Further Comments on the Situation in Ukraine

1. Kyiv still stands.

For however much longer, at whatever cost, Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands, unconquered by invaders. It remains under brutal assault from a dictator determined to destroy democracy and reimpose Soviet control over free land, and how this ends has become far more unpredictable than anyone thought possible. The odds are still heavily against the Ukrainians. But for now Kyiv still stands, a thumb in the eye of Vladimir Putin.

2. Wars create martyrs and that’s just one of the things that happens in wartime I suppose. While there is now some question about their ultimate fate, it appears that the thirteen border guards of tiny Snake Island have probably joined those ranks. If you’ve not heard the recordings – which have been verified by the Ukrainian government as authentic – they’re chilling. First you hear a Russian warship demanding that they surrender or face bombardment. After a short pause in which you hear the Ukrainians briefly confer, their response comes across clearly: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” Perhaps not the most eloquent of responses, but – like General Anthony McAuliffe’s “Nuts!” when the Nazis demanded the surrender of US troops at the Battle of the Bulge – it gets the point across well enough.

3. It has become something of a rallying cry, in fact.

4. It’s even begun showing up on the highways. First as satire:

And then, apparently, in reality:

Because really, it’s just about the most appropriate response to this.

5. Or, possibly this, from an old woman who marched up to a Russian soldier in the streets. There is no way I can hope to paraphrase this any better than the transcription so here you go:

Though somebody did turn it into art. Don’t fuck with old women and don’t fuck with Ukrainians.

6. They will fuck back.

7. Ukraine has proven a far tougher challenge than Vladimir Putin anticipated, which says something about a tyrant who fancied himself a historian. He forgot a few things. For one thing, throughout the Soviet era, Ukrainians were widely considered the best soldiers in the Soviet army. And for another, they hate the Russians and have for generations, to the point where when the Nazis invaded in 1941 they were initially greeted as liberators. That’s what happens when millions of Ukrainians were murdered in Stalinist purges or deliberately starved to death in the Holodomor (look it up, kids) during the 1930s. Take it from a guy who’s been teaching history for three decades now – Americans as a group live in a historical window that is roughly thirty minutes wide, but not everyone else forgets the past so easily.

8. If you want to know what leadership in a crisis should look like, look no further than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This probably came as a great surprise to Putin. It certainly came as a surprise to most observers. Zelensky was an actor and a comedian before being elected to the presidency, and his popularity prior to the Russian assault on his country was low and dropping. But when the shit hit the fan, Zelensky rose to the challenge. He has been consistent, sharp, and above all courageous. He has stayed in Kyiv, shared its concerns, and boosted its morale even though he knows – we all know – that he is Putin’s biggest target and likely would not survive contact with Russian forces. When the US offered to evacuate him, his response was epic: “I need ammunition, not a ride.” This isn’t the shrill posturing of the sunshine patriot covered in flag decals and thrift-shop camo – this is a man who has bitten off more than he could chew and is now chewing it anyway, putting his life on the line for the greater good of the people he represents. Whatever else he may be, he is a leader.

9. You can also look at Vitali Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion who is now the mayor of Kyiv. He could have retired anywhere in the world. He could have headed off somewhere safe. Instead he is there with the people he represents. When the leaders are like this, the people will follow. And when the people follow, they are hard to put down.

10. Putin needed this war to be quick. He needed to get in, crush Ukraine, install his puppet government, and present the world with accomplished fact before they could respond. Every day that Ukrainians fight him to a standstill is a day the rest of the world can get its act together and turn Russia into a pariah state.

There are demonstrations across the world.

There are demonstrations in Russia – a brave thing. Ordinary Russians have spoken out, and even some of Russia’s elite have as well. The head of the Russian delegation to a climate change conference yesterday publicly apologized for the crimes of his country in invading Ukraine. I suspect he won’t be going home after that.

The Pope went to the Russian Embassy in Rome and spoke sharply the ambassador there, "an unprecedented departure from diplomatic protocol" (according to Reuters) that probably hasn't happened since the Renaissance.

Hell, rumor has it that PornHub has gotten into the act, something I very much want to be true. When the porn stars are against you there is nothing for you to do but run.

There are economic sanctions in place, and they’re already hurting Russia’s economy – not enough to stop anything, but enough in concert with everything else to give people pause. Most western nations have closed their air space to Russian planes. It’s a start. It’s what we can do.

11. And it needs to be done. If you think Putin would have stopped in Ukraine, let me introduce you to a gentleman named Neville Chamberlain and a place called the Sudetenland. The Great Powers of the world appeased one dictator then and it cost them dearly. One hopes that lesson was learned.

12. I have no illusions that my little blog post will change anything in the world. But it is my platform and my place to take whatever stand I wish to take. There are people I follow on social media who are in Ukraine right now and mostly what they want – aside from big things like ending the war and kicking the invaders out of their country – is for the rest of the world to remember them and support them. And here I do so. You do what you can until such time as you can do more.

13. Once more, for the record: as of this writing, Kyiv still stands.