Unforgettable excerpts from a report yesterday in the Washington Post:
“…Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky…In a forceful statement to Russia on Sunday night, insisted the invaders would be expelled:
“Without gas or without you? Without you.
Without light or without you? Without you.
Without water or without you? Without you.
Without food or without you? Without you.”
Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as scary and deadly for us as your ‘friendship and brotherhood….’ ”
“‘Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russian lines to a depth of up to 70 kilometers in some places,’ reported the Institute for the Study of War, which closely tracks the conflict. They have captured more territory in the past five days “than Russian forces have captured in all their operations since April,” its campaign assessment posted Sunday said.”
“The apparent collapse of the Russian forces has caused shock waves in Moscow. The leader of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, who sent his own fighters to Ukraine, said if there are not immediate changes in Russia’s conduct of the invasion, ‘he would have to contact the leadership of the country to explain to them the real situation on the ground.’”
“Evidence of the Ukrainian gains continued to emerge Sunday, with images of Ukrainian soldiers raising a flag in central Izyum, after it was abandoned by Russian forces, and similar images from other towns and villages such as Kindrashivka, Chkalovske and Velyki Komyshuvakha.”
“Ukrainians emerged into the string of just-liberated villages southeast of Kharkiv hailing the end of their ordeal, and wondering whether it is truly over. “Only God knows if they will be back,” said Tamara Kozinska, 75, whose husband was killed by a mortar blast soon after the Russians arrived.”
“It is not over by any means, military experts warned. Russia still holds about a fifth of Ukraine and continued heavy shelling over the weekend across several regions. And nothing guarantees that Ukraine can keep recaptured areas secure. “A counteroffensive liberates territory and after that you have to control it and be ready to defend it,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov cautioned in an interview with the Financial Times.”
The [Russian-speaking] residents in this region adjacent to the Russian border, described treatment generally more humane than that experienced by occupied communities farther to the west. The discovery of more than 450 bodies in Bucha, near Kyiv — many showing signs of torture — set off international outrage over atrocities.
“They were not monsters, they were kids,” said Matvienko, who once asked Russian troops to move the tank they parked in front of her house. “I asked what they wanted from us and they said, ‘We can either be here or we can be in jail.’ ”
“Others told the villagers they weren’t there to fight Ukraine, but to ‘protect us from America.’”
No. Ukraine is protecting America from the despots, foreign and domestic.
Donald Trump, shortly after top-secret sensitive American human intelligence documents were found in the personal areas of his residence after the enforcement of a properly-obtained search warrant, which happens every day to multitudes of the rest of the mere mortal citizens of America every day, chose that particular time to deliver his oft-repeated incantation:
“Russia is not my enemy.”
We know, Donald. Some of us know.
