Blazingcatfur

The Russian leader’s actions express essential and unalterable truths about human nature, which we ignore at our peril

When Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces into Crimea in 2014, then-Secretary of State John Kerry professed bewilderment that such imperial aggression could happen in the modern age. It was like something out of “the 19th century.” Kerry’s reaction to Putin’s recent invasion of Ukraine was equally baffled, as the patrician American diplomat lamented that the war would distract Putin from working with him on climate change. Common to both reactions was the astonishment that the material calculations and preoccupations of Western democracies might be blown away by a resurgence of old-fashioned tyrannical ambition.

Kyiv has succeeded in reordering reality

The internet is a chaotic place, but it is nonetheless ruled by a series of iron laws, especially when it comes to what we put on it. Perhaps the most important one is that whatever you post, try to make it visual. Once that’s established it’s about what sort of image will best hoover up those likes and shares and retweets. Well, that’s down to where you are and who your audience is. But as a rule of thumb there are two things that generally never fail: blondes and guns.

British volunteers are laying their lives on the line in Ukraine’s fight for freedom.

On Sunday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged foreign citizens to join Ukraine’s armed resistance against the invading Russian forces. He asked those who were willing to head to Ukrainian embassies in their own countries and sign up for an ‘international brigade’. It is reported that dozens of British citizens – some with military backgrounds, others without – have already joined this struggle for Ukraine’s future.

The value of Russia’s ruble has collapsed to less than 1 cent after the United States and other Western countries applied biting sanctions against the Russian economy.

The ruble was down nearly 10% against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday at 115.68 to the dollar. On Monday, after a weekend filled with painful new sanctions, the Russian currency saw an even more precipitous decline of about 30%. The ruble was at about 84 per dollar late Friday before the harshest financial penalties kicked in.

Amazing footage from Melitopol of Ukrainians stopping the onward advance of a Russian convoy and chanting “Occupants!” and “Murderers!” The jittery Russians are firing into the air pic.twitter.com/j3jypGJdgz

— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) March 1, 2022

For five fear-filled days, residents of Kharkiv have listened to the rockets slamming into the fringes of their city and prayed that at least civilian areas would be spared.

But on Monday, at about midday, the moment they had been dreading arrived.

At least 11 people were killed in rocket strikes in residential areas of Kharkiv as both sides readied for a major battle over Ukraine’s second largest city.

The city council said 15 soldiers and 16 civilians were hospitalised, and that numbers of both dead and wounded were likely to rise. Interior Minister adviser Anton Herashchenko said ‘dozens’ had been killed.

A quarter of Canadians said they would support military forces being sent to Ukraine now alongside NATO allies to deter Russia and protect citizens — even if it means casualties, a new poll finds.

“Canadians stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians in every possible manner here,” said John Wright, executive vice president of Maru Public Opinion, which released the poll. “We’re pretty bullish about entering the fray. I think that’s the first thing that I take away from this.”

Remember this one?

The Ukraine invasion has reshaped the balance of power on the Continent.

The very thing Europe considered unthinkable for the past 30 years has happened: Russia has launched a war that will reshape the balance of power and potentially transform the international system. Europe now finds itself confronted with first principles of state behavior. According to international law, Ukraine’s self-defense campaign against Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attack checks all the boxes of a “just-cause war.” So regardless of how Ukraine’s tragedy unfolds, the West must ask, and honestly answer, how it got to the point where cities are being bombed, soldiers and civilians are dying, and options for response are limited.