Uncomfortably numb

Yesterday on the way to work we saw a military police van come rushing by us with its sirens blaring.  It stopped in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a heavily armed soldier rushed into the building.  There have been any number of bomb scares since NATO nations announced they would be sending tanks to Ukraine.  We assumed this was another bomb scare.

So enters phase two of Russia's "War with the West," terrorizing EU and NATO member states.  This is really nothing new.  Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been trying to destabilize Europe, the Eastern European countries in particular.  If it is not actively meddling in internal politics, it has mounted cyberattacks, stirred up protests, and now bomb threats.  No European country is immune.  

It is difficult to trace these attacks back to the Kremlin, so Putin derisively dismisses each in turn.  His underlings even go so far as to blame other nations for the attacks.  He sits back like the Queen of Hearts hoping to see chaos ensue.  So far, it hasn't happened, but I well imagine he thinks he has time on his side.

Of course, there are other things going on in the world, as one of the blog contributors likes to point out in comments.  We recently saw the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, where at least 10,000 persons are estimated to be dead.  Erdogan gave a fiery speech calling on international assistance.  Sweden wasted no time in sending assistance, knowing its NATO membership might be on the line.  Cynical perhaps but then Erdogan is a very cynical man himself, trying to use a staged Qur'an book burning in Stockholm as an excuse not to ratify Sweden's membership.  So, whether we like it or not it seems many of these events turn back to the War in Ukraine.

Roger Waters for one doesn't like it.  He believes the West should quit sending arms to Ukraine and force it to the negotiating table with Russia.  Not surprisingly, he's been asked by Russia to speak at the UN.  The Kremlin will leave no stone unturned in its propaganda war.  Mostly, Waters says he is tired of seeing "this content-less waving of the blue and yellow flag."  He didn't think much of the video his former bandmates did with Ukrainian musician Andriy Khlyvnyuk that became a viral hit.  This has led to a nasty fallout with David Gilmour and his wife Polly Samson, resulting in this virulent exchange.  I hadn't realized that Polly wrote the lyrics for several Pink Floyd songs. They all seem to be post-Waters.

Even a seemingly innocuous event like the Sanremo song festival becomes politically charged when critics speak out against Zelenskyy's televised appearance.  One of the reasons is that this event still allows Russian musical acts to perform and would be seen throughout Russia. The Kremlin is demanding equal time.

There are a growing number of persons speaking out on what they perceive as the unquestioning support of Ukraine in this war.  President Lula decided to give German Chancellor Scholz an earful when asked if Brazil would provide military support for Ukraine. Of course, Lula is wrestling with problems of his own in the way of the insurrection attempt earlier last month.  The last thing he wants to think about is Ukraine. But, there is a deeper concern here. Lula was one of the original signatories of BRICS, and it is in his interest to remain supportive of Russia, which TASS duly took note of.  I have to admire Scholz for pushing his crusade in South America, even if it has been met with mixed results.

It was nice to see the Pope change his tune on Ukraine, much to the Kremlin's chagrin.  He is now acknowledging the atrocities being committed by Russian troops. At first, he blamed the war as much on American imperialism as Russian imperialism, and badly wanted to serve as mediator in the conflict.  

He had proposed flying to Moscow but the Kremlin said no.  He chose Kazakhstan instead for the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, purposely avoiding Patriarch Kirill, who has blessed the War in Ukraine.  He said he wanted to meet the Russian Patriarch in a more "peaceful setting."  Whatever that meant?  None of this went over well with Eastern European Catholics, and he is now trying to make amends. 

My wife likes to think the new Lithuanian ambassador might have something to do with it, as Sigita Maslauskaitė-Mažylienė apparently had a four-hour introduction with the Pope, in which she deftly made clear the Eastern European position on Russia.  I liked her comment, "we see all kinds of winds are blowing certain opinions towards the Pope's ear."

For once, Russia is not able to control the narrative.  It had been effectively making its case for the past two decades that American influence was to blame for the conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine.  It didn't matter what other Eastern European countries thought, warning the West time and again of Russia's imperial ambitions.  Now, Putin finds himself marginalized and watching the young Ukrainian president grab all the limelight.  This must be a cruel blow for the man who would be king of the world.

Still, Putin has a lot of international supporters and useful idiots.  For the most part they have kept their sentiments under wraps but now we see them bubbling to the surface as we near the one-year anniversary of the war.  

Yes, we would all like to see this war end but not on Putin's terms.  Allowing him to lay claim to most of Ukraine's seacoast would be a major travesty.  It would allow him to bide time until striking again.  He will never let Ukraine go.