At this writing, Ukraine is waging a defensive war against Russia. I’m lucky to have enough time to go on Twitter and read various accounts to pass info on to my readers.
When I started reading about the conflict, I considered the nation was far away, and not part of my realm of interest. I figured from all the accusations in the U.S. about Russia and Ukrainian corruption in the elections, Trumps impeachment revelations, and the Biden connections to Burisma in Ukraine, that maybe both countries involved probably had a history of provocations between each other, and there was not anything we could do about it.
How wrong I was.
There’s always a flurry of information in the early stages of any conflict, so I’m trying to give you info that’s confirmed or general knowledge. Ukraine is putting up a valiant effort! Evidently there are bots (fake social media accounts) coming from Russia claiming Russian superiority in the war effort, but this is pure propaganda. FB/Meta, Twitter said they are stopping the sign-ups of new accounts from Russia at this time, to counter for that.
I’m following a Kiev defense reporter, a U.S. Ambassador, a couple Kiev news source, and other Eastern European sources as well as the President of Ukraine himself, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. I’m also able to gather info on Twitter from videos by civilians mostly, not the military per se, so it’s rather nice to get an honest word from people on the street re: the situation in their hometown. I’ve viewed videos of civilians standing in front of Russian tanks, throwing molotov cocktails at Russian vehicles. or capturing Russian soldiers. It’s quite moving.
The government has handed out rifles to anyone who needs one. There are molotov cocktail parties, and citizens are taking down street signs to confuse Russian troops. Private citizens sometimes share videos of planes being shot down. The U.S. sources I follow are professors in international relations, authors or have military experience, and can identify military equipment, planes, artillery. Much are been confirmed, identified.
Russian military forces outweigh Ukraine, but Ukraine morale is soaring beyond anything people expected! I’m in awe, as are many. That’s one reason I’m writing, as Pres. Zelenskyy has stated he’s “not fearful”. He’s shared moving videos you can find on internet. He’s calm, passionate and gives details. In his tweets he’s constantly giving thanks to the many leaders in Europe who are offering money, aid, or military help. Zelenskyy is also getting calls from businesses offering help, or calls from people wanting to sign up to fight.
Millions of people on social media are in total awe of the morale in Ukraine. The conflict is a real life David and Goliath story that is binding people around the world together. I’m grateful for Ukraine’s courage at a time of complete desperation for the right of their country to exist; they are a good example to youth on social media who may have never seen a truly just war. Ukrainians have a real reason to fight as citizens, Putin has attacked civilian sites and is trying to blot out their culture.
Right now there are delegations from both countries meeting to work out a cease fire. However, on Sunday Putin told the world he’s ready to use a nuke if needed. He’s “delusional” some leaders, diplomats say. Putin has fabricated this dispute saying he wanted to rid Ukraine of “nazis'”, but Zelenskyy is Jewish … he’s no more a nazi than I am. At the beginning of the conflict there was discussion that maybe Russia would stop after it captured the two Eastern Russian speaking Provinces in Ukraine.
i wish you could read the scores of leaders, business owners, etc. sending their support to Ukraine. Nine countries in Europe have denied Russia air space! Elon Musk sent satellite servers to Ukraine, and several phone companies are offering free phone calls to family in Ukraine. NATO nations are bonding together closer because of this conflict, as the flagrant fighting and threats are taking place so senselessly on their doorsteps. They wonder if Putin is eyeing more than just Ukraine?
Putin is seeing trouble from his generals, and one Russian Member of Parliament has even said he believes Putin should cease immediately! Many businesses, and banks are refusing to do business in Russia now. U.S. Embassy was told to evacuate immediately while flights were available. The pressure is on in Russia as well, there’s going to be massive fallout for Putin for a long while.
This story is waking up some sleeping giants to reality. More later …
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