Putin

Aka making fun of AP news

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-moscow-government-and-politics-139234bb95a3fe3ca2de0fe2c716dda8?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email

But before all that, an AP news article. . A friend of mine sent this to me.

The AP has something newsworthy to report. I cannot even satirize it. Read it for yourself:

"When Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in late February, the Russian president vowed his forces would not occupy the country. "

Did he make this vow holding a Bible, a Quran, or Machiavelli? Or maybe Erma Bombeck, she's great.

Is Putin generally known to take his vows seriously? How about his wedding vows? Doesn't seem like he has a great track record there either.

Why did he send his forces into Ukraine? Was this unexpected? The invasion of Ukraine is not worthy of commentary by itself. The journalist assumes that the reader already knows all about it.

Imagine, Vladimir a Putin, a man of known and excellent character, solemnly vowing not to invade Ukraine without asking permission first.

But if he does need to invade, be reassured: he will not occupy them, without first getting their consent via a fair and transparent democratic referendum.

Next comes a the newsworthy surprise:

"But as the invasion reached its 100th day Friday, Moscow seemed increasingly unwilling to relinquish the territory it has taken in the war."

Putin equals Moscow, so he's a dictator, but we expected him to be an honorable one. Honesty is what he is known for, and Ukrainians knew that if he would fight, he would fight fair. In fact, they were a bit surprised he didn't just honorably challenge Zelensky to a duel to the death, risking his own life instead of millions of others.

And "increasingly unwilling to relinquish territory" is an odd way to describe Russians taking over Ukrainian TV channels, changing their currency to the ruble, raising Russian flags on Ukrainian government buildings, and appointing Russia- loyal politicians. High ranking officials from Russia have been touring Ukraine and talking to Ukrainians about how they are part of Russia. 700,000 Ukrainians in the Donbas region alone have applied for and recieved Russian passports.

I mean, if killing and bombing and changing people's citizenship and government to your own forcibly doesn't count as 'occupying', I'm really not sure what it does count as. Conquering. Annexing. Colonizing? Putin is clearly a man of his word. He promised he wouldn't occupy Ukraine, so instead he conquered Ukraine.

But the AP is an objective news source. There are always two sides to every story. And a 17 year old guy named Vadim, from Mariupol, teaches us that diversity of opinion still exists in Russian-occupied Ukraine:

""''“I’ve wanted to live in Russia since I was little, and now I realize I don’t even have to move anywhere,” said Vadim Romanova, a 17-year-old from Mariupol."""'

Vadim lives under Russian occupied territory, and has lost neighbors and friends to bombings, and probably has severe PTSD, yet he is an example of the other side of Ukraine. Vadim has agreed to be named in an AP article, and is now a documented pro Russian Ukrainian, which cannot possibly be a clever survival strategy. This may be common sense to you, but it was not at all obvious to AP. Just as you post your feelings openly on Facebook, Vadim speaks freely, and shares of his honest opinions, much as Putin does.

There you go. There's a silver lining to every cloud. Even Putin breaking a vow has made at least one Ukrainian happy.

May G-d bless the world with peace soon.