'Putin Has Unleashed Solidarity Across Europe And The World'
Worldwide unity has brought Putin's war machine nearly to its knees
What a difference a few days — and a little global unity — can make.
Where once it was widely assumed that, should he invade his democratic neighbor to the west, Russian leader Vladimir Putin would make short work of Ukrainian resistance and quickly re-install a puppet regime friendly to his desires, the reality has been anything but.
“Putin has said multiple times that he can take Kyiv in three hours. Tonight is night four and he has not taken Kyiv,” tweeted Adam Parkhomenko, a Ukrainian-American Democratic strategist and consultant.
And as dawn rose over Ukraine Sunday, Russian forces continued to find themselves frustrated, and Ukrainian journalist Anastasiia Lapatina tweeted, “Kyiv survived yet another night. Good morning world”
Reports have been that roughly 5,000 Russian “contract” soldiers mutinied and refused to go to the front to fight in Putin’s war while Belarusian troops loyal to Putin have been sent to help the Russians in Kyiv.
“This shows that they’re having trouble routing the Ukrainian army. My God, Ukrainians are fighting the armies of Putin and Lukashenko alone!” tweeted Eleanor Beardsley, Paris correspondent for National Public Radio, referring to Alexander Lukashenko, the Putin ally who's ruled neighboring Belarus since 1994.
The result, of course, was Sunday's news of talks between Russia and Ukraine, to occur near the border of Belarus.
Most of Russia’s forces have entered Ukraine, but they are “increasingly frustrated by their lack of momentum," the Pentagon said from Washington.
The ability of the Ukrainian people to have so successfully frustrated Putin's plans in such a short period of time owes to several interlocking factors which have constituted a frankly breathtaking level and display of global unity in opposition to Putin's war and the lawless imperialism and autocracy it represents.
Captioning a retweet of a protest against the war in Belarus, journalist David Corn of Mother Jones wrote, “Putin has unleashed solidarity across Europe and the world.”
The “courageous” Ukrainian people, and their electrifying president
At the center of the Ukrainian resistance, of course, are the Ukrainian people themselves — including all of the civilians eager to be given weapons so that they, too, can fight for their homeland.
That includes Anastasiia Lenna, the 2015 Miss Ukraine, who has traded her sash and crown for goggles and an assault rifle.
And it's not only been with guns. Brave Ukrainians were captured on video blocking Russian tanks in Koryukivka, a small town of about 12,000 in northwestern Ukraine.
And the Ukrainian government is sharing bomb-making instructions and encouraging civilians to take down street signs “to confuse and disorient the enemy.”
“As I said in my interview with [Fox News] this morning, Vladimir Putin has shown his true colors. He’s a thug. He’s a despot. But the people of Ukraine have shown their true colors too. They are courageous. And we will continue to stand with them,” Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) tweeted.
“I am grateful to the people of [Ukraine] for reminding me — and many of my countrymen, I hope: Freedom isn’t free Our security isn’t guaranteed Democracy is worth fighting for Today I am grateful for all those who fought for my freedom, and I hope the [Ukrainian] example reminds all of us [Americans] that we have more in common than we have recently remembered, and that while our nation may have flaws — we are still capable of serving as the beacon of freedom so many depend on us to be,” tweeted CNN's Kasie Hunt.
He’s not afraid
Leading the Ukrainian people in resistance has been their remarkable president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Over the course of just a couple of days, really, Zelenskiy has gone from being a joke — literally, the man used to be a comedian — to today the personification of his country's fight, and perhaps now the most electrifying figure on the international stage.
“Part of why Zelensky's leadership has been so electric is that here's a man who is in the gravest possible danger and he's not afraid - indeed, he seems to grow by the second into the role of standing up to this bully on behalf of principles democracies say they believe in,” tweeted Ben Rhodes, a Democratic podcaster and a one-time national security speechwriter for President Barack Obama.
“I’m as struck as anyone by Zelenskyy’s fearless meeting of history. Then I remember he is a father with children at home and my heart catches in my throat. Our world needs more like him,” CNN's Hunt added.
For many, Zelenskiy's lineage makes his leadership at this moment even more meaningful.
“In 1941 over 33,000 Ukrainian Jews were murdered in a 2 day span in the Babi Yar ravine marking one of the deadliest massacrers [sic] of the Holocaust. For [Ukraine] to have a Jewish President descended from a Holocaust survivor standing up to a dictator is really empowering,” freelance writer Peter Fox said.
And, for most Americans, before last week Zelenskiy was barely memorable at all as sort of a side player in foreign aid-for- political favors scandal which ultimately became Donald Trump's first impeachment.
“I don’t think everyone remembers that Zelensky was the leader on the other end of the ‘I want you to do me a favor though’ phone call. I sense the first impeachment sounded kinda obscure to some people. But withholding lethal aid was both an actual crime and a moral crime,” Sen Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) posted.
That extreme bravery and courage on the part of the Ukrainians in the face of overwhelming and deadly force only drove those outside of Ukraine — in the United States and across the global community — to do more to support their efforts.
“The sun rose over a free Ukraine. Not by chance, but because Ukrainians continue to resist- fiercely. Fighting for every house, every block, every inch of their country. The U.S. and NATO need to send weapons and supplies faster. Faster than ever before. Every hour matters,” tweeted Rep Jason Crow (D-Colo), himself a veteran of the US military.
The calls by Crow, and others like him, were heard — in the United States and around the world.
The world responds
The United States and its allies took strong steps over the weekend to isolate Russia from the international financial system, leaving its economy in a fragile position going forward.
“The sanctions we imposed exceed anything that's ever been done,” President Biden said.
In addition to both the US and German governments authorizing new weapons transfers and other aid to Ukraine, for the first time the European Union is taking military action.
“We are stepping up our support for Ukraine. For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack. We are also strengthening our sanctions against the Kremlin,” announced Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Union commission.
The European Union is taking other action, as well.
The EU announced that it's shutting EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft.
“They won’t be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU. This includes the PRIVATE JETS of OLIGARCHS,” noted Democratic activist Cooper, referring to the ultra-wealthy barons who sit at Putin's right hand.
In the United States, public and private sectors were cutting off sales and supplies of Russian-made liquor across the country, including Republican Gov Chris Sununu's order in New Hampshire.
Russia relies so heavily on its oil and gas supplies for its economy, but global petroleum titan BP said that it's dumping its stake in Russian oil company Rosneft and BP's chief executive to depart the Rosneft board immediately.
The pain for Putin's Russia over the war doesn't end there.
Delta Air Lines has suspended its alliance with Russian-carrier Aeroflot over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It's as if all of the walls are closing in on Putin now, because in addition to military frustration and economic hardship, the Russian dictator continues to face unrest at home.
If he ever had one, Putin's strategy appears to have gone wrong at every turn.
“Has any propaganda campaign failed as spectacularly as Putin's effort to justify the assault on Ukraine? Outside of Russia almost no one is buying it and it doesn't seem to be doing very well inside Russia either,” tweeted Fox News host Brit Hume.
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