Comments by "Emir" (@irongron) on "Ukrainian forces ‘captured hundreds of conscripts’ in Kursk | Ukraine: The Latest | Podcasts" video.

  1. Latika was a great guest, she is 💯 on point. NO disagreements with her at all. But the issue with the Oz-embassy here in Ukraine got me wound up regarding the Australian government not being "fair dinkum" (ask her what that means, not explaining it here). Let me give some context. I have Yugoslav ancestry,, grew up in Australia and am a permanent resident of Ukraine for a decade now. I retain an Australian passport and have to renew it every ten years. The last time I did that was at the embassy at Kyiv in 2021 (during co-vid). I was still living in Pokrovsk at that time, and on the 12 hour journey to Kyiv to pickup my new passport, I caught co-vid, because the embassy required a personal pickup, rather than sending in registered mail. Anyway, it really pisses me off to hear that the Aussie embassy in Kyiv is NOT re-opened. I will have to renew my passport again in 2031 & if there is no embassy in Kyiv I will have to go to Poland or w/e. Shame on them. But, finally to end on a good note, the department, DFAT, that Latika will be familiar with, were very good to me when the full scale invasion started. I registered as an Aussie expat in Ukraine (had already been here 8 years almost), and the DFAT people called me once a week to confirm my welfare. They offered my wife refugee status in Australia but we chose to politely decline. They did urge me to leave, but I explained my life and family are here in Ukraine and they rolled with it. But I am saddened that the embassy is not going to re-open here and they buried hardware they could have given us and sold off the rest. They are not being "fair dinkum"! Thanks to Latika, may she keep up the good work and keep the news honest back in Oz. 💛💙
    40