Valya Dudycz Lupescu
@valya.bsky.social
Writes about the experience of magic in the world 🇺🇦🇺🇸 Author of The Silence of Trees and Mother Christmas, editor of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora. 🌻
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
People who did not grow up here will never understand the tears that just erupted seeing TOM SKILLING's name on this
"Please trust us now when we say that what is happening in the Chicago area is wrong *** It is not law enforcement; it is terror."
Letter from Chicago broadcast veterans: Federal immigration agents have traumatized us and eroded our rights
The fact that some federal immigration forces may be leaving soon is cold comfort given the damage they’ve done.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:03 PM
People who did not grow up here will never understand the tears that just erupted seeing TOM SKILLING's name on this
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
⚡️Additional fires, explosions reported in Kyiv amid massive missile, drone attack.
Several explosions were again heard in Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time amid reports of additional fires burning at residential buildings in the city.
Several explosions were again heard in Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time amid reports of additional fires burning at residential buildings in the city.
Ballistic missiles, drones strike residential buildings in Kyiv amid large-scale attack on Ukraine
Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on Nov. 13-14, launching hundreds of projectiles towards the capital.
kyivindependent.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:40 PM
⚡️Additional fires, explosions reported in Kyiv amid massive missile, drone attack.
Several explosions were again heard in Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time amid reports of additional fires burning at residential buildings in the city.
Several explosions were again heard in Kyiv around 1:30 a.m. local time amid reports of additional fires burning at residential buildings in the city.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Kostiantyn Huzenko, 28, a Kyiv photographer who documented the war and enlisted the 35th Marine Brigade in April 2024, was killed Nov. 1 in a Russian strike in eastern Ukraine, the media outlet Ukrainer reported.
'He left us too soon' — Ukrainian photographer and soldier Huzenko killed in Russian strike in eastern Ukraine
Kostiantyn Huzenko, 28, a Kyiv photographer who documented the war and enlisted the 35th Marine Brigade in April 2024, was killed Nov. 1 in a Russian strike in eastern Ukraine, the media outlet Ukrain...
kyivindependent.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Kostiantyn Huzenko, 28, a Kyiv photographer who documented the war and enlisted the 35th Marine Brigade in April 2024, was killed Nov. 1 in a Russian strike in eastern Ukraine, the media outlet Ukrainer reported.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Tremendous loss as Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago artist in many realms, has died at 66 www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/11/t...
Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago artist in many realms, has died at 66
He had recently published a new book, “The Sun at the End of the Road,” filled with his distinctive art, poetry and prose. Some consider it a memoir.
www.chicagotribune.com
October 11, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Tremendous loss as Tony Fitzpatrick, a Chicago artist in many realms, has died at 66 www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/11/t...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
⚡️Update: 'Missiles, one after another' — 9 injured, outages in Kyiv amid mass Russian attack on energy infrastructure.
Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight Oct. 10, injuring nine people, causing a residential building fire, and a blackout in the city's left bank.
Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight Oct. 10, injuring nine people, causing a residential building fire, and a blackout in the city's left bank.
'Missiles, one after another' — 9 injured, outages in Kyiv amid mass Russian attack on energy infrastructure
"From the explosions that just occurred — a ballistic missile attack is ongoing. Missiles one after another, air defense is active," Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said.
kyivindependent.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:57 AM
⚡️Update: 'Missiles, one after another' — 9 injured, outages in Kyiv amid mass Russian attack on energy infrastructure.
Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight Oct. 10, injuring nine people, causing a residential building fire, and a blackout in the city's left bank.
Russia launched a large-scale drone and missile attack on Kyiv overnight Oct. 10, injuring nine people, causing a residential building fire, and a blackout in the city's left bank.
"In every woman, there is a soldier."
– Yaryna Chornohuz, poet on the field of battle
Combat medic in the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, giving voice to pain & hope for her country’s future. #ukraine @kyivindependent.com
kyivindependent.com/in-every-wom...
– Yaryna Chornohuz, poet on the field of battle
Combat medic in the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, giving voice to pain & hope for her country’s future. #ukraine @kyivindependent.com
kyivindependent.com/in-every-wom...
'In every woman, there is a soldier’ – Yaryna Chornohuz, the brave poet fighting Russia
Editor's Note: This story was originally published in The Kyiv Independent's first-ever print edition, titled "The Power Within." You can order a copy in our e-store.
If there were four women named Y...
kyivindependent.com
October 9, 2025 at 4:36 PM
"In every woman, there is a soldier."
– Yaryna Chornohuz, poet on the field of battle
Combat medic in the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, giving voice to pain & hope for her country’s future. #ukraine @kyivindependent.com
kyivindependent.com/in-every-wom...
– Yaryna Chornohuz, poet on the field of battle
Combat medic in the 140th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, giving voice to pain & hope for her country’s future. #ukraine @kyivindependent.com
kyivindependent.com/in-every-wom...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Ukraine’s Mykola Bazhan (1904-83) had the Midas touch; all his verse turned to gold. This let him survive, barely, Stalin’s slaughter; he could make even Socialist Realism sound good. Yet his portrait of Poland’s Adam Mickiewicz in Odesa shows that he knew what drove true poetry.
September 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Ukraine’s Mykola Bazhan (1904-83) had the Midas touch; all his verse turned to gold. This let him survive, barely, Stalin’s slaughter; he could make even Socialist Realism sound good. Yet his portrait of Poland’s Adam Mickiewicz in Odesa shows that he knew what drove true poetry.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
The African Translation Project is at 53% !!!
The clock is ticking!! YOU did this! Help them bring it home!
ko-fi.com/africantrans...
The clock is ticking!! YOU did this! Help them bring it home!
ko-fi.com/africantrans...
Support African Translation Project
African Translation Project; Current Need: $2500 by 22 September - to begin translation of: The World and Its People / Dunia na Watu Wake by Ahmad Simba Mwaita, Translated from Kwswahili - (translator...
ko-fi.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:31 AM
The African Translation Project is at 53% !!!
The clock is ticking!! YOU did this! Help them bring it home!
ko-fi.com/africantrans...
The clock is ticking!! YOU did this! Help them bring it home!
ko-fi.com/africantrans...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
All eyes on the Kickstarter. Hard limit. Come on. $768. *please*
One big rally post could do it like *snap*.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
One big rally post could do it like *snap*.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
September 23, 2025 at 2:25 AM
All eyes on the Kickstarter. Hard limit. Come on. $768. *please*
One big rally post could do it like *snap*.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
One big rally post could do it like *snap*.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/att...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Here's a short happy-go-lucky 🎶 parody about the way that
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now collapsing American healthcare - based off #PaulSimon's toe-tapping "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".
youtu.be/FDiXrd-R68U
It's called: "Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now collapsing American healthcare - based off #PaulSimon's toe-tapping "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".
youtu.be/FDiXrd-R68U
It's called: "Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard."
"Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard" - Marsh Family parody of Paul Simon "Me and Julio" on RFK
YouTube video by Marsh Family
youtu.be
September 7, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Here's a short happy-go-lucky 🎶 parody about the way that
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now collapsing American healthcare - based off #PaulSimon's toe-tapping "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".
youtu.be/FDiXrd-R68U
It's called: "Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now collapsing American healthcare - based off #PaulSimon's toe-tapping "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard".
youtu.be/FDiXrd-R68U
It's called: "Measles and Polio Down in the Schoolyard."
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
As the Polish military confirmed that aerial objects were shot down, the incident marks what is believed to be the first direct engagement by a NATO member against Russian assets in its own airspace since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In first for NATO, Poland downs Russian drones amid mass attack on Ukraine as Putin tests Western resolve
Polish authorities temporarily closed Warsaw Chopin Airport and placed the country’s air defenses on high alert overnight on Sept. 10, following reports that Russian drones have entered Polish airspac...
kyivindependent.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:04 AM
As the Polish military confirmed that aerial objects were shot down, the incident marks what is believed to be the first direct engagement by a NATO member against Russian assets in its own airspace since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
"This country and its social contract can fall apart with a quickness, and when it does, remember: There's no one coming to the rescue"
"More than any other event of the 21st century—including 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis—Katrina is the catastrophe that best illuminates the dark path that has led us to 2025." defector.com/hurricane-ka...
Hurricane Katrina Showed How Quickly It Can All Fall Apart | Defector
When an acclaimed director has a new movie out, I always like to revisit their previous work in the lead-up to the new one. In preparation for Highest 2 Lowest, the latest Spike Lee Joint, I…
defector.com
August 28, 2025 at 10:24 PM
"This country and its social contract can fall apart with a quickness, and when it does, remember: There's no one coming to the rescue"
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Hey, an animated version of Weston Wei's delightful cover of my forthcoming novel The Subtle Art of Folding Space.
Off-kilter physics! A deadly family! A decision no one should have to make. Also, a lot of food.
Coming April 7, 2006. Preorder now!
torpublishinggroup.com/the-subtle-a...
Off-kilter physics! A deadly family! A decision no one should have to make. Also, a lot of food.
Coming April 7, 2006. Preorder now!
torpublishinggroup.com/the-subtle-a...
August 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Hey, an animated version of Weston Wei's delightful cover of my forthcoming novel The Subtle Art of Folding Space.
Off-kilter physics! A deadly family! A decision no one should have to make. Also, a lot of food.
Coming April 7, 2006. Preorder now!
torpublishinggroup.com/the-subtle-a...
Off-kilter physics! A deadly family! A decision no one should have to make. Also, a lot of food.
Coming April 7, 2006. Preorder now!
torpublishinggroup.com/the-subtle-a...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
In every era, songs are an honest mirror of a society’s mood.
So let’s dive into the tracks Ukrainians sang along to just after winning independence—and the freedom to express themselves 👇
🧵 1/11
So let’s dive into the tracks Ukrainians sang along to just after winning independence—and the freedom to express themselves 👇
🧵 1/11
August 24, 2025 at 1:48 PM
In every era, songs are an honest mirror of a society’s mood.
So let’s dive into the tracks Ukrainians sang along to just after winning independence—and the freedom to express themselves 👇
🧵 1/11
So let’s dive into the tracks Ukrainians sang along to just after winning independence—and the freedom to express themselves 👇
🧵 1/11
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Happy Independence Day to Ukraine!
I interviewed Maksym Butkevych, a brave human rights activist who spent over two years as a POW in Russian captivity. His fight for Ukraine's inclusive future moved me deeply.
Watch our talk Friday on YouTube: Terrell J Starr Official. #ukrainianview
I interviewed Maksym Butkevych, a brave human rights activist who spent over two years as a POW in Russian captivity. His fight for Ukraine's inclusive future moved me deeply.
Watch our talk Friday on YouTube: Terrell J Starr Official. #ukrainianview
August 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Happy Independence Day to Ukraine!
I interviewed Maksym Butkevych, a brave human rights activist who spent over two years as a POW in Russian captivity. His fight for Ukraine's inclusive future moved me deeply.
Watch our talk Friday on YouTube: Terrell J Starr Official. #ukrainianview
I interviewed Maksym Butkevych, a brave human rights activist who spent over two years as a POW in Russian captivity. His fight for Ukraine's inclusive future moved me deeply.
Watch our talk Friday on YouTube: Terrell J Starr Official. #ukrainianview
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
European leaders to join Zelenskyy in Washington for meeting with Trump #Ukraine
European leaders to join Zelenskyy in Washington for meeting with Trump
Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz and others will aim to push back against ceding of Ukraine territory in ‘peace plan’
www.theguardian.com
August 17, 2025 at 11:38 AM
European leaders to join Zelenskyy in Washington for meeting with Trump #Ukraine
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Goosebumps... Ukrainian Yaroslav Bazylevych shares his story at the rally in support of Ukraine in Munich. Thank you for these important words: "Russia killed my entire family. My wife Yevgenia, my three daughters Yaryna, Daria, and Emilia. 👇
July 16, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Goosebumps... Ukrainian Yaroslav Bazylevych shares his story at the rally in support of Ukraine in Munich. Thank you for these important words: "Russia killed my entire family. My wife Yevgenia, my three daughters Yaryna, Daria, and Emilia. 👇
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
what they said.
The reason we fight against fascism is because of love. Love for our friends and family. Our children deserve better than this. They deserve not to live in a place where they must fear getting shot. We love them. So we have to win. And in time, we will. The axe forgets but the tree remembers.
June 26, 2025 at 3:28 AM
what they said.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Iran-Israel implications for Ukraine | Ukraine This Week #Ukraine
Iran-Israel implications for Ukraine | Ukraine This Week
kyivindependent.com
June 22, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Iran-Israel implications for Ukraine | Ukraine This Week #Ukraine
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
“One of our very good friends – he now does not have the emotional courage to hang up a sheet to collect moths at night
It is too devastating to see how few there are”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
It is too devastating to see how few there are”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Half the tree of life’: ecologists’ horror as nature reserves are emptied of insects
A new point in history has been reached, entomologists say, as climate-led species’ collapse moves up the food chain even in supposedly protected regions free of pesticides
www.theguardian.com
June 3, 2025 at 7:36 AM
“One of our very good friends – he now does not have the emotional courage to hang up a sheet to collect moths at night
It is too devastating to see how few there are”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
It is too devastating to see how few there are”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Have you seen our upcoming work? We're so excited!
And yes - it's ✨magical✨ ...
(And devilish, and adventurous, and anti-capitalist... and all made with human love and community.)
Here's what's on the way: 🧵
And yes - it's ✨magical✨ ...
(And devilish, and adventurous, and anti-capitalist... and all made with human love and community.)
Here's what's on the way: 🧵
May 19, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Have you seen our upcoming work? We're so excited!
And yes - it's ✨magical✨ ...
(And devilish, and adventurous, and anti-capitalist... and all made with human love and community.)
Here's what's on the way: 🧵
And yes - it's ✨magical✨ ...
(And devilish, and adventurous, and anti-capitalist... and all made with human love and community.)
Here's what's on the way: 🧵
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
⚡️Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement.
"Trump still hopes something can be done," a source in the President’s Office told the Kyiv Independent after the talks concluded.
"Trump still hopes something can be done," a source in the President’s Office told the Kyiv Independent after the talks concluded.
Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement
Some of Russia's demands include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from their own territory as a condition for a ceasefire, an unnamed Ukrainian source told Sky News.
kyivindependent.com
May 16, 2025 at 2:52 PM
⚡️Ukraine-Russia talks in Istanbul end, Moscow demands Kyiv withdraw from 4 regions, no ceasefire agreement.
"Trump still hopes something can be done," a source in the President’s Office told the Kyiv Independent after the talks concluded.
"Trump still hopes something can be done," a source in the President’s Office told the Kyiv Independent after the talks concluded.
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
U is for Union
Also just LOOK how cute their merch is, buy some swag to support the freshly-minted Sesame Workers Union! shop.worxprinting.coop/collections/...
Sesame Workers Union
Sesame Workers Union is a group of Sesame Workshop (of Sesame Street) workers organizing with OPEIU Local 153 to improve working conditions across the industry. Proceeds go to workers experiencing har...
shop.worxprinting.coop
May 15, 2025 at 10:04 PM
U is for Union
Reposted by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
"Level or Live" comes out on Tuesday.
If you like stories with found family, adventure, rescue, love, gaming, exploring a new world, some silly isekai tropes, and some lesbian spice, give it a try!
I have 40+ other stories if that one isn't your style.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5FC1VPG
If you like stories with found family, adventure, rescue, love, gaming, exploring a new world, some silly isekai tropes, and some lesbian spice, give it a try!
I have 40+ other stories if that one isn't your style.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5FC1VPG
May 2, 2025 at 11:46 AM
"Level or Live" comes out on Tuesday.
If you like stories with found family, adventure, rescue, love, gaming, exploring a new world, some silly isekai tropes, and some lesbian spice, give it a try!
I have 40+ other stories if that one isn't your style.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5FC1VPG
If you like stories with found family, adventure, rescue, love, gaming, exploring a new world, some silly isekai tropes, and some lesbian spice, give it a try!
I have 40+ other stories if that one isn't your style.
www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5FC1VPG