Heroism against Barbarism

By now, you may have seen an exchange between a D-Day veteran and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. I found it very moving — not least because, in my corner of the world, there is a sneering disdain for Zelensky and the Ukrainian cause. That cause is: the right of national existence. The Ukrainians are trying to beat back the invader, resist subjugation, and remain free. They have their opponents in the Free World, but they have supporters, too.

Here is that exchange:

• In the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov is Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, and obviously a great defender. But I’m not sure he is any more energetic, and consistent, than this Republican senator from Alabama:

There are Republicans who are frank about what has happened to their party. The chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Michael McCaul, said, “I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.” The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, agreed. (“Absolutely true.”)

• For the Telegraph, Karolina Hird has written a jarring article: “If Putin wins, expect the worst genocide since the Holocaust.” Hird writes,

To be clear from the start: Russia is actively, undeniably carrying out a genocide to destroy Ukrainian identity and independence. It does this by utilising ethnic cleansing campaigns, sexual violence, and the mass deportation of Ukrainian children as part of a “forced Russification” effort.

• Inna Sovsun is a member of Ukraine’s parliament. I did a podcast with her in April 2022, not long after Russia’s full-scale invasion. I wrote about our conversation here. On the 1st of the present month, she posted this:

• Above, I linked to an article in the Telegraph, and this reminds me: In my observation over the past two years, the conservative press in Britain has been staunchly pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin. So has the Conservative Party. Their counterparts in America are different. This would make the subject of an interesting and lengthy study.

Nigel Farage is the great pop-Right challenger to the Conservatives. But, to a large degree, Farage is our GOP, so to speak.

• “Peace” is a slippery term. I once wrote a book with the title “Peace, They Say.” According to Viktor Orbán, he staged a “pro-peace rally.” When such men talk that way: watch it. People have been talking “peace” when they mean submission to tyranny for eons.

• The foreign minister of Lithuania is both frank and concerned:

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its bloc, it was natural for Hungary to join NATO and the EU. Natural for all of those states to do so. But now things are different, given the nature of Orbán. NATO and the EU need to adjust, it seems to me, and not let the tail wag the dog.

• In a Senate floor speech, Mitch McConnell — a Republican very different from Senator Tuberville and the new GOP — said, “Hungary’s leaders have cozied up to America’s greatest strategic adversaries.” He was talking about Russia, China, and Iran. (I wrote about McConnell’s speech here.)

Belarus is a much smaller power, obviously, but it is a monstrous dictatorship, which imprisons, kills, or exiles its best citizens. (Ales Bialiatski, a 2022 Nobel peace laureate, is in prison right now.) The Belarusian dictator, Lukashenko, is a junior Putin.

Orbán is nothing if not consistent: “Hungary’s Foreign Minister Visits Belarus Despite EU Sanctions, Talks About Expanding Ties.” (The article, from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, is here.)

(By the way, that same foreign minister, Peter Szijjártó, received the Kremlin’s Order of Friendship from the hands of Putin himself, when Putin was massing troops on the Ukrainian border.)

• Readers may be familiar with Hanna Liubakova, one of the most valuable journalists in Eastern Europe. She is Belarusian. If she were home, she’d be in prison, if not dead. But she is in exile. I recorded a podcast with her in May 2022 (writing about it here). Hanna is now being tried, in absentia, for “an attempt to seize power,” “incitement of discord,” and so on and so forth. The playbook of dictatorships seldom varies.

• From the Washington Post, an interesting report — unsurprising but illuminating all the same: “Russia co-opts far-right politicians in Europe with cash, officials say.”

• A column by Lee Hockstader: “Russia is flooding Europe with disinformation. The U.S. elections are next.” Oh, yes.

• Evan Gershkovich is a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, taken hostage by Putin in March 2023. Donald Trump said, “He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else.”

Huh.

• RFE/RL reports,

Hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv on June 2 to honor the memory of Ukrainian journalist Iryna Tsybukh, who was killed in action while serving as a volunteer combat medic just days before her birthday. Tsybukh was killed on May 29 in the Kharkiv area, where Russian forces two months ago launched a major offensive against Ukrainian troops. She would have turned 26 on June 1.

The Ukrainians have set an extraordinary example of patriotism and resilience — of self-sacrifice, of heroism. I admire them immensely. I hope they win. I hope they keep their country and their freedom. A lot of people are against them — and not just Putin’s forces — but a lot of people are for them, too. I hope they know it.

• Spare a thought for Alsu Kurmasheva:

• And how about these? “At least 28 Ukrainian journalists are in Russian captivity. Here are some of their stories.” That report comes from Meduza, the Russian news organization in exile.

• Here is a report from the Associated Press: “Russian POWs get to make phone calls home. Ukrainians don’t. A growing movement wants that to change.”

• About the Russian political prisoner Ilya Yashin, I have written many times. He is a sterling example of courage. In Soviet days, Russian dissidents were among the bravest people on earth. They are today as well. Meduza tells us the following: “Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin says three of his cellmates died fighting in Ukraine.” (Article here.)

• Speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum last week, Garry Kasparov discussed three men: Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny, and Vladimir Kara-Murza. Their pictures appeared behind him as he spoke. Nemtsov was generally regarded as the leader of the Russian opposition. He was murdered within sight of the Kremlin in 2015. Then, Navalny was the leader of the opposition. He was murdered, or effectively murdered, in prison earlier this year. Kara-Murza served as lieutenant to Nemtsov. He is still alive, but he is in prison, and very, very weak. Gaunt.

Vladimir is a friend of mine. I have written about him, and podcasted with him, over and over. He has taught me a lot. And there is no one I admire more. If he died, I could write a beautiful eulogy. People might weep. I’m not going to write a eulogy, however. The time to talk about him — the time to speak up about him — is now, when he might be saved. I’m not doing it later. Better to help the living than mourn or praise the dead.