About those 70 days in Ukraine (про ті 70 днів в Україні)—UPDATED

(Post originally written in 2019 and has updates below)

Thanks to donald trump, 2019 was a summer of agony and despair in Ukraine.

While Americans were shuttling the kids to the beach for summer holiday Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were dying, locked in a hot war fending off Russian aggression.

Casino Mobster’s regime forced Ukraine to wait 70 days without $400 million in U.S. support. Trump & MAGA minions ordered that cash frozen to extort dirt on Joe Biden and Don’s about to be impeached for it, officially, as early as next week.

Here’s a snapshot (through public reporting and by no means exhaustive) of what happened during that consequential—and treasonous—period between 3 July – 11 September 2019. Significant loss of life, morning families and orphaned kids:

• JULY
  – “Bohdan Bihus, 28, Oleksandr Bardalym, 33, and Roman Dzhereleiko, 31, were all killed by Russian-separatist forces; according to Kyiv Post Bardalym was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded fellow soldier” (via Newsweek) According to Unian: “60-year-old man was in the garden, not far from an apartment building at 36 Tchaikovsky Street, when he was hit by an OG-9 high explosive fragmentation grenade launched from the village of Staromykhailivka. He was rushed to hospital in the town of Kurakhove where he died from multiple shrapnel wounds.”
• AUGUST
  via Newsweek: “Oleksandr Sharko, 30, Vladyslav Rak, 20, Serhiy Shandra, 24, Vasyl Kurdov, 20, Roman Romanenko, 25, Vasyl Yevstyhneyev, 38, and Tykhon Kurbatov, 26; Sharko, Rak, Shandra and Kurdov were marines all killed together on the morning of August 6… caught in an enemy artillery barrage while conducting engineering work on their positions”
• SEPTEMBER
  Donbass ceasefire was reportedly violated at least 15 times early this month; one Ukrainian soldier was killed (Kyiv Post); from Unian news agency, “Russia’s hybrid military forces on September 4 mounted 12 attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action” // The armed forces of the Russian Federation and its mercenaries violated the ceasefire 21 times on September 5; one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded as a result of enemy shelling” (Unian)

According to Kyiv Post, 72 Ukrainian soldiers died in 2019 alone (that figure comes from an August report so the total is likely higher). From ABC Australia:

Since its outbreak, the war in Ukraine has been defined by the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and haunting images of a wave of demonstrations in the capital Kiev, known as Euromaidan.

Do NOT lose sight of how Russia is the aggressor in this war; Ukraine, our close ally in the region, is defending itself from Putin and Russia stealing land and murdering innocent people. Could that military aid have saved lives? Probably, but we’ll never know.

Donald Trump has sought counsel from Putin, repeatedly, without any record of what they discussed. Americans deserve to know the content of those conversations to understand what role Fat Nixon played in helping bolster Putin’s position.

To use this aid in the way Trump did is pernicious and sociopathic, to say the least—and it’ll be his undoing. 🔴

UPDATE (24 May 2021): Former “Ambassador” to EU Gordon Sondland is suing U.S. government for legal fees he incurred while testifying truthfully about Ukraine mishegas. Notable development since we didn’t know about Pompeo’s promise to pay—and subsequent refusal after Sondland told the truth. Bottom line: Sondland’s legal tab will not bring back those dead Ukrainian soldiers.

Unhinged Vladimir Putin underestimated pretty much everyone on the planet [UPDATED]

UPDATE 2 (17 March 2022): Putin is shelling Ukraine much like he did in Aleppo, and donald trump is still a f*cking traitor. TFG was fake-mob POTUS* at a crucial period when America needed a backstop against Putin who, we on Earth 1 know by now, has become unhinged madman.

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Will Pollock is a perpetually crabby New York City escapee based in Midtown Atlanta. He’s a freelance multimedia journalist, media analyst and author of two books (award-winning Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way.

In 2001, Will earned his Masters from The Medill School of Journalism, graduating with highest honors from the magazine sequence. As permanent member of Journalism’s National Honors Society, he’s been active in monitoring, writing and blogging about media and journalism ever since he graduated.

Obsessed with good storytelling and journalistic excellence, Will uses snark, humor and reason to distill dumb shit and make it fun. He’s a seeker/maker of non-consensus news, and helps you cure crankies by finding the nut in every story.

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