The beginning of the war brought not only a whirlwind of news on topics that we are not used to reading on a daily basis, but also the use of terms that are not usual in non-atypical times.
THE sheet prepared a glossary with historical events, places, important characters and other words that can help to better understand the context of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
THE
Minsk Accords: two ceasefire agreements signed between Kiev and Moscow seven years ago after Russian-backed separatists attacked and occupied Ukraine’s Donbass region; the pacts, never fully established, were seen as a possibility that the current conflict would not escalate into war, which did not happen.
Aeroflot: in operation since 1923, it is Russia’s largest airline and was banned from flying over Europe, the US and Canada after the start of the war.
Alexei Navalni: Putin’s main opponent, the 44-year-old activist, called the Russian leader an “insane tsar” due to the war and called on his compatriots around the world to demonstrate daily against the invasion of Ukraine.
Antonov-255: largest plane in the world, the freighter that was twice in Brazil was destroyed by Russian bombing; was 88 meters long and was a unique example, manufactured by the USSR
B
Baby Yar: area in Kiev that was the scene of one of the biggest massacres of Jews in World War II, with 34 thousand victims of the Nazis; a TV tower in the region was targeted by the Russians in the current conflict
Belarus: ex-Soviet republic led by dictator Aleksandr Lukachenko, a Putin ally; hosted two rounds of negotiations
Cluster bomb: bombs filled with smaller explosives that, when dropped, spread and hit a large area, making it a minefield with explosive potential for years to come; observers claim that Russia is using this weapon in the ongoing war, banned by 119 countries.
bomb thermobaric: bomb that, when exploding, forms a wall of fire that sucks the oxygen around and incinerates everything in its path; Russia reportedly used one in the invasion, according to human rights groups
Ç
cyberwar: The new type of conflict that develops parallel to traditional warfare refers to internet attacks — for example, when Ukrainian government websites became inaccessible
Cyrillic: alphabet used with slight variations in Russia, Bulgaria and Ukraine
Crimea: region south of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014, in a move contested by much of the international community and the UN
D
denazify: refers to Allied policy towards Nazi Germany after World War II; in the current conflict, Putin claimed that Russian troops would “denazify” Ukraine. Although the country has extreme right-wing cells, the state is not extremist
Dmitre Kuleba: Chancellor of Ukraine, said Russia should be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for the war
Donbass: region in eastern Ukraine that encompasses the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk, now recognized by the Kremlin as Russian areas; Putin said that there was a genocide against the Russian-speaking population of the Donbass, a narrative he used as an argument for the invasion.
Of: Russian parliament, composed of 450 deputies, of which 351 were punished by the European Union for the invasion of Ukraine
AND
Slavic: refers to the peoples of the area comprising, among other countries, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus
G
Gazprom: energy giant, the Russian state-owned company exports natural gas to Europe; the price of energy in European countries is expected to rise due to the war
Gomel: second most populous city in Belarus, close to the border with Ukraine, where the first negotiation between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place
I
Ivano-Frankivsk: historic city in western Ukraine, whose airport was one of the first targets of the Russian invasion
K
Kharkiv: Ukraine’s second largest city, with around 1.4 million inhabitants; was bombed with great intensity by Russian troops
Kherson: Ukrainian port city of 290,000 inhabitants, a strategic point in Ukraine for being an important port on the Black Sea, is under the control of the Russian army.
L
Lugansk: rebel region in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatists allied with Russia and which declared its independence in 2014; Putin recognized the site’s autonomy at the end of February, a fact considered the trigger for the current invasion of Ukraine.
Lviv: city ​​close to the border with Poland, considered the main exit for those fleeing the war; your train station has been full for days
M
Mariupol: if controlled by the Russians, the strategic port city could establish a Kremlin domain that stretches from southern to eastern Ukraine; the site was surrounded by soldiers from Moscow and, according to the mayor, bridges and trains were destroyed to prevent the local population from fleeing.
Ballistic missile: weapons that would be used in an eventual nuclear war between Russia and Western powers; flies at high altitudes on a predetermined trajectory and can go from one continent to another
Cruise missile: designed to deliver large warheads at long range with high accuracy, also part of the Russian arsenal
No
NordStream 2: gas pipeline that links Russia to Germany and is ready, but not operational; Due to the war, he had his license frozen by German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz.
O
Odessa: Ukraine’s strategic port city, residents clogged the streets with barricades of sandbags and cinder blocks to defend themselves from the impending invasion
Olena Zelenska: wife of the Ukrainian president, became a spokesperson for the official narrative about the war with posts on social media in which she talks about her pride in being Ukrainian; considered Putin’s “Target Number 2”, according to her husband Volodymyr Zelensky
FOR
Palianitsa: to unmask Russian infiltrators, Kiev residents force suspects to pronounce this word, the name of a traditional Ukrainian bread that Russians can hardly speak correctly
Q
Fourth Political Theory: created by what is considered a guru of Russian radicals, Aleksandr Dugin, who defends an option to the three dominant ideologies in the 20th century, liberalism, communism and fascism; according to his proposal, the main subject of history would be the people, not the individual or the State; in the European context, it is reflected in “Eurasianism”, the expansion of Moscow’s presence to all regions of historical influence of the Russian people — no matter if they belong to other sovereign countries, such as Ukraine.
R
Roman Abramovich: Russian billionaire owner of the British football team Chelsea; after the start of the war he handed over control of the club and put it up for sale
Rostov-do-Don: main city in southern Russia, important gateway for those who decide to flee the war in Ukraine
Ruble: the russian currency has suffered sharp devaluation after the sanctions imposed by the european union due to the invasion of ukraine
s
Sberbank: Russia’s largest bank said it would leave the European market amid sanctions the country faces
Sergei Lavrov: Russian chancellor and dean of diplomacy, was boycotted by more than 100 diplomats when he addressed the war at two United Nations forums.
sergei Kislitsia: Ukraine’s representative at the UN, compared Russia’s actions with those of Nazi Germany
sergei Shoigu: Russian defense minister, is on the EU and US travel ban list and has had his assets frozen
Servant of the People: TV series that made then-actor Volodymyr Zelensky famous; in the comedy, he plays a high school teacher who becomes famous after a video in which the character speaks out against corruption goes viral; the professor ends up elected president and tries to fight government corruption and elite privileges. It is also the name of Zelensky’s party.
Shaktar Donetsk: Ukrainian first division football team, based in Kiev, which has 13 Brazilian players; the team has not played in their hometown of Donetsk since 2014 due to previous conflicts in the region
Swift: system that links more than 11,000 financial institutions in 200 countries, supporting trillions of dollars in payments; Several Russian banks have been disconnected from Swift amid sanctions
T
Tass: Russian government news agency founded in 1904 and part of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine; reports on the agency’s website use the euphemism “military operation” to refer to the invasion of Ukraine, for example.
u
Ukrainianize: term used by bolsonaristas who advocate using Ukrainian far-right tactics in Brazil, that is, promoting violent civil disobedience, with the aim of purging what, in their view, are Brazil’s corrupt elites, as well as the progressive left.
Ursula von der Leyen: German politician, is the first female head of the European Commission and vocal opponent of the war, spearheading actions such as the closure of European airspace to Russian planes.
V
Valeri Gerasimov: head of the Russian Armed Forces, is now on the UK and US travel ban list and asset freeze
vitali Klitschko: former world boxing champion and current mayor of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine
volodymir Zelensky: Ukraine’s democratically elected president in 2019 in an anti-political wave, the 45-year-old Jew was a TV comedian with no experience in public office and today leads the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion.
W
Wang Yi: Chinese Foreign Minister; Beijing is an ally of Moscow and has so far refrained from condemning the invasion at UN Security Council meetings.
Z
Zaporijia: Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, was taken over by the Russians after being bombed that resulted in a fire at the site; provides 25% of Ukraine’s energy
