Thank you EL. It is truly a desperate situation, which is hard to comprehend in 2022. Let’s hope this conflict comes to a speedy halt, so that peace can once again be restored. One can live in hope.
What I find astounding in these days of sanctions, and the banning of the Russian and Belarusian sports teams, is that the Russians were able to take part in the world gymnastic championships and the third place Russian was able to get on the medal podium with a Z emblazoned on his top. I just don’t understand how or why this was allowed to happen, but am so glad the Ukrainian gymnast came first and stood above him
Thank you EL for opening this site and for your timeline of the events to date. You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and diligence. Fear is terrible cancer that eats the mind and body. Seeing images of thousands of Ukrainians filling their train stations waiting and hoping to board transport to escape from their country which they love and don't want to leave to women and children blindly running to escape shelling is true horror. I believe we have two despots in the world today - one in Russia and one in China. China is watching with what I believe is an identical ambition in the Asia-Pacific. When COVID-19 first arrived I felt fear for what the future would bring but slowly things balanced out with the invention of vaccines and more understanding of the pandemic. The situation we are facing now is very different. If these two despots are allowed to continue I wonder and believe me, I fear, where we will end up.
I know we are all feeling gutted watching the news each day. I hold what I think was a somewhat contrary opinion in some quarters in arguing that this is more like 1939 than anything seen since then, and that sticking to the rules of engagement here will, in the end, leave us as vulnerable as if we had done the thing staring us in the face.
There was an interview on CNN this morning with a general with intimate knowledge of the terrain, capacities, and worst of all, missed opportunities over the last few months to stream troops and arms into Ukraine. He made no bones about it: if Putin is allowed to succeed, the trend toward the retreat of democracy, and the rise of ruthless authoritarianism, will eventually leave the world we inhabit as islands. I will try to find the link.
And, friends in America forwarded to me this afternoon the New York TIMES daily newsletter, and it is clear from the shift in tone that it, too, is reluctantly admitting that the West has taken the back foot position here, and that if it really wants a different world, it cannot keep the rules-based position. Because, as journalist Anne Applebaum pointed out, the West keeps talking to Russia as if it cared about rules: it doesn't.
I will try to find the link to the interview CNN ran earlier today on its site. TC
Thank you, OH, for the invitation. As always, your hard work is so appreciated. I knew bits and pieces of what had been happening, but your concise timeline of all the events has still been a very big eye-opener for me. Although the USA has been involved with other wars (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-mentioned, not being discussed further) since WW II, they were not on the scope of potentially a WW III, which is a much scarier proposition altogether. The information pipeline, and the wide world network, have changed greatly since 1945, and it will be interesting to see how those changes will be utilized to (hopefully) head off another World War.
Reading this, it all seems inevitably leading to WW3. But, I must hope and pray that this time, we pull ourselves from the brink and find a way to peace. Because even if these events are similar to the prior buildups, we are not: the world is swimming with nuclear weapons, and desperate nations are very likely to use them.
Thank you for this timeline EL History is repeating itself again.The world is in thrall to the action of one despot and his cronies.Those brave people of Ukraine and their leader are an inspiration to the whole world.
Thank you for inviting me to join, for a great read, for the facts and the context EL. I admire the way that you can pull everything together and I think that history will benefit greatly from your records.
It is vital is to know why and how things unfolded and what information was available when actions were taken or we cannot learn from what happened. Many can make judgements with hindsight, but few can provide accurate information that allows the reader to form their own opinion and few could provide it in such a readable format.
Thank you EL - so clearly set out and having a day by day timeline is of immense value. Sometimes I cannot bear to watch the news but we only get fragmented newscasts from different angles and your timeline is excellent.
I subscribe to PTZ TV in the US which covers Port Everglades and also hosts a Cat charity in California which I support. Their Twitter feed has been showing all the Oligarch yachts and many of them are in the Bahamas area. Not sure if the US intends to capture and impound them though.
Please remember to take time for yourself to just chill out. I remember when I worked for the Police, working day and night on a fairly horrific murder and although I am a fairly tough cookie, that drove me to the edge, but we were able to step back now and then to reset. Take care.
A great summary regarding the present conflict and a much needed history recap! Although I studied History and have a degree in the subject, I only touched on the lead into the first and second World Wars while studying another aspect of History. It was good and very relevant to see the reasons written down! Thank you x
Thank you for starting this, really and truly. It is good to have a place to go for good, solid information about what is happening, and especially why hands are tied when we feel they ought to be doing more. The fog of war gets intensified on most social media, and ordinary media is more interested in selling than telling the truth. I suspect a lot of us are still in a bit of a daze and finding it hard to absorb these horrific events. I hope coming together here will help keep us sane.
We had an interesting weekend. As you know, I live in Italy, it happens in the far northwest, so my town had the distinction of being where one of the famous oligarch yachts was seized by Italian authorities. I had seen the boat since most mornings I walk right there. There is a lot of banter about whether this was even legal, but it warmed our hearts nonetheless, since there is seldom a lot mere individual citizens can even do.
Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from others and sharing our feelings and thoughts.
Thank you EL. It is truly a desperate situation, which is hard to comprehend in 2022. Let’s hope this conflict comes to a speedy halt, so that peace can once again be restored. One can live in hope.
What I find astounding in these days of sanctions, and the banning of the Russian and Belarusian sports teams, is that the Russians were able to take part in the world gymnastic championships and the third place Russian was able to get on the medal podium with a Z emblazoned on his top. I just don’t understand how or why this was allowed to happen, but am so glad the Ukrainian gymnast came first and stood above him
Thank you EL for opening this site and for your timeline of the events to date. You never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and diligence. Fear is terrible cancer that eats the mind and body. Seeing images of thousands of Ukrainians filling their train stations waiting and hoping to board transport to escape from their country which they love and don't want to leave to women and children blindly running to escape shelling is true horror. I believe we have two despots in the world today - one in Russia and one in China. China is watching with what I believe is an identical ambition in the Asia-Pacific. When COVID-19 first arrived I felt fear for what the future would bring but slowly things balanced out with the invention of vaccines and more understanding of the pandemic. The situation we are facing now is very different. If these two despots are allowed to continue I wonder and believe me, I fear, where we will end up.
I know we are all feeling gutted watching the news each day. I hold what I think was a somewhat contrary opinion in some quarters in arguing that this is more like 1939 than anything seen since then, and that sticking to the rules of engagement here will, in the end, leave us as vulnerable as if we had done the thing staring us in the face.
There was an interview on CNN this morning with a general with intimate knowledge of the terrain, capacities, and worst of all, missed opportunities over the last few months to stream troops and arms into Ukraine. He made no bones about it: if Putin is allowed to succeed, the trend toward the retreat of democracy, and the rise of ruthless authoritarianism, will eventually leave the world we inhabit as islands. I will try to find the link.
And, friends in America forwarded to me this afternoon the New York TIMES daily newsletter, and it is clear from the shift in tone that it, too, is reluctantly admitting that the West has taken the back foot position here, and that if it really wants a different world, it cannot keep the rules-based position. Because, as journalist Anne Applebaum pointed out, the West keeps talking to Russia as if it cared about rules: it doesn't.
I will try to find the link to the interview CNN ran earlier today on its site. TC
Thank you EL, I know we can count on you for the truth. This is such a tragic situation and I will pray for all those affected by it.
Thank you EL! I appreciate your work very much.
Thank you, OH, for the invitation. As always, your hard work is so appreciated. I knew bits and pieces of what had been happening, but your concise timeline of all the events has still been a very big eye-opener for me. Although the USA has been involved with other wars (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-mentioned, not being discussed further) since WW II, they were not on the scope of potentially a WW III, which is a much scarier proposition altogether. The information pipeline, and the wide world network, have changed greatly since 1945, and it will be interesting to see how those changes will be utilized to (hopefully) head off another World War.
Reading this, it all seems inevitably leading to WW3. But, I must hope and pray that this time, we pull ourselves from the brink and find a way to peace. Because even if these events are similar to the prior buildups, we are not: the world is swimming with nuclear weapons, and desperate nations are very likely to use them.
Thank you for this timeline EL History is repeating itself again.The world is in thrall to the action of one despot and his cronies.Those brave people of Ukraine and their leader are an inspiration to the whole world.
Thank you for inviting me to join, for a great read, for the facts and the context EL. I admire the way that you can pull everything together and I think that history will benefit greatly from your records.
It is vital is to know why and how things unfolded and what information was available when actions were taken or we cannot learn from what happened. Many can make judgements with hindsight, but few can provide accurate information that allows the reader to form their own opinion and few could provide it in such a readable format.
Thank you. I am humbled by your hard work and analysis. God help Ukraine and God help the world.
Thank you EL - so clearly set out and having a day by day timeline is of immense value. Sometimes I cannot bear to watch the news but we only get fragmented newscasts from different angles and your timeline is excellent.
I subscribe to PTZ TV in the US which covers Port Everglades and also hosts a Cat charity in California which I support. Their Twitter feed has been showing all the Oligarch yachts and many of them are in the Bahamas area. Not sure if the US intends to capture and impound them though.
Please remember to take time for yourself to just chill out. I remember when I worked for the Police, working day and night on a fairly horrific murder and although I am a fairly tough cookie, that drove me to the edge, but we were able to step back now and then to reset. Take care.
A great summary regarding the present conflict and a much needed history recap! Although I studied History and have a degree in the subject, I only touched on the lead into the first and second World Wars while studying another aspect of History. It was good and very relevant to see the reasons written down! Thank you x
Thank you for starting this, really and truly. It is good to have a place to go for good, solid information about what is happening, and especially why hands are tied when we feel they ought to be doing more. The fog of war gets intensified on most social media, and ordinary media is more interested in selling than telling the truth. I suspect a lot of us are still in a bit of a daze and finding it hard to absorb these horrific events. I hope coming together here will help keep us sane.
We had an interesting weekend. As you know, I live in Italy, it happens in the far northwest, so my town had the distinction of being where one of the famous oligarch yachts was seized by Italian authorities. I had seen the boat since most mornings I walk right there. There is a lot of banter about whether this was even legal, but it warmed our hearts nonetheless, since there is seldom a lot mere individual citizens can even do.
Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from others and sharing our feelings and thoughts.