I’m at a loss for words right now.

I don’t even know what to say, it’s just so terrible.

I’m speechless.

Everyone I talk to is looking for ways to support the Ukrainian people and to voice their solidarity at the moment. Everyone I talk to is struggling to talk about their feelings about this war. The best thing I could think of to support my community right now is to create this list of vocabulary. The war and the sorrow will still be difficult to talk about, but I hope that some of you still find this useful. 

Talking about Russia and Putin:

Russia is trying to conquer Ukraine and turn it into a part of the Russian state.

Putin does not recognise the fact that Ukraine is a sovereign state.

Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine.

The talks and negotiations with Putin failed – he is pursuing his own agenda when it comes to Ukraine and does not care what anybody else says.

Russian hostilities against Ukraine started long before the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Even with all of his threats, it came as a shock when Putin started an all-out war against Ukraine in February 2022.

There will be more talks about a possible ceasefire this week.

Talking about what is happening in Ukraine:

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has called on residents to make Molotov cocktails to fight the Russian invaders.

The people of Ukraine are ready to defend their country and are answering the call to arms by their government.

The country was plunged into chaos overnight when Russia started bombing Ukrainian cities.

There are conflicting accounts about the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine, so it’s difficult to be certain how many people have died so far. There is a lot of misinformation.

The bombing of civilian targets intensified this week and so the death toll is rising.

The airstrikes are responsible for the highest number of civilians killed.

The ICC is starting an investigation into war crimes after collecting evidence about atrocities in the Ukraine.

Talking about the reaction by the international community:

The human rights violations and political injustices against the Ukrainian people are sending shockwaves through the international community. 

There is a great public outcry and widespread condemnation of the Russian military actions.

There is a great show of support and solidarity from people all over Europe and many are holding demonstrations in major cities.

Many people are starting grass-roots operations to provide relief for Ukrainian refugees in Poland and other countries.

Many people are opening their homes to provide shelter to people fleeing their homes in Ukraine.

There is some resentment from people from other war-torn countries: the lack of support and media attention they received when they had to flee their own countries in Africa or Asia is even more evident now compared to the widespread support for Ukraine as a “civilised” European country.

Some of the media coverage is outright racist – there are some news reports that highlight the fact that Europeans feel more for the plight of the Ukrainian people than they did for Syrians or other refugees because their babies are “blue-eyed” and they “look like us”.

Talking about the reactions by international politics:

Many international leaders have spoken out against Putin and are condemning the actions of the Russian military.

The European Union is using economic sanctions to put pressure on Russia to stop the war.

The EU is voicing its concerns about Russian oligarchs funnelling their money into Europe and the UK.

Military intervention by the EU will only be used as a last resort.

The West is refraining from taking military action but is supporting the Ukrainian resistance by supplying weapons and other equipment.

I referenced the “English Vocabulary in Use”, “English Collocations in Use” and “English Idioms in Use” books by Felicity O’Dell and Michael McCarthy (Advanced Level) to compile this list but the example sentences are my own.

Please send me an email if you have more suggestions for useful phrases that I can add to this list.