Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And meanwhile back here in the so-called United States,

[N.E. Brigand]

I think either Filipkowski or Tuberville misunderstood: what Putin wants is "a piece" of Ukraine, not "peace" in Ukraine.

[Frelga]

Fair warning.

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[N.E. Brigand]

One of the very few subjects where Sen. Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) has been generally on the side of truth and justice is foreign policy and Ukraine in particular. In this interview on CBS, Graham shares what he discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy during the D-Day 80th anniversary events in France. Graham is very supportive of Zelenskyy and very tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin. And he criticizes a fellow Republican in this interview, saying that Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is wrong to claim that Putin has only invaded Ukraine for defensive positions. Mind you, Graham also uses the interview as a way to criticize President Biden for being soft on Putin. And it's possible he's right about that. But if Graham really cared as much about Ukraine as he claims to, he wouldn't support the candidacy of Donald Trump, who will surely abandon Zelenskyy.

I do want to note that some fun is being had at Graham's expense today for saying that D-Day "was a failure" and that World War II was an "unnecessary war." If you listen to the remarks in full and not just the short clip that's being widely circulated, you'll hear that what he's saying is that the Allied powers were wrong to appease Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. I'm not sure they had the ability to actually prevent Germany's aggression, but Graham's position is a standard one.

[Alatar]

I know this is about Graham but honestly I'm so tired of out of context clips from both sides. FFS, Trump says plenty of objectionable things but people keep finding ways to take obvious jokes (whether in poor taste or not) and present them as "Gotchas". Its so tiresome.

There's no need to create fake outrage when there's plenty of statement deserving outrage.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I couldn't agree more, AL.

[Frelga]

Ukrainian drone attack has damaged a Russian Su-57 fighter jet at an airbase near Akhtubinsk, deep inside Russia. Possibly two such planes were hit, but Russian sources officially confirmed that one won't fly for at least six months.

Su-57 is Russia's most modern plane, still not fully tested, capable of carrying cruise missiles. Only 6 have been built.

Official Russian sources say that the attack was carried out with cheap, slow flying drones that are invisible to radar. Some hinted that these are the cardboard drones (made of shit and sticks, in Russian poetic description), but then something else must have delivered them most of the way.

[RoseMorninStar]

One of the very few subjects where Sen. Lindsey Graham (Republican of South Carolina) has been generally on the side of truth and justice is foreign policy and Ukraine in particular. In this interview on CBS, Graham shares what he discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy during the D-Day 80th anniversary events in France. Graham is very supportive of Zelenskyy and very tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin. And he criticizes a fellow Republican in this interview, saying that Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama is wrong to claim that Putin has only invaded Ukraine for defensive positions. Mind you, Graham also uses the interview as a way to criticize President Biden for being soft on Putin. And it's possible he's right about that. But if Graham really cared as much about Ukraine as he claims to, he wouldn't support the candidacy of Donald Trump, who will surely abandon Zelenskyy.

I do want to note that some fun is being had at Graham's expense today for saying that D-Day "was a failure" and that World War II was an "unnecessary war." If you listen to the remarks in full and not just the short clip that's being widely circulated, you'll hear that what he's saying is that the Allied powers were wrong to appease Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. I'm not sure they had the ability to actually prevent Germany's aggression, but Graham's position is a standard one.

Although poorly said, the take-away I got is that Putin is not likely to stop at Ukraine and to take a hands off approach would not be wise. Also electing officials with such an approach (or authoritarians in general) is a bad idea.

[N.E. Brigand]

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelenskyy signed a new security agreement today while in Italy.

“Our goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s credible defense and deterrence capabilities for the long term,” Biden said. “A lasting peace for Ukraine must be underwritten by Ukraine’s own ability to defend itself now and to deter future aggression anytime in the future. The United States is going to help ensure that Ukraine can do both.”

The agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine is also expected to serve as an eventual bridge to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, with alliance members also pursuing their own bilateral agreements with Kyiv. ...

Zelensky described the signing of the bilateral agreement as “a truly historic day” and said that the security agreement is an agreement for the “protection of human lives.”

“This is an agreement on steps to guarantee sustainable peace and therefore it benefits everyone in the world because the Russian war in Ukraine is a global threat,” Zelensky said.

[N.E. Brigand]

And remember, when Donald Trump's folks drop their masks, this is what they think of Ukraine:

Trump associate and former White House advisor Steve Bannon yesterday said: "Ukraine’s not even a country. It’s kind of a concept. It’s not even a country .. It’s just a corrupt area that the Clintons turned into a colony where they can steal money out of."

[Frelga]

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Aragorn and Legolas reunited in a fight against the orcs. Although by now I think most of the Fellowship have spoken up to support Ukraine, and several have visited.

Viggo is photographed at a movie festival. Orlando, speaking for UNICEF about the courage and suffering of Ukrainian children.