It was a stunning act of defiance that required little explanation or translation to convey its significance.
Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova’s breathtaking courage in denouncing live on TV the country’s invasion of Ukraine marks her out as a true hero of this needless and merciless war.
In just a few seconds Marina, a mother-of-two, shattered the fragile web of lies that is spun each day on Russian state TV and must have caused viewers at least a moment of reflection as the truth was fleetingly outed.
She knew of course that her life would be forever changed by that moment.
Now she faces up to 15 years in jail if found guilty of publicly spreading false information about the Russian military – and, unsurprisingly, she fears for her safety.
Yet despite knowing the consequences she chose to take that stand.
It was an astonishing display of utter selflessness from someone working at the heart of the Russian propaganda machine.
Heroes in unexpected places
In days gone by it was only those serving in the military for whom the term hero would be thought fitting.
But if the events of the past two terrible weeks have told us anything it’s that, in 2022, heroism can be found all around us and in the most unlikely of places.
Take, for example, Martin Roberts who is best known as a presenter on BBC TV show Homes Under The Hammer.
Now he will be forever remembered not for his property expertise but for a mercy mission which saw him drive for 26 hours in a van across Europe to the Polish border with Ukraine to deliver food and sleeping bags to refugees.
He had intended to take the supplies into the war-torn country but was turned back at the border after being told it was too dangerous to cross.
I am, lost for words pic.twitter.com/Z4uTOYoNBC
— Martin Roberts (@TVMartinRoberts) March 14, 2022
Local volunteers set out on mercy mission
And even closer to home we’ve been sharing stories of local people who, like Martin Roberts, have been so moved by the plight of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion, that they have embarked on mercy missions of their own.
They include 57-year-old David Pitt-Fox from Perthshire who is taking a convoy of trucks to the Poland-Ukraine border where he plans to provide 1,000 meals per day.
“I’m a great believer that if you’ve got the where-withal and logistics as we have, you should put it into action when needed – and now it’s needed.
“That’s why we are going out,” he explained.
He’ll be joined on his journey by a team of other kind-hearted drivers willing to give up their time and make the long trip across Europe to help strangers in need.
Meanwhile, David’s wife is among the many volunteers across our communities who are collecting blankets, sanitary items and other essentials to support those affected by the war.
Homes for Ukraine website flooded
Then there are those good souls who have flooded a website set up to register interest in hosting Ukrainian refugees.
According to figures released by the UK Government, over 122,000 expressions of interest were received by the Homes for Ukraine programme in just a couple of days.
Among them are many willing volunteers with a spare room from our own areas who are ready to open their doors to those in need of shelter.
That’s because the very worst of humanity also brings out the very best in it.
In the age of social media, for all its downsides, for all it can breed misinformation, misunderstanding and polarisation, it has helped generate something remarkable from the dire events in Ukraine.
Thanks to the reporters and the people within the war-torn country who post live about events as they unfold, each one of us is left in no doubt as to the enormity of the crisis there.
It has triggered an outpouring of love and concern which in turn has fuelled these remarkable acts of courage, selflessness and generosity.
The momentum is overwhelmingly for good.
The world will never be the same again because of it.
And I believe it will be better.
There are heroes all around, and they should give us hope for our future.
