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| Statue of Socrates at the Academy of Athens |
Old age is no fun, though between aches and pains it can be fairly pleasant as long as your body holds together. A compensating factor is that, having lost your juvenile awe of authority figures, and having no job to protect, you feel free to say exactly where the cow bit the cabbage. And old men who have paid attention through all the stages of life usually have some very keen wisdom to share, if anybody will put down the goddamn smartphone long enough to listen.
Here's a few old guys like your Head Trucker who speak their minds and give some damn good advice. I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but I do like the way they say it. They can be pretty funny, too.
First up, Tom Powell, Jr., from Illinois, gives a mini-review of a Canadian comedian's rant:
Blue Dot in Texas, down in the southern part of the state, doesn't mince words about the state of the country:
Pissed Off Bartender, somewhere in Alabama, isn't quite an old man yet, but we'll grant him honorary status on account of his awesome beard and stache:
Finally, fired-by-Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton is a Republican with great expertise in foreign and military affairs; I'd never vote for him, but he really knows what he's talking about:
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"They're dismantling agencies of the United States government that have been here for decades," Hood County protester Payton Fletcher said.
But Republicans said they voted for a downsize, and they're not concerned by the way it's being accomplished.
"President Trump is doing exactly what we elected him to do," Hood County Republican Party vice chair Tina Lawrence said. "The first time, he tried to be slower and nice. See what that got him? I couldn't be prouder for what he is doing."
What he is doing is DESTROYING THE CIVIL SERVICE AND DEMOLISHING THE RULE OF LAW. In other words, TAKING A WRECKING BALL TO DEMOCRACY.
People, it's not about budget deficits or national debt or anything but SEIZING COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.
It's also about DESTROYING ALL POSTWAR ALLIANCES that our fathers and grandfathers set up to keep the world steady and at peace.
It's all about ONE MAN RULE. Complete, absolute, unquestioned. Yes, the DICTATORSHIP is here.
Probably soon to be followed by financial depression, food shortages, famine, pandemics, and war. (Ukraine is a dead duck. Europe may be next.) All these will be used as excuses to rachet up support for the Tyrant - who by then will control all sources of information. The propagandists are already working full time.
And what little help the government might provide through all this will no doubt be limited to LOYAL FOLLOWERS OF THE LEADER. (No need to go out and buy a party card; an algorithm will determine your loyalty for you.)
Why am I the only one who foresees this? Am I the only one left who ever read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich? Now our very own nightmare empire is arising before our eyes.
Of course, I could be wrong. I'm an old graybeard without a crystal ball or even a smartphone, so what do I know?
But all that the Democrats foretold about the REIGN OF TRUMP is coming true, so watch out!
The world we have known all our lives up till now is gone. Welcome to the "golden era" - fool's gold, that is.
For the record, here's just two videos that sum up what's happening now, here and abroad. I fear that much worse is yet to come. God help us all.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering U.S. legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation’s capital on Wednesday that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity,” but an “investment” in global security and democracy.The whirlwind stop in Washington — his first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in February — was aimed at reinvigorating support for his country in the U.S. and around the world at a time when there is concern that allies are growing weary of the costly war and its disruption to global food and energy supplies.Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic assistance provided over the past year vital to Ukraine’s efforts to beat back Russia and appealed for even more in the future.“Your money is not charity,” he sought to reassure both those in the room and those watching at home. “It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.”
I've got a little list, I've got a little list,Of societal offenders who never would be missed --Who never would be missed!
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| A representation of the empty tomb. Click to enlarge. |
The Kyiv Symphony and Chorus perform the joyous Easter hymn at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, about ten years ago, with Matthew McMurrin conducting:
From Eucharistic Prayer A in the Book of Common Prayer:
Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us
for yourself, and, when we had fallen into sin and become
subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent Jesus
Christ, your only and eternal Son, to share our human
nature, to live and die as one of us, to reconcile us to you, the
God and Father of all.
He stretched out his arms upon the cross, and offered himself,
in obedience to your will, a perfect sacrifice for the whole
world.
. . . . . . . . . .
Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
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| Zelensky observing the horrors of Bucha on April 4. |
We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world. We are defending the right to live. I never thought this right was so costly. These are human values. So that Russia doesn't choose what we should do and how I'm exercising my rights. That right was given to me by God and my parents.
The Lessons appointed for Palm Sunday
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| The Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin, 1844. Click to enlarge. |
The ancient hymn was sung in 2019 at St. Andrew's Church, Chennai, India, by a choir and string ensemble directed by Augustine Paul. Hymnary.org has more on the origin and significance of the song, along with the lyrics.
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| Zelensky and his family in happier times. Click to enlarge. |
BBC correspondent Katty Kay, based in the United States, writes:
Since coming into office, Joe Biden has spoken repeatedly about the tectonic struggle between democracy and autocracy. It's been the leitmotif of his presidency. His argument is that democracy must deliver for its people if it's going to survive. But there's another side to that social contract. We citizens have to deliver for democracy as well.
For a start, we have to bother to vote. It's an activity America is famously bad at. In the 2020 election, one of the most consequential in recent history, only 62% of eligible voters bothered to turn out and vote. That was a modern day high. The UK doesn't do much better, 67% voted in its last general election. . . .
Of course it's not just the lack of participation that weakens liberal societies. Twenty-first century democracies are hotbeds of social and economic inequality. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Many democracies, like the US, have such polarised political systems that you can't get laws passed that would make lives better. They've become virtually ungovernable. Long-term challenges, like climate change, get kicked down the road as politicians focus their efforts on short term gains, like getting re-elected.
Democracies aren't giving the next generation the tools they will need to be responsible democratic citizens in a complicated, changing world. Our kids need lessons on how to spot real news from fake news and how to avoid baseless conspiracy theories that undermine the strength of democracy itself. . . .
I am part of a generation that has taken political pluralism for granted. Decades of peace produced a failure of imagination. Despite the war tales our parents told us, we couldn't envisage that a way of life we'd all got used to might disappear if we didn't defend it.
Ukraine has snapped us awake. It has shown us both the risks, and, more inspiringly, what it means to really care for democracy. In a war they didn't choose, Ukrainians are fighting, and dying, for the right to free elections, to the rule of law, and an impartial media, for the right to be a democratic country. Their bravery puts our laziness to shame.
Ukrainian President Zelensky will be interviewed on the long-running CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes tomorrow. Excerpt:
"We are defending the ability of a person to live in the modern world," Zelensky says. Rhetorically, no one can dispute that inconvenient truth that puts all Western nations to shame. "Being brave is our brand, " Zelensky said two days ago, "This is what it means to be us. To be Ukrainians. To be brave. If everyone in the world had at least ten percent of the courage that we Ukrainians have, there would be no danger to international law at all."
It may not be not quite that simple - but once again, he gets to the heart of the moral dilemma confronting the West that I have mentioned since my first post about this damnable war: every moral fiber quivers with the impulse to join Zelensky and his people in the fight against a monstrous evil; but to do so would probably mean a death sentence for many millions of people far from Ukraine, and unthinkable destruction on a gigantic scale. A devil's dilemma, that's what it is.
And who knows but what the unthinkable won't happen anyway, no matter how carefully Western leaders tiptoe around the edge of the abyss? God forbid. I have no idea what to do or what to say. I can only join with all other decent men and women in saluting the fierce courage of the Ukrainians and their indomitable president. May God deliver them from all assaults of the enemy and give them peace - and all the rest of the world, too.
For a long, thoughtful read, here's a link to an essay by the BBC's Fergal Keane: "Ukraine, the UN and History's Greatest Broken Promise."
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| Captured Russian soldiers in Ukraine - via The Mirror (U.K.), 11 March 2022. Notice the helpless position they have been restrained in: hands cuffed behind their backs, outer coats peeled back, outer pants pulled down to their ankles. Any statement made under such a state of duress is, predictably, going to be what the interrogators want to hear. There are numerous such videotaped confessions posted online by the Ukrainian authorities. |
Your Head Trucker has refrained from mentioning his reservations about the war in Ukraine up till now - but today's story of Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war, is sufficient cause for me to speak up.
There can be no doubt whatsoever that Putin launched an unprovoked war on Ukraine, invading large swathes of territory, raining death and destruction all across Ukraine, deliberately and horrifically targeting civilians in homes, schools, hospitals, and all manner of non-military places. The world has already seen indisputable evidence of Russian brutality and war crimes, deliberately and mercilessly done. Russia's transparent lies and two-faced denials of these atrocities are so obvious that they are almost laughable.
Nevertheless - there are disturbing reports of Ukrainian brutality and war crimes too. We don't want to hear those things, of course, because we want the good guys to be totally good, as in the movies. But has there ever been a war in the long, bloody annals of recorded history in which neither side violated the rules of war, and of common decency?
This story came up in my news feed today - a manifest violation of the Geneva Conventions. (Have you ever read them?) I wonder how much continuing coverage it will get in mainstream Western media.
(video not yet available on YouTube)
U.N. urges investigation into videos of alleged POW abuse by Russia and Ukraine
How Ukraine is dealing with Russian POWs - and how they are supposed to be treated by law
Not long after the start of the war, I was alarmed by the sight of Russian POW's with their hands obviously tied behind their backs giving video confessions to their Ukrainian captors, which they promptly broadcast to the world - again, most definitely a violation of the Geneva Conventions (forced confessions, and publicizing prisoner's identities for propaganda purposes). From the American broadcaster Radio Free Europe on February 27, the fourth day of the war:
As my recent posts have shown, I understand and deeply sympathize with the fact that the Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, and using all possible means to prevent the destruction of their nation. In such a state of desperate warfare, misdeeds are often made by individuals, and by national leaders, in a fit of fury. War is a bad business, even when fighting for a good cause.
That does NOT justify war crimes, however, no matter who commits them. Two wrongs do NOT make a right, in peace or in war. The powers that be will, I hope, be recording and investigating all such crimes by both sides in what is, to some degree, very like a civil war - which because of its fratricidal nature is often the most vicious kind.
Western policymakers should also take the long view into consideration: what will it mean for Europe and America if Zelensky achieves his goal of making Ukraine a "big Israel" - in a perpetual state of armed alert, if not actual war with its neighbors? Think about it. I do not say that would be good or bad - I merely say it is a possible outcome of this present war, which will not likely end with a nice, neat peace treaty anytime soon.
For the Record: I do not hesitate to admit that we Americans have sometimes been myopic about atrocities committed by our own armed forces, I am very sorry to say. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, and at other times and places, American soldiers have shown they are not always the fighting saints we would like them to be. And that is a very sad thing that the world has rightly condemned.
But I hope my overseas truckbuddies will understand, and my American truckbuddies will agree, that such crimes have never been embraced by the American public or remained immune to prosecution afterwards. Though I frankly don't know what to say about Guantanamo, which somehow is still operating. All these things are great black marks on our record, and I, for one, am deeply ashamed of them.
On the other hand, Americans have sacrificed themselves, expending their time, talents, and treasure, individually and collectively, many times in many places to maintain the peace and stability of the world for the last 80 years; alongside our faults and failings, history will record our nobler deeds in golden letters for the admiration of ages to come. And no matter what any lame-brain politician or demagogue or fanatic might say now or in the future, crimes against humanity are most definitely not the American way.
The number of good and decent Americans, people with sound moral values, humility, and a conscience, far outnumber the bad ones. Our way is the path of liberty and justice for all - when we stray from it, we try to learn from our mistakes, and do better as we continue the upward journey. Despite our flaws and failings, we are the leaders of the free world, proud to be a force for good in a troubled world, and I hope we will always be.
At least, that is the view of this old, obsolete American with no power or influence beyond this obscure little blog.
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Written and recorded in the past few weeks by renowned English composer John Rutter, and sung by the Cambridge Singers. The English translation is Lord, protect Ukraine. Give us strength, faith, and hope, our Father. Amen.
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| The Farewell of Hector to Andromaque and Astyanax by Carl Friedrich Deckler, via Wikipedia. Click to enlarge. |
Hector, eldest son of King Priam, was the crown prince of Troy. His wife was Andromache, and their little son was called Astyanax. The scene opens with Hector suited up in his shiny bronze armor and helmet, ready to lead the Trojan army into battle against the Greeks, encamped before the city.
Before departing, he goes to his house, within the walls of Troy, to say goodbye to his wife and son - an excerpt from Book 6 of the Iliad, in the lucid translation by Robert Fagles (1990):
A flash of his helmet
and off he strode and quickly reached his sturdy,
well-built house. But white-armed Andromache--
Hector could not find her in the halls.
She and the boy and a servant finely gowned
were standing watch on the tower, sobbing, grieving.
When Hector saw no sign of his loyal wife inside
he went to the doorway, stopped and asked the servants,
"Come, please, tell me the truth now, women.
Where's Andromache gone? To my sisters' house?
To my brothers' wives with their long flowing robes?
Or Athena's shrine where the noble Trojan women
gather to win the great grim goddess over?"
A busy, willing servant answered quickly,
"Hector, seeing you want to know the truth,
she hasn't gone to your sisters, brothers' wives
or Athena's shrine where the noble Trojan women
gather to win the great grim goddess over.
Up to the huge gate-tower of Troy she's gone
because she heard our men are so hard-pressed,
the Achaean fighters coming on in so much force.
She sped to the wall in panic, like a madwoman –
the nurse went with her, carrying your child."
At that, Hector spun and rushed from his house,
back by the same way down the wide, well-paved streets
throughout the city until he reached the Scaean Gates,
the last point he would pass to gain the field of battle.
There his warm, generous wife came running up to meet him,
Andromache the daughter of gallant-hearted Eetion . . .
She joined him now, and following in her steps
a servant holding the boy against her breast,
in the first flush of life, only a baby,
Hector's son, the darling of his eyes
and radiant as a star . . .
Hector would always call the boy Scamandrius,
townsmen called him Astyanax. Lord of the City,
since Hector was the lone defense of Troy.
The great man of war breaking into a broad smile,
his gaze fixed on his son, in silence. Andromache,
pressing close beside him and weeping freely now,
clung to his hand, urged him, called him: "Reckless one,
my Hector - your own fiery courage will destroy you!
Have you no pity for him, our helpless son? Or me,
and the destiny that weighs me down, your widow,
now so soon?"
And tall Hector nodded, his helmet flashing:
"All this weighs on my mind too, dear woman.
But I would die of shame to face the men of Trpy
and the Trojan women trailing their long robes
if I would shrink from battle now. a coward.
Nor does the spirit urge me on that way.
I've learned it all too well. To stand up bravely,
always to fight in the front ranks of Trojan soldiers."
In the same breath, shining Hector reached down
for his son - but the boy recoiled,
cringing against his nurse's full breast,
screaming out at the sight of his own father,
terrified by the flashing bronze, the horsehair crest,
the great ridge of the helmet nodding, bristling terror
so it struck his eyes. And his loving father laughed,
his mother laughed as well, and glorious Hector,
quickly lifting the helmet from his head,
set it down on the ground, fiery in the sunlight,
and raising his son he kissed him, tossed him in his arms,
lifting a prayer to Zeus and the other deathless gods:
"Zeus, all you immortals! Grant this boy, my son,
may be like me, first in glory among the Trojans,
strong and brave like me, and rule all Troy in power
and one day let them say, 'He is a better man than his father'.
So Hector prayed
and placed his son in the arms of his loving wife.
Andromache pressed the child to her scented breast,
smiling through her tears.
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| Map of recent Russian advances in Ukraine - from the BBC, 17 March 2022, 2100 GMT. Click to enlarge. |
The cruel juggernaut lumbers on, the slow strangulation of a nation continues - George Floyd's death repeated over and over and over, with blood and bombs.
Sky News reports - "The life is being drained from Mariupol":
Sky News reports: Kiev residents say "Putin's trying to kill us":
Sky News reports: Rescuers dig frantically through steel and rubble to save one life:
CBS News reports: An American was shot to death in Ukraine while standing in a bread line to get food for his partner and other hospital patients:
President Zelensky warns that if Russia is not stopped now, it will embolden other aggressors to attack their neighbors:
Full text of Zelensky's speech here.
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| Ukrainian refugees, from The Times (London). Click to enlarge. |
Your Head Trucker's finances are tight and getting tighter now that the price of food, energy, and just about everything is skyrocketing up. I have determined, though, to send my pittance to help somebody in Ukraine or refugees therefrom - but how to get the money into the right hands, and not wasted or misdirected? I have spent all week pondering this question - many organizations are canvassing for relief funds, but can you trust them to do the right thing with the money?
I've finally resolved the question for myself by consulting this link to top-rated Ukrainian relief charities over on Charity Navigator, a free rating service that has been around for many years. They give a long list of charities to choose from, and by clicking on their names you can see how much of your contribution actually goes to helping those in need.
I've made my choice from the list and sent my donation off. I make no recommendations, but post this link for any others who may find it helpful.
God save Ukraine is my frequent prayer these days. God save us all.
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Arnold Schwarzenegger released a very different message to the Russian people today:
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For Ukraine
Chicago recorded this song in 1968, which includes a chant by protesters at the Democratic convention held there. Somehow, it seems to fit the events of 2022 as well.
The slaughter of defenseless innocents, the murder of a nation, is horrible beyond the power of words to express. I was keeping up with the war news night and day for the first two weeks; then I had to take a break from it - a luxury no Ukrainian has, I am well aware. A few piddling projects here at home have occupied my time since then - between which, I weep for Ukraine, I rage at the rampant evil, I gnash my teeth at the nuclear standoff, the moral dilemma. Maybe you do, too.
I have no power to change anything. All I can do is witness to the truth here on my little blog. It may do no one any good, but -- we are all witnesses to this enormous crime. That is our moral duty in this dark hour of human history, if we can do nothing else.
The whole world is watching.
And we will not forget.
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From Radio Free Europe - "Who Will Bring Back Our Children?":---------------
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| Screen capture from CNN. Click to enlarge. |
The Guardian reports: Mariupol: Russia accused of bombing theatre and swimming pool sheltering civilians. Excerpt:
Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of further atrocities in the besieged city of Mariupol, including an airstrike on a theatre where hundreds of displaced people were believed to have been sheltering and a strike on a swimming pool where pregnant women and young children had gathered. Russian forces were also accused of shelling of a convoy of cars of civilians fleeing the city.
Mariupol has been facing a humanitarian catastrophe for days, and Russia continued to rain down fire on it and other Ukrainian cities on Wednesday, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts at peace talks to negotiate an end to the fighting.
There was no immediate confirmation of numbers of deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was a “bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding.” “We don’t know if there are any survivors,” one witness said. “The bomb shelter is also covered with debris … there are both adults and children there.”
Later Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of Donetsk regional administration, claimed Russians had also targeted the Neptune swimming pool. “Now there are pregnant women and women with children under the rubble there,” he said in a post on Telegram. “It is impossible to establish the number of casualties from these strikes.”
A witness who posted a video of the aftermath of the attack said the pool had been destroyed and efforts were under way to rescue one pregnant woman trapped in the rubble. . . .
Ukraine’s ministry of defence has described Mariupol as the worst front of the war. Mass graves have been dug on the outskirts of the city and the bodies of men, women and children have been left on the streets. More than 400,000 of its inhabitants are either without or with dwindling access to running water, food and medical supplies.
Local officials have said more than 2,500 have been killed. But the reality is that, because of the shelling, the dead cannot be counted.
Ukrainian officials also accused Russian forces of shelling a convoy of cars of civilians fleeing the city, wounding at least five people, including a child.
Local officials shared photos and videos of the aftermath of the alleged attack. “Heavy artillery of the enemy forces fired on a convoy of civilians moving along the highway towards Zaporizhzhia,” the governor of the region, Oleksandr Starukh, said in an online post. . . .
Officials have told families to leave their dead outside in the streets because holding funerals is too dangerous.
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From the Guardian:
On Sunday the Pope issued his toughest condemnation yet of the war in Ukraine, saying the 'unacceptable armed aggression' must stop. Speaking to thousands of people in St Peter's Square for his Sunday blessing, Pope Francis said the bombing of hospitals and other civilian targets was barbaric and had no valid strategic reason.
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Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov writes:I have long since run out of words to describe the horror brought by Putin to Ukrainian soil. Ukraine is the land of bread and wheat. Even in Egypt, bread and cakes are baked using Ukrainian flour. It’s the time of year to prepare the fields for sowing, but this work is not being done. The soil of the wheat fields is full of metal – fragments of shells, pieces of blown-up tanks and cars, the remains of downed planes and helicopters. And it’s all covered in blood. The blood of Russian soldiers who do not understand what they are fighting for, and the blood of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who know that if they do not fight, Ukraine will no longer exist. In its place there will be a cemetery with a caretaker’s hut and some kind of governor general sent from Russia will sit and guard it.Bread was mixed with blood in Chernihiv as well when Russian bombers dropped “dumb” unguided bombs on a square next to a bread shop. People had lined up outside, waiting to buy some fresh, warm bread. Someone was just leaving the store with a bag of it. Many people died in this bombing raid. Amnesty International has documented this crime committed by the Russian army. Every day the list of crimes grows longer as more and more of Putin’s actions are added to it – the shooting of young volunteers who were carrying food to the dog shelter in Hostomel; the murder of postmen who were delivering pensions to elderly residents in Sumy region; the killing of five people in an attack on the Kyiv television tower. The list goes on and on. We certainly don’t yet know about all the crimes that have been committed, but we will definitely find out about them all, and the list will be presented at a new Nuremberg trial. It doesn’t matter where it takes place. The main thing is that we know who will be judged.International lawyers have already begun to collect evidence of crimes. Ukrainians are looking forward to the verdict on the murderers and war criminals. But for now, they must survive under the shelling of the Russian army. They spend their nights in basements, in bomb shelters, in bathrooms – the latest advice circulating on the internet tells us that in case of a bombing raid, the safest places to be are inside your cast-iron bath or in interior corridors where there are no windows.The people of Kyiv have grown suddenly much more attached to their metro, one of the most beautiful and deepest in the world. The metro is no longer a form of transport – it is a haven, like something from an apocalyptic movie. It is covered with signs of permanent presence of non-travelling “passengers” and there is living space everywhere. The station platforms are being turned into cinemas where films are shown for free – children’s films in the morning and films for a wider audience later in the day. Large screens have already been hung or are being hung right now at 14 Kyiv metro stations. There is a constant supply of tea, the internet is already there, but the connection is poor. There are not enough toilets, but people don’t complain about queuing for 40 minutes or more. Everyone waits patiently. They are waiting for the end of the war and the beginning of the trial – a trial that the whole world will have to follow, as the whole world followed at Nuremberg. . . .
As Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmitryo Kuleba, accused Russia of “holding 400,000 people hostage” in Mariupol, much of whose population has been without power, heat, water or phone signal for over a week, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, denounced an atrocity.“A children’s hospital, a maternity ward. How did they threaten the Russian Federation? What is this country, the Russian Federation, that is afraid of hospitals, maternity wards and is destroying them?” said Zelendskiy on Telegram.“Hospitals and schools are destroyed. Churches and ordinary buildings are destroyed. People are killed. Children are killed. The aerial bombing of a children’s hospital is the ultimate evidence that genocide of Ukrainians is happening.”Amid western warnings that Moscow’s invasion was about to become even more brutal as the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, seeks to regain stalled momentum, local authorities described the damage to the hospital – a combined 600-bed complex with children’s and maternity wards – as “colossal” and said at least 17 people had been wounded, including women in labour.The deputy mayor, Sergei Orlov, said the city was being shelled continuously and 1,170 residents had died, 47 of whom were buried in a mass grave on Wednesday. “It’s medieval,” he said. “It’s pure genocide. The attack isn’t simply treacherous. It’s a war crime. They are attacking us with aviation, shells, multiple rocket launchers.” . . .Zelenskiy said on Wednesday the threat level against the country was “at the maximum” and again called on the west to impose a no-fly zone, saying it risked a “humanitarian catastrophe” if it did not.He called the Russians “Nazis” in an interview with Sky News, saying: “If you are united against the Nazis and this terror, you have to close. Don’t wait for me ask you several times, a million times. Close the sky.” He warned that otherwise “millions” of people could die.
Russian Citizens Are Now Being Prepped for Nuclear WarOne day after Moscow submitted a draft of its Russia-U.S. security treaty, containing demands that NATO roll back its military deployments in Europe and deny membership to Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov threatened that Moscow would raise the stakes if the West didn’t treat its demands seriously. On Monday, he told Interfax that Russia needs answers “urgently, because the situation is very difficult.” , . .Pro-Kremlin propagandists and state-media experts filled in the blanks with what kind of escalation should be expected. On Sunday’s edition of News of the Week, state-TV host Dmitry Kiselyov explained: “Russia… prepared and handed over to the Americans its written proposals on strategic stability, or, more simply, on the prevention of nuclear war, since we are already at a critical point, to be honest…
"It’s simple. The U.S. and NATO must roll back from our borders, otherwise we will, figuratively speaking, ‘roll up’ to their borders and create symmetrical, unacceptable risks… If you put a gun to our head, we will respond in kind… The whole point is that the development of the Ukrainian territory by the [Western] bloc is not only Ukraine’s business. This is a complete breakdown of the global balance, which poses an existential threat to Russia. In other words, for Russia it is a matter of life and death… We simply will not allow it, regardless of the cost to us, and regardless of the cost to those responsible for it.”
Kiselyov, notorious for his previous assertion that Russia is the only country that can reduce the U.S. to a pile of radioactive ash, revisited his beloved “argument” to explain why the United States will be willing to entertain Putin’s unreasonable proposition. He asserted that Russia is willing to suffer any consequences and go to any lengths to get what it wants: “Never before has anyone published the texts of the proposed treaties. But never before in the 21st century has the situation been so acute, and the risks so great. Non-standard situations require non-standard approaches. Secondly, we’re holding very strong cards in our hands. Our hypersonic weapons are guaranteed to produce a response that is so unpleasant for America to hear: being reduced to radioactive ash.”
