Zelenskyy addresses the Italian Parliament
Day 27, more meetings but are they making a difference?
Where do we begin? All we hear is more sanctions will be imposed, and more peace talks will be held when we know full well that Putin will not leave Ukraine until he gets what he wants. Some media outlets are claiming that Zelenskyy will compromise on the NATO membership to gain a ceasefire, but that has not gone down well as accusations have arisen, claiming that if he had done that in the first place then many people wouldn’t have died. I assume those who think that do not have the knowledge of what agreeing never to join NATO actually means. It doesn’t mean they can’t join for the next few years or in a decade— it means forever, rendering the country helpless in a military capacity for eternity or while the planet exists.
Mariupol is now a city of rubble, while civilians remain trapped without food, water, or heat. One day, we can look back and try and see what went wrong. This shouldn’t have happened, but we must deal with the here and now. This is a lesson to the world, and that humanity needs to work together to co-exist in harmony, and we must stop aggressors whatever the cost.
GK’s comments make sense, for we all know dictators do not negotiate, nor do they care about what others think of them or the consequences of their actions. We remain frustrated at the lack of decisive action because those in power want to hold onto the power and fear responsibility for starting a war. I would argue that we are all at war, but everyone else is sitting on the fence and waiting to see if things get worse and if they will be affected. Only then will they get off the fence and act.
Day 27 (22 March)
A Russian Olympic swimming champion has lost his sponsorship with Speedo, effective immediately. This is because Evegeny Rylov was seen at the Putin rally last week wearing the letter ‘Z’.
WWII peace talks with Japan and Russia are halted due to Japan imposing sanctions on Russia. This is an unresolved issue over the islands known as Hokkaido in Japan (Northern Territories) and is known in Russian as Kurils. It goes to show that negotiations and talks can last a very long time and not yield a result. Russia does not negotiate—it demands what it wants and won’t stop until that goal is achieved by hook or by crook.
Russian hoaxers have posted allegedly doctored footage of a hoax call made to Ben Wallace, the UK Defence Secretary. Requests to remove it were made by the UK government. Having watched a clip, I would have concerns about the security of the staff vetting calls when a World War is at stake here. It is simply not acceptable at all that things even got as far as they did.
Information is claiming that Russia will be using thermobaric rockets, also known as vacuum bombs. I know little about such things, but it doesn’t look or sound good.
Belarusians are choosing to defend Ukraine because they value a free and independent Ukraine and want that for themselves. Should Belarus become officially engaged in the war, the people must decide whether they will fight or resist.
Kyiv is under another curfew tonight. Residents of Boryspil have been told to evacuate as Russian troops close in.
Reports have claimed that Ukraine has taken back control of Mykolayiv near Mariupol after being attacked. It is a strategic seaport on the south coast of Ukraine.
Another report claims that Ukraine has taken back control of Makariv, near Kyiv. All these reports are unverified and the status could change again.
Zelenskyy has called on the Pope Francis to assist in mediation talks to end the crisis.
Zelenskyy addressed the Italian Parliament today, reiterating that Russia must be isolated with stricter sanctions calling for a full trade embargo. He called for Italy to ban all Russian ships, and made a point of stating this was about saving Ukraine, and Europe and mentioned the EU as an alliance. Italy praised Ukraine’s ‘heroic’ resistance to the invasion.
Allegedly, the Russians are struggling with repairing tanks as sanctions have prevented parts necessary for the tanks form being imported.
The attack on Odesa continues as expected.
Ukraine states that at least 10 hospitals have been destroyed although the figure is probably higher to include damaged ones.
The effectiveness of sanctions is questioned as many oligarchs were aware of what was happening and placed their assets in trust before, or during the early days of the crisis. Thus, they are not being affected by the sanctions.
Reports state that cities are littered with minefields, so those who try to escape get killed. Eye witnesses also state that the Russians fired on civilian cars, even those with children in them.
Zelenskyy is to address the French National Assembly on Wednesday (tomorrow).
The town of Voznesensk protected an important bridge that the Russians tried to take. They expect another attack though, so it is far from over.
Alexei Navalny, Putin’s opposition leader has been found guilty of fraud and has been sentenced to a further 9 years in prison after an attempt was made on his life with the Novichok nerve agent in 2020. He was found in contempt of court as he did not appear in court as he was in a hospital being treated for the attack. This is how corrupt the Russian courts are, where the trial was moved to a penal colony so that the media could not report on it.
Those who have lived in Ukraine and Russia do not believe that Putin is seeking a peaceful resolution, and the talks being held are for appearances only. The issue to me is that those making the decisions lack the ability to understand Putin, or how Russians think, or what they want Therefore, they are making flawed decisions that are ineffective and that have cost lives. Careless decisions costs lives.
@EL - "The issue to me is that those making the decisions lack the ability to understand Putin, or how Russians think, or what they want Therefore, they are making flawed decisions that are ineffective and that have cost lives. Careless decisions costs lives."
And this has been the crux of problems with Russia for more than century. I believe that those making the decisions may even understand how Putin and/or Russia think, but cannot acknowledge that publicly, or it will beg the question: then why are we trying diplomacy when it is clear that only a massive military defeat will stop Putin?
As the man said, "Crazy is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result." TC
It is so very disheartening to see so many countries (NATO) standing by and doing nothing. They are fooling themselves that Putin is going to meet them on any middle ground. That isn't what dictators do. And for all the humanitarian efforts, that is just trying to put a bandage on the situation, and fooling many into thinking things will be better for those efforts when it won't even make a dent. At this point, it makes me question whether agencies like NATO or the U.N. have any reason for even being. If they can't be counted on to do what they were created to do, then of what use are they. I don't always comment, but I do so appreciate all that you are doing, EL, to bring us the information, even though it breaks my heart a bit more each time as I read the entries.