Ahead of One Thousand Days

Seven days after the 2024 Presidential Elections in the USA and 10 days short of 1,000 in the latest iteration of Moscow’s war against Ukraine and Russia still hasn’t let up on bombing Ukrainian cities and homes and killing innocent, unarmed civilians.

President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of not caring whether Ukraine lives or dies and his buddy Vladimir Putin is taking full advantage of this dangerous, anti-Ukrainian political climate. The incoming president apparently isn’t going to complain or threaten Moscow into submission. President Biden, fortunately, has declared his intention to help Ukraine’s war effort as long as he is in office but that will only last some two and a half months. After that, it could be smooth sailing for Russian cutthroats in uniforms. They could continue bombing nonmilitary targets and killing civilians without reproach.

In the meantime President-elect Trump will be fulfilling his promise to end the war within more or less 72 hours without consideration for the lost, dead or subjugated people of Ukraine. After all, as the new foreign policy experts said, the United States doesn’t care about the permanent losses. The USA only cares about ending the war and returning to its interpretation of peace. This is a perfect example of what happens when ignorant, negligent officials hold the reins of foreign policy. The 1000-year history, heritage, culture, and people of Ukraine are meaningless so long as Putin and his heathens have achieved their peace. That word and goal are becoming an insult.

On Monday, yes, the one that boasts 11/11/11, Russian glide bombs, drones and a ballistic missile smashed into cities in southern and eastern Ukraine, officials said, killing at least six civilians and injuring about 30 others.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was quoted as saying that Russia recently intensified strikes that have long tormented civilian areas, in an apparent effort to unnerve Ukrainians and wear down their willingness to keep up a war that is approaching its 1,000-day milestone.

“Every day, every night, Russia commits the same terror,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. “Except that an increasing number of civilian objects are becoming targets.” These Russian war crimes are persisting regardless of who is in the Oval Office. We can only guess what they’ll look like after Trump takes the Oath of Office.

The Ukrainian army intends to expand its mobile units, which are primarily tasked with shooting down drones, in the regions most frequently targeted by Russian strikes, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine is working on producing its own much needed glide bombers as part of a domestic missile program.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine would conduct a “substantial reinforcement” in areas near the Donetsk settlements of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk, where Ukraine’s army is in danger of being overrun.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is holding its positions in Russia’s Kursk border region, where Western and Ukrainian officials say Russia is being helped by thousands of newly arrived North Korean troops. He said Russia has deployed some 50,000 troops to Kursk. Most if not all of these murderers come from the non-Russian peoples of Russian-occupied Asia.

Also in Donetsk, near the recently captured settlement of Hirnyk, the Russians have damaged a dam at the Kurakhove reservoir, according to regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin. This is the second dam in Ukraine that could fail after the collapse infamous Kakhovka dam in June 2023 that killed hundreds of people. Russia is guilty of that environmental catastrophe as well as this impending one.

The local water level in the Vovcha River has already risen by 1.2 meters, though no homes have been affected, and possible flooding threatens both the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, he said.

“We continue to monitor the water level in the river and are prepared for any developments,” Filaskin said.

The major cities struck Monday by Russia are close to the approximately 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.

Russian drones hammered the southern city of Mykolaiv, killing five people and injuring a 45-year-old woman, local authorities said. Around two dozen people sought psychological help following the attack that damaged houses and stores, officials said.

Mykolaiv, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the front line in the Kherson region, frequently comes under Russian attack.

An overnight attack on Zaporizhzhia, also in the south, with three powerful glide bombs killed one person and injured 21, including a 4-year-old boy, Ukraine’s National Police said. The strikes partially destroyed a two-story apartment building and damaged a dormitory.

A five-story apartment building in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown in central Ukraine, was hit by a Russian ballistic missile, injuring at least eight people. The missile destroyed all five stories in one part of the building, said Oleksandr Vikul, head of Kryviy Rih Military Administration.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s intelligence agency claimed in a statement it destroyed a Russian Mi-24 assault helicopter parked at the Klin-5 airfield in the Moscow region.

Trump team’s focus on peace at any cost will not bring lasting peace to Ukraine and the region. All of the former captive nations bordering Ukraine believe any concession to Moscow would imperil their existence, forcing them into an updated Russian prison of nations.

Regardless of who’s in the Oval Office, Republican or Democrat, if Washington doesn’t embrace the conviction that the nations of Eastern Europe have an intrinsic right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that must be safeguarded and Russia threatens that belief, then no amount of soldiers and weapons will ensure their peaceful, sovereign existence.

Every Iranian-made Russian missile that hits a Ukrainian city is courtesy of Mr. Trump.

Every Iranian-made Russian drone that hits a Ukrainian apartment building killing civilians is courtesy of Mr. Trump.

With Trump in White House, Ukraine Stands to Suffer at the Hands of Russia

Donald Trump’s second victorious election to the White House last week was both historic and foreboding.

As the world waits for what a convicted felon would do as the chief executive of the United States and moral leader of the free world, Ukrainians around the world waited with trepidation to see if the new White House team would in fact betray Ukraine. After all, Trump did not express admiration for Ukraine as he did for Putin and the Kremlin.

The answer came on Thursday, November 7, just two days after Election Day. Up until then, the current Administration didn’t offer any qualifications or prerequisites for its support for Ukraine. It was adhering to the premise stated two years ago by President Biden that America would support Ukraine against Russia as long as it takes.

The former captive nations cheered America. Old Europe probably moaned but complied because it understood that it could be the next captive region.

US Cabinet departments until recently echoed this steadfast support for Ukraine.

And then came one shocking revelation.

The US will support President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he decides to start negotiations with Moscow, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a Nov. 7 briefing.

“It's not something that it is appropriate for us or for any other country to push him into. And we would support him in any process to try and ensure a just and lasting peace, but that is ultimately his decision, not ours,” Miller said.

Miller also stressed that, per the UN Charter, Ukraine has the right to maintain its borders, territorial integrity, and sovereignty.

He added that the US has “seen no indication” that Putin plans to “drop his demand to continue to gobble up Ukrainian territory.”

“I’m sure there’s a negotiation that Putin would accept where he gets everything that he wants, and Ukraine gets nothing that it is entitled to under the law, but that is not a negotiation that President Zelenskyy has been interested in, nor should it be,” he added.

In political nomenclature, hinting at a hypothetical conclusion is synonymous with expressing support for it in anticipation of its realization. Miller’s clarification is enlightening only for Putin as he’s waiting for an unraveling of America’s uncompromisingly strong support for Ukraine. The State Department’s bureaucrat has open Pandora’s door to needless speculation about something that Zelenskyy has disavowed since the first days of the latest iteration of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Moscow now as the opportunity to convince all of Washington that the world exists in a new reality and that Ukraine and its ardent former captive nations allies must follow the beat of this drummer. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said two days after Trump became president-elect, that the West should accept that Russia was winning its war against Ukraine and negotiate an end to it. “Now, when the situation in the theater of military operations is not in favor of the Kyiv regime, the West is faced with a choice – to continue financing it and destroying the Ukrainian population or to recognize the current realities and start negotiating,” Shoigu said.

A senior advisor to Trump echoed the president-elect’s version of a new pro-Russian realpolitik, saying that the incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than enabling the country to gain back territory occupied by Russia. Bryan Lanza, a Republican Party strategist, told the BBC the Trump administration would ask Zelenskyy for his version of a “realistic vision for peace.”

What if the allies in World War II had insisted that for the sake of peace, the Poles and the French surrender their historical lands that were annexed by the Nazis?

Lanza opined “And if President Zelenskyy comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not serious. Crimea is gone.”

Lanza, Trump’s political adviser since his 2016 campaign, didn’t mention areas of eastern Ukraine, but he said regaining Crimea from Russia was unrealistic and “not the goal of the United States.”

“When Zelenskyy says we will only stop this fighting, there will only be peace once Crimea is returned, we’ve got news for President Zelenskyy: Crimea is gone,” he told the BBC World Service’s Weekend program. “And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you're on your own.”

Lanza said he had tremendous respect for the Ukrainian people, whose “hearts are made of lions.” But he said the US priority was "peace and to stop the killing.”

This dangerous, anti-Ukrainian point of view is only a step from promoting the notion that Kyiv should also surrender to Moscow Luhansk and Donetsk for the sake of an elusive peace. Furthermore, where do the incoming foreign policy experts draw the line in their panicky pursuit of peace: Kyiv, Lviv, Ternopil, Krakow?

The former captive nations as well as besieged Ukraine believe that giving in to Russian pressure is a fatal mistake. Nothing will stop Moscow from pursuing its manifest destiny to subjugate all of Ukraine and leaders of Eastern European countries, who know the meaning of so-called Russian liberation, agree with that mortal eventuality.

Zelenskyy on many occasions has said that the idea of any concessions to Russia is unacceptable for Ukraine, and he considers it suicide for the whole of Europe.

“And some of those present here strongly advocated that Ukraine should make ‘concessions’ to Putin. This is unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for the entire Europe. So what's next? Should Europe hope for Kim Jong Un's sympathy that he will also leave Europe alone? No strong leader who has helped build a united, strong and peaceful Europe could even imagine that.”

At the same time, he correctly advised that the tried and true concept of “peace through strength” has repeatedly proved its realism and effectiveness. “Now it peace through strength is needed once again. And there should be no illusions that you can buy a just peace by showing weakness or surrendering any European positions or the positions of any European country.”

There are hundreds of thousands brave Ukrainian men and women in uniforms on the eastern frontline of Ukraine pondering if they’ll survive the winter without suitable weapons and warm apparel. Both are dependent on foreign budgets and funding for both is stalled. Monies even for humanitarian projects in the USA such as U4U for Ukrainian refugees are again stuck in a bureaucratic morass.

Fortunately, the Biden administration is planning to rush the last of more than $6 billion remaining in Ukraine security assistance out the door by Inauguration Day, as the outgoing team prepares for the weapons flow to end once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The plan, according to two administration officials who were granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, is the only option the White House has to keep sending equipment to Ukraine to fight off continued Russian offensives. But the problems are immense. It normally takes months for munitions and equipment to get to Ukraine after an aid package is announced, so anything rolled out in the coming weeks would likely not fully arrive until well into the Trump administration, and the next commander in chief could halt the shipments before they’re on the ground.

One big holdup to pushing that aid out the door quickly is that the US can only send equipment already on its shelves. While the money allocated reimburses the Pentagon for that equipment, it is dependent on how fast new artillery shells and weapons can be produced or contracted to replace them.

“We have been sending whatever industry can produce each month, but the problem is you can only send these things as they are produced,” said Mark Cancian, a former Department of Defense budget official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The administration could dip into the stockpiles and send equipment more quickly, but it’s unclear the Pentagon would want to do that since it would affect its own readiness.”

During his campaign, Trump said he will “not give a penny to Ukraine.” Part of his plan to end the war “in one day” – he is overdue as of today – is that he would the Ukrainian president no more. You got to make a deal.” But if Russia is allowed to conquer and subjugate Ukraine, it would only be a matter of which democracy gets colonized next by the neighboring dictatorship: Poland, the Baltic States, Moldova, or Taiwan. This is an important point, overlooked by the president-elect. Ukraine, for all of its crimes, misdemeanors and faults, is still a democratic country and Trump is willing to send it into Putin’s waiting arms.

In addition to military viciousness, Russia, through its relentless violence, has thousands of unarmed civilians in Ukraine and displaced millions.  “It has razed Ukraine’s infrastructure and is threatening global food security.  Russia undermines our collective work to advance economic security in the OSCE region. Russia’s forces have waged a systematic campaign against Ukraine’s agricultural sector, destabilizing global food markets.  Moscow has sought to break Ukraine’s exports at every link of the supply chain, whether destroying the food itself or the means to produce and ship it.  Russia has set fire to fields, mined seabeds and farmland, torn up roads, bombed grain silos, and reportedly rendered millions of hectares of Ukraine’s farmland unusable,” said US Chargé d’Affaires Katherine Brucker to the Permanent Council, Vienna on November 7.

Even as the final votes are still being counted, Russia resumed it brutal missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities.

Russian missiles, bombs and drones battered three regions of Ukraine in targeted nighttime attacks, officials said Friday, November 8, as Russia mounts an intensified aerial campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter.

Since the war began almost three years ago following Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor, the Russian military has repeatedly used its superior air power to destroy civilian targets across Ukraine. More than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to the United Nations.

A 500-kilogram (about 1,000 pounds) glide bomb severely damaged a high-rise apartment building in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, in the middle of the night, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said. At least 25 people, including an infant, were injured, he said.

Russia is unleashed two days earlier near-constant waves of long-range drone strikes on Ukrainian cities as its troops advance in the east. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Moscow was firing about 10 times as many drones as it did last fall. Missiles and drones for the most part are being manufactured in Iran, which together with Russia and North Korea are waging a singularly devastating war against Ukraine.

As well as drastically increasing the number of strikes, Russia has begun to fire decoy drones without warheads to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. Decoy drones carry a “3D-printed ball wrapped in foil” to imitate the warhead of an Iran-made Shahed-136 drone, Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air defenses, told CNN. These cheaper drones confuse Ukraine’s air defenses, which may shoot down decoy drones instead of ones carrying a lethal warhead. Decoy drones now account for as many as half of all Russian drones fired at Ukraine, Ihnat said.

The x-captive nations are still holding fast to their commitment to help Ukraine overcome Russian aggression. For example, the fundamentals of Estonian foreign policy have not changed because of the American president elections. After all, Putin hasn’t changed his objectives. He’s still waging a war of aggression with the aim of controlling the whole of Ukraine and creating a buffer zone in Europe, pushing NATO’s military activities back to the pre-1997 borders, which makes this an existential issue for us. 

The Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, on November 6 issued a statement, saying that Trump’s victory does not change Estonia’s foreign policy aims.

“Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections of the United States of America does not change Estonia’s foreign policy aims and actions towards the United States because the foundations of Estonia’s foreign policy have not changed,” the foreign minister said. “Russia still wants to destroy Ukraine’s sovereignty and dismantle the security architecture based on the European Union and NATO. Our task is to make sure that Russia does not achieve its goal, and a just and long-lasting peace is achieved in Europe.”

Many in Ukraine fear Trump’s return to the White House would leave Eastern Europe vulnerable.

Fewer than 5% of American voters consider foreign policy a top issue, according to polls, suggesting that Russia’s war on Ukraine has not played a central role in the campaigns of either Harris or Trump.

Nevertheless, Trump has promised to “end the war in 24 hours” without providing details on how he intends to do so.

Ahead of the final US presidential election results, Euronews spoke to several Ukrainians about their thoughts on the outcome and its potential impact on their future.

“I’m really scared,” said Denys, a Ukrainian journalist, in an interview with Euronews. He is not alone. A Ukrainian woman living in Poland told Euronews that, for her, a Trump victory would feel like “the end of the world.”

Poland, which fears Russian aggression as much as Ukraine and other East European countries do, announced last week plans to invest 3 billion zlotys ($750 million) to boost ammunition production, according to a bill published late on Monday, aiming to ensure it has sufficient supplies in the event of an attack from Russia.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has become NATO’s biggest spender on defense in relation to the size of its economy, with the 2025 budget allocating 4.7% of gross domestic product for the purpose.

“The draft act aims to create opportunities to provide financing for activities aimed at increasing the capacity for ammunition production,” the bill says, with a particular need to expand large-caliber production to bolster the potential of the Polish Armed Forces.

If all else fails, as we’ve written many times in the past, Ukraine and the former captive nations must build a strong multilateral military and political alliance, a mini-NATO, to protect themselves against ongoing Russian aggression.

When Hypotheticals become Reality

Thanks to a social media follower, Oleg Kotsour, I was reminded of an incident that occurred years ago when I was a young journalist, relatively speaking, and I had the opportunity to ask President Bill Clinton a question about US-Ukraine relations.

The event is meaningful because of the history that has transpired before and since that press conference and how hypotheticals can become reality and like the shark in “Jaws” it swims up and bites you on the ass.

The setting: A presidential press conference on March 4, 1994, at the White House with President Clinton and President Leonid Kravchuk. I was a correspondent with The National Tribune, a Ukrainian American newspaper based in New York City.

It was taking place amid the euphoria of Ukraine’s agreement to eliminate its nuclear arsenal, sadly in favor of Russia. Earlier that year, the Verkhovna Rada approved the trilateral agreement and unconditionally ratified the START Treaty and the Lisbon Protocol. Then, Ukraine joined the NATO Partnership for Peace. Ironically, Ukraine’s accession to NATO continues to be stuck in the mud despite fulfilling all requirements and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Boris Yeltsin at the time was president of Russia, some six years before Vladimir Putin was to assume the corner office in the Kremlin.

“In our meeting today I strongly reaffirmed American support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. I urged President Kravchuk to continue to work to achieve Ukraine’s accession to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Clinton assured.

The two presidents shared views on developments in Russia and their impact on Ukraine. “We discussed ways to expand cooperation between our two nations. At the core of our agenda is developing a closer economic relationship. While Ukraine is going through a difficult period of transition, it remains a nation with enormous economic potential, endowed with abundant natural resources and human talent,” Clinton observed three decades ago.

Clinton expressed his view that the best way to develop the full measure of these resources, Ukraine’s most promising future clearly lies with market reform. “That’s why I was pleased that President Kravchuk today expressed his determination to move forward toward comprehensive market reform,” he added.

Clinton also said, “As Ukraine proceeds with reform, the United States is prepared to mobilize support from the G-7 nations and from international financial institutions. We’re also prepared to increase our bilateral economic assistance to $350 million this year for privatization, small business creation, and other priorities, and to help Ukraine dismantle nuclear weapons we've committed $350 million in Nunn-Lugar funds. Total US assistance available to Ukraine this year will therefore be $700 million. This represents a major increased commitment to an important friend in the region.”

Life for newly independent Ukraine then was not worry free. In addition to centuries of Russian invasions, war and subjugation, Moscow was not pleased that on August 24, 1991, Ukraine finally declared its independence and broke loose from its yoke.

Not being pleased with the course of the questions and answers, I posed two of my own which dealt with American support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine in case Russia seizes Crimea and will the reemergence of Russian imperialism, which was previously cited in the bilateral discussions, harm Ukraine?

President Clinton observed: “Well, the United States supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and I personally have been very impressed that all the parties involved in the Crimean issue seem to be very responsible in their comments and their policies recently, so I think you are asking me a hypothetical which doesn’t seem too probable in light of the policies and the statements which have been made.”

Watch the C-Span link that I included at the conclusion of this post.

Since then that hypothetical in the minds of American officials but not historical records became an ironic reality. In early 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea and later than spring it invaded and occupied the Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk and Donetsk. Eight years later Moscow invaded Ukraine and sparked the first war in Europe since the end of World War Two that rages until today.

This scenario, that plagues the world affairs, harkens back to a question posed during the recent XXIII Congress of Ukrainian Americans – the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America – that was held in Philadelphia. Michael Sawkiw Jr., director of the Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) who would be elected UCCA president at that conclave, posed a question to a group of panelists discussing the war about what should be done to prevent Russia from ever invading Ukraine again.

Outside of giving Ukraine NATO membership and continually raising awareness about the never ending Russian desire to invade and subjugate all independent countries in its so-called near abroad, the international community should never allow the free world to forget about Russian imperialism and its individual and collective victims.

It has been an intellectual discussion about why were the allies successful in defeating Hitler’s Nazi war machine in 1945? On the surface, there’s no difference. A saber-rattling dictator threatens his near abroad, invades weak Poland and triggers a bloody European war that ends in victory for the allies some six years later.

However, World War Two became everyone’s war. Everyone had a stake in it so everyone anted up. Everyone equally wanted to end the war with an allied victory, Nazi defeat in order to restore peace, stability and harmony, and bring home the boys.

The stakes aren’t identical. Ukrainian allies, especially its near aboard that know the meaning of Russian imperialism, subjugation and repression, broadly support Ukraine and actively strive for Russia’s defeat and Ukraine’s victory. But still something is missing from this puzzle that keeps the free world from vigorously committing itself to ending this war. Is it local boys’ blood? Is it accession to NATO? Right now its Ukraine’s war but it must become the world’s war like it did eight decades ago. Everyone should have a stake in its conclusion. The farther the allies are from Ukraine, the more passive is their support, and the more they or some of their citizens need to be convinced that what is happening in Ukraine could happen on the streets of New York.

The Washington cannot afford to be gullible and naive in its relations with Moscow. The New York Post wrote in its October 19 edition that Putin outsmarted three US presidents. That was kind. Moscow has been outwitting America for decades.

Russians have always lived up to our worst expectations of their behavior. Ukrainian towns, farms, infrastructure and industries have been destroyed. Civilian men, women and children have been targeted for death. Dead bodies, burned out, rusting tanks, trucks and jeeps, unexploded ordnance and missiles pollute wheat fields and threaten the lives of farmers and their children, while unknown chemicals, petroleum and other liquid contaminants will seep deep into the underground aquifers.

Ukraine is not isolated on the map of Europe. The hypothetical that Bill Clinton discounted has become a reality. Now Europe’s health and existence are threatened. So for the good of mankind, it’s time for Europe and the free world to ante up and change reality on the planet. Supplying weapons that merely give Ukraine time to persevere and survive is insufficient. It’s time to destroy Russia’s evil.

https://x.com/OlegKostour/status/1847871877559308806?s=19

US to Provide $425 Million in Military Aid as Kyiv Faces 3 Enemies Alone

Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is approaching the unenviable 1,000-day milestone, is still attracting global attention thanks to the brutal, homicidal behavior of Moscow’s cutthroats.

Ceaseless bombardment of civilian homes, supermarkets and infrastructure are leaving Ukrainian men, women and children in dire straits as the region is nearing winter. Odesa on the Black Sea, for example, has been bombed four times this week as Russia hopes to destroy foodstuffs and other cargo. Mykolayiv, Kherson and even Ternopil have been targeted by Russian rockets. And the death toll keeps rising.

Russia continues to commit heinous crimes against humanity by executing 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war during their incarceration. And, last and certainly not least, another Ukrainian journalist, Victoria Roshchyna, died in Russian detention, or rather was killed by her Russian captors while imprisoned.

The war is expanding systematically beyond the borders of Ukraine by way of the Ukrainian army’s successful invasion of Kursk, the first time the territory of Russia has been invaded since the end of World War Two and the first time ever in history for Ukrainian soldiers to cross the border.

When asked which are the three most dangerous countries on the face of the earth, President Zelenskyy remarked in the Ukrainian parliament that they are Russia, Iran and North Korea. Russia – for obvious reasons; Iran, probably the world’s largest manufacturer of missiles and drones that have been commissioned by Moscow to bomb Ukraine; and North Korea – the latest country to join the evil side of this war by dispatching 10,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine. Actually, Russia and Iran have earlier conspired to eliminate each other’s enemies: Ukraine and Israel, respectively.

While these three malicious countries have set their sights on annihilating Ukraine, there’s only one country with the gumption to stand up to them – Ukraine. Since Kyiv is going it alone against these three international criminals, the free world should be compelled to help it repel these invaders by providing it with all of the weapons it needs as well as membership in NATO.

President Joe Biden spoke to President Zelenskyy on Wednesday, October 16, about efforts to surge security assistance to Ukraine and announced a new $425 million military aid package, the White House said.

The security package includes air defense capability, air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles and critical munitions, the White House said in a statement.

Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram, expressed gratitude to Biden, both parties of Congress and the American people for the new package and said he spoke to Biden about Kyiv’s five-point “victory plan,” which he presented to parliament on that day.

“I proposed considering the possibility of joint weapons production,” he said. “We also discussed the importance of additional training for Ukrainian soldiers.”

Ukraine, he said, thanked the United States “for its readiness to help Ukraine strengthen its positions to compel Russia toward honest diplomacy.”

It would also be beneficial if the Ukrainian General Staff were to devise an updated plan along the lines of the movie “Operation Crossbow.”

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Presents His Peace Formula at UN

UNITED NATIONS – In a speech less bellicose than he is known for, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his UN General Assembly address today focused on securing global peace and justice, emphasizing that neither can exist without an independent and sovereign Ukraine.

“I want peace for my people – real peace and just peace. And I’m asking for your support – from all nations of the world. We do not divide the world. I ask the same of you – do not divide the world. Be united Nations, and that will bring us peace,” Zelenskyy said during his whirlwind political tour of New York City and other neighboring towns to build positive momentum for Peace Formula.

In his nearly 20-minute speech, Zelenskyy pointed out that no amount of Russian rockets will break Ukrainians’ spirit.

“Since Russia can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield, Putin is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit. One of his methods is targeting our energy infrastructure. These are deliberate Russian attacks on our power plants, and the entire energy grid. As of today, Russia has destroyed all our thermal power plants and a large part of our hydroelectric capacity. This is how Putin is preparing for winter – hoping to torment millions, millions of Ukrainians… Ordinary families – women, children… Ordinary towns, ordinary villages. Putin wants to leave them in the dark and cold this winter, forcing Ukraine to suffer and surrender. Just imagine, please, your country with 80 percent of its energy system gone – with such a destroyed part of the system. What kind of life would that be?” he said

However, Zelenskyy pointed out, it’s important for him that all of the people “understand that Ukraine wants to end this war more than anyone in the world."

War poses a wide range of threats to the population, notably children, he continued, due to missiles, smoke, and – God forbid, he added – nuclear fallout. “If, God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants, radiation won’t respect state borders, and unfortunately, various nations could feel the devastating effects. Many are concerned, but the deepest understanding of war is always found in the home it destroys,” Zelenskyy said.

“It is the Ukrainian people who feel the full pain of this war. It’s Ukrainian children who are learning to distinguish the sounds of different types of artillery and drones because of Russia’s war. It’s our people who are forcefully separated by occupation because Putin decided he could do whatever he wants. It’s our heroic soldiers who are giving their lives to defend our country from invaders trying to steal our land. That’s why we say, rightfully so – there can be no just peace without Ukraine.

“And I thank every leader, every country that supports us in this, that understands us – that sees how Russia, a country more than twenty times larger than Ukraine in territory, still wants even more land, more land – which is insane – and is seizing it, day by day, while wanting to destroy its neighbor. And Russia found very special buddies for that – North Korea and Iran, a telling choice of friends. Now every neighbor of Russia in Europe and Central Asia feels that the war could come to them as well, and just think – what kind of losses that would mean for the world.”

Addressing the bureaucratic mechanisms of the UN, Zelenskyy criticized the existence of the oppressive veto: “These are different, absolutely, parts of the world and various political ways of life, but they share the same understanding – peace is needed, and it must be a real, just peace.

“Unfortunately, at the UN, it’s impossible to truly and fairly resolve matters of war and peace because too much depends in the Security Council on the veto power. When the aggressor exercises veto power, the UN is powerless to stop the war. But the Peace Formula can – once again, there is no veto power in it. That’s why it’s the best opportunity for peace – everyone is equal, and it’s effective and comprehensive.”

Zelenskyy summarized the demands of his Peace Formula in this manner:

“We must restore nuclear safety.

“Energy must stop being used as a weapon.

“We must ensure food security.

“We need to bring home all our captured soldiers and civilians forcibly deported to Russia.

“We must uphold the UN Charter and guarantee our right – Ukraine’s right – to territorial integrity and sovereignty, just as we do for any other nation.

“We need to withdraw the Russian occupiers, which will bring an end to the hostilities in Ukraine.

“We must hold those responsible for war crimes accountable.

“We need to prevent ecocide and stop the destruction of nature caused by the war.

“And we must not allow a second or third phase of this Russian invasion.

“And we need to make it clear – the war is over.”

It’s that simple but Russia isn’t in favor of it.

Lithuanian President at UN Denounces Russia for Invading Ukraine

UNITED NATIONS – Gitanas Nausėda, president of Lithuania and one of the first speakers this morning at the General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, devoted almost his entire address to denouncing Russia for disrupting the world order and invading Ukraine without provocation.

Of all the regional wars today such as the crisis in the Middle East and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, Nausėda called the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine “the most dangerous threat.”

Goading the representatives of the member-states to remember Russia’s rhetoric that led to its invasion in February 2022, Nausėda said, “How many times have they openly admitted that the Kremlin intends to wipe Ukraine from the face of Earth! If any sovereign nation is under the threat of complete destruction, no country is truly safe anymore. If the international community looks away and ignores the unpleasant truth, no country is truly safe anymore. And if mass killings, deportations and deliberate attacks on civilian population become the new norm, no country is truly safe anymore.”

Nausėda admonished the international assemblage: “That should disturb us all.”

To bring the war to an end and achieve lasting peace, more actions will have to follow, he said. “Justice will have to be served. Russia will have to atone for its many crimes and pay damages. The main culprits of the war of aggression and numerous war crimes will have to stand before the court.”

The first to stand trial, Nausėda pointed out, should be Vladimir Putin, who is already under an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for his crimes, specifically unlawful deportation and unlawful transfer of children. “I call on the United Nations member-countries to enforce this warrant,” he said.

Additionally, frozen Russian foreign assets should also be used to pay for the damage done to Ukraine.

The Lithuanian president warned that Russia is preparing to return to the era of imperial conquest, colonial domination and genocide, adding that none of the General Assembly members would want “to see powerful neighbors convincing themselves that from now on every dispute should be settled by force.”

Pointing out that Ukraine’s armed forced is single-handedly fighting not only a defensive war but “Ukraine is also fighting for the future of all those countries who believe in the United Nations Charter and its principles. Ukraine is fighting for us all,” Nausėda said. However, he continued reproachfully, collectively the world hasn’t done enough.

“We have not been able to stop this madness. We have not been able to force Russia to reconsider its dangerous course. We have not been able to hold it accountable for so many violations of the United Nations Charter,” he said.

The reason why Russia has been able to ride roughshod over the UN principles, Ukraine and international community is “Because to this day, the aggressor is hiding under the cover of the Security Council’s permanent membership. Hiding in plain sight. Mocking every one of us with its unrestricted veto power.”

Russia’s criminal behavior is a “terrible blow to the very credibility” of the United Nations, he continued, while simultaneously the global community keeps hearing calls for Ukraine to surrender, to compromise on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, or to accept Russia’s ultimatums.

“Why should the aggressor be rewarded?” Nausėda asked. “Why should appeasement work this time, when it failed so spectacularly almost 90 years ago? Why should the victim agree to the demands of the terrorist-in-chief, sitting safe in the Kremlin after so much bloodshed and loss of innocent lives?”

Despite the bloodshed and political vacillation, “Ukraine is still fighting. Ukraine is still going strong, regardless of all the appeasers and doomsayers. And only Ukraine has the right to determine the actual conditions for peace,” the Lithuanian president emphasized.

Simultaneously, he told the diplomats seated in front of him, “we have the duty to support Ukraine. To restrict Russia’s ability to wage war and ensure the accountability of those responsible for the crime of aggression and crimes against humanity. To reform the Security Council and to rebuild the credibility of the United Nations Charter.”

To withstand enormous pressure and win this war, Nausea said Ukraine needs more military equipment, ammunition, and medical supplies. Ukraine also urgently needs humanitarian and financial aid.

With Russia’s rocket attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, Nausėda expects the upcoming winter will be extremely difficult for the Ukrainian people.

“Constant deliberate Russian attacks on critical energy infrastructure have destroyed more than 80 percent of Ukraine’s thermal energy generation and a third of its hydro generation. To prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, our assistance should be swift and focused on the energy sector,” he said.

Nausėda called on other countries, including Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and China, to stop providing Russia with military support, including the transfer of dual-use materials. “More arms for Russia mean more civilian deaths. More civilian infrastructure destroyed. More chaos,” he cautioned.

Voicing his support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula which he will reveal tomorrow, Nausėda said it deserves universal support because it is based on the universal principles of the United Nations Charter – sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.

“Lithuania urges all peace-loving countries to actively engage in these efforts, including preparation for and participation in the next Summit of the Peace Formula,” he said.

Nausėda believes the war could scale down tomorrow if only Russia would agree “to disengage and withdraw its forces” from all occupied regions of Ukraine.

“Ukraine does not want Russia’s territories. It wants to liberate its own people – not Russia’s. It wants to see prisoners of war and abducted children – thousands of them – returned. It wants the constant deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure, of so many schools, hospitals, and power stations, to finally stop,” he said.

Today’s regional wars must convince the member-states to push for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, noting “there is simply no place for Russia in the Security Council, which was created to maintain international peace and security.”

Nausėda expressed his country’s hopes that the world will soon witness Ukraine’s victory. However, until that happens, Lithuania, an unfaltering former captive nation of Russian subjugation advocate for Ukraine, will not waver nor raise the white flag.

“Until this becomes reality, Lithuania’s position remains steadfast. We will not recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of any Ukrainian region, be it Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, or Zaporizhzhia. We will not stop demanding that Russia ends grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Lithuania will continue providing shelter to Ukrainian war refugees. Lithuania will continue supporting Ukraine with all possible means.”

If all else Fails, Blood and Guts will Win
Except for the pomp and circumstance, the annual fall ritual of debates in conjunction with the latest United Nations General Assembly session – the 79^th this year – will get under way on Tuesday in New York City.
World leaders, the regular ones that we see habitually on television or read about in newspapers and news magazines, will be presenting their points of view about the most important topics that pertain to the planet and their nations.
President Joe Biden, as the leader of the host country, will kick off the slew of speakers tomorrow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will speak on Wednesday. Other world leaders or their designees will line up on either side of the great global political divide and give it their best – the free world plus the former captive nations of Russian subjugation vs. the undemocratic world or Russian-lead evil empire and the uncertain developing world.
With major wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East all other topics that have been addressed at the United Nations such as health, underwater resources, space exploration, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, climate and ecology, poverty, social inclusion, equality and inequality, civil society, even the elusive aim of peace, security and development will undoubtedly be relegated to the “also ran” bin.
The two wars that I cited previously, that are separated by the Mediterranean and Black seas and different cultures, are united by the fact that Russia and Iran are deeply involved in both. Iran is making an untold amount of money manufacturing missiles and drones for Russia and Hezbollah and its supporters. Those missiles and airborne projectiles kill civilians, destroy their homes and contaminate the environment in Ukraine and the Middle East. According to intelligence sources – among them Ukrainian – Russia and Iran have shaken hands on a deal to eliminate each other’s nightmares: Ukraine for Russia and Israel for Iran. That chessboard offers a lot of military and civilian targets for both inhuman criminal perpetrators.
Experts and amateurs alike are watching developments in both regions as well as the words that will be spoken this week in the hallowed halls of the United Nations.
About a dozen years ago the UN General Assembly used the term “aggressor-nation” in reference to Russia and its seizure and occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea. That derogative moniker has taken to Russia like the term Holocaust to Nazi Germany. In peaceful and passive ways, the UN and its agencies have reminded the member-states and the international community that Russia is a pariah nation that should be expelled from all regional and global institutions. But the UN is not likely to do that. Newspapers like the New York Post and The New York Times also denounce Moscow for its crimes against humanity in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Inside the UN headquarters, on the eve of the UNGA, Russia has been left badly isolated, reported The Guardian, when it made a surprise move to derail an ambitious pact designed to revive the UN – a favorite topic of discussion about revitalizing the UN – but Moscow failed. Russia’s move to defer adoption of the agreement on the grounds that it supposedly represented western interests was rejected on Sunday by 143 votes to seven with 15 abstentions. With a bloodied nose, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will mount the stage to say his piece.
Three positive developments have occurred against the backdrop of events at the UN. First, Ukraine enjoys the White House’s comprehensive military and moral support; second, Ukraine has successfully and noticeably taken the war to the enemy by invading Kursk and launching long-range missiles and drones against 200 military targets deep in Russia. And finally, President Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena, arrived in the United States diplomatically armed to the teeth with new proposals about ending the war in Ukraine. For Zelenskyy and Ukrainians around the world this is a significant point about ending the war. It’s not about doing anything detrimental to Ukraine and the nation, giving up Ukrainian acreage or negotiating an end, he clarified. He wants to apply diplomatic pressure on Russia to give up the war against Ukraine and leave. Zelenskyy emphasized on television today that he does not intend to surrender any Ukrainian land that Russia is temporarily occupying.
He also poignantly visited a munitions factory in Scranton, PA, that’s manufacturing arms for Ukraine. The significance lies in the fact that he negated all nay-sayers and Russian sympathizers’ comments about America’s wasteful and useless support for Ukraine’s war effort. That factory in Pennsylvania employs hard-working Americans who take home salaries to feed their families while making weapons for the Ukrainian army. That’s a win-win.
While Zelenskyy, Ukraine and the war still occupy a favorable and central point in the attention of the world, the President of Ukraine must be given the leverage to push his plan to a fair and victorious conclusion for the nation.
The latest iteration of Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on since February 2022 and before that since 2014 and before that for a millennium. Ukrainians, in the words of the late Israeli Prime Minister Gold Meir, have no choice but to fight against this or any other aggressor because the alternative is death.
As for hoping against hope that the UNGA will come up with a solution? It’s better to put your faith in the blood and guts of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.