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Mariia Kudina

Mariia (Masha) Kudina is an opinion columnist at the Tufts Daily. She is a senior studying studio art, minoring in visual and material studies. Mariia can be reached at mariia.kudina@tufts.edu.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: A reflection on the deadly attacks in Kryvyi Rih and Sumy

By Mariia Kudina | April 15

On April 4, I was co-moderating a discussion on risks and art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University for the event “Arts and Society: Dialogues.” I was looking at my phone and going over the sample questions to ask the participants when I received a text from my mom saying, “We were outside with your brother and our dog, the explosion felt far but the ground was shaking.” Momentarily, I tracked back my thoughts to before the event. Right before the discussion, I saw a notification that there was an air raid alert in Kryvyi Rih, possibly due to the missile carriers being launched in Russia. I had a feeling that this was not a precautionary alert, yet never in a million years would I assume that the attack would be that deadly.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: How private initiatives help Ukrainian universities adjust to the war

By Mariia Kudina | March 13

Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine despite the attempts of peace talks. Meanwhile, the rocky relationship between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin diverts the media’s and, consequently, the international public’s attention from the ongoing war. At the same time, Ukrainians continue to adjust to the dreary realities, finding ways to go on with a semi-normal life. In the realm of education, one example of such an adjustment is a charitable initiative by the venture builder CLUST, focused on creating smart shelters for students at Ukrainian universities.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: Russia targets Chernobyl nuclear plant as potential peace talks approach

By Mariia Kudina | February 20

My dad turned 9 years old on the day of the Chernobyl disaster. Two years later, his father was sent to the city to clean up the contaminated area and manage the consequences of the catastrophe. He spent around five months maintaining the station, managing a team of people and ensuring that safety protocols were followed. Back then, everything was covered in radioactive dust, and even eating an apple from a tree or sitting on a park bench could be deadly. The radiation deteriorated not only the environment but also people’s physical and mental health. Some of his fellow liquidators lost their minds after getting lost in the Red Forest, a strip of greenery around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. My dad, a physician, explains that everyone reacted to the radiation differently.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: Music as an act of resistance

By Mariia Kudina | December 10

This year, a famous Ukrainian rock band, Okean Elzy, celebrated its 30-year anniversary. The group has become a symbol of resistance for all generations of independent Ukraine. For my parents, Okean Elzy became an integral part of the Orange Revolution in 2004 and 2005, when Ukrainians protested against election fraud, and Euromaidan in 2013 and 2014, when the citizens objected to pro-Russian governmental policies. I strongly link the band’s music with those events as well, but mainly with Ukraine’s counteroffensive and defense during Russia’s full-scale invasion. This October, Okean Elzy performed in Boston as part of its global tour. The day after the concert, I had a chance to listen to a talk by the lead singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk at Harvard.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: Russia targets Ukrainian children and families

By Mariia Kudina | November 22

I used to count the days since the start of the full-scale invasion. It seemed that such a brutal and bloody war could not last long and that the international community would soon find a solution to make Russian forces withdraw. I stopped the daily count sometime after the images from recently liberated towns around Kyiv and the news about the bombing of Mariupol Drama Theater were released in 2022. Though the world saw the atrocities of the Bucha massacre and the attack on the theater used as a shelter by civilians, including children, the war has only become more violent since then. This week marks 1000 days since the full-scale invasion, and after approximately 3900 days of the war, Russian attacks continue to intensify, increasingly targeting entire families.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: The adverse environmental impact of Russia’s war

By Mariia Kudina | November 7

The connection between the war in Ukraine and climate change might not be evident at first glance. Discussions of environmental damage brought upon by Russian warfare rarely appear on the front pages of major newspapers. Yet, recent scientific studies highlight that the war not only deteriorates ecosystems in Ukraine, but also accelerates global warming by emitting heat trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: Russia purposefully bombs Ukrainian schools, but schools like KSE grow despite the attacks: The case of the Kyiv School of Economics (Part 2)

By Mariia Kudina | November 4

One out of every seven schools in Ukraine has been destroyed by Russians since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, leaving over 5 million Ukrainian children deprived of a traditional education. Statistics for higher educational institutions are even more depressing with one out of five universities and colleges in the country having suffered physical blows to their infrastructure as a result of the bombings. Despite these attacks, the Ukrainian educational system continues to develop, with schools adding opportunities to their institutions.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: How Ukrainian universities and students adjust to the war: The case of the Kyiv School of Economics (Part 1)

By Mariia Kudina | October 15

The full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine has brought plenty of challenges for schools throughout the nation. In 2022, institutions had to rapidly switch to online classes, adjusting programs for temporary remote teaching while helping their now geographically scattered students navigate a dire new reality. At the same time, to prepare for a future return, these schools had to build shelters or equip already existing basements for hiding during missile and drone attacks.

Ukraine At War
Column

Ukraine at War: Russia attacks hospitals in Ukraine

By Mariia Kudina | September 26

When I was leaving Boston this May to spend the summer break back home in Ukraine, I was certain that there would be opportunities for me to visit various Ukrainian cities, including Kharkiv and Odesa. However, the Russian offensive severely intensified, making these trips far too dangerous. Even staying in Kyiv, which is typically considered a relatively safe city compared to other places in Ukraine due to its air defense systems, I experienced a few dire attacks.

Ukraine At War
Columns

Ukraine at War: New aid package, myths about Nazism

By Mariia Kudina | April 25

Around the same time as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60.8 billion aid package for Ukraine, one representative voiced concerns regarding “Nazi” ideologies in Ukraine.Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, who specializes in the history and politics of Eastern Europe, debunked the myths about Nazism in Ukraine at the hearing.

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