Russia, Belarus or Israel until further notice.