Russia’s Relentless Bombing and Killing of Ukrainians Persists

Every subsequent Russian bombing and killing of Ukrainian civilians indicates that Moscow isn’t serious about ending the war that it started in 2014 and enflamed in 2022 by invading Ukraine. Its presence at the ill-fated negotiating table is meant to hide its true intentions, which are revealed with every ballistic missile that explodes in the town square or drones that hit apartment buildings.

Russia’s ballistic missile attack yesterday on Palm Sunday against the town of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine caught churchgoers and other townspeople by surprise, killing with one blast more than 30 and injuring 117. The obvious terror of such an assault was surpassed by Moscow’s heinous plan to follow up the first explosion with a second one at the same coordinates after crowds appeared to remove the bodies from the streets and tend to the wounded men, women and children.

European leaders stridently condemned Russia for this attack during a religious holiday, one week before Easter. President Trump by contrast abstained from reproaching the Kremlin leadership for the latest senseless murder of innocent Ukrainian civilians, the target of choice for Russia.

The attack took place just two days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss peace negotiations. It seems that no American negotiator is an equal to Russian officials who consciously and regularly deceive naïve Washington counterparts.

• “Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it — with blatant disregard for human lives, international law, and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

Macron also called for strong measures to “impose a ceasefire on Russia” and noted that France is working towards that goal with allies.

According to global news reports the tidal wave of denunciations was fierce.

• U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack on civilians. “President Zelenskyy has shown his commitment to peace. Putin must now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions,” he wrote on X.

• EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the attack was “heartbreaking” as citizens gathered for Palm Sunday “only to be met by Russian missiles.”

“Horrific example of Russia intensifying attacks while Ukraine has accepted an unconditional ceasefire," she added, referencing Kyiv's agreement to a full 30-day ceasefire after U.S.-mediated talks in Jeddah on March 11.

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the attack was a “grim reminder” of Russia’s role as the aggressor in the full-scale war against Ukraine.

“Strong measures are urgently needed to enforce a ceasefire,” von der Leyen said in a post on X. “Europe will continue to reach out to partners and maintain strong pressure on Russia until the bloodshed ends and a just and lasting peace is achieved, on Ukraine's terms and conditions.”

• European Council President and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the strike on Sumy as “horrible and cowardly.”

“I strongly condemn this unacceptable violence, which contradicts any real commitment to peace, promoted by President Trump and supported wholeheartedly by Italy, together with Europe and other international partners,” Meloni said in a statement provided by the Italian Embassy. She pledged to work with allies to “stop this barbarism.”

• The EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, called the attack on churchgoers during Palm Sunday a “war crime” and said that Europe is “increasing pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine in every possible way.”

“Nothing seems to be sacred to the Russians — neither churches, nor Ukrainian children,” she added.

• Finnish President Alexander Stubb condemned Russia for “slaughtering innocent civilians in Sumy” and called for increased sanctions against Moscow. “Russia shows that it has no respect for international law or humanitarian law,” he wrote on X. “We must end this war. An unconditional ceasefire must begin at once. To make it commit seriously to negotiations, sanctions against Russia need to be further strengthened.”

• Moldova’s President Maia Sandu called for more air defense for Ukraine and added that Moldova “mourns with Ukraine.” She said that “Palm Sunday is a day of peace,” emphasizing that Russia “must be held accountable” and that “there is no justification for such evil.”

• The leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X that “Putin’s regime shows once again that it does not want peace.”

• Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the attack proves that “Russia’s goal is erasing Ukraine.” He stressed that aid to Ukraine cannot be delayed, adding that “no pressure on Russia means no peace.”

These heartening, supportive observations are in stark contrast to Trump’s insultingly blasé and baseless replies to journalists. Never an advocate for Ukraine, Trump brushed off a reporter’s questions by saying that he was told Russia “made a mistake” by attacking Sumy on a holy day.

“I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it’s a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing. I think, for that war to have started, is an abuse of power. This country would have never allowed that war to have started if I were president. That war is a shame,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. He declined to elaborate.

President Zelenskyy has urged Trump to visit Ukraine to “understand what Putin did.” In a CBS interview broadcast on Sunday, Zelenskyy said: “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead.”

Echoing comments made years ago by Golda Meier regarding compromising during Israel’s ongoing war with the Arab world, Zelenskyy explained, “You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,” he said in an interview that was filmed on last Friday, the day White House envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia.

One of the Trump Administration’s latest foolhardy plans to soothe the Russian bear is to partition Ukraine like Germany was at the end of World War Two, thus accepting Putin’s demand of sovereignty over the four eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. This would ultimately be the first step toward the total disappearance of Ukraine as an independent country and the Ukrainian nation as a people. The long, arduous, costly and bloody war to liberate Ukraine from Russian subjugation would have to be repeated.

There is no prospect for a just peace for Ukraine against current and future Russian aggression, one that would see the country victorious and safe within its current borders, while Trump drags
Ukraine down the anti-Ukrainian rabbit hole. Hopefully a united front of European countries – old Europe and former captive nations – can keep the Russian war machine at bay at least as long as Trump is in office.

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

Zelenskyy Displeased with US Reaction to Killing of Ukrainian Children

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote in a post to X, "Horrified that tonight a ballistic missile struck near a playground and restaurant in Kryvyi Rih. More than 50 people injured and 16 killed, including 6 children. This is why the war must end." 

President Zelenskyy said in a Saturday morning post to Telegram that the American reaction was inadequate. 

"Unfortunately, the reaction of the American Embassy is unpleasantly surprising: such a strong country, such strong people -- and such a weak reaction," he said. "They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children."

Blood and Tears Flowing down the Streets

And another Russian bombardment of Ukrainian cities takes its toll in the midst of phony hopes that Putin and Trump can honestly chisel out an agreement to stop the war against Ukraine.

On April 4, as Russia was lying through its teeth about wanting to halt the hostilities, Moscow again launched a ballistic missile attack on a residential area in Kryvyi Rih, President Zelenskyy’s hometown, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing at least 16 people, including nine children, and injuring more than 50, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. In Russians’ warped minds, the children were apparently regarded as enemy combatants as they were playing on a strategic playground next to their apartment building. Playgrounds are repeat targets for Russian gunners. It surely takes a demonic, depraved lack of humanity not to ensure that at least children do not fall in harm’s way as Russia fulfills its manifest destiny to kill as many civilians as possible.

Mothers cried over the bodies of their children and children mourned their dead mothers.

That same day, Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones on eastern city of Kharkiv that killed at least four people and injured 35 civilians in a residential area of Ukraine’s second-largest city.

Ukrainian officials, among them President Zelenskyy, have observed that every Russian missile or drone that strikes Ukraine means that Moscow and Putin have no real intention of stopping hostilities and ending the war and leaving Ukraine. Their pledges are pablum for American consumption.

For a clearer image of the extent of Russian duplicity and lies about its intentions for peace, the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN prepared a detailed list of the Russia’s bombings and murder of Ukrainians in the month of March. As Moscow continued to feign a desire for peace, it mercilessly bombed Ukrainian targets and civilians. Here is the complete statement by Chargée d’Affaires Khrystyna Hayovyshyn at the Security Council “Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine” on March 26, 2025:

Madam President, 

I would like to thank Denmark’s Presidency for convening this meeting.

I am also grateful to Assistant Secretary-General Joyce Msuya for her substantive briefing.

The Russian Federation continues to terrorize Ukrainian civilians by relentlessly striking critical infrastructure and residential areas across the country with missiles, MLRS, guided bombs, and attack drones – causing widespread death and destruction.

Frontline and border regions, particularly Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Kharkiv, remain under constant Russian attack.

Distinguished members of the Security Council, we should focus on Russian actions and not their statements. And their actions are the following.

On the night of March 1, 2025, the Russian Federation launched at least nine Shahed drones on Kharkiv, damaging a hospital with patients inside and injuring at least seven.

On the night of 3 March 3, Russian attack on an Ecopark near Kharkiv destroyed animal enclosures, a medical center, and a mother-and-child house. The same day, airstrikes on Omelnyk (Zaporizhzhia) destroyed a home, killing one and injuring another. On March 4, a drone strike on Sumy caused a fire in a children’s medical facility.

On March 5, a ballistic missile struck a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, killing at least 4 and injuring 32, including two children. Damage included 14 apartment buildings, a post office, cultural center, shops, and vehicles.

On March 7, a massive Russian assault on energy infrastructure hit multiple regions across Ukraine: Odesa, Poltava, Chernihiv, Ternopil, using nearly 70 missiles and 200 drones. In Kharkiv, a missile injured civilians near an apartment building.

That same day at night, the Russian Federation launched а ballistic missile attack on the center of Dobropillia, Donetsk region, killing at least 11 people and injuring 50 others, including seven children. As firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze, Russian forces carried out а second strike, targeting the rescuers.

On March 11, Russian drones damaged an infrastructure facility in Dnipro, about 10 private houses and broke windows in a kindergarten and a school.

On March 12, Russia launched ballistic missiles at Kryvyi Rih, killing 1 person and injuring 15. Russia launched a double-tap strike on rescuers and medics who arrived at the scene. The strike damaged an infrastructure facility, multi-story residential buildings, administrative buildings, a shop, garages, 12 cars and 2 units of rescue equipment.

On March 13, Russians massively attacked Kherson with artillery, killing a woman and injuring a man. The same day, critical infrastructure facilities in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions were attacked.

On March 14, Russians attacked a hospital in Zolochiv, Kharkiv region, with drones. A double-tap attack was carried out in 40 minutes after the first strike.

On March 14 Russian troops attacked the center of Kherson with guided aerial bombs, killing 1 and injuring 7 civilians.

On March 15, an attack drone damaged 65 apartments in a multi-story building, 12 private houses and 19 cars in one of Chernihiv's neighborhoods.

On March 16, an attack drone hit a multi-story building in Chernihiv, injuring a woman.

On March 21, the Russian Federation launched a drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, killing a family – a 17-year-old girl, her father and mother. The attack injured at least 14 people, including a nine-month-old baby. The drone strikes caused fires and widespread destruction in Zaporizhzhia.

Overnight on March 23, Russia attacked residential areas of Ukraine using nearly 150 strike drones. Russia’s massive drone attack on Kyiv and the Kyiv region killed at least three people, including a father and his five-year-old daughter, and injured 10 others, including an 11-month-old baby. This attack damaged apartment buildings, private houses and cars.

On March 24, the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on the city center of Sumy, injuring at least 88 people, including 17 children, and damaging several high-rise residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, including a school.

The same day, Russia launched its third consecutive overnight air attack on Kyiv.

March 25 – the Russian forces struck a residential area in the village of Kurtivka, Donetsk region, with a FAB-250 bomb, killing a 36-year-old mother and her 3-year-old daughter, and injuring her 15-year-old daughter, who was hospitalized. The family was at a playground when the strike hit them.

Last night, Russia launched 117 strike drones – mostly Shaheds – against civilians across Ukraine. Dnipro, Sumy, Cherkasy and other regions came under Russian attack. Kryvyi Rih suffered a massive drone strike, targeting a local enterprise and the civilian infrastructure. In Okhtyrka, Sumy region, homes, stores and the civilian infrastructure were damaged. Communities in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions also came under fire. It was another night of Russian terror targeting Ukrainian civilians.

These attacks are a daily reality. In just the first half of March alone, the Russian Federation launched hundreds of strikes against the Ukrainian people, using approximately 2,800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 2,000 attack drones, and over 100 missiles of various types. Which means that on average, Russia used each day 200 guided aerial bombs, 143 attack drones, and 7 missiles. Every single day!

The Russian Federation must be held accountable for the vast destruction it has inflicted on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. According to Ukrainian law enforcement, over 212,000 civilian sites have been damaged or destroyed – including over 171,000 residential buildings. The attacks have also affected over 1,600 schools, with at least 200 completely destroyed, and nearly 2,000 medical facilities, of which 300 have been reduced to rubble.

Madam President, 

From the very first day of the invasion, Russia has deliberately sought to block Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, directly threatening global food security.

It has consistently targeted southern Ukraine’s port infrastructure, commercial vessels, and grain storage facilities. All this was done to weaken Ukraine’s export capacity and deliberately provoke a food crisis in regions heavily reliant on Ukrainian grain.

On March 1, Russia launched a missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, injuring two port workers and damaging two civilian vessels – including a Sierra Leone-flagged bulk carrier loaded with over 21,000 tons of corn and soybeans, and a Panama-flagged container ship.

On March 11, a ballistic missile attack on the same port killed four Syrian crew members and injured two others (a Ukrainian and a Syrian). The attack damaged another ship, docks, and grain storage facilities. The vessel targeted was loading wheat for export to Algeria.

Such strikes directly undermine food security in vulnerable regions across the globe. Today, over 40 countries rely on Ukrainian grain exports. These deliberate attacks risk deepening instability in areas already facing food shortages.

Madam President, 

In its latest report the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has further confirmed that the widespread use of torture is not incidental but a deliberate and systematic element of Russian state policy – amounting to crimes against humanity. The report documents ongoing torture of civilians and POWs, inhumane detention conditions, and the use of sexual violence – particularly against male detainees – as a method of torture. It also presents clear evidence of numerous executions of prisoners of war and a disturbing "take no prisoners" policy by the Russian military, in direct and cynical violation of the Geneva Conventions.

The Commission’s efforts to investigate and document Russia’s war crimes are essential to ensuring justice and accountability. We therefore urge continued support for its mandate and the allocation of adequate funding to sustain its work.

Ukraine also welcomes the recent OHCHR thematic report focused on the impact of Russia’s aggression on the rights of Ukrainian children – the first of its kind. The report provides vital, verified evidence of systematic violations, especially in territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

It confirms at least 669 children killed and 1,833 injured due to Russia’s use of explosive weapons in civilian areas, and documents the destruction of schools and hospitals, the militarization of children, forced implementation of Russian curricula, suppression of the Ukrainian language, and persecution of families trying to protect their children’s right to education.

Particularly alarming are the forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus, the illegal change of their citizenship, and efforts to erase their Ukrainian identity.

Ukraine urges all relevant UN mandates to continue their critical monitoring and reporting work. We call on the international community to act on these findings – ensuring accountability and supporting the return of deported children through initiatives such as the Bring Kids Back UA platform and the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children.

On March 20, we saw one more Kremlin’s decree, which provides for the forced expulsion of Ukrainian citizens living in the temporarily occupied territories and in the territory of Russia, without so-called “legal grounds,” Yet another step in Russia's campaign of discrimination, persecution and forced displacement of Ukrainian citizens from their homeland, or coercion to acquire the status of a foreigner. These systematic deportations and persecutions are part of Russia's policy of genocide against Ukrainian people.

Responsible for the crime of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity must be brought to justice.

We are grateful to all those who contribute to freeing our people from Russian captivity – both military and civilian – as well as to return Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken by the Russians. It remains our priority.

Madam President,

Ukraine began recording episodic cases of the use of dangerous chemical substances by the Russian troops from the beginning of the full-scale invasion in flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, by using hazardous chemical substances.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, from February 2023 to February 2025, there have been recorded and documented over 6,900 cases of Russia’s use of munitions containing hazardous chemicals. Over 3,400 Ukrainian servicemen have been hospitalized with poisoning from chemicals used by the Russians.

The two reports of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons emphasize that the evidence provided by Ukraine has been collected and provided to the OPCW representatives in compliance with the chain-of-custody and relevant procedures. Two independent OPCW designated laboratories have confirmed that the evidence provided by Ukraine contains CS substance, which is a part of riot control agents.

The situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains critically difficult.

The Russian Federation continues to ignore the UNGA resolution 78/316 “Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant” and IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors' resolutions on nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.

The only way to ensure nuclear safety and security is the complete withdrawal of the Russian Federation’s troops and other unauthorized personnel from all ZNPP facilities and the return of the plant to the full sovereign control of Ukraine.

Madam President, 

Ukraine welcomes President Trump’s continued efforts to end Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and restore a just and lasting peace.

We welcome American mediation and the advancing of this process. We are grateful to Saudi Arabia for hospitality and facilitation.

Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.

Ukraine has clearly demonstrated its desire for peace and its readiness to take concrete steps.

But we won`t accept “peace at any price” – as any appeasement of aggressor would only encourage it to continue attacks in the future.

Ukraine has made its three principled positions clear:

1. We will not recognize any temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian.

2. We will not agree to any foreign diktat regarding the structure, number, and other characteristics of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

3. We will not accept any restrictions on Ukraine's sovereignty, our domestic and foreign policies, including on the choice of alliances that we would like to join.

We have already demonstrated our commitment to give peace a chance – as Ukraine has agreed to the US proposal of an immediate, interim and full 30-day ceasefire. Russia`s refusal to support it is a clear evidence, who is an obstacle to peace.

A crucial aspect of any future peace framework is that a temporary ceasefire does not turn into a frozen conflict. Current ceasefire efforts – the results of the consultations in Riyadh on March 23-25, 2025 – are only a measure that has to lay the foundation for permanent peace.

Ukraine and the United States have agreed to a ceasefire regarding energy facilities. We believe that such a ceasefire took effect at the moment when the relevant statement was published following the Ukrainian-U.S. meeting.

Ukraine and the United States also agreed on a ceasefire in the Black Sea, which applies not only to civilian shipping but also to ports. We believe that the agreement on the sea does not extend to Russian warships. If Russian warships – currently concentrated in the eastern part of the Black Sea – enter our territorial waters, Ukraine will consider this a threat and will exercise its right to self-defense.

We continue working closely with our American and European partners to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace with real security guarantees for our people.

Madam President,

Moscow speaks of peace while launching brutal strikes almost daily on densely populated residential areas in major Ukrainian cities. Instead of making hollow statements about peace, the Russian Federation must stop bombing Ukrainian cities and end its war against civilians.

Everyone should focus on Russian actions, not their statements. The coming days will be critical in determining whether Russia is serious about peace or intends to deceive the United States and the world.

Any diplomacy with Moscow must be backed by sanctions, pressure and increased support for Ukraine.

To push the Russian Federation toward peace, we need strong measures and decisive actions.

We are ready to take the necessary steps toward peace as quickly as possible, together with the United States, Europe and all partners. However, if the Russian Federation continues attacking our energy sector, we will respond. If Russia manipulates the naval ceasefire, we will work with our partners to increase pressure. Our position will remain strong.

Ukraine resists and stands firmly. We will continue to defend ourselves. To sustain this fight against aggression, we need further international support, including in arms.

NATO and the EU are indispensable elements of regional security, and Ukraine is eager to become a part of them – not only as a security recipient but as a security provider.

We must establish a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and with clear security guarantees.

Thank you.

As Ukraine fights in its defense against the latest Russian onslaught it is also defending its neighbors as well as Western Europeans. Ukraine understands its responsibility to the world. Hopefully the United States will do so as well and not kowtow to Russian murderous purposes.

Thoughts about Odesa: ‘We must overcome betrayal to become independent’

If you’ve been following events about Russia’s bloody war against Ukraine, with its devastating bombardment of civilian targets and infrastructure, then you’d know that promises in the Kremlin are – actually, have always been – rather cheap. They’ll promise one thing, such as stopping destruction of civilian targets only to resume bombing civilian apartment buildings before the ink dries.

This week, in the midst of negotiations and the White House’s delusional belief that Moscow can be believed, Russia attacked Ukraine with 145 drones, two ballistic missiles, and four anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine’s Air Force said. The attacks targeted the Sumy, Odesa, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions; 72 drones were shot down, the air force said on Wednesday. Then today, at least seven people were killed after Russian launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine.  The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations. These is the monotonous but deadly repetition of Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilians—negotiate, truce, stop attacks, resume attacks, week in, week out.

Russia attacked Ukraine’s historic port city of Odesa during the overnight of March 21, triggering fires as several infrastructure targets were hit as well as a high-rise residential building and shopping center. Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said the drone attack happened while Czech President Petr Pavel was meeting with regional officials in Odesa.

“Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region,” Kiper said in a statement on Telegram.

Pavel said he discussed further direct support for Ukraine during the Odesa meeting.

“I arrived in Odesa, Ukraine, which has been resisting Russian aggression since the beginning of the war. Aid is being from the Czech Republic in the form of combat vehicles, drones, protective vests, mobile jammers that protect residents from drone attacks, as well as medical equipment such as ventilators and hospital beds,” Pavel said on X. “Together with the leadership of the Odesa, Mykolayiv and Kherson regions, we discussed further direct support for the regions that are directly on the front line.”

I asked my wife’s 50-year-old family friend for her thoughts on Moscow’s latest bombing of her hometown. She observed: “I remember how scary it was in 2022 (When Russia’s latest war against Ukraine began on February 22, 2022). How I woke up in the morning and read the news that the ‘orcs’ (Ukrainians’ pejorative description of Russian invaders.)  were approaching Mykolayiv, that in three hours they could be in Odesa, how Russian ships were anchored opposite Odesa, enemy guns were pointed at us, the Russian landing force tried to capture the city several times, how Odesa was closed for 2-3 days with a curfew. We all started praying in the morning and after a few hours the enemy retreated, his plans collapsed... Our guys went out to these monstrosities almost with their bare hands and pushed them back again and again. How many hours did that first long day of the war last? I don't remember when it ended for me personally – in three months or a year and a half, maybe when Kherson and Kharkiv were liberated. But, remembering those very difficult times, I clearly understand that God, his Protection and Help are always with us... otherwise we would not have survived then, in 2022. Ukraine has been defending itself from enemies for a very long time, but it has never learned to defend itself from betrayal. We must learn this lesson in order to finally become completely independent and self-sufficient.”

Ukrainians’ hope for a swift and victorious end to the war is intensified with every Russian drone and missile and every drop of Ukrainian blood. God bless Ukrainians.

For more on this topic, I invite you to visit http://thetorncurtain1991.blogspot.com/.

Trump’s Abandonment of Ukraine & Ukrainian Americans Deepens

Since his inauguration as President of the USA on January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump has been behaving like an overt Russian asset rather than the duly elected chief executive of the American people.

Trump’s sidling up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin has become more visible by his actions and words every day. Much to the shock of the x-captive nations, notably Ukrainians, and their landsmen in the United States, Trump defiantly switched sides and began promoting Moscow’s line of imperial thinking. He blamed Ukraine for starting the war and he called President Zelenskyy a dictator. In Trump’s mind Ukraine was guilty of all transgressions while Russia was merely doing what others in its place would be doing—defending itself.

After the previous administration designated Ukraine America’s strategic partner, the current White House has stepped back. Its abandonment of Kyiv and Ukrainian Americans is deepening.

Two events took place this week that intensified the rejection.

After eight decades of providing truthful and needed analysis and information to the captive nations behind the iron curtain, President Trump has decided to silence the Voice of America. The VOA is an international broadcaster that operates in nearly 50 languages. USAGM also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia.

Tech billionaire and senior Trump adviser Elon Musk called for VOA and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to be terminated. “Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Hello?? 2. Nobody listens to them anymore,” Musk said in an early February post on the social platform X. “3. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money.”

Too bad that Musk is not in tune with what is happening in the now independent former captive nations otherwise he would know that VOA broadcasts, which kept previous generations informed about what was happening in the USSR and beyond, are still extremely viable and in demand, complementing the other media with its brand of news reporting.

Then, the White House announced that its participation in the commission investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine has ended. This concerns the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), which was established to hold Russia’s leadership and its allies in Belarus, North Korea and Iran accountable for aggression that violates the sovereignty of another country and is not conducted in self-defense.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the US Department of Justice has informed European officials about the US withdrawal from the group.

The decision was expected to be announced yesterday in an email to the group’s parent organization, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), according to The New York Times.

The Hague-based International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a judicial hub supporting national investigations into the crime of aggression committed by the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin, who has been convicted of war crimes, and Moscow's allies against Ukraine.

While the group is made up of specialists from Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic countries, the Biden administration appointed a special prosecutor to support the hub’s activities in 2023.

The Trump administration will also reduce the work of the U.S. Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Team, which was launched in 2022 to investigate Russia for the atrocities it had committed during the full-scale invasion. That’s like allowing all criminals to have their way at ruling their roost.

Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia as part of its all-out war, including the summary execution of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians. Russian brutality against prisoners of war and civilians and kidnappings has been condemned by the United Nations and other international organizations.

Since being elected to office, the U.S., at the instructions of Trump, has sought to water down joint statements labeling Russia as the aggressor and the “sole obstacle” to peace.

Despite America’s withdrawal, the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression said the group remains “fully committed” to holding “those responsible for core international crimes” in Ukraine accountable, Schmid said. The group consists of prosecutors from Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania.

It is obvious, therefore, that the progression of steps by the Trump administration leads many to believe, including us, that Trump’s and Putin’s plans and goals for Ukraine are aligned, as Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis observed. His thoughts have been echoed by Finnish President Aleksander Stubb who said, “Putin does not want peace. His original goal was to destroy Ukraine — and that goal has not changed."

Despite what will be the upshot of today’s telephone conversation between Trump and Putin, Moscow has its own plans for Ukraine and the region. A document prepared for the Kremlin by a Moscow-based think tank states that “a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine war cannot happen before 2026,” according to The Washington Post.

The document, drawn up in February, outlines the Russian plan to weaken the U.S. position on the Ukraine crisis by boosting tensions between the Trump White House and other nations as Russia moves ahead with its plans to pick apart the country.

The document, obtained by a European intelligence agency and reviewed by The Post, argues that the current Ukrainian government needs to be fully dismantled. “The current Kyiv regime cannot be changed from inside the country. Its complete dismantling is needed,” the report states. This is proof that Moscow intends to expand its invasion and then evict, destroy and perhaps kill the democratically elected government of Ukraine and in its place install its typical puppets.

The sad irony of Washington’s position is that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who immigrated to the United States and their descendants in the 19th century, during World War One, after World War Two and today, have been betrayed by the White House. Today, the President and his minions are implementing policies that do not benefit anyone except Russia.

Level of Russian Bombardment of Ukraine Proves that Putin is not Interested in Peace

The latest Russian war against Ukraine is divided into reality and fantasy, woefully delaying a serious discussion of peace and an end to this bloody war.

Despite President Zelenskyy’s better efforts to paint a realistic picture of what Russia is doing to his Ukraine and nation, Russia’s Vladimir Putin abetted by America’s Donald Trump are turning reality into a macabre mélange of fabrications that are nowhere near authenticity.

Trump’s intrusion into peacemaking is based on trusting his close friend Putin and exonerating Russia of all crimes against Ukraine, twisting the truth, calling Zelenskyy a dictator, and putting the onus of peace on the victim.

Recently, Russia has undertaken the following attacks against Ukrainian civilian targets while the White House insists that it is up to Ukraine to return to the negotiating table. At least 25 people have died in Ukraine in the latest wave of Russian strikes, Ukrainian officials say, as the killings show no signs of easing.

・On the evening of March 7 one attack on Donetsk Region killed least 11 people and wounded 40, including six children, local officials said. Homes and infrastructure were hit in other regions, including Kharkiv and Odesa.

・On the night of March 7-8, the Russians attacked a civilian company in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv Oblast, with a drone, killing three people and injuring seven others.

・On the evening of March 7, the Russians again launched a large-scale drone strike on Odesa, and fires broke out in the city.

・On Friday, March 7, Russia carried out another large-scale missile and drone strike on Ukraine, targeting energy and gas infrastructure in various regions. Strikes have been reported in Kharkiv and the Ternopil, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions, hitting critical facilities. Civilians have been affected.

Russian attacks have intensified in recent days, as the US paused military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, leaving it blind. It followed last week's Oval Office clash between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

After the latest Russian strikes, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk observed: “This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians. More bombs, more aggression, more victims.”

Kaja Kallas, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has said that Russia’s recent missile strikes on Ukraine demonstrate Putin's lack of desire for peace. “Once again, Putin shows he has no interest in peace. We must step up our military support – otherwise, even more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price,” Kallas, an Estonian, said. 

Estonia, a former captive nation of Russian subjugation, is a staunch supporter along with Lithuania and Latvia of unrestrained support for Ukraine. Indeed, the three Baltic countries openly admit that they fear that Russia’s imperialistic appetite has not been slaked, and they could be next.

President Trump has not shown any compassion whatsoever for Ukraine, its nation and just aspirations. In the wake of the latest bombings of Ukraine, he said that it is easier for him to deal with Russia on achieving peace in Ukraine because, according to him, Russia “has all the cards.” This sounds as if Trump believes that Russia is winning so it would be easier to help it finally defeat Ukraine.

“Right now they (Russia) are bombing the hell out of Ukraine. I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine. But they (Russia) have all the cards,” Trump said at a press conference in Washington on Friday.

Speaking about the shelling of Ukraine by Russia, he said Putin “is doing what anyone else would do” in a war situation. Criminals would take advantage of the open door to rob a bank and likewise Putin is taking advantage of his battlefield reward. 

This heartless attitude permeates the senior staff at the White House and State Department. Ukraine was given “fair warning” by the White House before Trump this week ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, a senior administration official said last week. That’s like passively warning women not to walk along a dark street and if they do and they’re raped, well that’s their fault.

The Republican administration announced the pauses this week after Trump and Zelenskyy’s Oval Office meeting devolved into a shouting match, with the US president and Vice President JD Vance excoriating the Ukrainian leader for being incorrectly dressed and insufficiently grateful for the tens of billions of dollars in US assistance sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said the pause is already having an impact on Kyiv, adding that the Ukrainians “brought it on themselves.”

“The best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose,” Kellogg said at an event Thursday at the Council on Foreign Relations. “You got their attention.”

Zelenskyy, who has always expressed his desire for peace, noted that “the first steps” toward real peace must include forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks against life.

“And this is something that can be effectively monitored. Silence in the skies – banning the use of missiles, long-range drones, and aerial bombs. And silence at sea – a real guarantee of normal navigation. Ukraine is ready to pursue the path to peace, and it is Ukraine that strives for peace from the very first second of this war. The task is to force Russia to stop the war,” Zelenskyy stressed.

Current developments indicate that the latest iteration of Russia’s war has expanded to include Ukrainians singlehandedly defending their land and nation against Russia and its allies, North Korea, Iran and – the United States of America.

The bloody irony, cynicism and betrayal!

No, President Zelenskyy did not Cave

In the aftermath of the historic debacle in the Oval Office last Friday, February 28, and before last night’s State of the Union address by President Trump, the airwaves, cyberspace and newsprint were filled with speculations about President Zelenskyy’s next steps. Afterall, Ukraine did not achieve what it hoped for, Trump was visibly upset, and he basically asked the Ukrainian delegation to leave the White House. What’s Ukraine to do. It certainly needs Washington’s moral support at least and fully loaded military aid at most.

The following is Trump’s passage about the Russian war against Ukraine that places both and victim and assailant on equal planes. Trump refuses to admit that there is one guilty, criminal party in this centuries-long Russian war against Ukraine.

“I’m also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense with no security, with no anything. Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah. Yeah. You, you would say. Pocahontas says yes.

“Two thousand people are being killed every single week. More than that. They’re Russian young people. They’re Ukrainian young people. They’re not Americans. But I want it to stop. Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far. Think of that. They’ve spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending, and we’ve spent perhaps $350 billion—like taking candy from a baby, that’s what happened—and they’ve spent $100 billion. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us and they don’t. But we’re getting along very well with them and lots of good things are happening. 

“Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t have stopped it and said at some point. ‘Come on, let’s equalize. You gotta be equal to us.’ But that didn’t happen. Earlier today. I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, ‘Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians.’ He said, ‘My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine, maintained its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.’ I appreciate that he sent this letter. Just got it a little while ago.

“Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? Wouldn’t that be beautiful? Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

That would be beautiful if Moscow would demonstrate its peaceful intentions. Throughout, and even in the course of yesterday’s events, Russia has continued bombing Ukrainian cities and killing Ukrainians.

Nothing in President Zelenskyy’s statement implied an apology. He did express regret that the situation had deteriorated.

The BBC has been reporting the following:

Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to work under Donald Trump’s “strong leadership” to achieve a lasting peace days after their explosive Oval Office meeting.

The Ukrainian president described the White House showdown as “regrettable” in a lengthy social media post in the wake of the US announcing a pause in military aid to Kyiv.

Zelensky said “it was time to make things right,” after Trump had accused him of not being ready to come to the negotiating table.

The Ukrainian leader also outlined the first stages of how the war could be ended.

“We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky – ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure – and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same,” he wrote. “Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”

Zelenskyy poignantly said that Russia will have to undertake the same peace-driven steps that Ukraine will.

The following is his statement to the Ukrainian nation about what happened and his hopes regarding Ukraine’s relations with the United States:

Dear Ukrainians,

Today, many people have the same question: what will happen next with U.S. assistance?

I have instructed Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, the heads of our intelligence agencies, and our diplomats to contact their counterparts in the United States and obtain official information. People should not have to guess. Ukraine and America deserve a respectful dialogue and a clear position from one another. Especially when it comes to protecting lives during a full-scale war.

Of course, in Ukraine, we have been receiving various signals for weeks now, and there has already been a precedent for aid being halted. There was a suspension of humanitarian aid, of energy aid. There was also a halt in military aid – at the end of January, but at that time, everything was quickly resumed. We saw the risks. Therefore, our agencies – both military and special services – managed to develop action algorithms for any developments in the situation. This is not 2022 anymore. Our resilience is stronger now. We have the means to defend ourselves. But for us, maintaining normal, partnership-based relations with America is essential to bringing the war to a real end. None of us wants an endless war.

Ukraine will always be grateful to the U.S. for all the support that has been and is being provided, and which is working to preserve the now rather fragile foundations of security in Europe. After all, this is not just about our country. It is about everyone in Europe. We seek constructive cooperation. Partnership-based relations. We can only regret what happened at the White House instead of our negotiations. But we must find the strength to move forward, to respect one another, just as we have always respected America, Europe, and all our partners, and to do everything together to bring peace closer. And I thank everyone who is supporting Ukraine in this effort.

Today, I have already spoken with the President of Finland, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister of Greece, the Prime Minister of Croatia, the NATO Secretary General, and the leader of Germany’s CDU party, Friedrich Merz – the very party that won the recent Bundestag elections. Clear support for Ukraine. Thank you. There is very important news from the European Commission about significant funds for Europe’s defense. For us, this primarily means additional air defense – more systems, more missiles, and increased ability to protect our cities and villages, our positions. And all of this creates a solid additional foundation for efforts to bring the war to an end. We will continue consultations, and new joint steps will follow. Ukraine deserves peace. Ukrainians deserve respect.

And one last thing.

We know that the Russians have not changed their positions or demands regarding Ukraine. They will insist on reducing our army, they will seek a legal renunciation of our territories, as well as a significant political deformation of Ukraine with the weakening of the Ukrainian Constitution. But I will say that, in fact, as long as we all in Ukraine stand together and stand strong, as long as we are here, no one will succeed in this – peace will be dignified.

Glory to Ukraine!

Questions remain about America’s resumption of military aid to Ukraine, when will both sides meet again and who will be present at the talks.

The last paragraph in Zelenskyy’s remarks is every important in that it emphasizes what Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials as well as their supporters have been saying for months and years. Russia is hellbent on establishing circumstances that will allow it to seize all of Ukraine and return it to its prison of nations or else it will continue bombing Ukraine and its people back into the Stone Age. What divine or human power can guarantee that Russia will not continue that in a year or in a decade?