Zelensky won the run-off election for President of Ukraine
Or as Bernhard at MoA puts it: ‘Ukraine Election – Voters Defeat Second Color Revolution’, July 22, 2019, moonofalabama.org
He begins with a fairly concise version of the Western-orchestrated revolution in 2014 in which Victor Yanukovitch failed to sign the EU Association deal that would bind Ukraine not only to the West, but to NATO. Russia had countered with a better deal:
“It offered billions in investments and long term loans. Much of Ukraine’s industry depends on Russia and Russian gas was offered to the Ukraine for less than the international market price. Yanukovych, who originally wanted to sign the EU association, had no choice but to refuse it, and to take the much better deal Russia offered.”
This isn’t quite how I’d remembered the timing of this, but b writes that the armed battles between the Galician and the police at Maidan Square , as well as snipers from Georgia firing on both sides was what had caused Yanokovitch to “lose his nerve and flee to Russia”. But I’ll gladly yield to his expertise and memory. But after some legal shenanigans, a new election was held, and the West’s favorite puppet Petro Poroshenko the Chocolate King was declared the winner. “Fuck the EU!” (Battle-cry of Nulandia & Co.)
“The unreconstructed fascists from Galicia took over. The population in the industrial heartland in east Ukraine, next to Russia’s border, revolted against the new rulers. A civil war, not a ‘Russian invasion’, ensued which the Ukrainian government largely lost. Lugansk and Donbas became rebel controlled statelets which depend of Russia. Russia took back Crimea, which in 1954 had been illegally gifted to Ukraine by then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, himself a Ukrainian.”
More accurately, Crimeans voted to rejoin Russia, as almost all were Russian-speaking, and culturally bonded to Mother Russia.
“On March 31 new elections were held. Volodymyr Zelensky, a TV comedian who played a teacher who accidentally became president [in the series called Servant of the People, after which name he’d branded his political party], won the first round. Zelensky is of Jewish heritage and from the east Ukraine. He speaks Russian, not Ukrainian.
The April run-off vote between Zelensky and Poroshenko was a disaster for the latter. Zelensky received 73% of the votes. The only districts where Poroshenko won were in Galicia, where the descendants of the fascist who fought in World War II on the Nazi side still follow their forefathers ideology.”
Bernhard writes that Zelensky wants to end the war in the east and establish closer ties with Russia, and end government corruption. I’ll take that at face value, as it seems that Zelensky has evolved a bit since I’d written up the March election, candidates. commentary, photos, etc. (Café version, C99% version), but b will have paid closer attention.
Back then, advisors to NATO, the Atlantic Council had endorsed ‘the Joker Zelensky as ‘the only decent choice’ because: rooting out corruption, which I’d interpreted to mean: enabling Ukraine to pony up its dues to join NATO, and
“A serious analysis of his record yields a different picture. His “Kvartal 95” shows have a long tradition of sharp and profound criticism of Ukraine’s utterly unfair political system, starting well before the Maidan. He has consistently criticized Russia’s aggression in Crimea and the Donbas and ridiculed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskiy donated part of the money he earned in Russia to Ukrainians fighting in the Donbas, which led the Russian authorities to open a criminal case against him.”
...although it may be a tissue of lies, but I will say that iirc a few of b’s readers had challenged his minimzing Zelensky as a front man for oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi, so we’ll hope for the best.
But arguably, the reason he’s chosen to publish this report now is that Zelensky’s political party seems to be winning a lot of seats in the Ukrainian Parliament (the Rada).
“But the parliament, still under control of the Maidan fascists, opposed him. Zelensky relieved the parliament and called for early elections. They were held yesterday and the results are now in.
Zelensky’s party, named after his former TV show ‘The Servant of the People’, put forward mostly fresh, untainted candidates. It won by a large margin. It will have more than 50% of the 450 parliament seats. The prominent fascists lost.”
Yes, there were any number of Rumbles in the Rada that had grown rather…kinetic, let’s say.
Fascists, Banderists, neo-Nazis, and how often we’ve seen Azov Battalion, Svoboda, Banderist torchlight parades and laughed: Ruh-roh! Vickie Nuland still can’t get control of her Nazis! It was so apparent that even the Newspapers of Record were finally forced to take note. Hmmmm.
“Shortly after Zelensky was elected as president, ‘western’ paid ‘civil society’ groups issued a joint statement threatening a “third Maidan” (I won’t include the bullet-point issues)
“The statement is signed by dozens of Soros, Omidyar, CIA and NATO funded organizations.
Mark Ames @MarkAmesExiled – 17:05 UTC May 24, 2019
“Sure enough one of the signatories is “NGO ‘CentreUA‘”—same NGO, funded by Omidyar, Soros, USAID, that organized Maidan revolution. That’s like a gun pointed at Zelensky’s head. Outrageous.
Zelensky was elected by 75% of Ukrainians. Who the fuck elected Pierre Omidyar, George Soros, USAID, National Endowment for Democracy — and their “civil society” satraps — to supersede Ukraine’s democracy?”
“These ‘western’ paid organizations support the fascists [Newsweek? w/ video Obomba and Trump]:
How can Ukraine prevent pro-Russian politics if voters prefer it? Another revolution, duh.
This movement is dubbed “The 25%,” after their support for Poroshenko’s failed reelection. Backers include allies from his party list: outgoing speaker of parliament Andriy Parubiy and state historian Volodymyr Vyatrovych — controversial nationalists who heroize figures implicated in the Holocaust as freedom fighters for independence from the Soviet Union. Parubiy takes credit for leading other Maidans. He and Vyatrovych are evangelists of “national liberation” and “national revolution” against Russian imperialism.
“If there is a third Maidan, Ukraine’s far right will lead it. Debunking Kremlin propaganda about Ukraine overrun by a fascist junta would grow even more difficult. It would also delight Moscow and further destabilize Kyiv – which is the opposite of what the West is supposed to be doing there.
One hopes that Zelensky is smart enough to foresee a “third Maidan”. He should kick out all of them from the police and other forces. He should also raise the police pay. He will need their loyalty sooner than he might think.”
The Kyiv Post is/was reporting that on July 22 with 96% of the votes counted:
“6:06 p.m. – The Servant of the People won in all of Ukraine’s districts, except for the Donbas, the city of Lviv and the west of Odesa Oblast, according to party-list representation. The Servant of the People won in districts of Lviv Oblast outside Lviv and ranked second in the region overall, while the Voice party ranked first. See a map here.
2:37 p.m. — In single-member district No. 105 in Luhansk Oblast, Serhiy Medvedchuk — brother of Opposition Platform – For Life leader Viktor Medvedchuk — has lost to his challenger, Viktoria Hryb of the Opposition Bloc. With 100 percent of the ballots counted, Hryb received 39.6 percent compared to Medvedchuk’s 31.7 percent.”
Both are pro-Russian parties. But I reckon b’s ‘more than 50% will hold. Here’s wishing Ukraine the best in that this may be a movement to extricate itself from the Western Hegemon, allowing Crimea to remain with Russia, and end the wars on the Independent nations in the Donbass.
(cross-posted from Café Babylon)
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Comments
Ukraine is a morass
One the US created when we violated our promises to the Russians not to expand NATO to its borders.
Honestly, the only reason we persist in this absurd policy is to justify our massive and corrupt military industrial complex. We are told a country we outspend by a factor of 10 or more is a mortal danger to world peace, when in reality Russia is the bogeyman the MIC needs to justify our massive expenditures and militarism.
All empires overreach and all fail because they overreach. The US empire is in decline, and the MIC is doubling down while they can to keep the gravy train of money flowing to them until we implode from within. When that happens I fear a fascist-style government will arise.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
well said,
but i'd have to add that ukraine has become a major proxy war against russia, as well, given their navy's warm water port at sevastapol on the crimean peninsula. and how many US elected officials and presidential candiadtes have sanctioned russia up the wazoo for 'stealing crimea'?
but oh, yes, what a morass it is, and while b seems to be hoping all this is a sea-change, at least he seems prepared for worse.
yes, repurposed NATO: ugh. and that includes bush's (iirc) creation of the Africom desk, raping, plundering for profit, pleasure, and Empire.
what's that image? "why did russia place its nation so close to all those NATO bases?" thing is, by now, the expansion is surreal: nations 'under nato's umbrella, soon-to-be-full-partners, nato-allied', spine chilling rubbish, as is their twitter account. nato's gettin' nervous cuz the EU has made noises about creating their own military....as you know.
Who will lead the Eu Military?
Deutschland über Alles. The Germans will field an army with 400,000 conscripted immigrants to fight in their A-Rab Divisions. These division members will be allowed to wear turbans tied over their helmets. They will be issued sharp swords with which to convince enemies to supplicate Allah before beheading.
you've lost me,
on the turbans, etc., i confess. but if it's a joint military, wouldn't they have to agree on a military chief? would it be a civilian or how-many-stars general?
made me hoot and holler that boris johnson will replace theresa may, though. saw an hilarious george galloway quote about it on RT, but i hadn't clicked in.
Teaser
holy hell,
you couldda searched RT internally yourself, ya lazy gator. but okay, that'll be $1.99; please pay the cashier on your way out the door...
'You’d have to be mad to think Boris Johnson is the answer to Britain’s problems – George Galloway' RT.com
Your $1.99 is in the mail
Looks like Boris is much like Donny the T. Crude, philandering, impolite and perhaps xenophobic. Good luck on you, Jeremy C. How ya gonna combat the mad ex-Mayor of London?
yeppers, ole boris
has been sidlin' up to mr. MAGA. oh, sure, i've heard that rubbish before: 'the check's in the mail'. but lookit, i'm a poor blind widdy with six hungry chirren...or is that my chirren who're blind and unfed? i forget.
but c'mon, let's jitterbug to bill haley and the comets!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hb66FH9AzI]
Who is "Bernhard"?
There is no first name listed.
The author is only listed as "b."
Somebody in the comments section refers to him/her as "Bernhard."
I'm assuming he is the author of the article?
Do you know the full name of the author of the article?
yes, bernhard is b.
i just feel goofy typing 'b' so i guess i alternate. if i've heard his last name, i've long forgotten it. but don't take this as gospel, but i think i remember that he used to be german military, which may account for the depth of his analyses, although of course sometimes he gets things wrong.
i can only remember him allowing one guest post recently, but ordinarily he says "don't even ask".
Maybe he's a little green man
I'd like to know a full name and something about an author before I consider him an expert or reliable. BTW, Zelensky speaks Russian and not Ukrainian?
i suppose you could
ask him, so there's that. ; ) but i fail to see the logic in your Name math, myself. "
a rose by any other name..." especially if he has reason to fear his name being known, but that's just a possibility.
as to zelensky's speaking russian not ukrainian, i'm agnostic, but b may believe it's so. the wiki, right or wrong, says that his wife had told the bbc that they can both speak ukrainian (as a second language) but not when they're under stress.
thanks for your interest, amigo.
Gotta wonder how the Ukrainian Right feels about . . .
. . . a Jewish president from the predominantly Russian East who seemingly considers his Ukrainian a second language at best?
It seems the Ukrainian nation has decidedly rejected those right wingers given they've elected such a guy by such a large margin and then supported his call to disband and recompose Parliament which also resulted in a significant majority in his support.
But, yea, hopefully the Kagans (Robert is Victoria Nuland's husband) won't be able to re-exert the sway they used to have there.
given that the ukrainan
far right are largely neo-nazis, i guess we don't we have to work hard at imagining, wally. but it's the signatories to the 'new maidan' letter and bullet points b'd included that are far more ominous, imo, in that they will surely aid the banderists and other fascists.
Ukraine crisis media center, may 23, 2019; take a gander, here are a few bits:
more nato: ‘The US-NATO Military Alliance Continues Confrontation Along Russia’s Borders’, July 23, 2019, brian cloughley, strategic culture
The Ukrainians should be allowed to determine their own course
. . . without any foreign interference.
sure, but when has that stopped
the US empire from interfering in self-determination all over the planet since WWII? i won't take the time to fetch wm. blum's long list of CIA attempted and accomplished coup d'etats, starting with iran's mossadegh in 1945 (?)(with MI6: UK).
the irony is that on another tab (against my own advice to myself) i'm listening to the house
judiciary's questioning of...robert mueller, russia gate.
and a hint: when you edit your comment, it ads an @so and so for each edit. you can delete all but the original one, hit enter, then add or change text.
Ukraine and Russia are joined at the hip
Culture, politics, economics, religion, family, and history binds them forever. Russian history began in Kiev with the Kievan Rus. Russia will wait patiently for her cousin to return. Family ties are very strong.
Neocon strategy has been to destroy Russia starting by peeling off Ukraine. As is typical, the CIA leveraged the nastiest, most violent nazi factions from the Western part of the country, known as Galicia. Some would argue that it is not even part of Ukraine. These militias fought with Hitler, but even he couldn't stomach them and cut his ties with them. They have a very nasty history, just ask the people of Poland.
The US pulled a fast one to carry out the coup. They organized the local nazi militia and trained, equipped and directed sharp shooters from Georgia. The goal was to cause hell on the protesters by killing as many people on both sides as possible. At that point Obama called Putin and asked him to tell Yanukovych to not call out the army. That is the one card that Yanukovych could have played to stop the coup. Putin complied, but that forever guaranteed that there would be a big hill to climb to restore friendly relations between Russia and the US. The CIA directed coup was a success, but had little chance of succeeding in the long run, because the US has little or no understanding of history and cultures.
The attack on Donbas by the Ukrainian Army and the nazi militia was an unmitigated disaster. Making war on your own people is always a humanitarian and cultural disaster. The Ukrainian army was easily defeated by the breakaway forces, as Ukraine was a disaster and the folks from Donbas were defending their homes. At that point Poroshenko was willing to sign the Minsk accords to stop the fighting before Ukraine lost more territory. Poroshenko never intended to implement the accords, which would have given Luhansk and Donetsk a measure of autonomy, making Ukraine more of a Federation, which they bitterly opposed. Kiev was also required to negotiate with the two republics and provide amnesty. In return Ukraine would be united and would then have control of all of its borders. Poroshenko refused to implement the accord, instead insisting on immediate control of the borders, which would have spelled death for the people of Donbas.
At this point it seemed that the only person trying to Unite Ukraine was Vladimir Putin. The West refused to put pressure on Ukraine to implement the accords, probably preferring to have it an open conflict so that they could blame Russia. In fact, one of the many fake reasons to sanction Russia was because it was not in compliance with the Minsk Accords. This was an absolute fabrication as Russia had no responsibilities under the accords, and was always trying to achieve peace through diplomacy.
The people of Ukraine finally got really fed up with Poroshenko and the nazi militia groups and constant war and no relief from the West. The West seems to be really good at destroying countries but piss poor at reconstructing a stable society. Ukraine is now one of the poorest countries in Europe. In the recent presidential election Poroshenko got only some 25% of the vote, mostly from Galicia. In the Rada elections Poroshenko's party got some 8% of the vote and Zelenski's party got more than 50%. The CIA should have understood this - they are not only dangerous but dumb and leave a trail of death and destruction behind them. I'm hopeful that Zelenski can put Ukraine back together, heal the wounds and repair the relationship with Russia. Russia really cares about Ukraine and has always been willing to give them a special status. They are cousins and Russians really feel that way. Russia is still Ukraine's biggest trading partner by far, despite the massive Russophobia coming from Ukraine after the coup. All the US has to do is to get out of the way. But that's true almost every where in the world, the Korean peninsula for example. The US really does not have the wisdom to be the world's policeman and needs to quit at this.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
what an elegant historical
narrative, including a few things i hadn't known. ah, the bombs raining down on the donbass while the babushka's moaned over the dead. the many burned alive who'd taken refuge in the trade unions building in odessa...do you remember watching the tweeted filming by those who went in once the fire was out? irc, some had even leapt to their deaths to escape. (focus, wd)
as i remember it, it was always the pro-russians who'd broken the Minsk accords, of course; weren't there I and II? but it's actually been thrilling for me to watch putin and lavrov wield their diplomacy, not Gunboat Diplomacy as with the US Empire and its lackey states.
most of the world agrees that amerika is the largest exporter of terrorism and violence on the planet. no, it should not stand, especially give in its death throes it continues to arm itself against shared power in a multi-polar world.
and think in how many attempted putsches the CIA is now fomenting all over the world, and in how many wars globally the world the US is participating.
thanks for all this, the wizard.
I'm not sure the analysis is entirely accurate
Kievan Rus' may be less relevant than Jamestown, and believe you me Jamestown is plenty irrelevant to the weavers of narrative. All you EVER hear about is Plymouth Rock, Pilgrims, Puritans, blah blah blah. (And that even though Jamestown was where the American colonists first got off on the wrong track, with abominable consequences.)
The Mongols smashed up the Kievan power structure bigtime, and the centers of power shifted north and stayed there - first Novgorod, then Moscow. Kiev never really recovered, has never forgotten, and has never forgiven.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
thank you, amiga.
another historian!
although i'll have to read your comment many times in order to divine its actual meaning, as that was the part of the wizard's narrative that was unknown to me. apologies, i have an an enormous hegg-ache that's making it hard for me to read, much less think (although my cognitive skills degrade daily).
Didn't mean to be cryptic :-)
Most Americans know bupkes about Jamestown - and it's possible that this is intentional.
Abuse and alienation of Native allies? Started at Jamestown within the first year, leading directly to the "Starving Time" of 1609-10 and the temporary abandonment of the colony (Lord De la Warr forced them to return at cannon-point).
The first Black people sold into slavery in the English colonies? Happened at Jamestown in 1619. Made worse because they were "spoils of war" and should probably have been set free rather than exchanging one set of masters (the Spanish) for another.
IMHO everything wrong with America started at Jamestown - the Pilgrims/Puritans just piled their own errors on top of a structure that was already rotten.
As for Kiev vs. Novgorod/Moscow - there's a real historical discontinuity there, almost certainly caused by the Mongols nearly wiping Kiev off the map. Novgorod survived by submitting and paying tribute (and offering lip-service) to the Mongol overlords - and then turned around and beat off an invasion of Teutonic Knights from the Baltic.
Kiev had looked to Byzantium; northern Russia looked farther East and to themselves. It was something on the order of three centuries before the Muscovite state made tentative moves to reconnect with Europe, and the schism has never been fully healed.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
thank you once again.
i'll add that the Puritans in the 'new world' were the first christian zionists, according to whitney webb. i'd been making sport of 'those pilgrims had been so appreciative of the induns that they'd invited them to thanksgiving dinner!' on another thread. what we learn about history has very little to do with reality. i'm so glad to know that you know so much history beyond that, other maven. er...why 'the other'? i've always wondered.
but yes, this exceptional nation was built on two original sins: first american genocide and slavery.
your kyiv info is hard for me to readily absorb, to say the truth. (i've had a lot of brain damage that's degraded my cognitive abilities, but that's a long and boring story) the depth and breadth of your knowledge (and memory) are srsly impressive, amiga.
RT has barely coherent news about ukraine having seized a russian tanker alleged to have been blocking the kersch strait, but they seem to have mixed up events from a year ago. so i looked at the crap kyiv post, they got nothin', but i'm locked out of there now. oh, well... : )
My nom goers back to That Other Place
At the time I registered, there was already a "Maven" (though I never saw anything from him/her), so I registered as "TheOtherMaven".![Smile](https://caucus99percent.com/sites/all/modules/smiley/packs/kolobok/smile.gif)
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
thanks for the explanation.
fancy a website having two such an out-of-the ordinary names as 'maven'.
one fun thing: i've been adding art and graphics to my media files at the Cafe in preparation to put together a post on the hypocrisy of anti-immigration, and in my photo files i came upon a painting labeled 'jamestown' with boats bringing pilgrims and slaves ashore. it was right next to a painting of 'the first thanksgiving'. ; )
thanks for all of this, miz maven; you're a peach.
A fine recap, Wizard
Exactly as I recall it for the most part, and nuanced across all the key issues.
As I've watched the US destroy nations and exile entire populations in recent years, since the Neocon ascension inside the US government, Ukraine was the most infuriating by far. This is largely due to the huge installation of paid subversives throughout Western media, NGOs, think tanks, and government contractors like CrowdStrike, who push the false narratives and propaganda and prevent any factual reporting of the US role in the malicious global events underway. Their larger purpose in Ukraine was to foment an armed conflict between Russia and the US via NATO in order to destroy a potential competitor for influence in the world. The US will not coexist with an ascendant Russia and China while the Deep State festers inside its government. If they cannot be the sole ruler of the planet, they would rather see it destroyed.
I doubt that the truth of what happened here will ever reach the American people. A false narrative has been deeply embedded, which was a key purpose behind the Russia hoax. The poison lives within them now. Their ignorance is what powers those who control the international actions of the rogue US government. So, we must tell the true story over and over again for the less damaged generations that will emerge.
Populations don’t like wars. They have to be lied into it.
That means we can be “truthed” into peace. — Julian Assange
Money, it's what I want
The money elected G.S., P.O. and USAID to call the shots. Money stopped--out goes Poroshenko.
lol, silly mon.
they elected themselves! they ARE power, although usually in the background. but they were all part of the original maidan coup, remember?
i remember at FDL how many railed against the notion that NED and USAID were, and are, CIA cut-outs, and again when pierre (who was active in both those plus centre UA), funded the Intercept to the tune of a quarter billion bucks. 'hey, they;re the good guys!'
it didn't hurt, either, than monsanto (now bayer) had invested heavily in agricultural land in ukraine, so billy gates was prolly helping fund it as well, and joe biden's son whozzit was on some oil (?) board or other. Power!
You acronym me out of understanding
really?
okay: NED (national endowment for democracy) USAID: (United States Agency for International Development); remember they were delivering 'food and medicine' to those starving venezuelans maduro was killing slowly at the behest of trump's Guaido?; centre UA (Centre of United Actions)is a bit harder to pin down...
"...is an advocacy centre that was founded to promote European reforms, advocate transparency and accountability of the government, contribute to enhancing the quality of politics and policies, and fight for the freedom of speech.
Find out more:
http://uacentre.org.ua/en/
don't even know what language that page is in, myself.
Looks like Roosian to me
Too bad the Swan hung up is high-heel sneakers. Perhaps, you should be investigated. J'accuse
prolly so,
but it's so fine to watch actual diplomats (vladamir and serei lavrov) in action. so...maybe they've schmoozed me a bit...
russian, was it? and it was about visas? well, but the centre UA's site said it was 'under construction', wth? (what.the.hell. for the acronym challenged)
i stand accused, and throw myself on the mercy of the court!
One of my favorite oldies
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
my favorite song
about money; well, not just a song: ; )
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8P80A8vy9I]
FWIW, my FIL is Ukrainian
He and his sister WW2 refugees. He still bristles at the confusion americans seem to have between Ukraine and Russia. It may be a cultural thing, but the cyrillic is mostly the same. Funny, now that he is aged, the 'accent' becomes more pronounced.
truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security
interesting, my friend.
my brother-in-law is ukrainian, and both he and my sister hasten to say he is "white russian", i assume meaning NOT the other kind of evil russian. this is also rather typical as far as my experience:
"Funny, now that he is aged, the 'accent' becomes more pronounced." as many immigrants to amerika were almost forced to become part of the 'melting pot' lest they betray their roots.
sad, really.
looks as though
it's closing time. allow this lullaby to be the metaphor of this waning barbaric empire. g' night. to paraphrase andre vltchek who warned us so well: 'bully the entire world...someday they'll come for you'.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxu0H42-hek]
i'l add this topical quote:
‘Every single empire, in its official discourse, has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort.’
~Edward Said
looks as though
this would be a good time to shut down and add a closing song. dunno who'd stuck in the kinda corny images with this woodstock performance, but anyway, g' night, and blessings on the donbass republics and crimea, and on all of us.
I heard a song last night
What a lovely song it was
I thought I'd hum it all night
Unforgettable because
All of the players were playing together
And all of the heavies were as light as a feather
See, your love remember is a freeing of soul
But as I recall, the rest will just follow
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dzZnNRJ2B0]
i'll park this here for posterity:
‘Peace in Ukraine? The friends and foes of a Kiev-Moscow settlement’ (By Stephen Cohen), 25 Jul, 2019 RT.com