07.09.2024 / It's up to you
Facebook is usually the place where I write immediate reactions to current events. This week has been particularly eventful. Waking up at 5.30 to the sound of loud explosions outside on Monday morning—Ukraine's nationwide first day of school—now feels like a distant memory.
That was after a weekend of deadly russian missile strikes on Kharkiv; on Tuesday they struck an educational facility in Poltava, killing over 50; and Wednesday morning they ruined dozens of buildings in Kryvyi Rih and Lviv, killing seven in the latter. I spent last night at a friend's house in the center of Kyiv—we had to catch an early morning train—and our short sleep was interrupted by loud booms outside, prompting us to briefly take shelter in the bathroom.
People abroad should be riled up and shouting for more US and European support for Ukraine. (Though why it takes spectacular shows of russian brutality toward non-combatants to push you to speak is another question, and worthy of separate examination.)
Today I've decided to share my Facebook post from Wednesday, Sept. 4, and to encourage readers in the US to contact their representatives in Congress to urge them to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-supplied weapons. If you are not in the States, your voice in support of Ukraine being able to defend itself completely from russia’s unjustifiable attacks matters too!
My heart dropped on Tuesday when I learned that the terroruscists had killed over 40 people in a missile strike on Poltava (present count: 53 dead, 298 injured). The precise choreography of the attack is cynically aimed at manipulating *you* in addition to harming the maximum number of Ukrainians. What infuriates me is that you fall for it again and again.
Take, for instance, the BBC global news broadcast the following morning (01:00–07:33).
The RF struck a military training institute far from the front lines so that you hear "military target" and begin to wonder: why is it any less legitimate than Ukraine striking military airbases and weapons production facilities inside russia? You might drift off into a fantasy where if Ukraine had no military academies and no military, then wouldn't there just be peace?
Why DOES Ukraine need to keep expanding its military and making it more robust? Why to protect its very existence from bloodthirsty neighbor russia!
People instantly began speculating: there must have been a large assembly or individuals ignored the air raid alarms or the local authorities were too slow in sounding the alert. These are the kinds of things people love to discuss when thinking in terms of preventative measures to "protect lives" from a narrow, individual-centered perspective (i.e., what can I do to ensure my own safety). As if we lived in a world without law or political responsibility.
The people in Poltava were killed by two ballistic missiles sent by the terrorist RF. Had the RF not sent those missiles, these people would still be alive. So, world, what did YOU do to prevent the RF from sending those two missiles? What are you doing to prevent the RF from sending more?
It seems like the terrorist RF is exempt from adhering to international law or fundamental conventions like respecting the borders and sovereignty of other countries, because they are not being held accountable.
Instead of taking action to stop russia's boundless campaign of destruction (lift restrictions on where Ukraine can send Western-supplied weapons!) or even taking action to stop russia from destroying Ukraine (extend NATO membership to Ukraine!) you continue to accept the terrorist state in its positions of power and privilege (like permanent member of the UN security council), thus undermining the very institutions and agreements established to uphold international law (what is the point of an ICC if its member nations do not fulfill their legal obligations to arrest criminals for which the ICC issued a warrant?).
Meanwhile the BBC journalist questions the Ukrainian government's most recent pleas to its international partners to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets deep inside russia. He claims that these two missiles were launched from Crimea (his interviewee says that actually the source of the missiles is still under investigation), which Ukraine surely must have permission to strike.
It's a strange logical detour, as if to insinuate: Ukrainians, what right do you have to ask to hit targets inside russia if these two particular missiles killing you (let's just ignore for a moment the other thousand sent by the RF last month) weren't launched from russia but from Crimea? We've already given you permission to strike targets inside Crimea and look, you're still unable to protect yourselves.
Dear readers, listeners, watchers of the news, do you remember how Crimea came to be the russian military base it is today? The RF simply took over. Ukraine hardly had a military in 2014. The world said "we don't recognize" and went on with business as usual. Has allowing russia's brazen and devastating violations of international law made the world a better place?
This Wednesday morning the terroruscists targeted a residential area of Lviv, killing 7, including a mother and her three daughters; they also ruined over 50 apartment buildings, a hotel and educational facilities with a combined air strike on Kryvyi Rih. No military strategic value to either of these strikes.
Some day when it's your friends being killed, your historic neighborhoods blown to rubble, you will look back to these years and wonder what you were thinking about while russia and its allies were steadily and systematically destroying the world.
***
"Even though polls show that a majority of Americans favor continued Ukraine support, we are told by members of Congress that they get very little communication from their constitutions re: Ukraine. This is seen as not caring," wrote my mum from the US this week.
Yikes. Let your heart move your hands and start calling / writing your Congresspeople. Take an hour or two this weekend, get together with your friends, compose a message and start calling your representatives. Encourage your friends and wider community to do the same.
PRIORITY DEMANDS:
1) Lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of weapons supplied by the US, the UK, and European nations. Allow Ukraine's military leadership to decide where, when and how to deploy Western-supplied weapons, including to hit legitimate military targets inside the Russian Federation.
2) US-specific: ensuring that Ukraine retains access to the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) beyond September. Currently, about $6 billion in crucial military aid is at risk, if action is not taken promptly.
The Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS) recommends reaching out to your elected officials by phone every few days. They’ve found that phone calls to your Members of Congress are very effective.
RESOURCES:
Razom for Ukraine: https://www.letukrainestrikeback.com/
UNIS (scroll down for specific advocacy campaigns and sample letters to your representatives): https://ucca.org/
Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis put it succintly:
"You know Russian planes are better protected by the Western guarantees than Ukrainians. We have to ask ourselves a question: aren't we ourselves a part of this problem?"
Photo from Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadoviy’s Telegram channel, Sept. 4, 2024