80th Anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation

The following statement was issued by the Ukrainian World Congress on the occasion of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp. In addition to the primary victims, Jews, the camp was also the site of the incarceration and mass murder of Ukrainians, anti-Nazi fighters and liberation leaders, and members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).

On January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and global Ukrainian communities honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims executed and tortured by the Nazis, including nearly 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews.

We pray for all the innocent lives taken by the murderous totalitarian Nazi regime, which cultivated hatred, racism, and xenophobia. We also pay tribute to those who risked their lives to save innocent victims doomed to death.

Eighty years ago today, soldiers from the Soviet Red Army’s 1st Ukrainian Front, primarily composed of Ukrainians, liberated Auschwitz – a Nazi concentration and extermination camp in occupied Poland where more than a million people were murdered as part of the Nazis’ “final solution” to the “Jewish question.” On January 27, 1945, soldiers of the 100th Lviv Rifle Division’s battalion led by Anatoly Shapiro, a Ukrainian of Jewish origin from Poltava, were the first to open the gates of the main camp.

As commemoration events occur worldwide, Ukraine approaches the third anniversary of the Russian Federation’s full-scale brutal and genocidal invasion. The brave Ukrainian people continue their fight for freedom and sovereignty against the deadly Russian terrorist state.

Just like the Nazis, Putin’s authoritarian regime hides its imperialistic ambitions and dreams of “global domination” behind disinformation, lies, and criminal propaganda. With appalling cynicism, the Russians have been distorting and manipulating the memory of the Holocaust and the Second World War to justify their rapacious invasion of Ukraine.

The hatred that Russian occupiers have brought to Ukrainian soil after almost 80 years since the victory over Nazism in Europe has shocked the world. The massacres in Bucha, Izyum, and Mariupol, multiple sadistic atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces throughout Ukraine’s occupied territories, and the deliberate bombing of residential buildings, hospitals, and even memorial sites like the Babyn Yar National Memorial in Kyiv and the Drobytsky Yar Memorial in Kharkiv, must not go unanswered. The perpetrators must be held accountable.

While honoring the victims of the Holocaust, we call on all peace-loving nations to unite their efforts to help the Ukrainian people stop the Russian evil and defend the free world from descending into authoritarian darkness once again.

Just like Nazism, Putinism must be stopped.

Can President Trump trump Putin and save Ukraine?
President Donald J. Trump, the 47th President of the United States, is settling into his duties and projects at the Oval Office while the world is wondering how he will fulfill his pledge to end Russia’s “ridiculous” war against Ukraine in a couple of days.
None of the signals emanating from the White House or the State Department bode well for Ukraine. They reveal a profound lack of understanding or knowledge about Ukraine’s historical situation and point of view. Or, worse, an arrogant disregard for Ukraine’s interests. Finally, Trump et al have placed the victim, Ukraine, and the perpetrator, Russia, on the same plane.
Since assuming office, the Trump Administration has coined a name for its policy goal toward Ukraine: sustainable peace. According to the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, the goal is that the war with Russia won’t begin again in a few years. 
“We are going to engage in making it (the war) end in a way that is sustainable, meaning we don’t just want the conflict to end and then restart in two, three, or four years down the road,” Rubio said on the CBS Mornings program.
“We want to bring stability. It is a stalemate. It’s a war that was started by Russia, but it is now a stalemate, a protracted bloody conflict,” Rubio elaborated, adding that the war has been “incredibly destructive” for both Ukraine and Russia. Parity. Imagine claiming equality for England and Nazi Germany.
Rubio nevertheless said that Ukraine “is paying the biggest price of all to its energy infrastructure, to the people, the lives that are lost, to the millions of Ukrainians that have had to leave their countries and are living overseas.”
When asked about the expired 24-hour deadline for ending the war, Rubio reportedly evaded commenting on any possible timeframe and merely said that ending the war would be the “priority” and “policy of the United States.”
“It needs to end” — Rubio’s hopeful but naïve position on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The secretary of state presumably is reading mainstream American newspapers rather than translations of Ukrainian news articles that give a different impression of the war. 
In any case, the current Administration unfortunately is unaware of the duration of this war, and it behooves them to learn about it. It has lasted far longer than three years. It’s lasted for centuries, and it was caused almost always by the same aggressor – Russia. Trump and his Cabinet – and all Republicans on the Hill and their johnny come lately supplicants – must absorb that concept.
As for negotiating an end to the war, in the words of the Israeli prime minister, the late Gold Meier, how do you negotiate with someone that wants you dead. You want to live, and the brutal enemy wants you dead. Where’s the midpoint?
The New York Times reported on Monday that Trump commented on the war in Ukraine, saying Putin is “destroying Russia [by wagging the war] ... he’s not doing so well... that’s no way to run a country.” News media quoted Trump saying he would do a very big favor to Russia and Putin by getting them to bring an end to “this ridiculous war” which he claimed was “destroying” Russia. That’s too much sympathy for the aggressor.
Trump said last week that he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its Putin, refuses to negotiate about ending the war in Ukraine. Those restrictions could possibly have succeeded if they’ve never been tried but the United States and the international community has been applying sanctions against Moscow, its international businesses and businessmen since before this war started. The United States has already sanctioned Russia heavily for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week urged the US to continue supplying arms to Kyiv and said Europe would pay the bill. Speaking at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the NATO chief stressed that it was vital Russia did not win as it could result in Putin “high fiving” the leaders of North Korea and China.
“We really have to step up and not scale back our support for Ukraine,” he added. “The frontline is moving in the wrong direction.”
Rutte also warned that a Russian victory over Ukraine would undermine the dissuasive force of the world’s biggest military alliance and that its credibility could cost trillions to restore.
“If Ukraine loses then to restore the deterrence of the rest of NATO again, it will be a much, much higher price than what we are contemplating at this moment in terms of ramping up our spending and ramping up our industrial production,” Rutte said. “It will not be billions extra; it will be trillions extra,” he said, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and former prime minister of Ukraine (2014-16), in an article in the Atlantic Council, offered that “the war will only end when Ukrainian security is assured. To achieve this, Ukraine needs ironclad security guarantees that will keep the country safe from further Russian aggression until it is able to join NATO. A Trump Plan modeled on the post-World War II Marshall Plan and funded by confiscated Russian sovereign assets can fuel Ukraine’s postwar recovery.
“I am convinced that a just and sustainable peace can be achieved through negotiations. These talks should take place in a four-way format involving Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. In 2014, I was one of the initiators of this format, which was established in Geneva. The alternative, with Ukraine alone against Russia, would mean the capitulation of the United States and the entire Western world.
“While adherents of realpolitik call for concessions, in reality the future of international security depends on a steadfast defense of the rules-based order against Russia’s onslaught. The West has the requisite strength and resources to do this. All that is needed is strong leadership from the United States.”
If the world indeed hopes for a negotiated end to the latest war against Ukraine that Russia started, it will have to force Moscow to concede on its knees to such a conclusion just like Nazi Germany. Ukraine is not the problem; it never was but Russia is and has always been the problem. Putin will have to be hit hard to force him to the negotiating table and Ukraine and its allies have that ability. The United States and the free world should continue supplying Ukraine with the appropriate long-range and short-range weapons, tanks and other armaments. They also should continue investing in the big and small businesses of Ukraine to raise the gross the domestic product and give the people a fighting chance to rebuild their country and give it a sustainable economy. They should also provide humanitarian aid for the people.
The onus of returning peace, security and stability to the region must be glued onto Russia and every Russian and not Ukraine. As for saving Ukraine now and in the future, Trump must comprehend, acknowledge and support Ukraine’s 1,000-year history.
By the way, Russia launched more than 1,250 bombs, 750 drones at Ukraine during Trump’s first week in office. The war goes on.

Russia’s Geopolitical Ambitions Go Far Beyond Ukraine

Occasionally a dose of bitter cynicism can also teach a valuable lesson.

Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, known for his hard-hitting condemnations of Russia’s aggression and its other forms of hostile behavior, recently resorted to mockery to hopefully right Moscow’s wrongs.

Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” on January 16, 2025, Kyslytsya advised the member-states that the most productive way to react to Russians’ tantrums is to avoid matching the volume of their hysteria.

“We need to stay calm and carry on calmly explaining to them that they cannot and that they will not have what they want,” Kyslytsya said.

It’s like “101 Parenting, if you wish,” he quipped.

Would it be that the global community is merely dealing with an enfant terrible. But sadly, Russia is a maniacal culture dedicated to re-subjugating the former captive nations and annihilating as many of the peoples as possible beginning with Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian diplomat pointed this out when he said, “Russia’s geopolitical ambitions go well beyond Ukraine. For those who may have forgotten the ultimatums Russia issued before the invasion, I would remind their core demand: ‘NATO must revert to its 1997 borders.’ This is a point worth keeping in mind by some nations that joined the Alliance at a later stage.

“If we want to live in a safe and secure world, we must spare no effort to counteract Russia's aggressive imperialistic policies. The implementation of the concept of "peace through strength" is the only effective tool to stop the aggressor and ensure a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the principles of the UN Charter.”

Kyslytsya repeated what has been understood by regional observers for many decades that for Ukraine this remains a war for survival.

As many Kremlin leaders have threatened, “This harsh reality was reconfirmed recently by one of Putin’s closest accomplices, Nikolai Patrushev, who expressed in an interview his hope that ‘Ukraine will cease to exist in 2025.’”

Kyslytsya continued: “Let me reiterate that this destructive ambition has guided Russian policy for decades. (Perhaps centuries – ID) It began with hybrid operations and economic pressure, escalated into the aggression in Crimea and Donbas, and culminated in the launch of the full-scale war in 2022.

“Statements like these, exposing the true intentions of the Russian leadership, deserve the utmost attention—particularly from those who refrain from contributing to efforts to hold the aggressor accountable, mostly – in exchange for short-term economic benefits.”

Amid UN debates, the war continues, missiles fly and Ukrainians die. “In satisfying its irrational Nazi-like hatred towards Ukrainians,” Kyslytsya said, “Russia particularly relies on terrorist missile attacks targeting civilian infrastructure. The latest one was carried out yesterday. In the depths of winter, the Russian target remains the same: our energy infrastructure. Yesterday Russia tried to hit gas facilities and critical energy systems essential for maintaining the everyday life of Ukrainian people.

To this end Russia launched 43 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as 74 combat drones.

“At least 30 missiles and 47 drones were intercepted and Ukraine has managed to keep its energy system operational. At the same time, those missiles that reached their target caused damage and destruction that resulted in the disruption of electricity and heat supply in various regions. This again testifies to the urgent need to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.”

The price tag for Russia is not cheap. Kyslytsya said since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has spent more than $18 billion on missile and drone strikes against Ukraine. “And Russia will persist with escalation as long as it has the financial resources to fuel this war,” he added. “Oil and gas revenues constitute the main source to this end. It is essential therefore to dry up these revenue streams by strengthening primary and secondary sanctions against Russia's economy.”

This is the sound reasoning behind the wide range of sanctions against Russian businesses and businessmen – to drain the Russian economy of every last ruble.

“Russia’s war budget for 2025 is 25% bigger than last year’s. If we want to stop the war, we should cut off Putin’s cash flow. Putin will start thinking about peace only when his inner circle tells him he is out of money,” he said.

However, in reality, Ukraine more than any other country wants peace but not peace at any price. That concept will not bring real and lasting peace at all but it “will just encourage the aggressor to continue violating international law, and not only in Ukraine.”

Kyslytsya said the diplomatic path to peace lies through the implementation of the Peace Formula. “We are also ready to consider other nations’ peace ideas that take into account the need to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, do not equate the victim with the aggressor, and are based on the principle of ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.’ They can be discussed in the formats offered by the Peace Formula.”

Ukraine demands and needs geopolitical relationships and partnerships based on equality and respect, not arm twisting like we see coming from Washington, DC. The United Kingdon’s recent 100-year document is typical of what Ukraine deserves. During an unannounced trip to Kyiv, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position.”

“Our 100 Year Partnership is a promise that we are with you, not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years — long after this war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again,” he said in a post on X.

According to a UK government press release, the treaty will boost military collaboration on maritime security across the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Azov Sea in an effort to deter Russian aggression. The deal will also seek to advance the countries' scientific and technology partnerships in areas such as space and 30,000 drones, it said.

European countries and the former captive nations regard Russian threats seriously. Among them, Lithuania, has decided to raise its spending on defense to 5-6% of overall national economic output starting in 2026 due to the threat of Russian aggression in the region, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said last week.

With his pledge, the Baltic nation bordering Russia becomes the first NATO nation to vow to reach a 5% goal called for by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. It currently spends a bit over 3%.

Nausėda said the “historic decision” was taken by the State Defense Council on Friday. “The possibility of Russian military aggression is still real, but not imminent,” Nausėda told reporters after the meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. “We need to increase our efforts to strengthen defense and deterrence significantly, devoting more resources to this end.”

Nonetheless, with the war dragging on and a new President getting comfortable in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to emphasizes his country’s hope for sustained US support under the incoming Trump administration.

“We are waiting for the inauguration of the US president. I think the whole world is waiting because the United States is a strategic partner in global stability,” Zelenskyy said this week during a joint press conference in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, another close ally of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy described the US as “the largest donor supporting Ukraine in its war for survival against Russian aggression” and expressed optimism for deepened cooperation under the principle of “peace through strength.”

Ukrainians continue to scare the bee Jesús out of Russian cutthroats, who are violently scared of Ukrainian witches – vid’ma. So, Ukrainians named their latest fleet of heavy drone bombers Baba Yaga – euphemism for witches.

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

Ukraine Delegation at UN Declares Russia Adopts Nazi Tactics

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, claiming, among other things, that had embarked on its never-ending futile quest for Nazis. However, as to be expected, the prey turns out to be the hounds.

The widespread death and destruction that the Russian cutthroats have spread across Ukraine has correctly likened them to Nazis who also mercilessly shed blood across Europe some 80 years ago.

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya, speaking on January 13, 2025, at the UN Security Council Arria-formula meeting on “Violations of international humanitarian law against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees” bluntly compared Russian soldiers with Nazis.

“Russia in turn, has fully adopted the practices of the Third Reich – ranging from the annexation of sovereign territories and the razing of Ukrainian cities to the ground, to the deliberate execution of Ukrainian POWs and civilians,” Kyslytsya declared unequivocally.

The dreadful testimonies from the Ukrainian briefers that day or on earlier occasions have confirmed that the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russia are not isolated incidents, but rather “systematic practices endorsed at all levels of Russian leadership,” the Ukrainian diplomat said.

“All Ukrainians are their targets, be they military or civilians, men or women, children or the elderly. Less than a week ago, on January 8, Russia again demonstrated its adherence to this inhumane modus operandi. Thirteen civilians were killed and 127 were wounded by the aerial bombs that Russia dropped on a crowded street of the city of Zaporizhzhia. As the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported, this heinous attack caused the highest number of civilian casualties in a single incident in almost two years,” he elaborated.

In addition to the indiscriminate murder of unarmed Ukrainian civilians, Kyslytsya pointed out that Russians are also killing Ukrainian soldiers who have surrendered and thus who should enjoy protection under international law.

Citing an incident on January 3, 2025, Kyslytsya recounted that in the village of Vremivka, Volnovakha district, Russian forces captured two Ukrainian servicemen, executed them at close range, and then fired additional shots to ensure their deaths. He said the Russians killed in cold blood 202 Ukrainian POWs but “the true number is likely much higher.”

Another humanitarian transgression of the Russian invaders is their incommunicado detention of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel that denies access to UN and ICRC representatives. “The ungrounded persecution and detention of civilians is a clear violation of international humanitarian law, and all such detained civilians must be unconditionally released,” Kyslytsya demanded.

“We urge the UN Security Council and all responsible Member-States to demand that Russia cease the torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs and detainees. Humanitarian and human rights mechanisms must be granted immediate and unrestricted access to ensure humane treatment and safe repatriation,” he added.

The Ukrainian delegation has previously brought to the Security Council’s attention how Russian recruits train to operate drones by targeting and killing innocent civilians in the streets of the city of Kherson. In Russian schools, war criminals are holding diabolical lessons for Russian children, “encouraging them to learn how to kill Ukrainians,” Kyslytsya said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also not surprisingly joined this charade by training its diplomats across the globe, including in New York, to disseminate lies and maintain smear campaigns. “Producing fakes about Azov Brigade has been among the main tools of Russian propaganda since 2014,” he pointed out.

Kyslytsya said this is in stark contrast to realty created by this Ukrainian military unit: “The full-scale war has ultimately revealed the truth. Soldiers of the Azov Brigade were among the courageous defenders of Mariupol in 2022, staying in the besieged city and protecting its residents, who Russia killed on an industrial scale, until the very end.”

He demanded that “Russia’s open defiance of international law must end.” It is imperative for the international community and the UN member-states to ensure accountability for Russia’s crimes and justice for the victims, Kyslytsya added.

“That’s why, if Russian diplomats are truly eager to combat neo-Nazism, they might start by calling the Russian Ministry of Defense. They may ask, for instance, about the ‘Rusich’ unit, which operates as part of the Russian army. Its members openly embrace their neo-Nazi views and their commander Milchakov openly declares, ‘I’m a Nazi, I speak about it directly. [I] can even raise a hand [in Nazi greeting.]’”

Milchakov’s subordinates bear a striking resemblance to their commander, Kyslytsya continued. “They could play with a severed head of a prisoner, boasting about it in interviews, or post ads on social media seeking a ‘Crimean Tatar for ritual sacrifice’ and then brag about carrying out such a ritual.”

The Ukrainian diplomat astonishingly said that these are just some of many examples illustrating how war crimes and crimes against humanity have become standard practice for the Russian army.

Responsibility for this is inevitable, he concluded, and hopefully there will be hell to pay.

Ukrainians Fight on as Trump Sympathizes with Russia

As the world awaits the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States with his anti-Ukrainian views and bizarre foreign policy views in a few days, Ukraine’s position on the global stage is sadly trapped between active Russian aggression and bombings and an incoming Washington Administration that favors Ukraine’s age-old deadly enemy.

The international community has had to contend with Trump’s friendly tolerance of Russia’s Putin and cynical distaste for Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine for months but now he has stunned and even offended nations around the world with his calls for seizing Greenland, taking over the Panama Canal Zone, turning Canada into the 51st state, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. These suggestions are enough to make even his supporters bristle with anxiety.

Fortunately, as the United States undergoes an almost Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde transformation, the Biden Administration, regardless of how exceptionally critical the New York Post’s Martin Gurri was of the 46th President a few days ago, the incumbent Administration has frequently stood up and gave Ukraine all of the arms and funds that it needs not only to defend itself from Russia’s invasion but hopefully to defeat or smother it in the words of Russian patriarch Kirill. Some may say that this policy angered Putin but in reality, it demonstrated to the world that the United States, true to its historical convictions, continues to unquestionably support Ukraine and the other former captive nations against ongoing Russian threats and aggression.

The U.S. announced this week that it is set to provide Ukraine an additional $500 million in weapons quickly pulled from its existing stockpiles as the Biden Administration works to get Kyiv in a stronger position before Trump takes office, US officials said.

The announcement is expected during Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s final trip to meet with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a consortium of about 50 partner nations that Austin brought together months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 to coordinate weapons support.

The meeting on Thursday was the 25th and potentially last gathering of the US-led group, as the participating countries wait to see whether it will be continued under Trump.

“Our focus will be on maintaining momentum, delivering results, and sending a clear message: The international community stands resolute in its support for Ukraine,” Austin told reporters traveling with him.

The weapons are funded through presidential drawdown authority, meaning they can be pulled directly from US stockpiles. A senior defense official who briefed reporters traveling with Austin said the goal was to get those munitions into Ukraine before the end of the January.

To date the US has provided Ukraine about $66.5 billion in weapons assistance since Russia invaded nearly three years ago.

There is now a little less than $4 billion remaining in congressionally authorized funding for Ukraine and much of that is expected to roll over to the Trump administration to determine whether to continue the weapons support.

As Russia cynically adjusted its bombing routine from nighttime to daytime, killing at least 13 people and wounding 32 in southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Donald Trump shocked Ukrainians and other law-abiding people by revealing that he tends to sympathize with the Russians rather than the Ukrainians – the proverbial raper rather than his victims.

Trump said earlier this month he sympathized with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO, and he lamented that he will not meet Putin before his inauguration.

Speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Trump also blamed outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden for allegedly changing the US position on NATO membership for Ukraine.

“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin - said, ‘You could never have NATO involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Trump said. “And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join NATO.’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”

The new US commander in chief has again demonstrated his ignorance of Russia’s imperialistic posture vis-à-vis Ukraine that has existed for a millennia. Trump again showed that he is not aware or doesn’t care that without Ukraine’s accession to NATO Russia will forever threaten to incorporate it into its prison of nations and annihilate the nation. 

The so-called Russian orthodox patriarch, Kirill, standing next to his boss Putin, recently criticized the West for not accepting its so-called alternative path to civilized development.

Kirill, an enthusiastic backer of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and supporter of killing as many Ukrainians as possible, said Russia presents a challenge to powerful countries not because of its nuclear capabilities or strength, Kirill said. 

“They hate us because we are offering a different, alternative path of civilized development,’ he said. The West was in moral collapse, he said, but Russia showed the world how to blend science, culture, education and faith.

“Physically, they cannot really smother us, though they try through different types of slander and the creation of blocs of some sort intended to weaken Russia,” he said. “Nothing will work because God is with us.”

Well, at least the smothering part is correct.

Margus Tsahkna, minister of foreign affairs of Estonia, a staunch support of Ukraine, cautioned that Putin will aggressively pursue capturing all countries between Russia and the Atlantic Ocean if he isn’t stopped. 

“We have witnessed from the past what happens if Putin has an opportunity to continue, and he will continue anyway.

“I really hope that we don't need the years 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943 to finally understand that we could have a different situation. That's why I'm bringing this parallel with the Munich meeting in 1938.

“But I'm actually more positive that we can support Ukraine based on the understanding that Ukrainians are not fighting only for themselves and for us, but instead of us. I can say it as a former defense minister, because we saw in 2016-17, on the other side of our borders, 120,000 (Russian) troops ready to go within 48 hours. These troops do not exist anymore. They were sent to Ukraine. They are dead.

“So that's why I’m saying that you are fighting instead of us, and this knowledge is finally pretty widespread.”

As I was finishing this post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some 38,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded fighting in Russia's western Kursk region since August, with Kyiv now launching a fresh offensive in the border region.

“We continue to maintain a buffer zone on Russian territory, actively destroying Russian military potential there,” Zelenskyy said in a statement posted Monday to the presidency’s website.

Monday marked five months since Ukrainian soldiers crossed into Kursk in a surprise summer 2024 offensive. This past Sunday, Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed that Kyiv had launched a fresh offensive in Kursk, with fierce fighting reported in several villages.

All told, Russia has lost 803,100 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Jan. 9.

This number includes 1,430 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 9,731 tanks, 20,221 armored fighting vehicles, 33,387 vehicles and fuel tanks, 21,765 artillery systems, 1,260 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,038 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 331 helicopters, 21,813 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

The human fatalities clearly indicate that Putin doesn’t care about Russian or Ukrainian lives so long as his demonic mission of subjugating Ukraine is fulfilled.

Russia’s Goal is to Erase all Ukrainians from Human Memory

Put aside Putin’s untrue explanations about why Russia again invaded Ukraine. In reality, Putin’s sacred mission is to annihilate all living Ukrainians from human memory.

This war of Russia’s that it’s been waging for more than 1,000 days has only one goal: to subjugate the people, turn future generations of Ukrainians into docile Russians, remove the border between Ukraine and Russia, and rub out all memory of a nation known as Ukrainian.

History is replete with examples of Moscow’s tsars, commissars or today’s dictators trying to do this.

It’s comparable to what Hitler hoped to do with Jews.

Since this latest iteration of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine began in February 2022, its brutality has been well documented. It has been detailed at the United Nations, international organizations, and the capitals of free-world countries.

Unarmed civilians have been summarily killed in their homes, churches, hospitals, schools; others on the street waiting for food parcels; children have been raped and murdered, or forcibly taken to Russia from their living or dead parents. The list of war crimes screams to high heaven for retribution.

The record also includes the sudden execution of Ukrainian soldiers who have been forced to surrender, thus becoming prisoners of war. None of this matters to Russian cutthroats.

Last week the BBC published an article detailing that Russia is executing “more and more” Ukrainian POWs.

You may recall the heartless fate of Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky, who was killed after digging his own grave while taking his last drag of a cigarette, and proudly declaring to his captors “Glory to Ukraine.”

The BBC observed that Oleksandr Matsievsky is one of many Ukrainian combatants who were killed in violation of international norms that protect prisoners of war. International humanitarian law, particularly the Third Geneva Convention, offers protection to prisoners of war, and executing them is a war crime.

The BBC wrote that in October on 2024, nine captured Ukrainian soldiers were shot dead by Russian forces in Kursk region. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the case including a photo showing half-naked bodies lying on the ground. This photo was enough for one of the victims, drone operator Ruslan Holubenko, to be identified by his parents. His frantic mother recognized her son by his underwear that she had bought for him.

“The list of executions goes on. Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating reports of beheadings and a sword being used to kill a Ukrainian soldier with his hands tied behind his back. In another instance, a video showed 16 Ukrainian soldiers apparently being lined up and then mowed down with automatic gunfire after emerging from a woods to surrender,” the article states.

Some of the executions were filmed by Russian cutthroats themselves, while others were observed by Ukrainian drones hovering above. The killings captured on such videos usually take place in woods or fields lacking distinctive features, which makes confirming their exact location difficult. BBC Verify said it has been able to confirm in several cases – such as one beheading – that the victims wear Ukrainian uniforms and that the videos are recent.

“The upward trend is very clear, very obvious,” Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General’s Office, was quoted as saying.

“Executions became systemic from November last year and have continued throughout all of this year. Sadly, their number has been particularly on the rise this summer and autumn. This tells us that they are not isolated cases. They are happening across vast areas and they have clear signs of being part of a policy – there is evidence that instructions to this effect are being issued.”

Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, told BBC there is no shortage of evidence supporting allegations of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian troops. According to her, impunity plays a key part, and the Russian army has some serious questions to answer.

“What instructions do these units have, either formally or informally from their commanders? Are their commanders being quite clear about what the Geneva Conventions say about the treatment of prisoners of war? What are Russian military commanders telling their units about their conduct? What steps is the chain of command taking to investigate these instances? And if higher ups are not investigating, or not taking steps to prevent that conduct, are they aware that they too are criminally liable and can be held accountable?” she ponders.

According to Human Rights Watch, since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 the Russian forces have committed “a litany of violations, including those which should be investigated as war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

Keep these crimes in mind when next to encounter a Russian diplomat on the streets of New York or Washington, DC.

Soldiers or Civilians, ‘All Ukrainians Deserve to Die’ – Say Russians

You wouldn’t treat your own dog like this, but Russians have historically maligned Ukrainians like the Nazis did – regarding them as untermensch who deserve to die.

Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, speaking in the Third Committee on December 17, 2024, about “Human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives,” described the inhuman, horrific conditions facing Ukrainians in their own land as Russian cutthroats pursue their war against Ukraine.

Kyslytsya recounted to the representatives of the member-states one civilian’s description of how insecure the lives of everyday Ukrainians are: "They (the Russians) don’t care whether you’re a soldier or a civilian—what matters is that you’re Ukrainian, which means, in their eyes, you deserve to die." The Ukrainian diplomat pointed out that the woman, sharing her harrowing experiences of living under Russian occupation, is a resident of Rubizhne, a city in the Luhansk oblast of eastern Ukraine, situated on the left side of the Donets River.

“While she and her family were fortunate to escape to Ukrainian-controlled territory, her testimony reflects the grim reality faced by millions of Ukrainians in areas under Russian control,” Kyslytsya said. “This is not an isolated story. It is part of a well-documented and deliberate policy by Russia to terrorize and dehumanize Ukrainians.”

He cited another example from a brochure titled “Practical Recommendations to the Participant in Combat Actions” published on December 12, 2022, on the official website of the Russian Ministry of Defense under the title “Who Are Ukrainians?” 

“[…] Someday, … they [Ukrainians] will become Russians again. But for now, they are enemies—cruel and treacherous. This means that we need to beat them until they put their hands up, without stopping, until our victory,” he read.

Kyslytsya pointed out that these quotes highlight “the atmosphere of fear, repression, and lawlessness imposed on Ukrainians under Russian occupation.” Since 2014, when Russia seized the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, the temporarily occupied territories have become “zones of impunity, where gross human rights violations and war crimes are systematic and pervasive.”

Fortunately, he noted, unlike previous Russian wars against Ukraine, Russia’s war crimes in this one are thoroughly documented. 

“This extensive documentation will undoubtedly support the pursuit of justice and ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable. I therefore urge all alleged war criminals not to place false hope in evading responsibility, but to actively cooperate with investigations and provide their testimonies,” he said.

Reports from the United Nations, including the International Commission of Inquiry, and findings from other international monitors credibly document Russia’s widespread and deliberate perpetration of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross human rights violations and abuses.

“These include summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and inhumane treatment of civilian detainees and prisoners of war,” Kyslytsya detailed, specifically pointing out that “These atrocities are not random acts of violence, but part of a calculated and systematic policy aimed at erasing Ukrainian identity—obliterating cultural and historical markers while forcibly indoctrinating those who remain.”

He explained that the Ukrainian civilian population has no recourse because those who “dare to oppose face arbitrary detention, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the additional threat of having their children taken away or deported to Russia.”

To offer some form of solace and help, Kyslytsya said the Ukrainian delegation is proposing a draft resolution titled “Situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.”

According to him, the resolution aims to maintain the General Assembly and the UN’s focused attention on the dire human rights situation and provide essential protection for those affected, particularly the thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly deported or displaced by Russia. It calls on the Russia to immediately and unconditionally return all Ukrainian children, including those unlawfully adopted or placed in foster care. Ukraine and its partners will continue to fight for the safe return of every child.

“The resolution serves as a practical tool for the UN for ongoing monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied territory, providing a crucial mechanism for accountability,” he said.

However, Kyslytsya added, “the only way to guarantee full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for the residents of these territories is their de-occupation from Russia. Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders is not only a matter of justice for Ukrainians but also essential for European and global security.”

In other words, liberating Ukrainian lands currently held illegally by Russia and allowing the nation to live freely.

He thanked the 49 member-states that have co-sponsored the draft and called on all “responsible” member-states to stand with Ukraine by voting in favor of the draft resolution.

Despite the world’s hope for negotiations to end the war, in the words of the late Israeli prime minister Gold Meier, how can you talk to someone who wants you dead while you want to live.