As I record this, Ukrainians are undergoing their fifth day of terrifying airstrikes and the rumblings of Russian tanks in their city streets, not to mention all of the deadly pitched battles that are going on throughout their besieged country. After having amassed almost 200,000 soldiers on Ukraine’s eastern, northern, and southern borders, along with the aircraft and other military supplies to support them, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has done the unthinkable, and invaded a freely elected democratic country that simply wants to live and breathe free. His goal is quite simple, to militarily overthrow the legitimate government of his neighbor and replace it with a puppet, pro-Russian one that will do his bidding with no questions asked.
With his invasion temporarily stalled near the capital of Kiev, brave Ukrainians are doing their very best to pull off their version of David and Goliath. Their president has politely declined an invitation by our government to safely leave the country, saying that, “this is our land, our country, our children, and we will protect them all,” and that he needs ammunition much more than he needs a ride to safety. Earlier he also said that Russian soldiers will see Ukrainian faces, not their backs, which is proving to be true.
I have two pen pals in Ukraine. Svitlana is a bright and prosperous businesswoman who lives in Kiev, where she and many others are using the sturdy concrete garage under her apartment for safety. She very much loves her country and today on Facebook she posted a remarkable photo of a handsome, 14-year-old young boy with big brown eyes and unruly hair, along with the following words: “I publish the passport photo of Anton Tarasenko, a child killed by Putin. Let the whole world and all Russians look into the young eyes of this deceased child. Russians, you should be ashamed that you have allowed Putin to kill our children!”
“Air raid sirens are going off day and night here in Kiev,” said Svitlana. “Many of the women and children have already left and my suitcases are full of food and the other necessities of life. This is a very big city and massive traffic jams are everywhere. We also have little or no access to ATM’s, pharmacies, and gas stations, and saboteurs and bandits roam our streets. But our brave soldiers and civilians fight on, and we will create hell for the Russian army.”
My other Ukrainian pen pal is Inna, and she lives with her husband and her 19- year-old son, near Lutsk, a city in Northwestern Ukraine, not far from the border of Belarus, which Russia used as a rehearsal site and staging area for the invasion. She is considered to be an expert in the fields of environmental studies and recycling and makes presentations throughout her country on those topics.
“The days and nights pass, and it is like I’m in a fog,” wrote Inna. “Loud sirens are always going off and danger is everywhere. But I am more worried than I am scared. We just don’t know what to do yet. We don’t want to flee to Poland and become refugees. My fear of war goes all the way back to my childhood. My parents lived through World War II and they and their friends were always talking about it, and how horrible it had been. The UN and all of these other intragovernmental institutions seem to be worthless. I know other countries are implementing sanctions and doing all they can to help, but a man like Putin has to be defeated on the battleground. And you can’t imagine how united and self-organized all Ukrainians are, raising money, weaving camouflage nets, making Molotov cocktails, detaining suspects and saboteurs, and doing everything we can to keep our freedom.”
America is not immune from the madness of Putin, although our former secretary of state and president recently praised him, with the latter even calling Putin a genius. But if the war in Ukraine goes on for any length of time, be it traditional or guerilla warfare, it is quite possible that Russian hackers will soon be messing with such things as our electrical grids, water purification plants, and the companies that supply fuel to large portions of our country, doing whatever they can to stop our support of Ukraine. As for Svitlana and Inna, they are both fierce patriots, determined to fight on, refusing to live under the boot of Vladimir Putin.
“I’m actually starting to feel even more strength, determination, anger, and love for Ukraine,” said Inna in her last letter to me. “My husband has gone off to help the territorial defense and my son is working at a large logistics delivery company trying to keep packages going to where they are needed. I have signed up to do as much volunteer work as I can getting medicines, bandages, and other much-needed supplies for the defense of my city, and just about everyone I know is trying their very best to help. As for me personally, I just want to once again live, love, work, think and smile. Glory to Ukraine! Glory to our heroes!”