3 Comments
Feb 24, 2022Liked by David Smith

First thing this morning I sent this to my senators and congresswoman:

Count me in as being in favor of a strong U.S. defense of Ukraine in partnership with Europe and anyone else willing to stand up for the sovereignty of this country just beginning to make some inroads towards democracy and anti-corruption. This is a war worth fighting. We have lots of modern weapons: cyber, financial, unmanned aircraft etc. We also need to support Germany in their rejection of the pipeline.

My Peace Corps service in Moldova (2013-2015) causes me to regard Ukraine as a kind of huge instance of Moldova—both are poor, agricultural countries still struggling with their long captivity as Soviet "Republics," trying to overcome their own internal corruption and Russian-supported oligarchs. Both Moldova and Ukraine are finally making some progress towards joining the other true democracies of Eastern Europe. I also personally regard the country as historically connected to Poland, which is part of my family heritage. At any rate, no, Ukraine is not Russia.

Expand full comment

Thank you for this clear and sad report.

Expand full comment

Thank you David. Your efforts in keeping us informed are certainly informative and important.

Expand full comment