A Struggle to Survive

Kateryna Yushchenko is a former first lady of Ukraine. Her husband is Viktor Yushchenko, who survived a murder attempt by Kremlin agents in 2004. (Poison.) I interviewed Mrs. Yushchenko, and wrote about her, in February 2022, just before Putin’s all-out assault on Ukraine. (For that piece, go here.)

Of note:

• Also of note:

Russia is a terror-state. The civilized world should rise to stop it. Civilized people should help the Ukrainians defend themselves against attempted annihilation.

• “Four Civilians Killed as Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pleads for Patriot Systems.” That is the heading over a report from RFE/RL (our combination of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty). The report begins,

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on April 15 again called for Kyiv’s Western allies to “urgently” deliver desperately needed additional air-defense systems, weapons, and ammunition as Russian artillery and missiles continued to wreak havoc among civilians and destroy critical infrastructure.

• Our ambassador in Ukraine is no dope:

• Christopher Cavoli is not a dope either. He is a U.S. Army general who serves as the commander of allied forces in Europe.

• Neither is Fumio Kishida a dope. He is the prime minister of Japan. Speaking to the U.S. Congress last week, he said,

North Korea’s provocations have impact beyond the region [East Asia]. It has also exported its ballistic missiles to support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, greatly increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Russia’s unprovoked, unjust, and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has entered its third year. As I often say, Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow.

The prime minister further said this:

The U.S. shaped the international order . . .

You believed that freedom is the oxygen of humanity. The world needs the United States to continue playing this pivotal role in the affairs of nations. And yet, as we meet here today, I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be.

(An understatement, obviously.)

• There are many, many on the populist right in our country who are committed to the idea that Ukraine is Nazi. This is a leading propaganda point, a leading lie, of the Kremlin. And it has many, many echoers in the United States. Including in our Congress.

• Our democracy is interesting. It means, for example, that Congresswoman Greene and Timothy Snyder can have an exchange. He is a Yale historian and an expert on Ukraine. (Therefore, he is a bogeyman of our populist Right. Greene, meanwhile, is a heroine.) On Wednesday, Greene and Snyder met.

A clip:

• A word from the president of the “Nazi” state, whose name is “Zelensky,” oddly enough:

• The more Putin and his forces act like Nazis — invading neighbors, committing mass murder, terrorizing everyone — the more Putin’s fans and apologists call the victims “Nazis.”

• From the Associated Press: “US intelligence finding shows China surging equipment sales to Russia to help war effort in Ukraine.” (Article here.) The murderous dictatorships are aligned: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, etc. The democracies ought to be aligned as well. But they seem to be less good at it than the foes of humanity — which is too bad for humanity.

• “Time is ticking to save Vladimir Kara-Murza.” That is the title of a piece by Lisa Haseldine in The Spectator. Kara-Murza is a Russian patriot and democrat, and therefore a political prisoner. He is one of the greatest men of our time.

Irwin Cotler, the Canadian human-rights lawyer, writes that Kara-Murza is “facing a long and arduous transfer from a Siberian penal colony to Moscow to appeal his unjust 25-year sentence.” Cotler further says,

At this time, Vladimir is in mortal danger. The transfer of political prisoners in Russia is perilous and known to take months, during which time many are permanently “lost.”

• From the Financial Times: “Bavarian police have arrested and accused two men of being Russian secret agents planning to bomb industrial and military sites in Germany to disrupt the delivery of aid to Ukraine.” (Article here.) That is very serious business. (Arguably, an act of war, not that anyone could bear to face it, understandably.)

• Reading about a development in Russia, I thought of Cuba: “Russia’s Health Ministry introduces bill allowing law enforcement access to medical records of ‘socially dangerous’ patients.” (Article here.) For decades, people in Cuba have been arrested under the charge of — get this — “pre-criminal social dangerousness.”

• There is a lot to criticize about the United States. Extremes on left and right damn the country as bad (in a word). I cannot help thinking, however, that the U.S. is one of the most humane powers in the history of the world: “U.S. told Russia that Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack.” The article’s subheading: “In an unusual move, U.S. officials shared highly specific information about a terrorist plot with an adversary country.”