When I was a little girl, I remember seeing the smoke on the horizon from the World Trade Center going down on Sept 11, 2001. The events of that day are central to the global upheaval now underway. Twenty-four years ago, before the attacks on our Twin Towers, Russia was prioritized as the U.S. top national security threat. After 9/11, the Bush administration removed Russia from the threats list. At the time, the U.S. wanted to topple Al Quaeda in Afghanistan, and we pinpointed Uzbekistan as a good military launch point to enter. Being a Eurasian country within Russia’s sphere of influence, the U.S. cowered to Russia in order to operate out of Uzbekistan. At that point, practically eating out of the palm of Russia’s hand, the U.S. got right to work on GWOT. But that was only after the often forgotten Pankisi Gorge Conflict, wherein the U.S. fought side-by-side Russian military in Georgia as one of our first foreign interventions post 9/11 in search for “Weapons of Mass Destruction” — which were never found.
What are the precedents we suffer today from bending to Russia during GWOT?
About 1,300 days ago, on Putin’s Feb 23, 2022 declaration of war against Ukraine, Putin stuck his finger in the healing wounds of our recent past, mocking the U.S. for false pretext of war and blaming the Iraq War on so-called “U.S. imperialism,” a pretext which he himself used as a basis to invade Ukraine, one of the most destroyed countries on Earth now thanks to Russian invasion.
Flash forward to this very week, article 4 of NATO has been enacted after Russian drone attacks on Poland. We are more close to Article 5 than ever before, which could mean the beginning of NATO-based U.S .troops in direct combat with Russia’s military. If we do go to war with Russia, the U.S. can suffer massive casualties. Rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin at the U.S. military base in Alaska was a very very big mistake by President Trump and his cabinet, and it will have serious consequences in the coming time…….we just may not see it just yet. Ukraine has already taken many willing American volunteer soldiers away from us. In the wake of World War III, let us pray for our American troops over there, and our American troops back home and around the world, that our leaders may bring us closer to a lasting peace through strong defense policy, so we do not repeat the same mistakes by bending to the Russian terrorist state.
The following is part 1 of an interview I conducted with a lifelong Kyivan who runs her own Fashion Design company in the heart of Ukraine’s political capitol. Her name is Tanya Kochur, and she runs a Ukrainian fashion design brand out of her shop filled with natural and colorful, fun, and feminine handmade clothes from a variety of brands, including her own.
Tanya Kochur is the Founder / CEO of Logic Clothing in Downtown Kyiv, Ukraine
I met Tanya when I briefly resided in Kyiv this past summer. I don’t think many Americans realize this, but Ukrainians have a very high sense of fashion. Whenever I travel to Ukraine, one of the first things I do is go shopping to update my fashion to Ukrainian standards so I can blend in, and plus because it’s fun to dress up. All of the women look so pretty and fashionable in Ukraine.
Since I am really turned on to Ukrainian brands, I was so excited to find Tanya’s shop named Logic Clothes off Sofiivs’ka St. Her clothing store features artsy pieces and unique layers that you can add on, and she likes to work with breathable materials which tie comfort to style, depending on the weather. Nothing is mass made, and there are usually never more than a few makes for every peice of clothing she designs, which adds to the rarity of the outfits she designs. She pointed out an embroidered apron that had a subtle touch of Ukrainian folklore.
“It’s famous, everyone knows it.” she said of Ukrainian embroidery. She pointed to the design, “But it’s a light embroidery – with a small touch, not too costume.”
I stopped in her shop a few times and ultimately bought a few really unique dresses she handmade. My favorite was offwhite with these straps that kind of reminded me of a straight jacket, and the other was a green dress and green is my color plus it’s a nice patriotic color now because of the military. The woman at her store even gifted me with this soft black braided rope that I can add to my outfit – truly thoughtful in every single way. And this is apart of Tanya’s philosophy, to make clothing an experience. If you need something fitted or stitched, she will do it for you.
When we first met, Tanya and I began talking politics and it was clear to me she had a heavy conscience about how foreigners viewed Ukrainians during war. “It’s good for people to see how Ukrainians live, many people think that Ukrainians are stuck living like it was centuries ago. but its not the case.”
Tanya explained to me how in her generation growing up, Ukrainians thought America was so great, there were so many opportunities, and there were so many work opportunities being created in America. Similar to my husband, her husband Oleksander went to work in Ukraine when he was 18, he went through a school program. Back then he wanted to move to the US, he had this vision. But now, with Trump in office, he thinks it would be terrible… knowing that half of America elected somebody who sides with Russia… he would probably leave.
As a fellow politically minded person, for even me as an American, I actually have less anxiety living in Kyiv “under bombs” because i dont have to convince anyone to be on my side when it comes to being super pro-Ukrainian. Everybody in Kyiv pretty much already is.
When I asked Tanya for an interview, I wanted to know what she wanted to share with others – if she wanted to talk about the fashion industry. “Designing is not what’s most important right now.”
“When you ask me what to talk about, I don’t understand for people why war isn’t #1.”
For the first two years of Russia’s fullscale invasion, she dropped all of her work in the fashion industry. People weren’t interested in clothes anyways…they were walking around wearing grey hoodies, everything was closed and on lock down…But for Tanya, her focus completely shifted anyway. She consumed herself in war and news.
“But not just to learn about the bombing, but from my desire to know what’s going on.”
Tanya said she also follows russian journalists, and is surprised at their lack of coverage of the war.
“I ask myself, why is war not #1 for them? It seems like it should be, if you’re a journalist, it would be the only thing that’s interesting to you.”
The war changed things. Designers began to produce socks with messages. Sometimes, such as “Kill Russians”. Ukrainian brands started raise funds to buy FPV drones with the proceeds earned from their clothing sales. They collect funds to help the army, to give medicine.
“It’s not so much about design so much as it is about living it through.”
The war transformed the Kyiv-based fashion designer’s world, and it became expressed through her work.
The Kyivan fashion designer half jokingly noted an interesting interaction when a russian contacted her on social media from Moscow to buy some of her clothes. She responded, she will deliver clothes on FPV drone only.
“When I think of Ukraine fashion week, I don’t know–I don’t want to say if it’s good or bad. A lot of people are gathering and having a good time, beautifully dressed on the runway, while someone is dying. To me, small brands buying drones is more interesting than fashion week.”
Tanya stated there is this survivors guilt during war, and she doesn’t want to look around at the people enjoying themselves and hold it against them. “You never know who did what or if they did more. Maybe they donated a lot that day, maybe they volunteered, and they feel a free conscience to enjoy themselves.”
And there are so many fundraisers now for Ukraine’s war effort, and it makes people feel better to give.
In the first 1 1/2 years in war, Tanya was volunteering as much as she could. “There were some people who were volunteering 24 hours per day. they are good examples for me.”
Now almost four years into russia’s savage fullscale invasion Tanya now needs to work and has other things going on, but she wants the opportunity to hire people so she can volunteer.
She said of the war volunteers, “I admire this kind of people. For me, these people are the best and we should be like them more.”
Volunteering and fundraising to support Ukraine’s military is empowering for Ukrainian society.
“Have you ever heard of Sputnik?” Tanya asked me.
“No, I haven’t.”
She explained the famous fundraiser where Ukraine needed photos from space, so they had a huge gathering and the idea was everybody can give a little as no amount was too small.
“You can give 6 hryvnias. Do you know how much that is? It’s nothing. And so everyone gave, and we bought Sputnik. And then we were like, what’s next, nuclear?”
“What are your feelings that the people of Ukraine are giving to the Military, do you feel like it should be the government’s job?”, I asked her.
“Even Israel with their wars going on right now is donating to Ukraine’s war. The government cannot do everything. Any changes that you want to make begins with yourself. It starts with you. I think that’s a really Russian way of thinking… that someone should do it for you… that some guy will come and just do it for you. There is even a difference in Ukrainian and Russian language. Linguistically, Russians have the phrase ‘it happened’– not ‘you did it’. In Ukrainian, we only have the form ‘I did it’.”
Tanya believes that being loyal to the Ukrainian government right now is more important than criticizing it. “It’s not the time to talk about mistakes–we will talk about it later Do what you do. It’s the Ukrainian President’s job to make diplomatic connections. He’s doing what he does. Guy’s in the Army have a right to talk about what the government did or didn’t do. but everyone should do what they can and not blame.”
“Russians are the only guilty one, not the government… them and their government are like a population that fell out from the world and centuries we live in. There is this saying in Ukrainian, it’s called “na na chasu” or, “not the time”.
Tanya loves to follow economic blogs regarding war… she told me they say Russia will collapse, and that the economic situation is getting very bad in russia. “It could be one year, it could be 5 years…but doesn’t the world know it’s better for Russia to collapse sooner than later? Because over time Russians will keep leaving Russia, go to their countries, and then they will have problems there.”
A student of war and a learner of the enemy russian state that has fueled this deadly invasion, Tanya has a message to Americans. “I want to say to everyone in the US, to watch a little bit of russian TV to see what they are talking about YOU. There are so many bad words about America on russian TV. When you first see it, you’re shocked, then you think it’s a joke, and then, you just become used to it. They say, Nuke DC, London, kill Americans, every day. For a long time the russians have been making the worst enemies to America.”
And Ukrainians like Tanya believe that russian people are responsible for the war, not just state TV or politicians.
“It’s not only on Putin who started the war. It’s the whole country, russia. Russians can actually vote, they can vote to change something. If you’re not good with something, go to the streets and do something about it.” But the russians don’t do much to stop the war.
“Ukrainians suffer a lot of pain because of russia. A lot of uncertainty. What will happen. Will it? Won’t it? In the beginning we thought, even if Putin starts the war, many of us initially thought, the russians will stop it. We were sure they would. But they never did.”
Back before the full scale invasion, maybe there was a possibility Ukrainians would try to understand russians. “I’m in Kyiv, here’s a man, here’s another man, listening in 2019, maybe he has smart ideas, maybe he can help people understand eachthier. But now, it’s not important anymore.”
Tanya has listened to a lot of the published phonecalls between captured russian prisoners and their family back home. “I was shocked, it’s systemic. I just kept listening to another and another, they don’t care about their sons who went to war. They are like ‘What can I do. What can I do.’ I don’t understand this.
She began to draw to the linguistic differences between russian and Ukrainain. “When Ukrainians say “What can I do”, it is to fix something. But when russians say “what can I do”, it doesn’t even make sense to Ukrainians.
But what happened to the Americans, she wonders.
Americans were known to bring food during the cold war era, dry milk. “I remember it. I was a kid, russians don’t remember it. 60-90% of the US biggest enemy is russia. Propaganda made them hate you. But they really hate you now. They set fire to the flag, dirty it. And American people do’t see it, they do’t listen to it.”
And the lifelong Kyivan warned Americans. “For russia to invade the East, a lot of people felt it could happen because the regions are connected. But for russia to come to Kyiv, we thought it was impossible. After what they did to us, I don’t know, I’m not sure they wont go farther. He wont stop. And when there is not enough people, there will be drones.”
Tanya reminded that peacetime since the world wars was only 70-80 years ago. “That’s a very little time compared to history. We are fighting We do’t want to agree with it. We also fight for our freedom. And we knpow that the US wants our people to be strong, and we hope that if we show strength, our allies will stand up for us too.”
This letter was originally published by the Cape Coral Breeze on Aug 14, 2025
Image Credit: Ukrainian National Information Service
To the editor:
I’ve recently come back from Ukraine where I witnessed Russia’s destruction and strikes in the cities where I spent most of my time, in Kyiv and in the Odessa region. And now that I’m back, in light of the upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin, I have a few questions.
Why has not one Southwest Florida CD-19 Congressional candidate taken any position on Ukraine or Russia? More importantly, why is Trump letting land invader Putin come to Alaska to negotiate territories of Ukraine this week at USAF-US Army base, Base Elmendorf-Richardson?
Aside from the violation of international law and territorial integrity, and full blown genocide of Ukrainian AND Russian people, let’s quickly debrief a recent history on Putin’s false sense of entitlement to this American state….
In 2022 Russia disrespected U.S. national borders, threatening to take back Alaska from the US.
In 2024 Russia alongside China then proceeded to patrol America’s Alaskan island with nuclear warships, threatening our military power in the region.
Alaska borders Russia, just as Ukraine borders Russia…. If Trump is willing to negotiate Ukraine’s borders, what is next?
Putin, Trump, and all consenting American politicians should heavily reconsider allowing war criminal Vladimir Putin to step foot into the States. They should know, and the world should know, exactly how much America hates the Nazi Russian regime.
If more American politicians took actions against terrorists, imagine how much peace in the world there would be.
The current Southwest Florida Congressional candidates who failed to denounce Russia the very week Putin came to the States are not serious about national security, democracy, nor the American public for that matter. All they care about is personal enrichment, popularity, attention, or whatever serves this seemingly malign interest to choke out the real American public who I’ve come to know, and who stands with me vehemently against the terrorist Russian state.
Where are the leaders who’ve got the backbone to stand up when it counts? Where are the leaders who will think for themselves instead of let their puppet master think for them?
I implore President Trump against making deals with terrorists…. what we need is force. And I implore him to refuse entry to war criminal Vladimir Putin to the US. Stay off our land.
To read about my experiences in wartime Ukraine, please follow my new publication at kyivfreepress.com. I look forward to sharing more directly with my community in the near future.
Amid the Summer Counteroffensive, It’s the only way to stop us from getting further entrenched……
Today, we commemorate the Welles Declaration— where on 23 July 1940, US diplomats signed this document stating the refusal of the U.S. to recognize the occupation and annexation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union. More than 50 other countries followed the U.S.’s lead. As customary, it also greatly irked the Soviets. This policy of non-recognition endured till the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restoration of independence on part of the Baltic States.
Now, we have the US secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who claims over and over that there is no military solution in Ukraine…. he is hellbent on his belief that papermaking negotiations and declarations can solve this war.
🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺 Rubio: U.S. May Exit Ukraine Peace Talks in Days If There's No Progress
Marco Rubio said the U.S. could leave the Ukraine peace process within days if there’s no progress. He stressed that there’s no military solution and noted that many sanctions on Russia are European pic.twitter.com/FzDuB7U9RW
— e Offshore Nomad | International Business (@eOffshoreNomad) April 18, 2025
HOwever I have been in the public square for years now, back when the Secretary was Senator Marco Rubio of Florida , where I am from, imploring him that we NEED military solutions:
My answer to your question, Senator, is in my understanding war between enemies is a non-negotiable militant state, historically all war ends with military action which only then is punctuated by an agreement, so in order to bring an end to war there must be significant military action, therefore there should be no question on “if” there will be negotiations because there…will…be…no…negotiations until Russia is forced to withdraw. There is no other viable alternative other than Russia continuing to capture Ukrainian territory, which is what they are actively attempting.
To expound why negotiations are unrealistic, on March 3 I spoke with Ukrainian Commander Yuri from the frontlines and he told me, “How you could negotiate with someone who came to your land, occupies territories, murders people, kills people, Ukrainian people, aggression. There’s nothing to talk with them really about without until they leave.”(Interview HERE) , – Cape Coral Breeze, Promises Made, Promises Kept? Mar 7, 2024, Zakhvatayev
During WW2, the bandwagon of allies who gave global recognition to the baltic states’ independence and signed onto the principles of the welles declaration certainly helped keep the beating heart of their national independence alive during brutal invasion.
However, the baltic states were not fully independent until 51 years later, in 1992….after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine doesn’t have 51 years………. we have barely til summer until we run out of weapons…..According to Bild, the German defense analyst page, Ukraine’s US air defense stockpiles sufficient until end of summer, then “situation will become critical,” Source: https://censor.net/en/n3561148 .
And today, Ukraine’s Commander in Cheif requested 155 mm artillery rounds as well as armored vehicles…
“In addition to the air defense and missile insufficiencies, Ukraine’s ground troops, who remain vastly outnumbered on the front line, are also running low on 155mm artillery shells, Syrsky said, and need an additional supply of armored vehicles…
And I have my friend , Ukrainian Captain Yuri Makhnovets of Presidential Brigade on the Luhansk front whos unit of 80 men needs those artillery rounds and armored vehicles in order to hold ground and recapture territory where people are suffering from russian invasion. Just look at one small recently reported example of what people go through in russian occupied territories of Luhansk………
Here is a video of one of his guys loading some ammo in a trench…(they have since upgraded on weapons but i need to find the video…., i’ll pull it later.)
That is not to mention the suffering the Ukrainian Soldiers go through, who are sacrificing their entire lives so others can have freedom. Captain Yuri barely ever gets off, he is texting me from the trenches, and the battle is very very hard and active right now during the summer offensive.
So what can we learn from history? THe Soviet Union had to actually cease to exist in order for the baltic states to be fully liberated.
It is my belief that the state of russia as we know it must also cease to exist in order for Ukraine to be fully free of russia’s brutal and savage war and occupation.
What WW2 history and Welles Declaration teaches us is that Ukraine must defeat russia for the war to end, which means they must achieve total victory, because to stop the war, russia must cease to exist, as did the Soviet Union.
If Sec. State Marco Rubio thinks he can achieve this Gorbachev style, then great. But I’m willing to bet we’re going to need to send the weapons to Ukraine so Ukraine can defeat them themselves.
If not, we may also be looking at other repeats of history, such as the way the US got dragged into WW3.
Already, the US is conducting joint training with Ukraine in Germany. I actually have family in the US army who is set to head to Germany this fall to train in infantry. And it’s not really a big secret, even though the US army actually deleted this tweet…..
Am I the only one who sees the part of the tweet where it says “Multinational Training Group-Ukraine”? https://t.co/lLIDISzRo8
— Curtis LeMay Stan 🇺🇲 (@TheBigCigar1906) July 23, 2025
Other Ukrainian Commanders such as Commander Denys Prokopenko from Azov Battalian have also warned we are on the brink of WW3….
“The question is not when World War III will start. The question is whether we are capable of recognising its course and structure before it reaches its decisive phase. Most think tanks beyond the theatres of war still believe that phase is in the future. For us, it has been the reality for more than three years – and to be frank, its outlines began to take shape long before that.” – Commander Denys Prokopenko, Azov Battalion, Ukraine, WW3 is on our doorstep, Ukraine is already inside
I cannot help but think if that’s part of the motive of why Army reserve Sgt. Preston Stewart is constantly fundraising and sending funds to the Ukrainian military. It’s almost like we know if somebody doesn’t do something, our own can be sent to die in Ukraine…..
And I feel responsible too so I’m sending drone jammers to Commander Yuri like these, and I’m gonna keep fundraising and sending more especially now that our unit grew to 80 men….. I’m really now have a lot of work to do……….so i’m gonna catch up on that now that i’m back from Ukraine and in the states…………….here is a pic of the jammer I sent to Yuri last time………………………….
Today, I wrote to US Sec. of State Marco Rubio who is also our National Security advisor.
I always let my leaders know I am avaiblle for them, as I have been available and worked with them on Ukrainian military issues in the past, including Sec. of State Marco Rubio’s office, and when he was Senator. Because as an American, it’s jsut soemthing I feel I need to do ……… I feel we are responsible…………….and i want the war to end the only way i know it will end………….
In my view, the most clear solution is to send Ukraine what it needs to defeat russia is…………….russia must fall, just like the soviet union did. however it may look, quick and painless, or slow and painful… but we can’t wait around for negotiations or paper anymore, and we don’t have time……………. the savage russian invader state needs to fall and fall fast.
Instead of talking about Ukraine not having enough ammo, we need to be talking about how to give Ukraine what it needs to hand russia a decisive military defeat once and for all.
The Holy Faithful Clergy of the Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, Ukraine openly holds the ancient Kyiv Rus Monestary adversely against it’s current legal status with the Moscow Patriarchate
This week I visited the grounds of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra which has been the highest ranking monastery of holy orders in Europedating back to as early as 1051. Adjacent to the Holodomor Museum the Arsenalna district (where Ukraine’s weapons arsental was notoriously stored deep underground in distant past), it is no wonder that the warmonger russian state covets this special place. During russia’s brutal invasion into Ukraine they have sought to erase Kyiv Rus history by making it their own. That’s why they seek to subjugate this ancient, holy, and geopolitically significant temple of God.
By going there and witnessing the architecture and speaking to the holy order, I have discovered that this 11th century monestary is not only significant to the origins of the early spread of Christianity throughout Europe, but has untold modern significance in the fight for religious freedom.
In fact, this holy fortress is the beating heart of the modern fight of church versus state amid one of the most brutal invasions today. The simple truth I have uncovered dispels the lies of many of Kremlin’s propagandists who feed lies to the public by exploiting our deeply intimate faith and using it as a tool of the war.
The confusion surrounding the politics of the modern schism of russia’s state-owned Orthodoxy in Ukraine has led to plenty of opportunity for disinformation war.
But the fact of the matter is, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is carrying out a mutiny against it’s russian Patriarchate which is closely tied to russia’s Kremlin regime.
This is one of the most rebellious mutinies in the world today in the political heart of Ukraine, surrounded by military and politicians who are fighting alongside this church for freedom from russia’s warmonger state.
Doing a quick google search, I realize that the mutiny of the Pechersk Lavra has gone largely unreported.
And, I am still learning the history of this ancient Monestary. However, Rome was not built in a day, so I figure I start writing about what I know now, instead of waiting…
I believe everybody should go to a sacred holy place and experience the rituals and ornate imagery of our sacred tradition passed down to us from generation to generation. For me, the church helps ground me and reflect on the what I hold most dear, like family… and our fight against the evil that seeks to destroy our freedom loving people.
I went to the Lavra with my mother-in-law to spend time and pray. I prayed for my family. And I prayed for the soldiers, everyone one of them that I’ve ever known ,either in person or through communicating on social media or reading about, and even the ones who have passed before I even met them.
In fact, every time I go to church, I pray for the soldiers, even in America, and it has been like that for years. That’s because to me they are the living saints.
I actually think the soldiers are the holiest people, in spite of being rough around the edges. They are martyrs and saviors and defenders. Sometimes I feel that their war-torn society placates their activities in order to cope with the killing they must undertake, and that actually downplays the fact that to accomplish the defense of mankind takes a certain higher awareness and consciousness that is extraordinarily trying. It is not an indiscriminate matter or normal thing. It’s a cross they must carry…. And even though I believe in what they do, I so deeply wish they didn’t have to do it. But Ukraine did not choose this war, and somebody has to defend society against corrupt greedy tyrants who only wish to enrich themselves through conquering and invasion.
When I am in a sacred place like the Pechersk Lavra, I look around at the beautiful statues and icons, many of them warriors from their own time, centuries ago. They are depicted with the same sacred royalty that I feel we owe to the military for sacrificing their entire lives.
A soldier recently told me he hates churches – and I think that’s very ironic since in Ukraine, russia is destroying churches. In fact, russia has destroyed over 700 churches in Ukraine. The soldiers’ work actually helps defend and salvage these sacred places of communal gathering which russia seeks to dismantle – places which hold holy relics and icons passed down by ancestors through the history which russia seeks destroy. To be honest, I don’t know how a soldier of Ukraine can truly despise the house of God deep in his heart, because even if they never make it to Mass because they are too busy at war, they closer to Judgement Dall than any of us, and they work on it all the time, not just one day of the week.
I love the Pechersk Lavra and walking the grounds, praying quietly, attending masses, and seeing the people who come to pray, as well as the holy clergy, including the priests, brothers, sisters, and nuns. It is like a vibrant sacred village, a time-capsule of resilience, tradition, and rule.
I spoke to a nun during a mass I happened to drop in on. There was a beautiful choir singing overhead, some of the most beautiful singing I have ever heard in my life. The nun was lighting candles and praying, frequently genuflecting the sign of the cross. She was dressed in long flowing black garb and a black knit cap, with a beautiful woven rope around her waist. She was praying and walking around with candles. We spoke outside of the building by the flower garden where other faithful were walking around and praying. I Just love the grounds and to see a little vibrant community of holy people….
I asked for her name and where she is from. She said she is from Ukraine. I wanted to know if this church was under the Moscow patriarch. She told me, yes, but it is not connected with any state…. Their faith operates in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.” From my interpretion, it was clear to me she wanted to convey her church’s separation from the Moscow state. But it still confused me.
I told her I would pray for her church…
I needed to get to the bottom of this. But, if I am to be honest, at first I was a little bit nervous to speak to the clergy when I learned that the church was somehow linked to Moscow. Perhaps it’s because we are in a war, and Moscow is actively targeting and persecuting my people.
When I taught summer courses at Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv last year, I heard a first-hand account from one of my students who told me how small village churches with priests connected to Moscow would deny pro-Ukrainians confessions.
I have also heard reports of priests in collaboration with Moscow who were arrested in Ukraine, although these were isolated incidents.
It is important not to underestimate the politics of religion in this war, especially with regards to inter/national security as many faithful have been affected by russia’s religious persecution, and this has necessitated the Ukrainain state to make obviously difficult decisions during wartime to investigate churches who report to Moscow, while still honoring the nation’s rights to robust religious freedoms.
Even though the Lavra gave me such a vibrant feeling while walking along the grounds, the prospect of speaking with its priestly order was all of a sudden intimidating for me, but then again, they seemed like such peaceful people, and i was in the heart of Kyiv, where freedom is actively defended, so I trusted the situation. It is ironic how America’s russian propagandists such as Tucker Carlson can attempt to falsely lead people to believe that Ukraine persecutes the orthodox church, when in reality, the fact that the Orthodox church is connected to Moscow is what really provokes fear.
And here I was, in the heart of Kyiv surrounded by Ukraine’s military, at one of the oldest historical churches in All of Europe —- trying to find out for myself whether it was connected to Moscow or not… And what I found was that I was standing in a place of direct opposition to sacrilegious evil….and it proves all of the lies about Ukraine persecuting the Orthodox church wrong, because here it was standing in the heart of Ukraine – .it was not only historical grounds from the 11th century…. It was history happening right before my eyes…. Amongst the people making it happen…. Good versus evil….
After speaking to the nun, I then approached another faithful, a man. I asked him if he spoke English but he suggested I speak to his friend who was walking by. He was wearing all black and a black hat.
I told him I am American and wanted to ask him a question.
“What is the preistly order of the church?” I asked.
“We are of the faithful of Christianity since…. “
“Since all of christianity?” I quickly interrupted.
“Our church dates back from before Ukraine, before Russia… Have you ever heard of Vlad or Olha?”, the priest responded.
“Yes, i’ve been reading up on them, they were really Great…” I told him, referring to warrior and Saint Vladimir the Great who first spread Christianity around Europe, and his grandmother Olha, who was a vehemently shrewd military strategist who avenged her murdered husband in some of the most epic special operations documented in ancient history).
“So are you under Moscow?” I asked for further clarification.
“Yes but only for document purposes, not nominally. We are independent,” said the Priest.
“When you say documents, do you mean legally?”
“Yes,” he responded. “We are legally owned by Moscow, but not nominally. We are independent.
“So when you say independent, does it mean you are autocephalous? (Autocephalous means is a word in the Orthodox face to denote status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop.)
“We are under moscow legally, but we do not answer to moscow.” he reiterated. He did not confirm if he considered the church autocephalous.
“Okay well, I am roman catholic and my church answers to the pope, so I wanted to know if you answer to Kyrill…. Do you know Kyrill the Moscow Patriarchate?”
“Yes I know what you mean… but Kyrill Blesses the war… how can we answer to him?”
Then, as quick as lightening, the priest told me he has to go, and he walked away. I told his friend, the other preist who was standing by, that I would pray for them, and I gave them my name and country of origin, Alexandra from America.
The Moscow Patriarchate is owned by the Kremlin. Therefore what both the nun and the priest told me, with regard to their church’s relationship to the Moscow patriarchate, …. It is clear that the faithful of Perchersk Lavra do not see themselves governed by Moscow nor its Patriarchate Kirill, they view their church as people under God, and wish to be independent ….. in spite of legal documentation by russia which state otherwise. Kyiv clearly understands this, as the church is clearly thriving inside the Heart of Ukraine’s political capitol. Furthermore, the fact that the ancient church with papers connected to Moscow continues to operate is proof that Ukraine does not persecute the Orthodox church. Rather, Ukraine is allowing this church to thrive and its people to break free through a schism not based solely on politics – but of a moral and spiritual consciousness to break free from the russian leaders that prosecute war.
Not only this, but with this philosophy of mutiny from Kremlin being the predominant policy of the faithful order of the Pechersky Lavra, it might require further investigation to confirm whether the Orthodox churches from which this church is linked to within Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as any other church legally boun to the Moscow Patriarchate, also expresses a mutiny and schism with its authorities.
There is a mutiny in the Perchervsky Lavra…. a mutiny against Moscow…. Against tyrannical government and regime. And it thrives in the heart of Kyiv….
The Pechersky Lavra is not only an ancient sacred place, it is symbolic of the most significant fight of good versus evil in modern times.
What will happen in the future is uncertain. But the trajectory is visceral. The mutiny of the faithful order at the Pechersky Lavra in Kyiv, Ukraine against Kremlin’s Moscow’s Patriarchate could be the beginnings of one of the greatest Christian schism known to modern Christian history…
During almost four years of russia’s savage invasion into Ukraine, my mother-in-law has been sheltering in her corridor in her Kyiv apartment during russian strikes on the nation’s political capitol.
She goes there when the strikes are near because it is the only location in the house with no windows, providing a little more safety from blown out glass, shrapnel, and other debris which may projectile into the building.
I always wondered what her corridor looks like..
And now since I’ve been here we’ve endured strikes together, so now I know.
To be honest, the corridor is more peaceful than I imagined…
It really does feel like a safehaven…
So I wanted to share it with others, so I snapped this shot of what it looks like.
I was invited to this secret place the other night when we were getting bombarded….
It was pitch black, and she pulled up an extra chair for me.
I sat there next to her during the loud sound of bombs…
And I started nodding off.
And she asked me in Ukrainian,
хочеш відпочити?
“Так”, i responded. (I’m getting really good at Ukrainian)
So I went back to bed, prayed the air raid would be over….
Thanked God I have most of my affairs squared away….
And fell asleep dreaming of my son.
My Father-in-law just sleeps right through them. I always thought it’s because maybe he’s former military. But I’ve learned that people are just used to it here…
Everybody in their own way.
Some shelter, some sleep through it, some stay up and watch from their windows in anticipation.
Since I have been here, however, I noticed that Mama only goes to the corridor when the strikes are really bad. We’ve had them every couple of days. You can tell when it’s closer because the sirens get really loud and the sirens as well.
You hear the loud ringing sound, sometimes a voice talking to you, and then other times it has this bell-ringing sound added to it.
A woman who works at the brand new cafe down the block went to the shelter with her family one night this week. I told her I hope she gets some rest.
She asked me if I was scared to come here.
It’s a question I get a lot from Ukrainians. And, I am just as confused at them asking me as they are at me being here. It’s interesting, because as I travel through Ukraine, a lot of people ask me that. In Lviv several people who fled the Eastern region asked me if I was scared. And, now some people even in Kyiv.
“Are you scared?” I usually respond.
Yes I’m scared. We’re all scared. It’s scary…
Maybe not as scary for a military-trained personnel, but they are supposed to be conditioned that way in order to undertake operations to protect the civilian population.
But civilians should not have to get used to this.
Yet they do. And their kids do. It is apart of the tragedy, as I learned from a young age growing up during GWOT and attacks on my own country, that no child should ever have to live with this.
And I wonder if this is all part of a dark psychological plot by the enemy….
Especially when we mostly expect them to strike at night during our subconsciousness.
Do they want us to adapt to this? Or do they want us to cave in?
Or do they not even care what we think and are just trying to keep up their pace of indiscriminate killing?
I remember distinctly when a Ukrainian American woman from Naples, Florida told me back in 2022, “When war becomes normal, that’s a real problem.”
But in Ukraine, it has become apart of every day life.
Even in Kyiv, around 10 PM you see everybody rush to the metro, and the streets are empty by midnight, when most strikes happen.
But I believe it is alright to seek normalcy. You have to live your best life and try to be successful in other areas… even if you are a war volunteer, you have to have a life outside of war.
Because why would you want your entire life to be consumed by a war manufactured by an enemy?
Since I live most of the time in the US, I am not used to this. I ask myself the mental toll it takes to be woken up every night.
Personally, I am a little sleepy.
And sometimes, the war completely slips my mind.
A Ukrainian woman recently told me that forgetfulness is apart of the trauma of war.
I wonder if the cognitive overload from adapting to being in war-time Kyiv has caused me to completely block out the war when there are no strikes.
Even though I tend to think about war and politics a lot, it is only because for me, I have this compulsive desire to stop it.
But in fact I despise politics. Just look at the world today…. Why would I like politics?
We talk about war but why would we like war….
Mama and I talk politics, however… and war.
Due to the recent strikes here in Kyiv, we feel that Trump has loosened putin’s belt…. “розпоясавса“…. unbuttoned everything to unleash on Ukrainians….
But we were relieved to hear this morning that Trump then promised to send more aid after the DOD needlessly halting weapons in Poland from being delivered to Ukraine…
🇺🇸🇺🇦 Look at Hegseth nodding along, knowing that he fucked up by signing off on Bridge's malicious ploy. https://t.co/7YmhdovST0
We had a good laugh. Inspite of all of this needless tragedy they must endure, Ukrainians have a really good sense of humor.
Mama showed me all of the apps to follow, and groups to follow. She knows about the strike locations, all the way down to the type of weapons which are being used in the strikes – in real time.
A retired schoolteacher who spent her career nurturing youthful minds of her nation, I can see why it is so important to her to follow so closely what is happening to her people.
She even taught me how to pull the blanket over my body, in case the glass from my window blows out, so I don’t get cut up all over my body.
Since being here, I find information about war and weapons to be incredibly useful…and learning about it… somehow, comforting….knowing what we’re up against and all…
I’ve been staring at this photo posted by @war_monitor_ua today. It explains how if we hear the missile, it’s already flown past. And the surrealism of the fact that this is actually useful information… It’s hard to put into words. Sometimes I just wish I could wake up… https://t.co/RaiYiOarOgpic.twitter.com/rfsO0HutwL
— Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) July 5, 2025
In fact, it really puts into perspective that I’ve been hearing at night….
Personal footage from my window last night in Kyiv. The sound of Iranian made shaheds flying over head. And rockets flying into buildings while Ukrainian defenders attempt to shoot them down.
— Alexandra Zakhvatayev🌴 🇺🇸 (@zakhvatayev) July 7, 2025
No corridor for me though………………I want to watch my enemies fail. I want to see the defenders at work………
I want to understand exactly what is going on around me….and why……..
And why wouldn’t I?
the russian state is not just Ukraine’s enemy. As an American, it’s my enemy too…
An American soldier who fought for Ukraine once told me, the key to being a good soldier is discipline.
I don’t really know why he was trying to teach me how to be a good soldier…
But I think it had something to do with not letting enemies win…
That’s why it’s important to know about weapons.
We need to know what our enemies are trying to kill our people with.
Isn’t that like, basic survival?
I’ve done a lot of volunteering during this war, from refugee work, to teaching.
But to me, weapons are the most important thing, because, weapons are what’s going to actually end the war.
Just think, if Ukraine focused on building it’s weapons arsenal decades ago, this war could have been prevented.
But Ukraine didn’t work on it’s arsenal, because the country had suffered from pro-russian infiltrators since the fall of the Soviet Union, who sought only to weaken it’s military.
It was only in 2015 when the US openly began helping Ukraine’s military.
And now, Ukraine is working a lot on its weapons, to be independent from any other state.
There was a really great statement that reflects this sentiment released by Maksym Zhorin of the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade:
"The main thing that no other country can understand is that peace negotiations and peace are far from the same thing.
We already know this from experience. Even with a temporary ceasefire, the war will not actually be over. And at any moment, hostilities could return to their…
Weapons production is really good for Ukraine, and can help our defense alliance as well.
Likewise, the destruction of russia’s weapons arsenal will also be very beneficial, as russia is using their weapons to indiscriminately kill civilians…
And as far as America goes….
Due to the fact that we are a global military power and international security is relative on our own weapons systems and the alliances and adversaries around us, my country’s weapons arsenal directly links us to this war.
no stockpiles is equivalent to invitiation for adverseries and war. we see this with systemic weaking of Ukraine's military under Yanukovych. at the same time, a good stockpile is moot if we do not prove we can use them when it counts instead of just sit around and twiddle our…
— Alexandra Zakhvatayev🌴 🇺🇸 (@zakhvatayev) July 4, 2025
And I know we can do more to stop it.
It’s important to understand how government works, because oftentimes politicians who are willing to work against the will of their people depend on a contingent of the population who blindly believe everything they say….
That is why we must “trust, but verify”.
Trump stated he will send defensive waepons ( I assume by defensive he means patriots, but really, any and all weapons sent to Ukraine are defense, even the long range artillery that strikes at russia, as, eliminating russian military stockpiles is a defensive action……)
One of the key principles of defense is destroying the enemy’s ability to produce weapons of death. Russia’s military-industrial complex must be weakened by all means — from sanctions to direct strikes.
I demand the executive office to issue the order to release the weapons to Ukraine….
if he's not responsible, then he needs to get responsible. if he really keeps his "promises", then let's see him issue the order @POTUS@VPhttps://t.co/tikcoTkyvl
— Alexandra Zakhvatayev🌴 🇺🇸 (@zakhvatayev) July 8, 2025
And not sure if he got my message or not, but maybe just maybe they will listen…
i wanna see the order lol
— Alexandra Zakhvatayev🌴 🇺🇸 (@zakhvatayev) July 8, 2025
I feel I have a responsibility to people which drives me to hold my leaders accountable.
Because I care about my guys on the front, like Commander Yuri Makhnovets and his guys with Presidential Brigade in Luhansk, Ukraine…
Something really cosmic happened to me tonight. But first I need to talk about one of the most well known military leaders and politicians of all time.
Lately I have been studying Napoleon due to the recent shaming I received from my father-in-law who is prominently known in Ukraine for translating the Napoleon Code from the French to russian language. According to father, I am supposed to know a lot more about Napoleon, so I’ve been learning fun facts about Napoleon such as how he sold Louisiana to the US, etc. etc.
Indeed, Father and I are having a lot of good talks about Napoleon since I being in Kyiv.
Napoleon believed in luck and numerology and superstitious stuff like that. And I think that’s really interesting because, even though I’m spiritual and believe in God, I wasn’t really big into luck or numerology,,,,,,,,,, until recently.
so before u call me crazy for what I am about to write…just remember that Napoleon was just as crazy…if not more.
It all started right before I traveled from the states to Ukraine, and I didn’t really want to make anything of it, even though it’s kinda been in the back of my head. But then tonight happened and I realized that I might have received some sort of supernatural communication from the fallen soldiers of Ukraine.
Exactly 40 days ago today was Memorial Day, and I spent that day writing to commemorate the fallen soldiers of my friends’ military unit, Chosen Company. I sent the letter to my friends… and since I’ve been raising funds here and there to send miiltary equipment to the front, I made this goal of fundraising Chosen and my friends with Presidential Brigade in Luhansk, and I set a deadline for the fourth of July..
To be honest this sounds silly but I was annoyed at the fact that Memorial Day was only 39 days from the fourth of July, and not 40. Because 40 is such a very symbolic number. 39 feels almost there. 40 feels complete. So, I just settled on ” about ” 40…
In the bible, the number 40 (i.e. 40 days and 40 nights) is associated with a fulfilling of God’s promises (Israelites wandering for 40 years), but it also symbolizes judgement, tests, temptations and trial periods (Jesus fasting in the desert).
40 is also my shoe size in Ukraine. I didn’t know this until recently since in Ukraine walking is a common form of travel, so I had to buy some shoes. And I keep mispronouncing the word as chotirnadtzet every time I try to buy shoes, and the store workers always try to politely cover up how hilarious i sound.
Well, I had to finally beat into my head that the number 40 is the only multiple of ten that doesn’t end with the “nadzet” . 40 is actually a totally different word in Ukrainian, pronounced sorok or soroka.
Soroka is also the name of a bird. It is also the callsign of my friend Roksalana’s fiancee who died from battle injuries in Ukraine. I first met Soroka’s fiancee at the Lviv military cemetary and she shared with me her and Soroka’s story and I shared it with many people in my country and around the world, and her and I have kept in touch ever since.
click on photo to see link to full film
Roskalana met Soroka during her practice as a military psychologist for combat veterans in Ukraine. Over the years they fell in love and got engaged. She now helps organize a growing group of military wives, daughters, mothers, fiancees, and mourning women, who lost their beloved sons, husbands, brothers to this war.
Let me circle back now to Memorial day, 40 days ago. That same day, within one hour of me publishing the letter about Chosen’s fallen soldiers, the Company Commander Ryan O’Leary made a pivotal public statement that he was shutting down operations with Chosen Company after 39 months of war.
Chosen Company is shutting down operations and moving towards separation from the Ukrainian military. Official statement will be released once I’m off contract and can fully speak freely without violating Ukrainian military law/statutes. It’s been a good 39 month run.
And at the time there was a huge mystery behind it and a lot of press. But we ultimately found out why.
It was because he put the lives of his soldiers before anything.
But at the time the thing that secretly hit me was that Chosen fought for 39 months straight……39……and I’d already been so irked by that number that day. Lol
Well, I thought it was just a coincidence. ANd I went to Ukraine, and I went to Kyiv, and I went to the military memorial site there. ….
ANd I was wandering around with my camera and out of the corner of my eye I saw the dragon’s wing and I actually caught on camera the very exact moment I found Chosen Company’s memorial , and that was a very emotional moment for me, as I have folloewd Chosen Company so closely, all the way through…..
Flash forward to today, I was talking to my kids on the phone and I was walking along the military memorial at St. Michael’s Cathedral, and I was showing my son all of the faces of the soldiers, and I told him we wre going to look at every single face.
But toward the very end of the wall, I kinda of trailed off and started leaving the site.
Then I immediately had a bad feeling, like I skipped out on some of the guys, and that wasn’t right. I had to look at all of their faces. So I turned right back around. And that’s when his face popped out at me. It was Soroka.
I had not known him when he was living. But I had encountered him one year ago in Lviv at his gravesite and now, 40 days exactly from the day that I wrote the Memorial Day letter for the fallen soldiers.
The exact number of days that I wanted for my military goal: 40 days.
And out of hundreds of thousands of faces, I found Soroka.
I texted Roksalana and shared with her his photo, and it made her so happy to see his face.
I believe it is a sign being communicated to me by the fallen soldiers. I am not sure what they are trying to tell me, but I believe it has something to do with the completion of a period, of a test.
Since Chosen Company officially ended its operations with land forces 40 days ago, the unit’s former Commander, Ryan O’Leary stated the following, (paraphrased, full quote here)
“The army relies on supplies, but its will to fight, its ability to endure and destroy the enemy, lies in the hands of its leadership. There is a vast difference between a unit that merely survives and one that truly fights. . . . . .
Such situations are part of the problem in Ukraine’s Ground Forces. The sergeant corps has not been properly formed since the start of the full-scale war in 2022, and the officer corps continues to operate under Soviet templates, where failures are covered up, and soldiers pay the price. We shed blood for Ukraine, we die for Ukraine, we fight for our children, wives, sons, and daughters—while officers who don’t care, who lack motivation, who have no right to lead, continue to make mistakes that lead to senseless deaths. . .
. . . I cannot speak to levels above the battalion, but given the recent statements from officers who tried to change the system and were forced to resign—this should be a signal to those in power. Changes are needed if we want to preserve the freedom of the next generation, Ukrainian identity, and continue the path to democracy. At the current pace, these officers will continue to fill cemeteries with brave, courageous Ukrainians for no justified reason. That is why I will no longer lead brave men and women into the hell of battle unless I know there is an officer in the rear who cares about our lives and wants to accomplish the mission alongside us. The most valuable thing we have is our people, our minds, our ability to think. We must engrave the belief that people are more important than meters and medals—something that, sadly, is currently absent. Among us are butchers, among us are scoundrels, and these officers must be removed immediately if we want to win this war and preserve our state. . . “
-Ryan O’Leary
Армія тримається на харчах, але її воля до бою, здатність витримувати і знищувати ворога — у руках її командування. Є величезна різниця між підрозділом, що просто виживає, і підрозділом, що реально воює.
Почнемо з того, що це не звернення до конкретного командування, але це те,…
What would the great leaders of yesterday say of the leadership today?
Napoleon was one of the most renoun military leaders of all time. But he also cared for civilian life and the nation outside of military operations, also wrote one of the most famous Civil Codes: the Napoleon code.
A fatalist, he also believed in fate….
But there is one fatal flaw about Napoleon. He was also known to have a complex view on the death of his soldiers. He was also known to execute prisoners of war. He prioritized victory over casualties.
Today, although far and few between, we have far better military leaders. Leaders that put the lives of their soldiers over power.
Leadership that will prioritize the lives of the military first over any other objective.,,,,,
And if we listen to this leadership we can achieve our justified, attainable, and righteous military objectives.
These are the guys who know how to end the war on the military front.
As for the rest of civil society, what I must take responsibility, My government, the AMerican government must come together in alliance with Ukraine to decisively end this war with what I believe to be the only solution: aggressive military force.
Not to kill, but to stop killing. The US can send weapons to Ukraine that will expel and deter the russian invasion once and for all. Every day America fails to do that, we are responsible for bloodshed.
And that is something I refuse to be apart of, whcih is why i fight our weak politicians and continue call for strong defense alliance.
If not, we will continue to have more and more mourning brothers, and sisters, such as Roskalana, who wrote the following several months ago:
What does this 40 days really means I do not know. If it is a sign from the fallen soldiers, this will forever be a mystery…
But what i know for sure is right now, we are undergoing a test of humanity like never before.
Call to action: Tell the US Congress that Ukraine needs air defense by navigating here.
For about a month now I have been living in Ukraine. I left America to visit my family in Europe as well as work on a couple of projects. One of them was to launch this website as an outlet to connect with other writers to publish more personalized and relatable stories about wartime Ukraine.
Since back home in the States I’m usually the person who throws a public event for Ukrainian independence day, I really was hoping to launch my first public article today, on July 4. But that’s where my celebration of my country’s Independence day ends, as it would be disgraceful for me to celebrate such an international disgrace.
Dont get me wrong, I love my country. And I wont hide it, I felt a little pride when the skies above me were protected by the US-provided patriot missile in action during a russian strike in Kyiv from the place I was staying at the time in downtown Kyiv…..
It’s just that I had bigger expectations for America than our leaders who’s distortion of “America First” values actually keeps us the leader of the free world.
Growing up nearby NYC, I saw the Twin Towers go down when I was a kid. I felt that Patriotism reverberate from the center of my state throughout my entire country, and the world. In the face of attacks, America became a symbol of global freedoms. Not only flags were everywhere but a certain national spirit to protect our people.
While those memories hold a special place in my heart, those days are long gone now in America, and with it went our nation’s pursuit for global freedoms.
But not for all of us. There are guys like Ryan O’Leary, who fought for America and in other foreign wars and now in Ukraine, and who yesterday just lost another American brother, Dan, who was fighting in Ukraine.
Це лише підтверджує мою попередню думку про некомпетентність командування. Я втомився, як і багато інших, від українських офіцерів, які не розуміють, що таке бій, не мають жодного ситуаційного усвідомлення, не тямлять у веденні бойових дій і загалом ставлять нагороди та кв… https://t.co/eN0uIcLVTl
Since being here, I strongly feel that Kyiv has become the global capitol of freedom. There is a certain spirit everywhere here that I have to search for back home to find. A spirit that is dead, sleeping, on autopilot or just…never existed in the first place.
In Ukraine, after nearing four years of russia’s fullscale invasion, that spirit hasn’t died. When russia attacks us, people will go out into the public the next day, talk to eachother and do a check-in, “how was you’re night?”.
The day after I saw the Patriot missile go off, a man who works at a barista at a local coffee shop told me a story of how his girlfriend’s neighbor never shelters, but they sheltered that night and their apartment was obliterated by Iranian-provided Shaheds.
“That’s God”. I said.
He told me, “Today is like their birthday”.
As a politically-minded individual, even between bombings, I am more comfortable in Kyiv than in my own city, in my own nation’s political capitol of DC, because of how infected with russian propaganda our American politics and media has become.
But I know that it’s not what most American people really believe. I talk to most people, and most people support Ukraine and want to defeat russia. Just recently there was poll conducted by my friends with Peace Through Strength Institute (PTSI) which states an overwhelming three-quarters of Americans say the war in Ukraine should be a U.S. priority.
Our people are being misrepresented , our allies being betrayed.
It brings me such shame to be an American in the heart of Kyiv on this day, when just days ago we halted critical military aid for vague reasons that none of our administrators are even aligned upon?
I genuinely have no idea what's actually happening here. From what I can see, DOD is saying the reports of any freezes are false. Ukraine seems to be trying to gain clarity on their end as well.
State Dept: "this is one aspect, one situation, one event that has been… https://t.co/NwpZQTcubu
Yet only one week after Trump promised to send Ukraine more Patriot missiles, the US made the decision to hold up weapons at the Polish border: 92 AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, 30 PAC-3 MSEs, 8496 155mm rounds, 142 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 252 GMLRS, 25 Stinger missiles, and 125 AT-4 recoilless anti-tank guns sitting in Poland, collecting dust, waiting to get sent to Ukrainian soldiers. https://x.com/ColbyBadhwar/status/1940504770516791653
The “free” country that for 200+ years our US veterans fought and died for in many foreign wars, no longer stands for global freedom on the world stage. This cold reality remains every day we do not ship additional patriots to Ukraine.
American Independence day used to be my favorite holiday. Honestly, I am that woman who throws a big party and has the fireworks, the beer, cookout, friends, and family. But since 2022, my family stopped celebrating like we used to.
And back in the states my young son who is only a little boy had made this adorable Patriotic hat. (My kids are such good patriotic Ukrainian Americans, they get excited at the sight of anything blue and yellow just as much as they love spotting the American flag).
I am so proud of my Ukrainian American son……
And I was so happy for him and praised him… and my oldest daughter was making plans to celebrate the fourth.
But deep down I felt like I was holding a dark secret, like a lie. Like Santa Claus isn’t real, but far, far sicker and profoundly more demented.
This is not just a question of my country’s politics. This is the question of the beginnings of the end of the free world as we know it.
As we unravel the shrouds that cover the truth, who will be at the core of nation? Our own body politic? Or the incubus of our enemy?
I cannot un-know what I know. And I know we could send Ukraine more weapons to defend it’s people against russia’s brutal attacks such as the one suffered by Kyiv last night….
Kyiv under attack again. Last night recon drone from this same window , lots of strikes tonight, every few minutes actually pic.twitter.com/nDP8X0Hqql
— Alexandra Zakhvatayev🌴 🇺🇸 (@zakhvatayev) July 3, 2025
I have a responsibility to my sons and daughters and to the next generation to do all I can to stop this war today. Not just because I’m in a Ukrainian family. But because I am an American………………..
Kyiv Free Press 