Once upon a time, there was an army general . . .

Unfortunately, this is not a fairy tale; there is no handsome prince or beautiful princess, no magical frog, and no “happily ever after” ending. Instead, there is a middle-aged man who headed the radiological, biological and chemical forces of Russia, and had been charged in Ukraine, in absentia, with having used chemical weapons on that country’s military as part of Russia’s continuing war of attrition.

And the day after he was convicted of those charges in Ukraine, he was dead . . . killed by a remote-controlled bomb planted in a motor scooter that had been parked outside his apartment building in an upscale neighborhood in Moscow, awaiting his exit. The bomb also took the life of Kirillov’s aide, Ilya Polikarpov.

Shockingly, Ukraine immediately claimed “credit” for the killing of the man they call a “legitimate military target.”

Or is it really so shocking that a country that has been invaded without justification; seen its civilian population, its cities and infrastructure decimated by bombs, missiles and drones for nearly three years; and lost tens of thousands of its fighting forces, would seek to fight back in its own defense?

Russia, of course, immediately jumped into action with the usual outraged recriminations and threats of retribution:

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council: “Law enforcement agencies must find the killers in Russia and everything must be done to destroy the perpetrators who are in Kyiv.” [Maria Kostenko, Victoria Butenko, Nectar Gan, Christian Edwards and Darya Tarasova, CNN, December 17, 2024.]

Konstantin Kosachev, Chair of the Federation Council’s Foreign Relations Committee, was “shocked” by the “irreparable loss” of Kirillov: “The murderers will be punished. Without a doubt and without mercy.” [Id.]

Andrey Kartapolov, member of the State Duma: “[Those involved] will be found and punished.”

Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry: “[Kirillov had been] systematically exposing the crimes [of the West for many years, including] the deadly activities of American biolabs in Ukraine.” [Id.] She added that: “All those who welcome terrorist attacks or deliberately keep their silence are accomplices … the silence of the UN Secretariat is an obvious sign of corruption.” [Id.] And: “The terrorist attack in Moscow was a continuation and development of the spiral of approval by the West of the war crimes of the militants of the Kyiv regime.” [RFE/RL, December 17, 2024.]

Sure . . . blame the West, as always. Never mind that it was Russia that began the war on February 24, 2022, when its armed forces crossed the border into Ukraine, without provocation. Or that Kirillov specifically was accused of having used chemical weapons — an estimated 5,000 times — against the Ukrainian military. [Id.]

*. *. *

My first thought upon reading of Kirillov’s death was to question whether picking off individuals assassination-style is a legitimate tactic in modern warfare. This is, after all, the fourth killing of prominent military figures on Russian terrritory in the past two months.

And then I read about the Russian drones that have been tracking down — hunting, if you will — individual civilians, in Ukraine. There are verified videos of drones aiming at specific vehicles, a man standing by the window inside his apartment, and a woman walking along the street who was followed by a drone that finally caught up with her and blew her foot apart. [RFE/RL, December 17, 2024.]

So, yeah . . . if Ukraine’s civilian citizens are being hunted down like so many helpless animals, then I suppose you could justify taking out a member of the opposing military.

“All’s fair . . .”

*. *. *

But Vladimir Putin can’t just sit back and appear to accept this act as one of the spoils of war. Aside from blaming the West, he needs a victory of his own. He needs to apprehend a perpetrator.

And in record time — just one day after the death of General Kirillov — a 29-year-old man named Akhmad Kurbanov from Uzbekistan was arrested and charged with the crime. Russia’s Investigative Committee said he had been recruited by Ukraine’s SBU security service and had acted on its instructions. In return, he had allegedly been offered a reward of $100,000 in cash and a new life in a European country.

The Committee said that he had “received a homemade explosive device and placed it on an electric scooter which he parked at the entrance to the residential building where Igor Kirillov lived.” They claimed he had rented a car and fitted it with a surveillance camera that was monitored by his Ukrainian bosses in Dnipro, who remotely detonated the bomb when they saw Kirillov and his aide leave the building. [Anna Chernova, Christian Edwards and Edward Szekeres, CNN, December 18, 2024.]

But who is this mysterious Uzbek man? Where are the details and the pictures of his arrest? Is he a scapegoat? Is he even real?

Knowing of Russia’s well-developed skill at playing the blame game, anything is possible. I can imagine several credible scenarios; but they would amount to nothing more than speculation at this point, so I’ll keep my imaginings to myself for the time being.

But Russia’s Uzbek and other Central Asian populations are understandably nervous right now, recalling Chechnya and fearing a possible coming purge of their own ethnic groups.

And who can blame them?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/19/24

I had my regular flu shot, as always, back in September or October. But I was debating whether to get another Covid booster this year . . . until I heard from a neighborhood friend that she had been diagnosed with it and was laid up at home.

And off I went to my local pharmacy for my injection today, which took less time than filling out the required form and wasn’t nearly as annoying. (I hate filling out forms — just a personal thing.) As with the previous Covid shots, I haven’t felt the least bit sick . . . just tired. So I took a nap, and all is well.

Am I a “pro-vaxxer”? Yes, I am. My mother made sure my sister and I got all of our shots when we were little, though there weren’t as many then: Smallpox (which has been virtually wiped out, thanks to the vaccine), and a three-in-one DPT — diphtheria, pertussis (a.k.a. whooping cough), and tetanus, as I recall. And a little later, the miraculous Salk polio vaccine . . . another hideous disease now pretty much a thing of the past.

And so I passed her wisdom along to my children when they were small; and I have continued to look after my own health as well. Now that I’m older . . . lots older . . . yes, I have a few health issues. But they’re due to the passage of time, not to any preventable illnesses.

Obviously, I’m not proposing that everyone run right out and get themselves and/or their children injected with every serum known to mankind. It’s a personal choice, of course.

I’m not on a crusade. I would just hope that most people are able to keep an open mind, do their research (pro and con), and talk to their doctors before making an informed decision . . . “informed” being the operative word.

Okay . . . not necessarily that informed. But you get my point.

And now, since I’m still feeling a little dragged out, it’s off to bed, where I will sleep better for having said my piece, even though no one asked for it. But that’s what free speech is all about, right?

Stay well, everyone. And happy holidays!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/19/24

It’s taken two years, but today I’ve reached a sort of millennial landmark: an even 1,000 posts to my blog.

Time to celebrate!!

And no, this does not mean I’m quitting. It’s on to the next 1,000 . . . as long as the news keeps coming, and my fingers (and brain) keep working reasonably well, I’ll be here at brendochka.com.

But for now, I think I’ll take the rest of the day off, help myself to a slice of cake and a nice cup of herbal tea, put my feet up, and have a snooze. I’ve earned it.

Or, as they would say on my favorite Brit flick, Midsomer Murders:

“Well done, me.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/18/24

Looking back at historic events, as is my wont, I often wonder what the people involved in those events would have thought if they had been able to foresee the eventual fallout from their actions (or inactions). For example:

Would it ever have occurred to the Wright Brothers — Orville and Wilbur — back then on December 17, 1903, that a little over a century later, there would be such a thing as a Stealth bomber? Or that things called drones would be fighting our wars, and causing panic along the U.S. eastern seaboard among people ready to believe they were being propelled by Chinese-Iranian-Martian invaders?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1777, while the newly declared United States of America was fighting its war for independence from Great Britain, France formally recognized the U.S. as a sovereign nation and joined in the fight against the British, helping to win our freedom. Who would then have anticipated that, just 107 years later — on July 4, 1884 — France would also be presenting the U.S. with the Statue of Liberty, or that the outsized “Assembly Required” sculpture would become the enduring symbol of the young country? Or that the United States would go on to be the political, industrial and economic world leader that it is today?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1892, when the first issue of Vogue magazine was published, that it would still be around in 2024?

Or, for that matter, that there would even be a year 2024?

Or . . .

On December 17, 1991, when Boris Yeltsin announced that the Soviet Union would cease to exist as a political entity by New Year’s Eve, giving rise to a new era of hope and optimism amongst the peoples of that country and, indeed, of the world . . . who would have believed that it would take less than a decade for a then unknown and insignificant individual to take the reins of power and bring it all crashing down again?

Yeltsin was as good as his word, and in fact brought it in ahead of schedule. On Christmas Day, December 25th, he unseated — quite literally, according to an eyewitness source — Mikhail Gorbachev . . . and the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flag was lowered at the Kremlin for the final time. Gorbachev was out; Yeltsin was in; and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was no more. Technically, at least.

Merry Christmas, Russia.

For eight years Yeltsin tried to carry on the reforms of his predecessor, and to build on them in order to bring his country into the late 20th Century before it rolled over into the 21st . . . sometimes with success, other times not so much. But he made one enormous, irreversible, utterly disastrous mistake, for which the world is still paying.

He brought Vladimir Putin from St. Petersburg, where he was working as Mayor Anatoly Sobchak’s “go-to guy,” to Moscow to be Yeltsin’s own jack-of-all-trades. And the rest, as they say, is history.

*. *. *

It makes you stop and think twice about your own actions, and about the future . . . doesn’t it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/18/24

There she was, hiding out in the restrooms on a Delta flight from New York to Paris on November 26th . . . without a ticket or a boarding pass. Her name is Svetlana Dali, and she was, of course, discovered and taken into custody upon landing in Paris.

After one aborted attempt to return her to the U.S. on November 30th, in which Delta refused to carry her when she began raising a ruckus on boarding a return flight, she was finally brought back home on December 4th. She was charged with one count of being a stowaway on an aircraft without consent and released without bail . . . but with a number of conditions. These included not leaving a specified area, surrendering any travel documents, wearing a GPS monitor, abiding by a curfew, and submitting to recommended mental health evaluation and treatment. [Mark Morales, Taylor Romine, Aaron Cooper and Chris Boyette, CNN, December 16, 2024.]

The Russian national, who holds permanent residency status in the United States, said she had nowhere to stay. So a kind-hearted acquaintance from her church in Philadelphia — where she evidently had lived at one time — agreed to let her stay with him for the time being.

But it appears that Slippery Svetlana got the travel bug again, because on Sunday of this week, she managed to cut off her ankle monitor and catch a Greyhound bus headed for Canada on Monday. Her roommate, upon returning home and finding her ankle bracelet without an ankle in it, reported her absence to the authorities. She was later removed from the bus before reaching Canada, placed in the custody of the FBI, and was expected to be turned over to U.S. Marshals in Buffalo, New York today. [Id.]

No further details are available regarding her location and arrest, as the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and Dali’s own attorney have thus far declined to comment. [Id.]

*. *. *

So where do we begin? My first question was why she had been released without bail on the stowaway charge. The judge in that case determined that she wasn’t a serious flight risk, because — after all — how many times can a person successfully carry off that kind of a caper . . . right?

Wrong. The judge did impose major restrictions on her movements. But ankle monitors — as now appears obvious — are not insurmountable obstacles for the highly motivated. And while Svetlana had learned her lesson when it came to sneaking onto commercial airplanes, the judge forgot to take into consideration good old Greyhound — cheap, accessible, anonymous, no-security buses to anywhere on land.

And this lady was motivated. She clearly wanted out of the United States. She had applied for asylum in France a few years ago, according to a Paris airport official. [Id.] I don’t know why she thought she needed asylum . . . unless it had to do with those two lawsuits she filed recently, claiming to have been a victim of military-grade chemical weapons and a kidnapping plot. [Id.]

Okay, sure . . . whatever. I once met a man in Kyiv — a coal miner from the Donbas region who was taking part in a demonstration — who wanted me to tell my government in Washington that the KGB had had his mother’s dentist implant a microscopically tiny transmitter in her denture so they could track her.

I try not to judge.

*. *. *

But seriously, what is this woman’s problem? I’m not a medical professional, but it’s painfully obvious that she has one . . . a problem, that is. Lacking details about her history, her family background, her life experiences, it’s impossible even to make an educated guess. But one thing is clear: she needs help.

And I hope she gets it . . . preferably before she heads for the Mexican border.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/17/24

The reason there is no longer a functioning synagogue in this city in eastern Ukraine is simple: There are few Jews left in Donetsk. Most have fled the country, or taken refuge (for the time being, at least) in Kyiv; only about 3,000 of the original 15,000 — all Russian-speaking — remain. And most of the 3,000 are elderly . . . though there are reportedly still a few children who attend the one remaining cheder — the children’s religious class — in some unspecified location. Their future is uncertain. [Paul Cainer, Thejc.com, November 10, 2022.]

The small Jewish community of Donetsk is isolated, unable to cross the war’s front lines to join their relatives or friends. There are occasional communications via Telegram or WhatsApp, though people must of course be extremely guarded in their conversations. [Id.]

Thus, along with the churches and the mosques, the synagogues are also falling victim to Vladimir Putin’s purge of all religions other than the accepted form of Russian Orthodoxy in Ukraine. This sort of maniacal crusade has happened before — in the 1930s and ‘40s under Hitler’s “final solution.”

The world wasn’t watching then, until it was too late; we’d better be more attentive this time.

“Those who forget history . . .”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/17/24

As of today, Kyiv’s magnificent Saint Sophia Cathedral is still standing, despite the war raging around it . . . though there has, of course, been unspeakable damage to many other historic places of worship since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022.

And there are other ways of attacking a nation’s faithful while at the same time destroying their visible history.

While you bombard, vandalize and ransack their churches, you simultaneously go after their clergy in quieter ways . . . which is precisely what is happening in the regions of Ukraine presently occupied by Russia.

In the nearly three years since the start of Russia’s war of attrition against its neighbor, dozens of Ukrainian faith leaders in the Russian-occupied areas have been jailed. Others — priests, pastors and imams — have been threatened with lengthy prison sentences, torture, and even death by Russian authorities, or forced into exile. [Ivana Kottasova, Olga Voitovych and Svitlana Vlasova, CNN, December 16, 2024.]

One such story was revealed by Pastor Dmytro Bodyu, founder of the evangelical Word of Life Church in Melitopol. He told CNN that around 15 armed men — identifying themselves as Russian police and FSB officers — stormed into his home early on March 19, 2022. As his wife and son watched, they took him off to a local police station. There they locked him in a small cell and threatened him with execution. He said they kept telling him they knew he was an American CIA agent hired by the U.S. government to spread anti-Russian propaganda.

“They said they knew for sure because all Protestant churches and Catholic churches are working with the American secret services, and all their pastors work for the US government, because the Protestant church is not a real church,” he said. [Id.]

He was held for eight days, but even after his release he was told he could continue preaching only if he cooperated with authorities; that his sermons would be subject to censorship; and that he would have to pass along potentially damaging information about his parishioners to the Russians.

Pastor Bodyu refused, and eventually left Melitopol. His church was thereafter shut down as part of Russia’s crackdown on any and all Ukrainian religious groups not affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church (a.k.a. the Moscow Patriarchate). [Id.]

In another southern Ukraine city — Berdiansk — Father Bohdan Heleta, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, tells of the 19 months he and a fellow priest spent in a notorious Russian penal colony in the occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine. Without repeating all of the horrific details here, the report says he spoke of beatings and torture that — to my mind — would not be survivable. But through a strength that is beyond my comprehension, and an obviously deep faith, both priests did survive and were freed in a prisoner swap in June. Neither had ever actually been charged with a crime. [Id.]

Thus, with a simple, two-pronged strategy, Russia has perfected the means of destroying its perceived religious enemies. Tear down the churches, and the congregations will simply move elsewhere . . . underground, if necessary. But take away their religious leaders, and you’ve taken away the glue that held them together.

It’s not a new tactic. Vladimir Putin has merely reinstated it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/17/24

With everyone screaming for answers, and U.S. officials — including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — calling for action, you’d think we’d have heard something substantive by now about all of those UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) sightings that are being tentatively identified as drones flying above U.S. military installations and Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course. As Senator Schumer said:

“We’ve seen lots of recent sightings in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Staten Island. So it’s remarkable, with all these sightings over the last while, why do we have more questions than answers? If the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision.” [John Bacon and Thao Nguyen, USA Today, December 16, 2024.]

On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tried to reassure us with this announcement:

“There’s no question that people are seeing drones. I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings. It is our job to be vigilant. If there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now we are not aware of any.” [Id.]

Sorry, Secretary Mayorkas, but somehow I don’t find that particularly comforting.

However, I was delighted to read this from Connecticut Representative James Himes, who seems to have an inside track to . . . well, he didn’t exactly say where, but certainly somewhere . . . and who shared with us in an interview on Fox News Sunday:

“Now, let me say something that I know with confidence. It is not the Iranians. It is not the Chinese. They aren’t Martians. I know that’s very unsatisfying for people who want a Hollywood movie out of this.” [Id.]

*. *. *

Well, Hollywood movie be damned. I’m just relieved to have it on such good authority that they’re not little green men from Mars. I’ll sleep so much better tonight!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/16/24

It is becoming an all-too-familiar story in far too many parts of the world.

Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has been sentenced by an Iranian court to ten years in prison for “collaborating with a hostile government.” [Bita Bakhtiari, RFE/RL, December 14, 2024.]

In addition, following the end of his prison term, Valizadeh will be banned for two years from living in Tehran or adjacent provinces, from leaving Iran, and from belonging to any political or social organizations — in effect, remaining a prisoner within the country. [Id.]

A journalist for Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda for ten years, he resigned in November 2022, but returned to Iran to visit family in early 2024. He was arrested on September 22nd, although he had been assured by Iranian officials that there was no legal bar to his returning to Iran.

Despite condemnation by the U.S. State Department, as well as calls by multiple organizations advocating freedom of the press, Valizadeh continues to be held in Tehran’s Evin Prison under severe restrictions, with only limited access to legal representation or family. [Id.]

If all of this sounds too familiar, it’s no wonder. It is a scenario straight from Vladimir Putin’s textbook on how to rid oneself of the voices of opposition. Not that it’s a new tactic to the Iranian government; they are well known to use Westerners and dual citizens as bait for future prisoner swaps. But Valizadeh is the first U.S. citizen known to have been arrested on false charges since a prisoner swap in September of 2023. [Id.]

And it’s happening elsewhere: Andrey Kuznechyk and Ihar Losik in Belarus, Vladislav Yesypenko in Crimea, and Farid Mehralizada in Azerbaijan are just a few examples.

*. *. *

In earlier times, the best way for an oppressor to secure control of a city or state was first to take over its communications and transportation infrastructures. It’s not that easy today: communications are no longer centralized in one or two radio or telegraph stations. So what do you do? You silence the broadcasters: the journalists, the bloggers, the Facebookers and YouTubers. You already control the police and the courts, so you simply charge your adversaries with something — anything — that sounds illegal, and you throw them into prison where they have no access to the outside world.

Which is precisely what is happening, almost on a daily basis, in so many parts of the world today — Russia, Belarus, Georgia, Iran, China and Hong Kong, North Korea. The free press is under attack; and the most frightening thought is how long it will be before no journalist will be willing to take the risks involved in speaking the truth.

And that is precisely what the world’s despots are aiming for.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/16/24

The good news is: There are no new Russian/Belarusian/Eastern European political arrests in the press this week.

The bad news is: The remaining hostages on our list continue to exist as victims of Putin’s purge of his opponents in prisons in Russia, Belarus and elsewhere, awaiting their Christmas miracle.

But I have pledged to continue honoring them each week until not one remains locked up. And so, once again, here they are . . . at least, those whose names are known to me:

David Barnes
Gordon Black
Marc Fogle
Robert Gilman
Stephen James Hubbard
Ksenia Karelina
Andrey Kuznechyk (in Belarus)
Michael Travis Leake
Ihar Losik (in Belarus)
Daniel Martindale
Farid Mehralizada (in Azerbaijan)
Robert Shonov
Eugene Spector
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland
Vladislav Yesypenko (in Crimea)

And once again, to the incoming Trump administration, I respectfully urge you to place the release of these hostages at the top of your immediate to-do list in January. Far more vital than the concern over daylight saving time (though I do agree with you on that) are the lives of these innocent men and women. The negotiations by the Biden administration and several of our allies that were so successful in August must be carried on.

No excuses, please.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
12/15/24