That’s right: believe it or not, I am writing a new post. I’m guessing that some of you thought I had forgotten about this publication, but fear not. I hadn’t forgotten, I am simply very busy.
Firstly, I have a job every morning writing three political updates for a political newsletter company (FiveZero). These are Mainstreet Press, Statesman Post and Fresh off the Press.
In addition, I work on a full-time schedule for Brown Brothers Media, including contributing to the sites Ideapod, Hack Spirit, Love Connection and Nomadrs.
I also do other freelancing about politics and culture, as well as copyediting work. I am currently helping one client on for his Christian historical novel set in early 1960s Cuba around the time of the Cuban missile crisis.
Россия против Украины
Now to the main topic of this post: Russia’s war in Ukraine, or as V. Putin calls it “special operation.”
I’m going to preface this by saying I’m not a geopolitical expert on Ukraine and have only followed the basics of its history since separation from the USSR up to and after the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
My best friend in high school was a Russian guy called Dima. We did Russian folk dance together and I really respect him. He was fiercely patriotic and loved Russia, always wanting to return there. I grew up with my mom reading Uncle Peter’s Russian Fairytales and filled with images of Babi Yaga and princes and princesses.
At an older age I was always attracted to Russian literature and writers such as Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and more. And, of course, the tragic and chaotic history of Russia and its struggle with czarist neglect and communist totalitarianism absorbed my interest for years, including in places I lived like Poland where the shadow of the USSR on its history still looms large.
As for Ukraine, I have family roots on my dad’s side several hundred years back in this nation and long found it intriguing. I spent time in Ukraine in 2019 and 2020 mainly in Lviv, Kiev and central Ukraine around Vinnytsia and several smaller towns and areas including Ladyzhyn. I liked Ukraine much more than I expected and found its people kind, honest and tough.
At this time I also have a friend serving in the Ukrainian forces in Lviv and a good friend in Vinnytsia. The conflict isn’t abstract to me, and I can’t imagine the horror that Ukrainians are going through as they are under attack.
Russia hit downtown Vinnytsia with a Kalibr missile yesterday, which appears to be a deliberate strike, killing upwards of 30 civilians as of the latest death toll. My friend’s family was nearby and she is terrified that they could be randomly killed any day.
This is a war crime which looks to be deliberate targeting similar to others Russia has done in its past recent wars in Chechnya, Georgia and Syria and numerous other times in Ukraine.
Is Russia the only nation that does this? Of course not (although Russia murdering 2 million Afghans and its actions in the 100-year Caucasus War are sickening to even contemplate).
Still, war crimes are not the province of any one specific nation. Ukraine committed numerous war crimes in its fight against separatists in the Donetsk region starting in 2014, refusing to allow them independence.
US forces committed numerous in Iraq and Afghanistan, Vietnam and many other wars. Canada and Britain committed many, including in far away places like South Africa and Sudan.
China committed them several years ago when its soldiers brutally mauled Indian troops with homemade clubs and weapons and pushed them off cliffs killing 35 in the Galwan Valley in the India-China no man’s zone.
My Take
Here’s my take:
I don’t believe I am qualified to weigh in definitively on the deeper aspects of this war, except to say that I consider both NATO and the Government of the Russian Federation to be malign actors. I support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, however I do not support the Western agenda for Ukraine nor the Russian agenda for Ukraine.
For years, meddling from people like Victoria Nuland and her neoconservative pals set Ukraine up for disaster and Russian response, as they already reeled under the corruption and incompetence of Yanukovych and his golden toilets.
Should the country be separated into east and west? It’s a contentious subject. Russia claims this war is to “denazify” the Jewish-led Ukrainian nation, referring to Azov battalion and nationalist elements in Ukraine, while the leader of Russia’s mercenary Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin famously has SS tattoos on his chest.
(The SS was Nazi Germany’s Schutzstaffel or “protection squads” which committed many of the worst war crimes of Nazi Germany’s military campaigns and whose leadership later bailed out of Germany to South America and other locales while spreading the idea of overall German war guilt and blaming the regular army Wehrmacht and ordinary Germans for its mass murder and war crimes).
In any case, my take here is that despite everything the West did to goad and provoke Russia into this war, including its backing of Ukraine’s efforts and assaults on the east of the country since 2014, this war is on Russia’s hands. I have heard about the biological weapons labs in Ukraine that some say were getting ready to test out new weapons on Russia. I know about NATO staging missile systems closer and closer to Russia.
Still. Putin is the one who pulled the trigger and sent conscripts in to invade on February 24. His $20 billion savings won’t be touched and his family is safe and sound while young Russian conscripts (some of whom were told they were going on training) lie mangled and lifeless in the snow.
The thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed is unimaginable and the millions displaced to Poland is an inconceivable human tragedy that will shake Europe for years to come and some analysts feel was part of Putin’s strategy in starting the war.
I don’t know how this war will end. Volodymyr Zelensky says he (his troops, not him) will fight for 10 years if necessary to defend Ukraine. Russia’s advances in the east are considerable, but this looks like it will devolve into a long and drawn out frozen war eventually of the kind Russia specializes in.
Maybe separation will happen, maybe not. I don’t blame Ukrainians who are fleeing, but I also have deep respect for those who are staying and won’t give in.
It’s tragic and sick to see what is happening in this brother war. Two nations whose people have no problem with one another being set to kill and hate by rich elites with no skin in the game.
Ukraine deserves its own future. Not a Russian future and not an American future.
What About the ‘Surprise?’
I thought you’d never ask.
The surprise is that I have a new book coming out very soon. It is called The Globalist Plan to Destroy America (And How To Stop It). I expect this book to be out and published within one month.
What’s it about?
Well:
America is in deep trouble, but all hope is not yet lost…
In this book you will find out about the globalist plan to destroy America and how to stop it.
It can feel like everything is spinning out of control in this country and this world, from the degenerate media to our failing political elites and corrupt, woke corporations.
But previous patriots faced all this and more. Don’t lose heart: take charge.
Globalist Plan is a must for keeping you and your family safe and healthy in these turbulent times…
Darkness is coming. But there’s a way out. There’s no time to waste.
Let’s move.
Two Very Brief Excerpts
More Links To Some Of My Recent Work
How to recognize a spiritual person - Love Connection, July 11
Is a sigma male a real thing? Everything you need to know - Hack Spirit, July 12
15 no bullsh*t reasons it’s so hard for you to get your life together (and what to do about it) - Ideapod, June 7
Ransomware Hackers Declare Total War on Costa Rica - The National Interest, May 22
16 signs that it’s time to let go of your long-distance relationship - Hack Spirit, June 14
Meeting a nice Russian couple in Brazil and their thoughts on the war - Ideapod, July 12
50 no bullsh*t ways to become a better man starting today - Hack Spirit, June 22
Is staying single going to make me a better man? - Ideapod, June 22
10 warning signs someone is trying to bring you down (and how to stop them) - Hack Spirit, July 6
Why do schools teach us useless things? 10 reasons why - Ideapod, June 20
9 no bullsh*t ways to respond when someone belittles you - Hack Spirit, June 20
7 aboriginal spiritual beliefs you probably don’t know about - Ideapod, July 11
18 signs of magnetic attraction between two people (complete list) - Hack Spirit, July 6
How to stop obsessing over someone you can’t have: 15 important tips - Hack Spirit, June 28
30 warning traits of a low value man - Ideapod, June 22
15 definite signs someone is worth staying with (if you want to be happy!) - Hack Spirit, July 5
10 differences between rational and irrational thoughts - Ideapod, June 7
14 definite signs someone is trying to one-up you (and how to respond) - Hack Spirit, July 6