What's happening to Ukraine breaks my heart

[ORIGINALLY FROM THE TWITTERVERSE - now expanded]

I feel sick to my stomach about what's happening: Put!n attacking Ukraine, and how he's using Belarus as I write a story with diasporic characters from those nations. 

Then there's my 2021 tweet about the need for more visibility of these Eastern-European nations' folks in English-language Romance.

I've known about Belarus' dictator for some time, thanks to Japanese English-language news, my interest in their poet, Valzyna Mort, who's here in the USA for years, and the Belarusian peoples' literary culture. 

I can only imagine how those countries and their people in diaspora must be heartbroken now.💔