He’s not missing. We know when he visits the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. Today he is in Malta, engaged in a third round of peace talks with representatives of 50 countries. Fortunately for the people of Ukraine, he continues to seek support for his beleaguered nation throughout the free world. He hasn’t disappeared.

Except from the media. Not completely . . . but not far from it. Quite simply, Ukraine has been upstaged by yet another global disaster: the war between Israel and Hamas. And that is so wrong. Yes, the eternally screwed-up situation in the Middle East has horrendous, far-reaching implications. It always has. And yes, it needs — and deserves — to be at the forefront of the news, and a focus of all the nations of the free world. There should be no doubt of that.

But not — I repeat, not — at the expense of Ukraine. Do we now relegate that war to second place in the belief that it is less important? Are we now to overlook what havoc has been wrought, and continues to be inflicted, upon Crimea, Donbas, and cities like Mariupol and Avdiivka?

And have we forgotten that — while Hamas and much of the Middle East wish to wipe Israel off the face of the world map — Putin sits in the Kremlin, planning, in concert with his cohorts Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un, to bring their contorted version of peace and order to the entire world? Can we not see that this is exactly what they want us to do?

As Ukraine prepares to enter its third winter of this brutal invasion, we in the West complain of being weary . . . of having spent so much time, and effort, and money to help our non-NATO ally. But we overlook the domino effect that the loss of Ukraine would engender: Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states . . . We forget the lessons of the Cold War, and ignore the prospect of a second, hotter one.

We cannot afford to do that. Israel and Ukraine need and deserve equal billing. You do not ignore a sick child just because a sibling has also become ill.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/28/23