Is Ukraine really Synonymous with Democracy and Freedom?

We hear every day that we need to continue our support of Ukraine in the fight for democracy and freedom versus Putin and Russia.

But is Ukraine and Zelensky really that much better than Russia and Putin?

Is Ukraine any better at all?  

According to Allan Ripp, reporting for NBC News, “Ukraine’s Nazi problem is real…”

“Of the many distortions manufactured by Russian President Vladimir Putin to justify Russia’s assault on Ukraine, perhaps the most bizarre is his claim that the action was taken to ‘denazify’ the country and its leadership. In making his case for entering his neighbor’s territory with armored tanks and fighter jets, Putin has stated that the move was undertaken ‘to protect people’ who have been ‘subjected to bullying and genocide,’ [In Biden’s own words, with video cameras rolling, he threatened Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in March 2016 that the Obama administration would pull $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees, sending the former Soviet republic toward insolvency, if it didn’t immediately fire Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. “I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled telling Poroshenko. “Well, son of a bitch, he got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time,” Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations event, insisting that President Obama was in on the threat.] and that Russia ‘will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.’”

“Putin’s destructive actions — among them the devastation of Jewish communities — make clear that he’s lying when he says his goal is to ensure anyone’s welfare.”

“On its face, Putin’s smear is absurd, not least because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish [and Joe Biden is Puerto Rican!] and has said that members of his family were killed during World War II. There is also no evidence of recent mass killings or ethnic purges taking place in Ukraine. Moreover, labeling enemies Nazis is a common political ploy in Russia [and in the U.S., by the way], especially from a leader who favors disinformation campaigns [did somebody say Creepy Joe Biden?] and wants to stir up feelings of national vengeance against a WWII foe to justify conquest.”

“But even though Putin is engaging in propaganda [isn’t everyone?], it’s also true that Ukraine has a genuine Nazi problem — both past and present [well, they’ve got that in common with the democrat party!]. Putin’s destructive actions — among them the devastation of Jewish communities — make clear that he’s lying when he says his goal is to ensure anyone’s welfare. But important as it is to defend the yellow-and-blue flag against the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, it would be a dangerous oversight to deny Ukraine’s antisemitic history and collaboration with Hitler’s Nazis, as well as the latter-day embrace of neo-Nazi factions in some quarters.”

Reeeeally?

“On the eve of World War II, Ukraine was home to one the largest Jewish communities in Europe, with estimates as high as 2.7 million, a remarkable number considering the territory’s long record of antisemitism and pogroms [A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian Empire.]. By the end, more than half would perish. When German troops took control of Kyiv in 1941, they were welcomed by ‘Heil Hitler’ banners. Soon after, nearly 34,000 Jews — along with Roma and other ‘undesirables’ — were rounded up and marched to fields outside the city on the pretext of resettlement only to be massacred in what became known as the ‘Holocaust by bullets.’”

“The Babyn Yar ravine continued to fill up as a mass grave for two years. With as many as 100,000 murdered there, it became one of the largest single killing sites of the Holocaust outside of Auschwitz and other death camps. Researchers have noted the key role locals played in fulfilling Nazi kill orders at the site.”

“Nowadays, Ukraine counts between 56,000 to 140,000 Jews, who enjoy freedoms and protections never imagined by their grandparents. That includes an updated law passed last month criminalizing antisemitic acts. Unfortunately, the law was intended to address a pronounced uptick in public displays of bigotry, including swastika-laden vandalism of synagogues and Jewish memorials, and eerie marches in Kyiv and other cities that celebrated the Waffen SS.”

“In another ominous development, Ukraine has in recent years erected a glut of statues honoring Ukrainian nationalists whose legacies are tainted by their indisputable record as Nazi proxies. The Forward newspaper cataloged some of these ‘deplorables,’ including Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), whose followers acted as local militia members for the SS and German army. ‘Ukraine has several dozen monuments and scores of street names glorifying this Nazi collaborator, enough to require two separate Wikipedia pages,’ the Forward wrote.”

“Another frequent honoree is Roman Shukhevych, revered as a Ukrainian freedom fighter but also the leader of a feared Nazi auxiliary police unit that the Forward notes was ‘responsible for butchering thousands of Jews and … Poles.’ Statues have also been raised for Yaroslav Stetsko, a one-time chair of the OUN, who wrote ‘I insist on the extermination of the Jews in Ukraine.’”

Hmmm.

“Just as disturbing, neo-Nazis are part of some of Ukraine’s growing ranks of volunteer battalions. They are battle-hardened after waging some of the toughest street fighting against Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine following Putin’s Crimean invasion in 2014. One is the Azov Battalion, founded by an avowed white supremacist who claimed Ukraine’s national purpose was to rid the country of Jews and other inferior races. In 2018, the U.S. Congress stipulated that its aid to Ukraine couldn’t be used ‘to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.’”

Is that so?

Who exactly is making sure this doesn’t happen?

“Even so, Azov is now an official member of the Ukraine National Guard.”

You don’t say?

In addition to the concerns about Ukrainian Nazism, Tom Vanden Brook and Rachel Looker for USA Today report, “The US has spent billions on Ukraine war aid. But is that money landing in corrupt pockets?”

“With more than $100 billion in U.S. weaponry and financial aid flowing to Ukraine in less than a year – and more on the way to counter Russia’s invasion – concerns about arms falling into terrorists’ hands [again?!] and dollars into corrupt officials’ pockets [don’t they always?] are mounting.”

“The special inspector general who has overseen aid to Afghanistan since 2012, and some House Republicans, warn of the need for closer oversight of the military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The scale of the effort is massive. The $113 billion appropriated by Congress in 2022 approaches the $146 billion spent in 20 years for military and humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan…”

‘“When you spend so much money so quickly, with so little oversight, you’re going to have fraud, waste and abuse,’ John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said in an interview.”

The question is then, why is there “so little oversight?”

Because that’s the way they want it!

How can any of this money be effectively kicked back, “wasted and abused,” if we actually require to document where OUR money is going?!

“The Pentagon rejects that narrative, saying safeguards have been put in place to ensure that U.S. weapons are accounted for by the Ukrainian forces after they are transferred.”

Oh…, ok, then…, if the Pentagon says so!

‘“The department takes our commitment to Ukraine seriously, which is why we implemented strong measures to track the capabilities we are providing to equip Ukraine,’ said Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary.”

Define “strong measures.”

“The lack of Ukraine oversight draws parallels to Afghanistan corruption.”

Wow. That’s saying a lot!

“Ukraine has a history of corruption, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made stamping it out a priority.”

I believe using the phrase “covering it up” would be more appropriate as opposed to the phrase “stamping it out.”

“James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Congress must conduct oversight of taxpayer dollars sent overseas. The committee will work to determine whether there was waste or misuse.”

Honestly, I don’t think we need a committee to determine whether there was “waste or misuse,” just how much “waste or misuse.”

‘“We owe it to the American taxpayer to account for how their money is spent,’ Comer said in a statement to USA TODAY.”

Yes, that would be nice, and change of pace to be sure.

Stay thirsty (for the truth) my friends!

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