Most people in Ukraine have learnt to stoically bear thehardship of having their country attackedand destroyed by the armies of Moscow, but some still proudly wear their hostility to the invaders on their sleeves.
On an overcast afternoon last month, as throngs of people in the centre of Kyiv braved freezing temperatures and icy pavements to celebrate the new year in a traditional street stroll, a bold political statement broke through the clouds on the back of one woman's winter coat.
"Russiais a terrorist state," read the words on her colourful down coat, a fashion statement that echoed a law passed by the Ukrainian parliament back in 2022, whenRussialaunched its full-scale military assault.
"The goal of the political regime of the Russian Federation is the genocide of the Ukrainian people, physical destruction,mass murders of Ukrainians, and the commission of international crimes against the civilian population," the parliament declared at the time.
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Now, four years on, with tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilianskilled or wounded by Russian forces, this statement has proved to be prophetic – a prediction that some here are not shy about proclaiming.
Konstantin is the director of a Dnipro-based publishing and printing house called Kavun, which also produces prints for clothing on order, including anti-Russia slogans like "Russia is a terrorist state".
He said: "I support this message 100%. The Russians are beasts who unleashed a savage war againstUkraineas well as against Georgia and other countries."
Such overtly anti-Russia prints are not as popular as they used to be, he acknowledged, but he still gets orders for them, especially from buyers abroad in the US and Georgia.
"People here inUkraine are tired of the war. Some are even afraid to say what they really think," he said.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
