The World Stands with Ukraine!

This has been a tough week for anyone who watches the news. It is difficult to watch beautiful cities being destroyed and their peaceful citizens fighting and dying all because of a little man and his paranoid ideas. A little man with nukes, we are reminded.

These events brought to mind the words of an ancient Chinese philosopher-Lao Tse-the founder of Taoism and author of many wise words:

If there is to be peace in the world, there must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations, there must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities, there must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors, there must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home, there must be peace in the heart.

 

As I write on a Sunday evening, fighting continues on the streets and in the countryside of a country of 44 million people. A country that threatened no one, attacked no other country, and fought for its right to exist. It was attacked by a bully, who lied to justify sending his troops across their common borders and from neighboring countries once controlled by the USSR. President Putin of Russia is described as having become increasingly isolated during the pandemic and obsessed with restoring what he considered the glory of the Soviet Union.

What he started in Crimea, and with the Russian separatists in the southern part of Ukraine, he wanted to finish by restoring a puppet government in Kyiv. A puppet government, installed with the help of Paul Manafort, was overthrown by the Orange Revolution, and Democratic elections installed popular Presidents. The Ukrainians were proud of their democracy, imperfect as it was. The country was working to overthrow a history of corruption, which was a remnant of the Soviet era.

As described by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times today, the world has never seen a war like this before. Russian tank movements are being shown on Google maps so that the Ukrainians can avoid the convoys as they move to leave the country. As he says, “the Cossacks meet the World Wide Web.” While Putin tries to pull Ukraine back into Russia’s fold, Ukraine is already moving toward the European Union, its largest trading partner. It wants to join NATO, which Putin claims threatens his nation and he is trying to demand that Ukraine give up that membership dream. Russia ringed three sides of the nation with troops, tanks, and additional firepower; when the invasion started, it came into the country from every direction, land, air, and sea and quickly belied the claim that this was a war to rescue the Russian-speaking people from oppression, Nazis and drug dealers. Drones, missiles, cyber-warfare, and bombs all attacked cities and the countryside as citizens, trained with weapons and fought back, formed neighborhood patrols, and prepared Molotov cocktails to throw at tanks.

At the United Nations, no nation joined Russia in its denial of passaging a resolution condemning the invasion; even its good communist friend-China-abstained. And, why not, China has more trade agreements with Ukraine than it has with Russia. The world spoke out and created sanctions to punish Putin and his cronies. When he did not stop his advance, the penalties increased and the international banking system closed off contact with Russian banks and transactions in the country. Sports events were rescheduled from Russian sites; the Russian airline Aeroflot was banned from most European airspace. BBC is reporting that the Russian currency, the rouble, is already decreasing in value by 30%. NATO nations moved troops into countries bordering Ukraine and Russia and several sent millions of armaments to Ukraine. Germany took the extraordinary step of suspending the agreement for the Nord Stream pipeline, which will harm its need for gas supplies.

Meanwhile, across the world, citizens of many countries have taken to marching in the streets to support the Ukrainian people and against the Russian invasion. Even in Russia, many people marched in defiance of their government’s actions and thousands have been arrested in 44 cities across the country. In response to these protests, access to the internet has been restricted; Facebook has taken down many false claims made by the government as the misinformation wars also increased. NATO has been accused by Putin of taking threatening actions against Russia, which is untrue. He has conjured up many versions of these truths; these myths can be refuted here. To see the 30 countries in NATO and their borders, there is an interactive map here.

Ukrainians have asked the Red Cross to come in and help claim the bodies of Russian soldiers that were left on the battlefields as the troops marched forward. There have been over 300 civilian casualties and reportedly over 3000 Russians killed, but those numbers are not verified. Russian troops are said to be demoralized as they expected to be welcomed as liberators and, sometimes, were not eager to fight. Commentators have considered that the Russian population was not prepared for tragic events, such as body bags. However, with reported nearby Russian troop numbers of over 150,000, there are plenty of troops in reserve, should the cease-fire not happen; the major cities are still under assault.

So, what happens next? Well, there is supposed to be a cease-fire meeting between the Ukrainian delegation and a Russian one tomorrow at the Belarussian border. Will Putin give up on his idea of replacing the elected government with his chosen puppets? Will there then be a guerrilla war? Few expect the talks will make a difference as they expect the Russian side to make demands, which will be rejected. Putin has been threatening that he might use tactical nuclear weapons; to do this in a country as densely populated as Ukraine would be a crime against humanity.

NPR reports also noted that the Russians had “kill lists,” and the list “is said to include journalists, activists, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTQ Ukrainians. Other likely targets include opponents of Russia’s strategic goals and dissidents from Russia and Belarus who have taken refuge in Ukraine.” President Zelensky and members of his government are also supposedly on the lists.

The United States offered to give President Zelensky a safe exit from the country as troops closed in on Kyiv, but he refused, stating that he would stay and fight with his countrymen; that “he needed ammunition, not a ride.”

Usually, in times of international strife, people in the US rally behind their president, however with this current state of extreme partisanship, some Republicans are blaming President Biden for this crisis, saying Biden is weak and this would never have happened under DJT. President Biden stepped up, declassified certain messages, and rallied NATO and others in the EU to support opposition to the Russian threats by adding sanctions; the former President is calling Putin a genius, like others in his party and on FOX News, agree and have opposed Ukraine. These opinions are more than dishonorable, they are also extremely disturbing. I applaud the President for showing leadership.

I have no crystal ball and I cannot imagine these concerns having a happy ending. For how long can Molotov cocktails and civilian militias hold out against tanks and missiles? What has to happen, so that Putin saves face and withdraws? How can the Ukrainians get their country back from this edge of uncertainty? Who will pay for the restoration of this country when hostilities cease, assuming the Russians lose this effort? The world can hope for peace.

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Mask requirements now depend on the level of infection in your area. While Montgomery County levels are under at 3%. Frederick County is still considered in the Substantial High-Risk infection range at 8%, so masks are advised. The MD Board of Education has made mask-wearing decisions up to each school board. MD has a vaccination rate of 74%. Disease rates have fallen across the country, so there is hope that we are over this surge. MD has finally tallied over one million cases, while the US is closing in on one million deaths. Total deaths are under 2000 for the first time in months.

,COVID Stats – NY Times:,

US Totals: Total Cases: 78,834,025. New Cases: 65,858.

                   Total Deaths: 946,817. New Deaths: 1867.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 1,002,153. New Cases: 536.

                              Total Deaths: 14,119. New Deaths: 15.

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This has been a momentous week with the selection of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as President Bidens’ nominee for the vacancy on the Supreme Court when Justice Breyer steps down. This judge is a formidable nominee, graduating from Harvard College and the Harvard Law School, where she served on the law review and graduated with honors before clerking for Justice Breyer. Jackson practiced law, served as a federal public defender, and was on the sentencing commission before being chosen to serve as a judge. She has already been confirmed by the Senate several times as she moved up the stages on the Federal courts to her current position on the court, which is considered a stepping stone to the court. If the Senate agrees, she would be the first African-American woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. However, Senators Graham and Collins, both Republicans who voted for her on her earlier positions, are now making nonsensical partisan noises and refusing to commit to approving her nomination. I hope their better visions will emerge.

‘Til next week: let’s hope for world peace.