That has to be where he’s living — in some alternative place in space — because there is no way that he could possibly believe the steady stream of dermo (use your imaginations on the translation of that one) that flows from his mouth. Nor could he reasonably expect anyone else to take him seriously.

Here’s an example:

In 2014, Russia illegally took control of the Crimean Peninsula — geographically and historically belonging to Ukraine — and has occupied that region ever since.

On February 24, 2022, Russia staged a massive invasion of eastern Ukraine. Since that time, it has taken control of additional swaths of Ukrainian territory, bringing the total Russian-occupied area to an estimated 27 percent of all of Ukraine.

The 2022 invasion has turned into the longest, bloodiest war Europe has seen since World War II, and continues to this day — with Russia refusing to negotiate a settlement that would include returning any of Ukraine’s sovereign territory to its rightful owners.

Daily bombardments throughout Ukraine — using advanced weaponry such as hypersonic missiles and thousands of drones — continue to decimate Ukraine’s population and its infrastructure.

But when, after more than two years, Ukraine’s military finally struck back onto Russian territory with the use of its own armaments plus those supplied by its Western allies, Vladimir Putin screamed bloody murder — accusing Ukraine and the West of unwarranted aggression and acts of terrorism.

And the latest such absurdity has to do with a report by Russia’s Izvestia newspaper of the alleged death of a freelance Russian correspondent, one Aleksandr Martemyanov, from injuries sustained when a drone — allegedly controlled by Ukrainian forces — hit his vehicle on the Donetsk-Horlivka Highway . . . in Ukrainian territory illegally occupied by Russia. [Mariya Knight, CNN, January 4, 2025.] (Emphasis is mine.)

And Russian authorities — Putin’s people — are blaming Ukraine for the alleged (as yet unverified) drone attack, and demanding that the United Nations condemn Kyiv for it.

And they’re serious!

Is it just me, or is there something seriously wrong with Putin’s logic? Have I only imagined the past three years of death and destruction rained upon Ukraine at the hands of his armed forces and hired mercenaries?

Is the world really swallowing this bullshit? And do people not understand that if Putin wins so much as a square mile of Ukrainian territory, he will not stop there?

With pro-Putin leaders in Hungary, Slovakia, and even Austria, and other countries bordering on Russia frantically shoring up their defenses, Europe is in the most precarious position it has endured since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Is anyone paying attention?

The founder of the USSR, Vladimir Lenin, once said that “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” He knew what he was talking about — and Vladimir Putin knows it as well.

And might I add, as a further caution, the words often attributed (though possibly incorrectly) to Edmund Burke:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Putin knows perfectly well what he’s doing. The question is: How long are we going to continue allowing it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
1/5/25