Dear news junkies, don’t burn out on Ukraine. Let’s not forget that a country with a democratically elected government and a progressive vision of joining the European Union was invaded by Russia. The invasion was unprovoked and the aim seems intent on destroying the country into submission.
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The most recent updates from Bucha and Irpin have been horrific. The Russians executed civilian men, tried to burn a pile of dead naked women and seeded the suburbs with mines on their way out of Kyiv Oblast. I can’t imagine what they’re doing in Mariupol but Bucha should be a good idea of how they intend to completely demoralize the population.
There has been a lot of talk about how Putin has been mislead by his advisors and how poorly his military has been holding up. But if we take a look at where the Russians have been making advances, it has been along the Black Sea coast. This morning, they are bombing Odessa, which is near the border of Ukraine with Moldova. That has to be very unsettling for Moldova and Poland.
As ill informed as Putin might be, his intentions are clear. The Modolvans look like they will be dragged into this war next. Estonia could be next in the North. Putin is not going to stop until somebody stops him and NATO and the west took the bait and were paralyzed into inaction when Putin shook his nuclear option at them. NATO needs to be able to identify a haka when they see it.
I’m beginning to think that it’s NATO and the US who are being ill informed. They should have stopped Putin in his tracks a couple of weeks ago when it was still possible to save the people of Mariupol. Now, they’ll have a more difficult time saving the people of Odessa. Let’s hope they have a plan B.
I just want to point out here that the media stars and politicians in the US (I hesitate to call them Americans at this point) who are admiring of Putin or obstructing help for Ukraine in Congress because they still think they can score points against Biden, are taking the side of a war criminal. I don’t like to be influenced by horrible images of the effects of war on civilians not because I find them too much to bear (even though they are) but because the power to manipulate the audience is very strong. But when so many foreign news outfits are showing the same thing, when Lithuanian documentary film makers are killed, when the press itself is under attack, then it’s very hard to see this as just propaganda. What the Russians are doing in Ukraine is like what Stalin did to Ukraine, what the Nazis did to Ukraine. Ukraine has the misfortune of being a located in the richest agricultural land in Europe with perfect access to the Black Sea and they were just starting to realize how independence and democratically elected governments could propel it into the future. Europe is letting “never again” happen again. And that is the real tragedy if Ukraine ends up behind a new iron curtain. Europe will regret it didn’t act sooner.
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I’ve recommended foreign news outlets before for other perspectives. Here is a German public broadcasting service, DW, with a profile of Volodymir Zelenskyy. The first couple of minutes are hilarious. But the point of this piece is to contrast the toxic masculinity of Putin against the Everyman in an army green T-shirt who just a few years ago was a very funny guy. Strength comes from within, not from your six pack. Anyone can be brave if they have something worth fighting for. It’s a very powerful message to display to your citizens.
Here’s the video from DW:
And here is DW’s Livestream.
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One more thing: the YouTuber Pavlo from Ukraine whose videos before the invasion were like a happy travelogue of Kyiv, Ukrainian food, Odessa, the countryside and the Carpathians, hasn’t posted a video in about a week. He seems like such a nice guy and I found it funny that in some of his videos, his camera seemed distracted by Luba’s clingy blouses. Just an ordinary guy with a camera in Ukraine documenting little joys. I love his videos.
He has been been doing a livestream since the invasion began. His girlfriend Luba disappeared from the videos a few weeks ago. I hope her family sent her west because there have been reports of rapes. Pavlo had relocated to a rural village when the invasion began. He was still able to access the internet though it was getting harder to do so. His parents were still in Kyiv.
In his last video, he seemed tense. His village is located in the east part of Ukraine but not close to any cities under attack. I don’t know whether he’s been activated. As a male between 18-62, he’s not allowed to leave the country. He says Ukrainians get basic military training at university but he is not anywhere near prepared as the professional army. A couple of weeks ago, he reported that ordinary men like him were not able to volunteer because there was a shortage of guns and ammunition and it was better for them to stay out of the way for the time being. I have a feeling he’s been called up. It makes me nervous.
Anyway, Pavlo, if you are reading this, I am thinking of you, hoping you are doing well and will once again show us around Ukraine when you win.
Here is Pavlo’s last video.
Filed under: General |
The Confluence 
No, we should have stopped him in his tracks when he invaded Georgia in 2008.Or when he occupied Crimea in 2014.
You’re absolutely right.
Yeah, if only Bush II and the Lightbringer had been more competent, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
It is of course quite possible that we’re giving Zelenskyy aid through back channels that isn’t being publicly discussed.
As for Zelenskyy’s alleged offshore investments: he’s very much a small fry in this regard. Putin is one of the richest men in the world and after four years of the Trump clan, we certainly have no business pointing fingers at anyone.
There are stories that children were raped, tortured and killed by Russian soldiers.
I agree that we should have acted sooner, but we must act now. Putin must be stopped and his military and economy crippled. This is genocide.
We do need to be careful, but unless Putin can literally push a button to launch nuclear weapons unilaterally–and I doubt the Russians would take such chances, any more than we do–any such orders would be relayed to subordinates who know that even if they survive a nuclear retaliation in their bunkers, their friends, family, and country would die, and they themselves would emerge from “safety” only to starve in an irradiated wasteland.
Why should they obey a mad dictator, when they could simply kill him and be done with it? They’re the military, after all. They have the weapons.
Russia formally renounced the Soviet-era “No First Use” doctrine (which was pure propaganda anyway) back in 2010. They have stated that they would “go nuclear” in a conventional conflict under some circumstances numerous times since then. Even during the Soviet era, their command and control infrastructure was a sufficiently rickety edifice that they delegated some launch authority to field commanders in order to maintain a semblance of deterrence.
Break. The Daily Mail (aka Daily Fail) 😈 was mentioned on another blog, which reminded me of this song.
😈if true.
Stupid Russians accepted food and liquor from Ukrainians, which had some special extra ingredients. 😈
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/russia-ukraine-soldiers-izium-kharkiv-poison-pie-b992193.html