Thank you for sharing Billâs interview with Anne Applebaum. She and Timothy Snyder have been the 2 most prominent voices Iâve listened to throughout the war because they actually understand Ukraine and approach the war from a Ukraine-centric vs a Russo-centric lens and thatâs been critically important. If you havenât read her book, âTwiâŠ
Thank you for sharing Billâs interview with Anne Applebaum. She and Timothy Snyder have been the 2 most prominent voices Iâve listened to throughout the war because they actually understand Ukraine and approach the war from a Ukraine-centric vs a Russo-centric lens and thatâs been critically important. If you havenât read her book, âTwilight of Democracyâ, go pick it up, itâs incredible and will help you understand more fully whatâs at stake in Ukraine and why. Timothy Snyderâs âThe Road to Unfreedomâ is also critical reading.
Anneâs right, thank God Biden was president when this began. I think his connection to Ukraine is stronger than a lot of people understand. He was heavily emotionally invested over there when he was VP. Ukraineâs second cry for freedom from the Russian boot came under his watch (2014). For now, however, NATO needs to arm Ukraine faster. Period. At a minimum, we need to start pulling Ukrainians to train on every kind of advanced weaponry we have just in case we get off our asses and decide that *oh yeah, they could probably use that* and then have the deliveries delayed because they require 2-12 months of training before they can use them. Ukrainian fighter pilots arenât flying much ATM - and there are a lot of them. Thankfully, Britain seems to get this and is moving forward to train Ukrainian pilots. Huzzah!
As an aside, I think what would really help the Ukrainians more than anything is if there was some way to pierce the RE media bubble with the reality or what is happening and what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Not just the actual devastation thatâs being perpetrated on civilian targets,but the crimes against humanity. The rapes. The torture chambers. The âfiltration campsâ. The theft, deportation and Russian adoption of Ukrainian children - which is considered genocide under the Geneva Conventions. And what they REALLY need to understand is that this is UKRAINEâs war to win (or lose or draw) and that we can push and prod however much we want,but even if we stop sending them armaments, UKRAINIANS WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT HOWEVER AND WITH WHATEVER THEY CAN. They need to be made to understand the the Ukrainians know the stakes for themselves - and potentially the rest of the former Soviet bloc and Warsaw Pact nations - if the outcome of this war is anything less than a defeat that Russia is forced to recognize as such.
Maybe some hacker type could put together a documentary of the war crimes Russia has committed SO FAR and hacked Tuckerâs show and aired it in lieu of his pro-Putin agitprop. Maybe if these people understood what Russia is doing to Ukraine and Ukrainians theyâd understand why we need to support Ukraine until Russia is removed from their land. The bear needs to be skinned, not just put into hibernation to gather its strength. Any appeasement of Russia will only give them time to regroup and come back with a plan next time (Not that it would be any more effective - checks notes - the4th time).
Agrred! The only way for the Ukraine war really ends is for Russia to be militarily expelled from all territory they have taken, including Crimea. Then, like many other historical examples, the Russians cause regime change because of all the loss of life in a war of choice that ended badly.
Sadly, as long as Putin isn't feeling any results, and his oligarchs aren't either, and no Russian villages have been leveled, Russia will continue its razed earth aggression. Luckily, NATO and the EU understand that. Russia and Putin really really really really need to suffer some severely felt personal consequences of their actions. (Like Trump, they haven't.)
The Russian brain drain has been massive. And those that havenât left are being mobilized. I do not know how the Russian population takes this, but I guess this is what happens when youâre fed lies 24/7/365 by your government.
Speaking of brain drain, i think someone needs to come up with a plan to bring Ukrainians back after the war is over. Maybe a small business loan program so all the money doesnât get gobbled up (at least immediately) by the oligarchs. Then again who knows what the status of those guys will be after the war either. Ukraine has an opportunity to rebuild sustainably and for the future. So much of what was destroyed were Soviet era buildings with asbestos, etc. The task wonât be cheap, but as long as there are responsible international monitors overseeing the distribution of funds, I do not see that this couldnât be accomplished. Once the invaders have been chased out, Ukraine has a chance to become what it has always wanted, a free, democratic, Independent nation. They have the chance to be amazing and a beacon of democracy the world over, so long as their not allowed to go back to old patterns. I love Ukraine. The people there are some of the nicest Iâve met in all my travels and I carry Ukraine in my heart. I have such high hopes for what they can become, they just have to have the strength to do it. Itâs going to be a very long recovery and I hope *The West*âąïž will be just as willing to stick with Ukraine as they rebuild as theyâve been while they e been being destroyed. đșđŠâ€ïž
Thank you for sharing Billâs interview with Anne Applebaum. She and Timothy Snyder have been the 2 most prominent voices Iâve listened to throughout the war because they actually understand Ukraine and approach the war from a Ukraine-centric vs a Russo-centric lens and thatâs been critically important. If you havenât read her book, âTwilight of Democracyâ, go pick it up, itâs incredible and will help you understand more fully whatâs at stake in Ukraine and why. Timothy Snyderâs âThe Road to Unfreedomâ is also critical reading.
Anneâs right, thank God Biden was president when this began. I think his connection to Ukraine is stronger than a lot of people understand. He was heavily emotionally invested over there when he was VP. Ukraineâs second cry for freedom from the Russian boot came under his watch (2014). For now, however, NATO needs to arm Ukraine faster. Period. At a minimum, we need to start pulling Ukrainians to train on every kind of advanced weaponry we have just in case we get off our asses and decide that *oh yeah, they could probably use that* and then have the deliveries delayed because they require 2-12 months of training before they can use them. Ukrainian fighter pilots arenât flying much ATM - and there are a lot of them. Thankfully, Britain seems to get this and is moving forward to train Ukrainian pilots. Huzzah!
As an aside, I think what would really help the Ukrainians more than anything is if there was some way to pierce the RE media bubble with the reality or what is happening and what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Not just the actual devastation thatâs being perpetrated on civilian targets,but the crimes against humanity. The rapes. The torture chambers. The âfiltration campsâ. The theft, deportation and Russian adoption of Ukrainian children - which is considered genocide under the Geneva Conventions. And what they REALLY need to understand is that this is UKRAINEâs war to win (or lose or draw) and that we can push and prod however much we want,but even if we stop sending them armaments, UKRAINIANS WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT HOWEVER AND WITH WHATEVER THEY CAN. They need to be made to understand the the Ukrainians know the stakes for themselves - and potentially the rest of the former Soviet bloc and Warsaw Pact nations - if the outcome of this war is anything less than a defeat that Russia is forced to recognize as such.
Maybe some hacker type could put together a documentary of the war crimes Russia has committed SO FAR and hacked Tuckerâs show and aired it in lieu of his pro-Putin agitprop. Maybe if these people understood what Russia is doing to Ukraine and Ukrainians theyâd understand why we need to support Ukraine until Russia is removed from their land. The bear needs to be skinned, not just put into hibernation to gather its strength. Any appeasement of Russia will only give them time to regroup and come back with a plan next time (Not that it would be any more effective - checks notes - the4th time).
Slava Ukrani! đșđŠ
Agrred! The only way for the Ukraine war really ends is for Russia to be militarily expelled from all territory they have taken, including Crimea. Then, like many other historical examples, the Russians cause regime change because of all the loss of life in a war of choice that ended badly.
Sadly, as long as Putin isn't feeling any results, and his oligarchs aren't either, and no Russian villages have been leveled, Russia will continue its razed earth aggression. Luckily, NATO and the EU understand that. Russia and Putin really really really really need to suffer some severely felt personal consequences of their actions. (Like Trump, they haven't.)
The Russian brain drain has been massive. And those that havenât left are being mobilized. I do not know how the Russian population takes this, but I guess this is what happens when youâre fed lies 24/7/365 by your government.
Speaking of brain drain, i think someone needs to come up with a plan to bring Ukrainians back after the war is over. Maybe a small business loan program so all the money doesnât get gobbled up (at least immediately) by the oligarchs. Then again who knows what the status of those guys will be after the war either. Ukraine has an opportunity to rebuild sustainably and for the future. So much of what was destroyed were Soviet era buildings with asbestos, etc. The task wonât be cheap, but as long as there are responsible international monitors overseeing the distribution of funds, I do not see that this couldnât be accomplished. Once the invaders have been chased out, Ukraine has a chance to become what it has always wanted, a free, democratic, Independent nation. They have the chance to be amazing and a beacon of democracy the world over, so long as their not allowed to go back to old patterns. I love Ukraine. The people there are some of the nicest Iâve met in all my travels and I carry Ukraine in my heart. I have such high hopes for what they can become, they just have to have the strength to do it. Itâs going to be a very long recovery and I hope *The West*âąïž will be just as willing to stick with Ukraine as they rebuild as theyâve been while they e been being destroyed. đșđŠâ€ïž