UN again Denounces Putin for Invasion; Demands Withdrawal of Army from Ukraine

As countries and companies individually lined up to denounce Russia’s despot Putin for invading Ukraine, the UN further added insult to injury by condemning Russia and its tyrant and overwhelmingly adopting a resolution demanding Russia’s immediate withdrawal from Ukraine.

This resolution, which was not the first UN document that castigated Moscow’s aggression in recent years, demonstrated the global community’s ongoing extreme disapproval of Putin and his bloody, criminal belligerence.

After more than two days of extraordinary debate, 141 out of 193 member-states voted for the non-binding resolution seen as a severe rebuke of Moscow’s inhuman and lawless behavior. China was among the 35 countries which abstained, while just five voted against it – Belarus, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria and Eritrea.

The resolution “deplores” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “in the strongest terms” and condemns Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on alert.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued remarks following the vote and called for an end to the war raging in Ukraine.

“The General Assembly has spoken. As Secretary-General, it is my duty to stand by this resolution and be guided by its call,” Guterres declared in comments delivered to the press.

“The message of the General Assembly is loud and clear: End hostilities in Ukraine – now. Silence the guns – now. Open the door to dialogue and diplomacy – now.”

The UN chief additionally expressed concern about the conflict’s implications for global stability as the world continues to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Today’s resolution reflects a central truth. The world wants an end to the tremendous human suffering in Ukraine,” he said.

Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said Russian forces “have come to the Ukrainian soil, not only to kill some of us ... they have come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist.” He added: “The crimes are so barbaric that it is difficult to comprehend.”

Even though it is regarded as a non-binding resolution, it is nonetheless the latest slap in the face of the Kremlin leaders and a testimony to the global community’s disgust with Russia’s criminal behavior.

On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, the United Nations labeled Russia an occupier state for seizing Crimea and Donbas. Then the UN General Assembly on Monday, December 7, 2020, urged Moscow in no uncertain terms to immediately withdraw its army from Ukrainian lands. This demand repeats the UN’s previous designation of Russia, the age-old enemy and oppressor of Ukraine, as the “occupying power.”

For all eternity, Russia will be reviled like Hitler and the Nazis have been.

#StandwithUkraine

 

Lithuania’s Grybauskaite tells Free World to Stop Hiding behind Article 5

The former president of Lithuania, the world’s latest Iron Lady, is not sitting quietly in her retirement.

Dalia Grybauskaite, who has been known to denounce Russia’s führer Vladimir Putin for his inherent belligerence, has criticized NATO for hiding behind its Article 5 while Ukraine is being mercilessly bombed by Russian invaders. She, alone among other current and former leaders, knows how to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Sanctions will not stop Putin, whatever they are. They are needed, but without the exceptions we see right now with the disconnection from the SWIFT and the exclusion of the energy sector and banks that service it,” Grybauskaite, a great unabashed friend and supporter of Ukraine, posted on Facebook. “Only a war can stop the war that has already begun. There is no need to pretend and try to calm your conscience by supplying Ukraine only with weapons and doing so too late. The people of Ukraine are now fighting the war for us,” she added.

Her observations, which should be echoed by all world leaders, are a necessary demonstration of how the former captive nations of Russian subjugation must support each other in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Grybauskaite further ridiculed those repeated statements that NATO cannot help Ukraine that “already sound pathetic and show the West's cowardice.”

“Despite learning fast, the West still does not understand that there is a European war in Ukraine. Either you take part in it and fight the aggressor, or you stand and watch him destroy Ukraine and its people, becoming an accomplice in war crimes. Yes. An accomplice,” she wrote.

Grybauskaite understands well the essence of Putin and his diabolical plans noting that if Russia isn’t stopped in Ukraine then “we will end up needing to fight in any case, but in our countries already.”

“I am ashamed to hear NATO leaders and officials muttering that they ‘cannot engage in the conflict,’ but we could do so in Syria, Libya, Africa, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan? Today, Ukraine is fighting for the survival of its nation and the peace in Europe,” the former Lithuanian president said.

“Glory to Ukraine. Glory to its heroes, only to its heroes for now, because others are not yet visible on the horizon.”

Last summer there was a move to have Grybauskaite named secretary-general of NATO. That campaign should continue until that happens.

Šlovė Lietuvai!

Glory to Ukraine!

Putin’s Blitzkrieg Halted by Ukrainian Nation

Moscow’s latter-day führer Putin has been caught unawares as his blitzkrieg against Ukraine gets stuck in the mud after just four days.

The Russian dictator composed a simple plan to invade Ukraine from all sides in order to ensnare the country and people within a few days and then drag it bleeding and screaming into a new prison of nations.

However, the pathetic tyrant grossly overestimated his army’s might and gravely underestimated the determination and patriotism of the Ukrainian nation. The same can be said for Ukraine’s free world allies and supporters.

As a Ukrainian businessman in Ternopil told me the other day, the massive heroism of the Ukrainian people will stop the Russian army in its tracks.

That in addition to supply and logistical calamities faced by the invading forces. According to a broadcast on Ukrainian Radio, Russian military units across Ukraine have become lost, they lack food and water. Some enemy marauders have stolen pigs from Ukrainian farmers in order to eat. Other units are composed mainly of 18-year-olds who have no idea of where they are or why. They’d rather play TikTok on their cell phones or speak with their girlfriends. An Israeli newspaper reported that based on Russian conscription laws, Russian soldiers can’t go into battle without their separate approval. Their mothers back home are crying because their sons were supposed to be on training exercises. Undoubtedly, the mobile crematoria following the troops have also scared the bejesus out of these wannabe Russian warriors.

Some seven decades after the end of World War Two, Russia and its leaders have been exposed for what they are: aggressive invaders, human rights violators and war criminals among other vile epithets. Ironically, since the end of World War Two leaders of the independence movements of the East European nations have warned the free world about Moscow’s deceit, danger and belligerence. They correctly foretold that the countries liberated from Nazi captivity will ultimately become subjugated by Russia. This danger will exist as long as Moscow exists. No one believed them despite periodic flashes of support such as the 1959 Captive Nations Week Proclamation and admonitions to tear down this wall.

In the wake of Russia’s seizure of Crimea and its invasion of Donbas in 2014, Moscow continued to escalate tensions with Ukraine after it voted in favor of acceding to NATO and the European Union.

Putin was quickly losing the grand prize that he needs for his restored empire. Without Ukraine, many have said, Russia would be a second-rate power.

Leading up the invasion, the free world was openly warning President Zelenskyy that Ukraine is in real danger of being invaded by Russia. Local Ukrainian patriots even echoed their concerns.

The United States, European countries, the former captive nations came to Ukraine’s defense and help with money, humanitarian aid and all sorts of military equipment. To be sure, despite Ukrainians’ criticism, this assistance added a needed blanket that helped Ukrainians plan and prepare their next move.

Ultimately, the United States, Europe, significantly Italy and Germany succumbed to the overtures calling for Russia to be excluded from the SWIFT banking system. Some argued that this punishment like sanctions won’t matter. Perhaps Putin can withstand the pain. But not all Russians share his boldness.

While the US news media’s coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was better than expected, the real insights into what’s happening were to be found among Russian-language bloggers and podcasts. They predicted a catastrophic reality for the Russian leader and his cohort.

A well-known Russian political commentator was asked theoretically in mid-January what would be the west’s reaction if Russia invaded Ukraine. He replied that the first step would be to sever Russia’s connection with the SWIFT network. After explaining what that was, he then said the result would be the end of Putin. He elaborated that even if Putin was the richest man on earth by far, his buddy oligarchs wouldn’t tolerate any decline in their treasures and lifestyle. One oligarch lost $32 billion overnight because of sanctions and other punishments, reported Ukrainian Radio. Additionally, Europe canceled Russian-issued VISA and Master Card credit cards. Ultimately, their anger would catch up with Putin whose demise would be a foregone conclusion.

The average, intelligent Russians are seriously opposed to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. They realize that they and their people have been turned into pariahs akin to Nazis after the war and their heritage has been blackened for generations to come. In demonstrations across the country, they vehemently expressed their opposition to the war as Russian police arrested hundreds.

The massive demonstration of Ukrainian heroism caught the invaders and allies by surprise. The mainstream news media reported about the Ukrainian sailors who refused to surrender to a Russian warship by telling them to go f**k themselves much like General McAuliffe’s reply to the Nazi commander: “N U T S !” The media reported about the sapper who was assigned to set charges under a bridge ahead of a Russian column only to realize that he had no time to blow up the bridge and escape so he sacrificed his young life. They also reported about the legendary Ghost of Kyiv, who made 10 confirmed kills in a plane that was 20 years old. Ukrainian Roma have been fulfilling their avocation of stealing tanks while the homeless have been scrounging for bottles with which the people would make, no, not Molotov cocktails because that’s Russian but rather “Banderite smoothies.” We heard the young mother hiding in a basement with her very young children and neighbors, telling the world that their husbands are off fighting the Russian invaders, but they are in dire need of food and medications. She also implored President Biden to send in American troops to help defend their people from the Russian soldiers, which would make him a hero for all times. Another woman, in tears, lamented that the Russians came and started killing. In Kakhovka, near Kherson, Russian soldiers shot and killed a family of six including an infant.

There was a great story about a Russian sad sack who was captured by local residents in Sumy without firing a shot and extracted from his tank. As they were taking him to the police, the Ukrainians taught the feckless defender of Mother Russia to say in Ukrainian “Glory to Ukraine; Glory to the Heroes.”

The amount of support for Ukraine in its time of need has been nothing short of miraculous. Putin regularly protested about the so-called persecution of Russian speakers but nothing could be farther from the truth. As we saw during the Maidan Revolution of Dignity so too now, Ukrainian-speaking and Russian-speaking Ukrainians are fighting side by side in defense of their land, their people.

The news media showed former President Petro Poroshenko in body armor encouraging his people to defend their land and nation. And perhaps the most inspirational image of leadership during a war was President Zelenskyy who silently answered Taras Shevchenko’s rhetorical question when Ukraine will receive its Washington with his righteous law. Truly, the words, vision and spirit of President Zelenskyy on the ramparts will inspire generations of Ukrainians to defend their homeland. When asked by the United States if he could be assisted in evacuating to safety, he replied, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

The amount of support that Ukraine is enjoying from virtually the entire community of nations is incredible. Except for a handful of Putin’s allies, the world leaders and people have sided with Ukraine. They are demanding that the international community stop buying Russian oil, Russian vodka and other products. Strangers have been giving high-fives to Ukrainians displaying national insignia. Even the iconic comedy program Saturday Night Live showed support by beginning its segment on February 26 with a rendition of a Ukrainian spiritual hymn “Bozhe Velykyi, Yedynyi” performed by New York’s Ukrainian Dumka chorus.

Undeniably, if there is one person on this earth who tanked Russia and Russians, it is Vladimir Putin. Likewise, if there is one person on this earth who raised the glory and image of Ukraine, it is Vladimir Putin.

And this weekend, Putin showed that even a cornered pig will try to bite. After warning Finland and Sweden not to seek accession to NATO, the Russian tyrant put on high alert the country’s nuclear forces.

This evening Zelenskyy sent a delegation to a Belarusian border town to discuss an end to the war. No pre-conditions. Hopefully, Moscow doesn’t repeat its well-known formula for dealing with opposing delegations by killing them.

This war has also shown the world and Ukrainians that in times of danger and need, the Ukrainian nation stands obstinately united. A soldier from Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, taped himself warning Russians that they will not find one person who isn’t committed to the cause of defending their land. We may argue and bicker, but today, he said, all of us – city folks, farmers, hunters, and soldiers – are united in fighting and killing Russians for daring to enter our country.

The United States and a great number of countries have provided a lot of needed weapons to Ukraine but now it must also mobilize the free world to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect the people from air attacks. Additionally, the free world and NATO must comprehend that fighting immorality and injustice with ineffective limitations such as NATO’s Article 5 is ultimately just as immoral and contributes to collateral bloodshed, death and suffering. And don't buy Russian petroleum, gas and energy products.

The war isn’t over but it certainly isn’t going as Putin was hoping it would. To be sure, the fight for every city, town, and village will be bitter, and blood will be flowing down every street and civilian deaths will be high but the Russian flag will not appear over any municipal building.

Glory to Ukraine!

War with Russia: Now or Later but It will Happen

Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and spiritual mentor of Ukrainian nationalism who was assassinated by a Moscow agent in October 1959, was right.

Ukraine and Ukrainians will never be free of Russian aggression, threats and intimidations, and its mission to subjugate and then re-subjugate Ukraine. Russia will always be primed to ignite hot or cold wars with Ukraine in hopes of finally subduing the nation and capturing the country and its natural resources. Perpetual attentiveness by Ukrainians and the free world to Russian intentions will be required to safeguard Ukraine from Russian invasions and assaults.

As long as Ukraine and Russia will exist, Moscow will always intermittently raise the specter of invasion and captivity as it has for a thousand years regardless of who occupies The Kremlin. So it was under the tsars and commissars, so it is under Putin. The ideology and color of the flag are irrelevant. This is a national mindset.

Russia’s historical mission, as enunciated in every annual iteration of its defense and security policy that is available for all to read just as Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was, is to create or restore depending on the situation the glory of Mother Russia, to build a mighty Holy Russian Empire, armed with the latest weapons to defend itself or expand its territory, and to keep at bay all real or imaginary enemies.

And the lynchpin of its mission and reincarnated glory is Ukraine. Without it, everyone in The Kremlin knows Russia isn’t worth a plugged nickel. That is the crux of the issue in Moscow’s mind, and that is the root of the impending war that everyone is awaiting with trepidation. Restoration of the lost empire with an encrusted Ukrainian Easter egg in the center would be a monumental accomplishment for Vladimir Putin.

Sadly, the problem with the well-intentioned but shallow analyses of the Russo-Ukraine war of 2014-22, the appeals for diplomatic efforts and ruminations about whether or not Moscow will again invade Ukraine now or in the near future is that the pundits and advisors lack historical knowledge and insight about the genesis and provenance of Russia’s antipathy toward Ukraine. It’s not about today. This deficiency sets the free world on a misguided path of focusing on absurd comments about the necessity of diplomacy and negotiations with an enemy who has your nation by the throat. Diplomacy and negotiations lead to compromises and, as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir pointed out, “To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don’t be.” There can be no negotiations with an aggressor whose bloodied boots are on your land.

Free world leaders and pundits alike view events on the border between Ukraine and Russia like they do Russia’s invasion of Donbas and Crimea: They regard them as disjointed, distinct snippets of current events that don’t have a basis in history.

The Kremlin convinced President Biden and other free world leaders that the issue pertains exclusively to Russia’s security. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO has been inching closer to Russia’s border, and now independent Ukraine, Russia’s arch-enemy, is an ally of NATO and the free world.

Yes, Russia would rather not have Ukraine and NATO firmly ensconced on its border. However, the key point is that Russia would rather have Ukraine be a malleable province like Belarus that in time will be fully absorbed by Moscow into its revived empire thus fulfilling its 1,000-year-old mission.

Regrettably, analyzing current events based on one thousand years is beyond the scope of contemporary pundits and national leaders.

Putin, himself, cites his desire for Ukraine’s future just like Hitler did about Germans in foreign countries – Volksdeutsche. He has frequently spoken about the singularity of the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, their common language, culture, history, past and destiny.

Putin has condemned efforts by outsiders to undermine what he considers the national unity of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples. When Russia attacked and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, Putin declared that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” thus setting the stage for the ultimate absorption of Ukraine and its people by Russia. Hitler also had this idea in mind when he declared his intention to swallow Germans everywhere into a greater Germany – an “Anschluss” as it was called.

“People who have their own views on history and the history of our country may argue with me, but it seems to me that the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are practically one people,” Putin recently told a youth camp outside of Moscow. Unfortunately, President Biden, expressed this lapsus linguae as he reiterated this false and offensive line of thinking in his televised speech about Ukraine on February 16, when he said: “To the citizens of Russia: You are not our enemy. And I do not believe you want a bloody, destructive war against Ukraine — a country and a people with whom you share such deep ties of family, history, and culture.”

To some, Russia’s ominous plans for Ukraine have been well known. In an editorial in the Autumn 1945 edition of The Ukrainian Quarterly, the editors pointed out that to the captive nations of Eastern Europe, “Russian nationalism is an even greater menace than it is to the outside world. For them, it spells denationalization and destruction of their national identity. Taking advantage of the victory over the Nazis and their prowess in international relations, the Soviet rulers have now inaugurated a policy of denationalization of the non-Russian peoples of the USSR. They have as their pattern the similar policy of Peter I to make ‘Russia’ peopled by one homogenous Russian Orthodox people.”

The editors also noted that “The chief victim here is Ukraine, which Russia is determined at all costs to russify and gradually transform into a mere Russian province. It is far from an easy task, however, for Ukrainian national consciousness is very high and offers vigorous opposition to the resurgent Russian nationalism. Thus, in western Ukraine, the opposition has developed into open warfare, conducted by Ukrainian underground forces. Thus now it is really a struggle of Moscow against Kyiv.”

Indeed this latest looming fateful war between Ukraine and Russia will reaffirm that for 10 centuries it was always a matter of Moscow against Kyiv.

History has taught us that Moscow’s war against Ukraine will continue for decades or until Russia ultimately meets the same fate as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. This latest invasion of Ukraine will happen now or in the near future while the United States and other free world countries will be left standing on the sidelines threatening or warning that they would rain Armageddon on Moscow and its leaders if and when Russian soldiers cross Ukraine’s border though never revealing what that would look like.

However, Moscow and the free world should appreciate that with every passing week, even teenagers and grandmothers are becoming skilled in the art of national self-defense and are ready to fill trenches on the border or in Kyiv together with soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Indeed, there will be blood again thanks to Moscow.

President Biden Allows Minor Invasion of Ukraine

President Biden at his second press conference of his administration today surpassed his typical oratory gaffes by allowing Moscow’s dictator Putin the option of launching merely a minor invasion of Ukraine with minor retribution rather than a massive one with apocalyptic consequences for Russia.

What, you may be wondering?

Indeed.

For at least a half a year Moscow has been visibly mobilizing an army of more than 150,000 soldiers and accompanying tanks and artillery on Ukraine’s border, threatening a third invasion after the first in Crimea and the second in Donbas in 2014.

The free world huffed and puffed and promised severe recriminations if Russia fulfilled its promise to invade if it didn’t receive guarantees that Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO.

Guarantees aren’t forthcoming while Russian threats are as the red carpet for Russian soldiers had been rolled out be the White House.

By now it must be obvious that Russia will cross Ukraine’s border again in order to seize, occupy and subjugate more Ukrainian territory and people. And President Biden almost offhandedly admitted that Moscow will create an international incident worthy of condemnation by the free world and the United Nations by doing so.

“My guess is he will move in. He has to do something,” Biden said of Putin’s intention at the press conference.

But then he couched his view of Putin’s possible actions in a vague gradation of minor to major invasion levels as if the amount of Ukrainian blood shed or territory seized doesn’t make a difference in the long run.

“Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden repeated his often stated but undefined warning — adding that consequences would depend on whether Moscow committed a “minor incursion” or a more severe advance.

For two venial sins, please say two Our Fathers and two Hail Marys.

For fighting during recess, you’ll stay 30 minutes after school.

All Putin and his generals now have to do is outline an invasion that the American President can only characterize as minor but will still have the imperial impact of occupying more Ukrainian territory and imprisoning more Ukrainian men, women and children.

Former captive nations officials as well as The Torn Curtain 1991 have opposed post-invasion sanctions, noting that the full weight of the free world’s opposition to Moscow’s continuing aggression must be demonstrated before the Russian army crosses the Ukrainian border.

Biden’s characterization of potential Moscow aggression against Ukraine as potentially “minor” drew immediate anger from Republicans, including Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who recently visited Ukraine with a congressional delegation.

In a statement, Portman said: “Any incursion by the Russian military into Ukraine should be viewed as a major incursion because it will destabilize Ukraine and freedom-loving countries in Eastern Europe.”

To be fair, later the White House sought to whitewash Biden’s lapsus linguae, saying that any Russian aggression would be met with “decisive, reciprocal, and united” action.

“If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our allies,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, noting Russia's frequent deployment of “aggression short of military action” like cyberattacks and paramilitary hits.

President Biden has said that he believes Putin doesn’t want a full-blown war in Ukraine which is an odd statement considering what’s happening in Donetsk and Luhansk.

Sadly, at this point it doesn’t matter. President Biden stumbled into allowing Moscow to invade Ukraine — minor or major degree notwithstanding. Was the invasion of Crimea a minor or major act of war? Was the invasion of eastern Ukraine a minor or major act of war? Was the subjugation of Eastern Europe a minor or major act of war?

Ukrainians will defend their independent Ukraine homeland with or without the United States. The people and soldiers will shed their blood until the last drop. And minstrels will memorialize of the nation’s heroism for future generations.

Thank you, President Biden.

Biden-Putin Dialogue Reaffirms Kremlin’s Rule

The second telephone conversation between President Joe Biden and Russian Führer Vladimir Putin did not break any new ground except reaffirm the sad reality that the corner office in the Kremlin continues to rule regional and global affairs.

At the request or insistence of the Moscow dictator, the two presidents spoke for nearly an hour on Thursday, December 30, in hopes of deflating the extremely dangerous Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border that could explode into a regional if not global war that will dwarf World War Two.

Despite the naïve questions posed by some news writers and broadcasters about Moscow intentions, the reason is simple and everlasting. The Kremlin wants to rebuild its empire by re-subjugating the former captive nations of Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and others. By reaching the geo-political and military dimensions of the late Soviet Union, Moscow would be feared and respected by all countries and international organizations such as NATO. And the Atlantic alliance will think three times about edging closer Russia’s border.

Russia is certainly successfully heading in the direction of ruling the global roost. It threatens the region and world under the guise of fearing for its security – imagine today’s NATO deciding it will subdue or vanquish Russia. World leaders take notice, plead for cooler heads to prevail and pledge to meet with the aggressor like Neville Chamberlain did in 1938. Consequently, the White House agreed to talk with the Kremlin about Ukraine.

Would Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill have met with Adolph Hitler about Nazi invasions of Europe?

The inconclusive conversation was at the same offensive to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian nation because it violated the principle enunciated by President Viktor Poroshenko: Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine!

Two options still remain on the table: a diplomatic solution, which means that Moscow would give into the free world’s pleas and other enticements, or sanctions and retributions, which mean that Russia would be painfully punished for invading Ukraine again.

The first one is obviously out of the question. Leaders of the former captive nations that are equally concerned by Moscow’s conceivable invasion of their independent countries also favor a strong, punitive response to Russia’s belligerence.

The only course of action is to punish Russia for disrupting global peace and security. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden “urged Russia to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine” and “made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine.” No details were given.

Putin has promised to sever diplomatic relations with the United States in the event of drastic reprisals. Washington should immediately jump on this option before a Russian invasion thereby demonstrating its hardline commitment and perhaps forcing Russia to stand down.

Punitive sanctions should happen before Russia sends its army across the Ukrainian frontier, which will surely lead to bloodshed the amounts of which haven’t been seen since the Second World War. Experts have opined that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are being bolstered by the United States, some free world countries, and the x-captive nations, are vastly improved since the 1991 Declaration of Independence. However, they and realistically all other armies are no match for the Russian military machine. That prospect is not expected to diminish the Ukrainian armed forces’ nationalistic commitment and spirit to defending the country and nation to the last bullet. Moreover, the Ukrainian civilian population is preparing to join the fight with auxiliary and guerrilla armies like Ukrainians had mobilized during World War Two – the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). Training has already begun.

The holidays notwithstanding, the Ukrainian nation, the people, are going about their holiday and New Year chores entirely cognizant that a full blown war with Russia is coming. They feel it in their blood and souls and no telephone conversation between Biden and Putin will assuage their precarious certainty because regrettably Biden doesn’t rule the outcome unless he takes a hard, immovable posture. Otherwise, Putin will continue to rule and the free world will bow at his feet.

A businessman from western Ukraine confirmed this conviction to me today. War is coming and only the naïve don’t believe it or hope for the best. He said the Russian mission is to capture Mariupol, a city of regional significance in southeastern Ukraine, situated on the north coast of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Kalmius river, in the Pryazovia region. It is the 10th-largest city in Ukraine, and the second largest in the Donetsk Oblast with a population of 431,859. The reason for this strategic move is clear: establish a water pipeline to Crimea because Kyiv rightly turned off the spigot after Moscow invaded and temporarily occupied it and then it would control the Azov shoreline as well as the eastern half of the Black sea. Not insignificant bodies of water.

This does not bode well for a truly happy, merry and joyous Christmas in Ukraine.

There will be Blood if Moscow Doesn’t Stand Down

The Russians have advanced to the border with Ukraine while Ukrainian soldiers are digging in, fully cognizant that they will shed blood to repel Moscow’s latest invasion.

As we conclude 2021, Ukraine continues to be embroiled in the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-22 that Moscow started when it conquered and illegally occupied and annexed the Crimean peninsula thereby redrawing Ukraine’s border. That fact alone is a violation of international law and the UN Charter. A few months later Russia launched a full-scale war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 15,000 civilian and military lives. And today Russia has escalated its belligerence by mobilizing more than 150,000 troops with armor and artillery on the border with Ukraine, threatening to invade again.

Without a doubt, another Russian invasion of Ukraine, like a scourge of locust, will be a disaster for both sides, realistically observed Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in an interview with Politico. After all, the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-22 is already the longest one in modern European history.

“It will be Ukrainian blood, it will be Russian blood, and a lot of soldiers from Russia will come to home in coffins, and Facebook, Instagram, Telegram channels will show it. It will be a disaster,” Reznikov coldheartedly assessed.

But that’s war. The only good part of war is its end. But if an aggressor is to be repelled, it should be done swiftly and efficiently. An evil villain, Russia, has for centuries invaded Ukraine again and again, attempting to capture, occupy and subjugate the country and nation. Moscow’s current leader Vladimir Putin justifies the present threat by pointing the finger at NATO. It’s the alliance’s fault because it is considering Ukraine for accession, says Putin.

The threat is real and so far no one has succeeded in convincing Putin to stand down. Don’t accept Ukraine and Russia won’t invade, he claims. But nothing could be farther from the truth. For a millennia, Moscow has sought to conquer and assimilate the Ukrainian nation. Moscow needs Ukraine for its imperial glory.

As the noted American foreign policy strategist and Washington insider of Polish descent Zbigniew Brzezinski had pointed out: “It cannot be stressed enough that without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire, but with Ukraine suborned and then subordinated, Russia automatically becomes an empire.”

That’s the long and the short of it. And that has been Moscow’s mission for 1,000 years.

Certainly, another Russian invasion of Ukraine doesn’t bode well for civilization as we know it. If Russia attacks Ukraine once more, the result will be devastating. In the past couple of weeks, government officials in Ukraine have commented that if Moscow’s army crosses the Ukrainian frontier, there will be blood on both sides. Some have warned that Russia’s latest invasion could lead to an unwanted global conflagration. A massive invasion of Ukraine by Russia would spread destruction around Europe and could even trigger World War Three, a Ukrainian government minister has warned.

Yuliia Laputina, the minister for veterans’ affairs – who previously served as general of Ukraine’s equivalent of MI5, has said Ukraine was ready to defend itself if Moscow launches a new invasion.

Asked by Sky whether there was a chance an invasion could lead to a third world war, Laputina said: "Yes. Yes. Because geopolitically, it looks like this is a possible scenario. So… we should pay attention to the Ukrainian issue because of the security of the continent. This – the spreading of war in case of Russian invasion to Ukraine – will be much wider than Ukraine.”

But the Ukrainian nation will not succumb and will pick up arms to fight and repel the Russian invaders as it has on numerous occasions in the past. Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova told NPR: “Let me tell you this. First, our army is very motivated, and it’s a battle-tested army. Second, we have 4,000 veterans in the country. And I’m positive that each of them, every man and woman, are ready to fight for their country. And, third, Ukrainian people in general clearly said – and the polls can prove it – that the majority of Ukrainians support Euro-Atlantic movement as a member of NATO. So, yes, we will fight for our independence. We will fight for our European future and for Ukraine to remain a sovereign country. This is about the civilizational choice for us.”

Indeed, a poll has showed that half of Ukrainians will form an opposition while a third will pick up arms and wage a guerrilla war against the aggressor just as the nation did during World War II in the ranks of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). This scenario should surely raise the eyebrows of leaders of the free world not to mention Moscow.

Asked whether she thought Ukraine would be able to resist a larger invasion by its much more powerful neighbor, Laputina, citing the determination of Ukrainians’ national resistance, said: “I think that it will be successful because even in the case of a real military invasion, the first step … may be successful for aggressors. But the next step will not be successful because we have a very big experience of national resistance.”

Russia has placed the world on a war footing.

The top diplomats of the Group of 7 have warned Russia of “massive consequences” and “severe costs” should it invade Ukraine or continue military aggressions near its border. Unfortunately, they haven’t yet revealed what “massive consequences” and “severe costs” mean. The foreign ministers for the G7 have urged Russia to pull back from the tense border standoff and made clear that any effort to negotiate or otherwise avoid confrontation would be welcome. “Any use of force to change borders is strictly prohibited under international law,” they said in a statement. “Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response.”

NATO is hoping for the best but expecting the worse. The German newspaper Die Welt reported, citing a senior NATO representative, that a decision to put 40,000-strong NATO Response Force on high alert was made by the North Atlantic Council because of the buildup of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine. Additionally, the level of combat readiness of the special forces and logistics services has been increased, and the deployment time of the joint task force of 6,500 soldiers, also known as the NATO Spearhead Force, has been reduced from seven to five days.

NATO is also considering sending additional troops to Romania and Bulgaria to counter Russia. According to Der Spiegel sources, this initiative was voiced by the Supreme Commander of NATO joint forces in Europe, Gen. Tod Waters, during a closed video conference with alliance partners last week. NATO plans to extend its Enhanced Forward Presence, with four multinational battalion-size battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, on a rotational basis, Waters said.

Fortunately, the free word understands that Russia alone is the guilty instigator of this war.

The former captive nations of Russian subjugation are justifiably clamoring for the free world to support Ukraine politically and militarily as they fear for their independence. Lithuania has even requested American Javelin missiles for itself just in case Russia crosses its border. Lithuanian authorities said they are ready to deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine, and, according to LRT, Minister of National Defense of Lithuania Arvydas Anušauskas said “We need to support Ukraine with all means, and Lithuania is ready for this, which includes the delivery of lethal weapons.”

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas observed to CNBC that the only way to see another EU-Russia summit would be if the Kremlin gives Crimea back to Ukraine. “If we are stepping toward Russia in this regard, and forgetting all the things that we said in 2014, then we are weak because we are stepping away from what we said,” Kallas told CNBC.

In Washington, DC, numerous senators and congressmen have called on the White House in individual letters as well as joint resolutions to increase America’s military support for Ukraine. Sen. Robert Portman (R-OH), among others, said: “I think it would be a grave mistake if Putin were to decide to invade again and I think this time he would meet a very different and more capable resistance. My hope is that in the next several days we’ll be able to continue to send those strong messages through a vote on the National Defense Authorization Bill, but also in other ways to let Russia know in no uncertain terms of the severe sanctions that would accompany any kind of invasion.” 

The free world must understand why it has been called “free world.” It must appreciate that being a friend, ally and strategic partner of Ukraine and the Ukrainian nation, which has fought for everything that it has achieved even as it borders its greatest enemy Russia, mean more than just mere words. The 1,000-year-old aspiration of a civilized people to become independent and then preserve it in the face of numerous enemies over many centuries cannot be demeaned and quelled even by purported allies’ betrayal. There will be a great deal of blood that the free world will be responsible for as Ukraine continues to fight for its freedom and democratic future against Russian aggression and subjugation. Ukraine’s divine right to its existence, independence and sovereignty cannot by violated by friends’ disloyalty or enemies’ invasions.

The onus of protecting and defending Ukraine rests with the United States. It is Washington’s responsibility to preserve peace and its responsibility is the greatest of all because the nations of the world trust it to make a good peace. Indeed, the remnants of that belief still remain in the post-Afghanistan era. And among those who naively or not still trust America are 45 million Ukrainians in their native, besieged Ukraine and about 25 million Ukrainians abroad, including Ukrainian Americans.

Mr. President, we call on you to stand firmly with the Ukrainian nation and Ukraine in their time of need. In return, you can be sure of Ukrainian Americans’ steadfast support in this mission. Ukraine mustn’t be lost on your watch.