Today, February 20, is the anniversary of the 2014 mass executions of Ukrainians during the Revolution of Dignity on the Maidan (Euromaidan). Millions of people then came out to oppose the policies of Pootin's henchman Yanukovych, corruption, and the de facto transformation of Ukraine into a colony of Russia. The security forces of Yanukovych then killed 107 Ukrainians, and 2 thousand were wounded. Now the Heavenly Hundred is called the first heroes and victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war. And many of the protesters then - now in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fighting for the same ideas - European integration, freedom and sovereignty.
"While the president clearly intended to bolster the confidence of Ukraine, and the commitment of ambivalent Europeans and neo-isolationist Americans, his real audiences lay elsewhere, as his remarks about Western strength indicated. Russia has cycled through a series of theories of victory in Ukraine—that Kyiv’s leaders would flee, that Ukraine’s population would not fight, that its army would be crumpled up by a sudden blitz or by grinding assaults. It has been reduced to one last hope: that Vladimir Putin’s will is stronger than Joe Biden’s. And Biden just said, by deed as well as word, “Oh no it’s not.”
This is a gut punch to Russia’s leader. The Russians received word of the trip, we are informed—and presumably the threat, stated or implied, that they would get a violent and overwhelming response if they attempted to interfere with it. For a leader obsessed with strength, like Putin, that is a blow. His own people will quietly or openly ask, “Why could we not prevent this?” And the answer, unstated, will have to be, “Because we were afraid.”"
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"The Russia-Ukraine war is not merely a humanitarian calamity, a monstrous collection of crimes against humanity, a gross violation of solemn agreements and international law. It is also a watershed, in which much will be determined about the future of the international system. It could lead to a very dark place, not different in kind from that of the 1930s and 1940s, if the dictators get their way. But if the liberal democracies unite and display the resolve, enterprise, and military capacity that they have shown before, that outcome can still be avoided."
[Needless to say, Ruscist poopaganda will portray this historic visit as "evidence" of their ztupidly erroneous whine that Ukraine is an American puppet. It isn't! Instead, America and liberal democracies are rewarding courage and supporting freedom. However, since the ignorant, duped, belligerent population of a self-dooming autocracy cannot be expected to think outside their own puppet-master box.]
23-2-18 Twelve days after a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, more than 46,000 people have died and more than 84,000 buildings have either been severely damaged, need urgent demolition, or collapsed, according to officials. The death toll in Turkey stands at 40,642 from the quake while neighbouring Syria has reported more than 5,800 deaths, a figure that has not changed for several days.