105-year Path to Independence in 60 Seconds

This weekend the Ukrainian nation observes its 105-year path to independence that unfortunately continues to be challenged by the latter-day global terrorist – russia.
Today, January 22 is recognized as Ukrainian Unity Day. Indeed, the Ukrainian nation from east to west, north to south is u
nited in a single cause – to defeat russia and live freely and securely within its recognized borders, which incidentally have been reduced over the years.
However, allow me to flesh out this illustrious celebration with a 105-year recap of the bloody details and the nation’s eternal dedication to the cause of national liberty and democracy.
In the days leading up to January 22, 1918, after three previous unsuccessful attempts, Ukrainians of all political affiliations comprehended the everlasting danger posed by tsarist and communist russia and gathered in Kyiv to decide their future. Then on that historical day they declared the full independence of the eastern region from russia — red and white.
The circumstances were mirrored in western Ukraine. On November 1, 1918, Ukrainians in Lviv declared independence of the western region from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
On January 22, 1919, both independent national entities understood that their self-governing future rested in a united country and thus formed an independent, sovereign, indivisible Ukrainian National Republic from the rivers Sian to the Don.
Through the ensuing decades as has been the Ukrainian nation’s destiny the fight for independence continued.
On March 15, 1939, the Transcarpathian region declared independence after fighting Hitler’s ally the Hungarians – so World War Two really began earlier than September of that year with Ukrainians first striking a blow against the Nazis.
On June 30, 1941, the revolutionary government of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Lviv declared the restoration of the January 22 proclamation and established an independent temporary seat in western Ukraine pending victory and relocation to Kyiv. This dramatic move angered Berlin and Moscow who fought for its destruction without the Western allies’ comprehension of what was really happening.
After the war, the fight for Ukrainian independence continued in the gulags, academia, the streets, Orange Revolution, Maidan, Revolution of Dignity until August 24, 1991, when the latest independence proclamation was declared in the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament.
Unfortunately, the path to freedom didn’t end with the raising of hands. As Thomas Jefferson famously wrote: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
On February 24, 2022, russia again invaded Ukraine and the bloody war for Ukrainian independence resumed.
For this quest to end, give Ukraine the tanks that its armed forces need to defeat and destroy russia. Truthfully, that is the only possible conclusion that will bring regional and global peace and security.
Otherwise, the Hundred Years’ War will look like a walk in the park.
Glory to the fighters! Glory to the heroes! Glory to Ukraine!

Zelenskyy Tells Davos Gathering Ukraine needs Tanks to Defeat Russia

N.Y. Daily News earlier in the tragedy.

With images of russia’s brutal murder of 45 innocent Ukrainian men, women and children in their homes still fresh in people’s minds and the 11-month Russo-Ukraine War raging, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the World Economic Forum that free-world supplies of tanks and air defense systems should be delivered sooner in order to outpace russian attacks.

Tanks and air defense systems are the key arms needed to defeat russian aggression and save Europe.

Zelenskyy, who addressed the elite gathering of world leaders and corporate executives in the Swiss ski resort of Davos on January 18 via video link, called for the world to speed up deliveries of weapons, declaring that Ukraine is standing strong and committed despite daily bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine. However, he said the West has to recognize that “tyranny is outpacing democracies” and urged world leaders to act faster.

“The time the free world uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill,” Zelenskyy said. “The supplies of Western tanks must outpace another invasion of Russian tanks.”

Ukraine – armed forces, government and people – remains motivated to continue battling the russian invasion, now in its 11th month, and vanquishing the aggressor, he said, but complained that its allies have repeatedly been too “hesitant” to act to confront russia, even if they eventually make the right call.

Zelenskyy did not specifically mention Germany, but Ukraine has repeatedly called on Berlin to send German-manufactured advanced Leopard 2 tanks.

Zelenskyy express pleasure to hear that former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has undergone a significant transformation in his view on Ukrainian membership of NATO. Kissinger, who spoke virtually to the World Economic Forum on January 17, said russia’s invasion shows there is no longer a point to keeping Ukraine out of NATO and membership for Ukraine would be an “appropriate outcome.”
Kissinger’s revised opinion is “very important to put political pressure on russia” to stop its aggression, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv still believes that NATO membership is the best guarantee for its security.

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska also was doing her part to help promote Ukraine’s case before the world audience. She pressed world leaders and corporate executives in Switzerland to exercise their influence against a russian invasion that is leaving children dying and the world struggling with food insecurity.

As the first anniversary of the war nears, Zelenska said parents in Ukraine are in tears watching doctors trying to save their children, farmers are afraid to return to their fields filled with mines and “we cannot allow a new Chornobyl to happen.”

“What you all have in common is that you are genuinely influential,” Zelenska told attendees. “But there is something that separates you, namely that not all of you use this influence, or sometimes use it in a way that separates you even more.”

As for the Zelenskyy’s point that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is the best guarantee of its security, Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland said she hopes the West has learned its lessons on how to deal with russia. If Ukraine had been a NATO member, there would not be a war in the country now, Marin said on January 17 in Davos. She said this was why Finland and Sweden had applied for NATO membership. “We want to become a member of NATO because we don't ever again want war in Finland. We have been at war with russia before,” Marin said.

Kissinger’s epiphany about NATO and Ukraine is a significant development, which, hopefully, will push hesitant countries to actively support Ukraine against russia. Countries that have tanks, armored fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, air defense systems and other military materiel should provide them to Ukraine so Ukrainian soldiers, sailors and pilots can defeat russia and protect Europe.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

There is a perceptible dissonance in the narrative about the latest iteration of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

There are those voices that assert that the russian führer putin, or russia or a combination of both are to blame. Then there are those that claim that russia has significantly changed since its red days so the war is a product of russia’s current aberrant leadership and putin’s megalomaniacal belligerent behavior. And then there are those that say the war is a figment of the anti-russian imagination of Kyiv, the United States and NATO.

Enough intellectual excuses, misinterpretations, explanations and diplomatic gobbledygook.

We have emphatically proclaimed that the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-23 is another chapter in the historical continuum of Russia’s millennial hatred of Ukraine and Ukrainians extending back to 1169 when the muscovite ruler Andrey Bogoliubskiy sacked Kyiv. It is another bloody chapter in russia’s never ending desire to invade, conquer, subjugate and destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians.

Hard to believe for today’s politicians that such animosity by one faux nation against Ukrainians can impact national, regional and global politics and relations for so long. A Ukrainian victory against Russia or the sudden departure to the afterworld of putin will be a temporary reprieve. The long-term solution will come when what is popularly called Russia or The Russian Federation is decolonized and broken up into independent, individual national or ethnic states.

I recently came across a short poem of four stanzas by Ivan Franko, one of the triumvirate of Ukrainian patriotic poets of the 19th-early 20th centuries who understood who russians actually are. Franko together with Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrayinka promoted Ukrainian national identity and awareness, and warned their brethren about the everlasting mortal dangers of russia, which with weapons, deceit or lies will always seek to achieve its depraved goal.

In his pithy, caustic, acerbic verses written in 1893, Franko presented a genuine rendition of russia’s malicious behavior toward Ukraine and Ukrainians for all times.

Titled “The Rotten Quag,” here is my translation of Franko’s poem.

 

The putrid quag that fills eastern Europe,

covered with thick, green scum,

a petri dish of irrational, stagnant people,

Oh, russia! Wherever you step with your foot –

 

Extortion, lies and tears slither behind you.

Living death blossoms like mold on a wall.

You squeeze and yell “I am bringing freedom!”

You skin us while declaring “I’m bringing culture.”

 

If you’re not flogging us, beating us, exiling us to Siberia,

Then you’re sucking blood from our hearts,

Your quag is choking our hearts and souls.

 

Only snakes and slime grow and strengthen inside of you.

The free spirit must either escape

Or be buried alive in your grave.

 

Check recent newspapers, newsreels and webstreams about Ukraine and russia to confirm Franko’s bitter words, denunciations, predictions and anger written 130 years ago.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Ukrainians are ready to Fight for their Cities, Children, Grandchildren – their Ukraine!

ICYMI – New Year’s greetings of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 310 days after russia invaded Ukraine.

Dear Ukrainians!

This year began on February 24. Without prefaces and preludes. Sharply. Early. At 4 o'clock.

It was dark. It was loud. It was hard for many and scary for some. 311 days have passed. It can still be dark, loud, and complicated for us. But we will definitely never be afraid again. And we'll never be ashamed.

It was our year. Year of Ukraine. Year of Ukrainians.

We woke up on February 24. Into another life. Being another people. Another Ukrainians. The first missiles finally destroyed the labyrinth of illusions. We saw who was who. What friends and enemy are capable of, and most importantly, what we are capable of.

On February 24, millions of us made a choice. Not a white flag, but a blue and yellow flag. Not escaping, but meeting. Meeting the enemy. Resisting and fighting.

The explosions on February 24 stunned us. Since then we have not heard everything. And we don't listen to everyone. We were told: you have no other option but to surrender. We say: we have no other option than to win.

On February 24, we began to create our victory. From many bricks – hundreds of other victories.

We have overcome the panic. We did not run away but united. We have overcome doubts, despair, and fear. We believed in ourselves and in our strength. The Armed Forces of Ukraine. Intelligence. National Guard. SBU. Special Operations Forces. Border guards. Territorial defense forces. Air defense forces. The police. The State Emergency Service. All our defense and security forces. I am proud of you all, our warriors!

This year can be called a year of losses for Ukraine, for the whole of Europe, and the whole world. But it's wrong. We shouldn't say that.

We haven't lost anything. It was taken from us. Ukraine did not lose its sons and daughters – they were taken away by murderers. Ukrainians did not lose their homes – they were destroyed by terrorists. We did not lose our lands – they were occupied by invaders. The world did not lose peace – Russia destroyed it.

This year has struck our hearts. We've cried out all the tears. All the prayers have been yelled. 311 days. We have something to say about every minute. But most of the words are superfluous. They are not needed. No explanations or decorations are needed. Silence is needed to hear. Pauses are needed to realize.

The morning of February 24.

Hostomel. Bucha. Irpin. Borodianka. Kharkiv.
Mriya.

Kramatorsk Station. Toy.

Chernihiv.

Mariupol. Drama Theater. The word "Children" written.

Olenivka.

Odesa. Multi-story building. Girl. Three months old.

Vilniansk. Maternity hospital. Baby. Two days old.

Azovstal.

It's impossible to forget. And it's impossible to forgive. But it's possible to win.

We stood on our feet because there was something that kept us going. Our spirit.

Defense of Kyiv.

Kharkiv.

Mykolaiv.

Chornobayivka.

Snake Island.

HIMARS.

Antonivsky Bridge.

"Cotton" pops.

Crimean Bridge.

Neptune.

Cruiser Moskva.

Russian warship.

Izyum, Balakliya and Kupyansk.

Kherson.

And we pray that there will be Kreminna and Svatove, Melitopol, all of Donbas, Crimea.

We fight and will continue to fight. For the sake of the main word: "victory."

It will be for sure. We are approaching it for 311 days.

We gave it a lot of strength. But at the moment, when it seems that you can't go any further, remember that we have already passed with you.

I want to say to all of you: Ukrainians, you are incredible! See what we have done and what we are doing!

How our soldiers have been smashing this "second army of the world" since the first days.

How our people stopped their equipment and infantry columns.

How an old man used his hands to stop a tank.

How a woman knocked down a drone with a jar of tomatoes.

How enemy tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, shells were stolen during the occupation.

How we fundraised for Shahed hunters, naval drones, armored vehicles, ambulance vehicles and Bayraktar drones in several hours.

How we withstood all threats, shelling, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, darkness and cold.

How we supported each other and the state.

Everyone is important in war.

Who holds a weapon, the steering wheel of a car, the helm of a ship or plane, a scalpel, or a pointer.

Everyone who is behind a laptop, who drives a combine harvester, a train.

Who is at a roadblock and a power plant.

Journalists and diplomats, utility workers and rescuers.

All. Who is working. Studying at a university or school. And even those who are just learning to walk.

All this is for their sake. Our children. Our people. Our country.

There are no small matters in a great war. There are no unnecessary ones. Each of us is a fighter. Each of us is a front. Each of us is the basis of the defense.

We fight as one team – the whole country, all our regions. I admire you all. I want to thank every invincible region of Ukraine.

Kharkiv. Mutilated but unconquered. You proved to the enemy that being close territorially does not mean being close in mind. Kharkiv is a Ukrainian city. The hero city.

Invincible Mykolaiv. Heroically withstands all blows. The city on a wave that overcomes all storms.

Sumy city and the region. You were one of the first to feel the full-scale invasion of the invaders. Sumy region became a bone in their throat for them. Ordinary people made Molotov cocktails, burned enemy columns, took the first prisoners. Sumy region is a force.

Dnipro. The support and reliable rear of our front. You received people, you got the lives of wounded soldiers back. Despite constant barrages, Dnipro lives on.

Odesa. Sunny and friendly, now a fortress. World fortress. Which defends us and which defends the world. Feeds it by sending millions of tons of salvation by sea every day. Because it is Odesa Mama.

Kherson! You are heroic people! You have been under occupation for more than eight months. No news. No communication. Separated from Ukraine.

Thousands of you took part in actions against the rushists. You did not know whether we saw it in Ukraine or knew about it. The occupiers lied to you that Ukraine abandoned you and would not fight for you. But you believed and waited despite everything. The face of Kherson is cut by fragments of shells, but the main thing is that we welcome the New Year free and together under blue and yellow flags. And therefore, we will restore everything, rebuild everything. Just like Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia, and Kramatorsk, and Bakhmut.

Those that became a refuge for millions of Ukrainians: Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Vinnytsia. I thank you! Those who receive and transfer millions of tons of aid from Europe and the world: Lviv, Uzhhorod, Chernivtsi, Lutsk. Thank you! Those who accept the evacuation of businesses, enterprises, universities: Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, Kropyvnytsky, Poltava, Cherkasy. Thank you!

And those who are waiting for Ukraine. And will wait. Donbas, Luhansk region, Crimea. Thanks to you, our warriors!

And, of course, Kyiv region and the city are our heart, which always beats thanks to you, all our Ukrainians!

We are all one family. One Ukraine.

This is the year when Ukraine changed the world. And the world discovered Ukraine. We were told to surrender. We chose a counterattack! We were told to make concessions and compromises. We are joining the European Union and NATO.

The world heard Ukraine. European Parliament, Bundestag, the UK Parliament, Knesset, the US Congress.

The world felt Ukraine. Ukraine in the media. In the hearts of people. At the top of Google search.

The world saw Ukraine. On the main squares in Toronto, New York, London, Warsaw, Florence, Sydney, and other cities.

Ukrainians surprise. Ukrainians are applauded. Ukrainians inspire.

Is there anything that can scare us? No. Is there anyone who can stop us? No.

Because we are all together.

It is what we are fighting for. One for each other.

The best salute for us is at the warehouses of the occupiers. The best gift is the numbers in the report of the General Staff.

We do not know for sure what the New Year 2023 will bring us. But ready for anything.

New achievements? We will be happy. New hits? We will be steadfast. Continuation of the fight? We will fight. And when we win, we will hug.

Dear Ukrainians!

A few minutes remain until the New Year. I want to wish all of us one thing – victory. And that's the main thing. One wish for all Ukrainians.

Let this year be the year of return. The return of our people. Soldiers – to their families. Prisoners – to their homes. Immigrants – to their Ukraine.

Return of our lands. And the temporarily occupied will become forever free.

Return to normal life. To happy moments without curfew. To earthly joys without air alerts.

The return of what has been stolen from us. The childhood of our children, the peaceful old age of our parents.

So that grandchildren come to visit their grandparents during the holidays. To eat watermelons in Kherson. And the cherry in Melitopol.

So that our cities are free. Our friends are faithful.

And so that our main figure and main success appeared in reports near the figure of 100,000 destroyed enemies, thousands of units of destroyed Russian equipment – it is 603,628 square kilometers. The area of independent Ukraine, as it was since 1991. As it will always be.

May the New Year bring all this. We are ready to fight for it. That's why each of us is here. I'm here. We are here. You are here. Everyone is here. We are all Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

Happy New Year!

Shortly after President Zelenskyy completed greeting the Ukrainian nation, russia shattered the nighttime silence across Ukraine with its first missile attack of 2023.

May God protect Ukraine and Ukrainians! 

310 Days and Counting …

It’s not a happy and safe holiday season in Ukraine though the people are trying to be festive in bomb shelters and subway tunnels.

Kyiv, Associated Press, December 31, 2022: Multiple blasts rocked Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 14 others, in a sign that the pace of russia attacks had picked up before New Year’s.

Some Ukrainians defied the danger, however, to return to the country to reunite with families for the holidays.

Ukrainian officials claimed russia was now deliberately targeting civilians, seeking to create a climate of fear to see out the year grimly and usher in a bloody 2023.

First lady Olena Zelenska expressed outrage that such massive missile attacks could come just before New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“Ruining lives of others is a disgusting habit of our neighbors,” she said.

Kyiv, Reuters, December 31, 2022: russia carried out its second major round of missile attacks on Ukraine in three days on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said, with explosions reported throughout the country on New Year’s Eve.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person had been killed and eight wounded after a series of explosions in the capital. Reuters correspondents reported hearing 10 loud blasts in the city. The mayor said one of those wounded by the blasts was a Japanese journalist who had been taken to hospital.

Kharkiv, Newsmax, December 24, 2022: A russian strike on Ukraine’s recently recaptured city of Kherson killed at least 10 people, wounded another 58 and left bloodied corpses on the road, authorities said, in what Kyiv condemned as wanton killing for pleasure.

Kharkiv, Ukrinform, December 12, 2022: The Russian troops have launched a missile attack on Kharkiv city.

Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko wrote this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

“Kharkiv, a missile attack. Units of the State Emergency Service went to the scene,” he wrote.

Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram that the invaders were shelling Kharkiv and the region. He called on residents to remain in shelters.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov also called for caution. “Kharkiv is under attack. I call on everyone to stay in shelters and observe safety measures,” the mayor wrote.

Kyiv, Reuters, December 5, 2022: Ukraine said russia destroyed homes in the southeast and knocked out power in many areas with a new volley of missiles on Monday, while moscow said Ukrainian drones had attacked two air bases deep inside russia hundreds of miles from front lines.

A new missile barrage had been anticipated in Ukraine for days and it took place just as emergency blackouts were due to end, with previous damage repaired. The strikes plunged parts of Ukraine back into freezing darkness with temperatures now firmly below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit).

At least four people were killed in the russian missile attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that most of some 70 missiles were shot down. Energy workers had already begun work on restoring power supplies, he said.

* This is the reality that Ukrainians across Ukraine, from west to east, north to south, have been facing since russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The latest iteration of moscow’s visible and violent aggression against Ukraine began with short-lived victories by the so-called second greatest army of earth. Remember the 40-mile long column of russian armor that was rolling toward Ukraine and caught the attention of the western news media for several days? Apparently it evaporated long before it reach downtown Kyiv. Quickly afterward the vaunted second most powerful armed forces of Russia quickly deteriorated to group of first-rate cutthroats and thieves that kill unarmed civilians and raped women and children. On all fronts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine demonstrated their heroism, courage, skill and determination as they liberated Ukrainian territory and pushed the russian butchers back to their motherland.

In the midst of this war, with russia’s countless war crimes as it brazenly destroys Ukrainian cities, homes and power grids, and kills civilians and their children, President Zelenskyy challenged fate by making a risky and defiant journey across the ocean to Washington, DC, to deliver an emotional and inspirational address to Congress about Ukrainians’ courageous determination not only to persevere but also to defeat the russian aggressor.

In a surprise White House meeting on December 21, 2022, with President Biden, after being welcomed on the Portico by him and First Lady Jill Biden, Zelenskyy, regarded by many Ukrainians and people around world as the hero-president of the modern age, poignantly delivered the Ukrainian nation’s thanks for America’s moral support as well as humanitarian and military aid that he said would help Ukraine defeat russia.

In turn, President Biden expressed his marvel at Ukrainians’ bravery and resolve as he pledged that the United States will stand with Ukraine until the battle is won.

President Biden at the joint press conference announced the next tranche of America’s security assistance to Ukraine totaling $1.85 billion of security assistance that includes both direct transfers of equipment to Ukraine as well as contracts to supply ammunition Ukraine will need in the months ahead for its artillery, its tanks, and its rocket launchers. In addition to these new capabilities like precision aerial munitions, the package will include a Patriot missile battery, which has been requested by Ukrainian officials and will help bolster Ukraine’s air defense.

However, two days later, lawmakers approved about $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine, $8 billion more than the requested $37 billion by Biden, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The U.S. has already provided $68 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the russian invasion. 

In meetings with the US President and in the hallowed halls of the Congress, Zelenskyy, dressed in his iconic dark green sweatshirt with a gold Tryzub on the seam under his chin, assured all listeners that Ukraine will never surrender in its efforts to defeat russia. “Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender,” he said, adding that he believes Ukraine is approaching a “turning point” in the war with russia.

Noting the Christmas season, Zelenskyy movingly said russian missiles will not sway Ukrainians from their belief in a better, peaceful future. He said when the missiles will be heard approaching during this holy season, the people will shelter in safety where they can, even in subway tunnels, where they will share in the all-important Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight with family members and friends.

For many observers around the world, including the kremlin, President Zelenskyy’s historic and historical visit to Washington, DC, who after Winston Churchill was only the second wartime national leader to address the US Congress, served as loud victory in Kyiv’s public relations war with Moscow despite its unsuccessful efforts to exonerate itself of all guilt.

Zelenskyy underlined that his current visit to America is historic in bilateral relations between Ukraine and America.

“During 300 days of this war, we have really begun a new stage in our relations – Ukraine and the USA – we have reached the level of real alliance, which is 100 percent filled with real content. I felt it today in all my meetings, in all our negotiations. I want to thank Mr. President Biden once again for his sincere support and, most importantly, his understanding of Ukraine. And also for building and maintaining an international coalition to strengthen the international legal order,” Zelenskyy said.

He also thanked the American leader for personal efforts and wise steps that unite the world community around the protection of international law, peaceful cooperation and mutual understanding, which is useful not only for Ukraine and the USA, but also for all countries of the world.

Zelenskyy professed deep thanks for tens of billions of dollars in weapons and aid offered and to come. He pointed out that the financial aid should not be considered an encumbrance as some legislators have said but rather as an investment in democratic existence of Ukraine, the United States and the world.

Throughout his address he made a point to address legislators on both sides of the political aisle as well as site examples of American military crucial victories during the Revolution War as well as World War II.

President Biden condemned russia’s targeting of Ukraine’s power grid and emphasized that the United States and its allies are aware of the importance of helping Ukraine rebuild its energy infrastructure destroyed by russia’s rocket attacks. He said: “Russia uses winter as a weapon. This is an example of crimes committed by Russia against the civilian population of Ukraine.”

At the conclusion of his congressional address, President Zelenskyy presented House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Kamal Harris, who typically sit behind the speaker, with the Ukrainian flag that he brought from besieged Bakhmut as an assurance of Ukraine’s resolve to achieve victory. They, in turn, presented him with a commemorative boxed Stars and Stripes that flew above the U.S. Capitol that day.

Indeed, that day was memorable and encouraging for Ukraine and the free world as 2022 draws to a close.

The political and public relations battle to defeat russia is almost as successful as is the military one. The free world knows that Moscow committed a crime that surpasses crimes by Hitler and the Nazis. The United States, Great Britain, Canada, the former captive nations and many other European countries recognize the danger and successes of Ukraine’s frontline battles and have committed to helping Ukraine until the day of ultimate victory over russia.

But they still keep coming. Reinforced by ex-cons and other cretins and derelicts, and armed with Iranian drones, moscow is in some cases standing firm in battle as its militarized citizens are killed in great numbers. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, more than 100,000 of them killed in the past 10 months. Shows you how much Vladimir putin values the lives of his citizens.

Officials in moscow, including putin and foreign minister lavrov said recently that Ukraine will never win this war and even if it does, russia will not evacuate from the territories it seized. Its ridiculous calls for peace according to its demands won’t be accepted by Kyiv.

Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Kuleba and Permanent Representative to the UN Kyslytsya have bumped up the ante in the political battle by introducing a measure in the United Nations to expel russia from the Security Council because it doesn’t belong there. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, what remained of moscow’s empire never applied for UN membership as other applicant-countries did. It merely assumed the Soviet seat, or rather hijacked it.

Consequently, Ukraine initiated the process to deprive russia of its status as a permanent member of

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“Ukraine calls on the member states of the UN to resume the application of the UN Charter in the context of the legitimacy of the Russian Federation’s presence in the UN, to deprive the Russian Federation of its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and to exclude it from the UN as a whole,” its statement reads.

According to the ministry, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 left unresolved the issue of international rights and obligations of the USSR. “From the point of view of international law, the issue of the status of a UN member state and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which the russian federation enjoys, remains unsettled,” the ministry noted.

Fortunately, the United Nations was not blindsided by moscow’s political power as it declared that russian troops have raped and tortured children in Ukraine, carried out a “large number” of executions and committed other war crimes, according to a United Nations investigation by legal experts. “Based on the evidence gathered by the commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine,” Erik Mose, the chairman of the three-member commission, told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Ten months into russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, global officials have accumulated overwhelming evidence that shows that the kremlin’s so-called troops have waged total war, with disregard for international laws governing the treatment of civilians and conduct on the battlefield. Ukraine is investigating more than 58,000 potential russian war crimes – killings, kidnappings, indiscriminate bombings and sexual assaults. Reporting by The Associated Press and “Frontline,” recorded in a public database, has independently verified more than 600 incidents that appear to violate the laws of war. Some of those attacks were massacres that killed dozens or hundreds of civilians and as a totality it could account for thousands of individual war crimes.

As Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, told the AP, “Ukraine is a crime scene.”

It is quite possible that the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-22 will last beyond the one-year mark, expanding the stark realization that russia has turned Ukraine into a crime scene – a 233,000-square-mile crime scene. Ukrainian soldiers and people, Ukrainian speakers and not, and have demonstrated their determination to return peace and stability to Ukraine by defeating russia and expelling it from Ukraine. Does the free world have the same willpower and resolve to stand with Ukraine, as President Biden assured President Zelenskyy: “We will stay with you for as long as it takes.”

Holodomor Remembrance: Never Forget; Never Forgive

UPDATES with comments by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

For 90 years Ukrainians around the world, in many countries and in many forms, have shed tears amid reciting prayers for the intention of souls of the 7-10 million innocent Ukrainian men, women and children who were starved to death by the murderous russian regime headed by the insane dictator Josef Stalin. They’re crime: they were Ukrainian.

The United States Senate, among other lawmaking bodies, in a resolution adopted on March 14, 2018, stated that it “… recognizes the findings of the Commission on the Ukraine Famine as submitted to Congress on April 22, 1988, including that ‘Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932–1933.′”

Other institutions from myriad countries have adopted similar statements that can be read here:  https://holodomormuseum.org.ua/en/recognition-of-holodomor-as-genocide-in-the-world/#:~:text=April%209%2C%202009.-,%E2%80%A6,the%20height%20of%20the%20famine.

Ukrainian Americans in New York City assembled today in St. Patrick’s Cathedral for the latest spiritual iteration of the remembrance, which has been held here for 35 years.

This year’s ceremony had special significance for the throng that filled the historic house of worship. Not only did they pray for the repose of the souls who died a horrible death deprived by russians of even a grain of wheat and stalk of grass but also to pay tribute to the heroic Ukrainian nation as it battles Moscow in its latest war against Ukrainians. Both mass murders are considered acts of genocide perpetrated by russia. This dual emotional commemoration of past and present russian crimes against the Ukrainian nation probably contributed to the overflowing attendance at the program organized by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

Clergy and hierarchs of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA concelebrated the ecumenical moleben and requiem with responses sung by the Ukrainian “Dumka” chorus of New York City lead by Vasyl Hrechynsky.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) reminded the multitude that “Stalin tried to annihilate the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian spirit but, praise God, he failed on both counts. Stalin is gone, Soviet Russia is gone but the Ukrainian people live on. Long may they live,” said the Senate majority leader.

“Russian brutality, viciousness and brutality will never break the Ukrainian people and so as Stalin failed, so will Putin,” he said alluding to the current Russian dictator’s war against Ukraine.

A mainstay at the commemoration at St. Patrick’s, Schumer pointed out that it is important to him to remember the Holodomor anniversary.

“Ukrainians were murdered by a genocidal maniac. What Stalin did to the Ukrainian people was genocide,” said Schumer, whose ancestors come from the western Ukrainian town of Chortkiv.

Addressing the Russo-Ukraine War of 2014-22, Schumer said the latest phase has lasted nine months and the United States has been continually helping Ukraine “to stop Putin’s evil aggression” but the fight is far from over. “We must continue to help Ukraine,” he said.

“I believe the United States should give Ukraine everything it needs and under my leadership the Congress will continue to do so,” he pledged.

Noting the rising differences in Congress regarding helping Ukraine, Schumer urged the attendees to spread the word across the country that America must stand with Ukraine.

“If Ukraine succumbs to Putin, he will not rest there,” he warned.

Archbishop-Metropolitan Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church reflected on the ironic lack of modern Internet technology that obviously wasn’t available in 1932-33 to inform the world of this crime of mass starvation that led to Walter Duranty’s abysmal lies in The New York Times. However, today with the ubiquitous Internet and social media the global population knows firsthand about russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. The memories of both moral wrongdoings will live on from generation to generation in God’s heavenly Kingdom, the Ukrainian hierarch observed.

Ukrainians rose through Russian aggression after aggression like the mythological phoenix and today the world sees Ukrainians as a free and independent nation with the right to live free, according to its own laws and traditions, he continued. True words about Ukraine and russian aggression spread throughout the world outweighing the naysayers.

“Our protests have awakened the world about Ukraine and it is listening,” Metropolitan Antony said.

While the sanctified number of 7-10 million victims-martyrs of Russian-made starvation is recorded in history, the hierarch pointed that those deaths also contributed to loss of millions more Ukrainians who could not have been born.

Michael Sawkiw Jr., director of the UCCA’s Ukrainian National Information Service in Washington, DC, called russia’s politically motivated vile tragedy an act of genocide that matches the United Nations’ definition of such a mass liquidation of one people, one nation. He said russia’s desire to control Ukraine resurfaced again eight years ago when it invaded and seized Crimea and the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts and now, nine months again with the latest invasion of Ukraine.

In addition to missiles that russia’s aims against innocent Ukrainian civilians and life-sustaining utilities, Moscow is also counting on the winter cold to force Ukrainians to freeze to death or surrender, he noted.

Holodomor or death by hunger as it called in Ukrainian has become a globally recognized word, Sawkiw said. “Then it was Holodomor, today it is genocide, when will it be justice?”

Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, said the Holodomor is among the tragic pages of the history of Ukraine. He alluded to the repetitive nature of russian aggression against Ukraine for the purpose of subjugating the nation and destroying the country. Sophisticated weapons are in the forefront of russia’s invasion but today it is reverting to starvation and famine in order to subjugate not only Ukraine but countries in Africa and elsewhere. He said 828 million people are facing hunger today because of russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequential blockades of Ukrainian seaports and hijacking of cargo. Nonetheless, Kyslytsya called on the attendees not to despair because 143 UN member-states support Ukraine. “Don’t let the enemy see us despair,” he urged the participants.

Andrew Weinstein of the Permanent Mission of the United States to the United Nations said this year’s Holodomor commemoration is being held against the backdrop of Russia’s latest war against Ukraine. The United States condemns Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and stands with the Ukrainian people, he said.

Dying of hunger is not an easy death, not as easy as being executed by gunfire, which the russians also effectively carried out. Dying of hunger is painful and long. The organs and body deteriorate and then man, woman or child cease to exist. That’s what russia did to 7-10 million Ukrainian men, women and children.

With thoughts of “never again” on the lips of the throng, history has sadly shown that russia regularly repeats its bloody attempt to subjugate Ukraine. Ukrainians have not been fortunate to face Russian brutality once and never again. What happened in 1932-33 happened before and is happening again today in front of the world which for the sake of humanity must be brave to say “Never forget; Never forgive.”

NATO’s Unwanted Test of Strengths

It was destined to happen.

Leaders of the captive nations’ independence movements, having emerged from the forests at the end of World War 2, warned the leaders of the free world that Russia will not ride off into the setting sun but rather will intensify its efforts to subjugate Eastern European nations and others until it succeeds.

With the fall of the Soviet Russian empire – the Evil Empire – Moscow has been continuing its military campaign to imprison near and distant independent nations by invading and waging war first against Ukraine. Today, it expanded its efforts by striking Poland with a missile and killing two Poles.

Speaking of the shot heard round the world.

President Zelenskyy of Ukraine on November 15 had just finished addressing the G20 conference in Bali, from which Russian führer Putin was propitiously absent, when the Russian rockets hit Poland, near the border with Ukraine. President Biden was immediately notified of this attack and the predictable events were set in motion.

Zelenskyy and President of Poland Andrzej Duda immediately condemned Russia for this unconscionable attack against a member of NATO, a steadfast ally of Ukraine and stalwart supporter of the United States. Both presidents pledged support for each other’s countries in these anxious times.

The North Atlantic alliance’s cup just reached the brim of its concerns. Its actions tomorrow will determine if it is a feeble cat, a paper tiger or a military force to be reckoned with. However, the outcome that is needed may not be addressed due to the trepidation of Germany and France. To be sure, the former captive nations of Russian subjugation, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, as they have determinedly demonstrated in the past, will support Poland and Ukraine and demand a strong even military response from NATO. The new Scandinavian member-states may also join them in that firm reaction.

Poland has already convened its national security council to decide what action to take. NATO will be called into session Wednesday morning. Undoubtedly, the often-cited Article 5, states that the parties to the NATO treaty “agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February this sentence was been earnestly quoted in reference to needed unified actions to defend and liberate Ukraine from Russia’s latest invasion. There were no takers and as a result Ukraine has had to fend for itself with the timely arms assistance of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, the former captive nations, and a few others.

President Biden has famously pledged that “An attack on one is an attack on all and we will defend every inch of NATO territory, every inch of NATO territory.” He’s talked the talk and now he has to walk the talk.

Many supporters and defenders of Ukraine have said that Russia must be punished for invading Ukraine and anything short of that will not slake Moscow’s thirst for more drastic attacks against Ukraine or its neighbors. So far, the discussion was an academic exercise. Now the adults must be separated from the children.

To be sure, Poland is duty and honor bound to demand the enactment of Article 5 in defense of its nation and inviolable national territory. This is the second time in a dozen years that Poland has suffered death at hands of Russia, the previous one being the air tragedy in Smolensk. According to Article 5, the other NATO members are under legal and moral obligation to stand with Poland in endorsing the strongest actions against Russia, not merely sanctions that Putin can buy off.

The historic onus is on the righteous nations to stand up and defeat if not destroy Russia for the sake of regional and global peace and security.

Poland must first demand that Article 5 is enacted and it must mobilize is entire Armed Forces. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia must also mobilize their armed forces. The United States, Canada and Great Britain must increase their military presence in Eastern Europe in response to Russia’s fatal provocation against innocent Poland. NATO’s response must be unified, targeted, swift and decisive.

This united multinational armed force must then enter Ukraine and send a clear message to the Kremlin that its days are over and it must surrender or face the full brunt of NATO’s military might.

If NATO doesn’t force Moscow to stand down, then it might as well hang up its emblem, epilates and uniforms.