A Ukraine and Russia post

[The Annoyed Man]

Peter Santenello has a YouTube channel where he investigates different types of communities and does human interest reports on the people who live there, and what their daily lives are like. He’s covered the Amish and Mennonites in Ohio, Muslims in Detroit, NYC gang life, Chicano culture in East L.A., immigration and the Texas/Mexico border, etc.

He lived in Ukraine for 4 years, reporting on things there, and returned to the US about a year ago. His wife is Ukrainian, and they have a number of friends both there, and in Russia. One gets the impression that he’s maybe a little bit left of center, but he’s not a whack job, and he scrupulously keeps politics out of his videos…which I have enjoyed and found interesting.

Here’s what he posted yesterday:


I think it’s important that we remember that this isn’t "Russians versus Ukrainians". It’s Putin and his kleptocratic oligarchs versus Ukraine and the west.

[philip964]

[03Lightningrocks]

I saw that video on Fox News! Crazy stuff. What many forget about is that there were human beings on board that thing that were vaporized. Just saying it is a thought that goes through my mind. Imagine their last thoughts ever on this earth. It had to be OH Shoot!

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

[BigGuy]

I saw that video on Fox News! Crazy stuff. What many forget about is that there were human beings on board that thing that were vaporized. Just saying it is a thought that goes through my mind. Imagine their last thoughts ever on this earth. It had to be OH Shoot!

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

They were soldiers flying a military aircraft invading another country. I don't celebrate any death, but thy are extremely complicit in theirs. I'm much more saddened by the death of Ukrainian children and other civilians.

[03Lightningrocks]

I saw that video on Fox News! Crazy stuff. What many forget about is that there were human beings on board that thing that were vaporized. Just saying it is a thought that goes through my mind. Imagine their last thoughts ever on this earth. It had to be OH Shoot!

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

They were soldiers flying a military aircraft invading another country. I don't celebrate any death, but thy are extremely complicit in theirs. I'm much more saddened by the death of Ukrainian children and other civilians.

LOL... if you read anywhere in my post that I was saddened, you misread it. I was just pointing out that when we see a helicopter shot down or even a bombed out building, unless we see bodies laying around, it is easy to forget humans were involved.

[BigGuy]

I saw that video on Fox News! Crazy stuff. What many forget about is that there were human beings on board that thing that were vaporized. Just saying it is a thought that goes through my mind. Imagine their last thoughts ever on this earth. It had to be OH Shoot!

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

They were soldiers flying a military aircraft invading another country. I don't celebrate any death, but thy are extremely complicit in theirs. I'm much more saddened by the death of Ukrainian children and other civilians.

LOL... if you read anywhere in my post that I was saddened, you misread it. I was just pointing out that when we see a helicopter shot down or even a bombed out building, unless we see bodies laying around, it is easy to forget humans were involved.

Gotcha. Yep, it can be easy to get so wrapped up in a nationalistic idea that you overlook the human cost. Truth be told, I also thought about the wives, mothers, and children of those pilots. But at the end of the day, I'll trade them for the Ukrainians they would later kill.

[eyedoc]

I saw that video on Fox News! Crazy stuff. What many forget about is that there were human beings on board that thing that were vaporized. Just saying it is a thought that goes through my mind. Imagine their last thoughts ever on this earth. It had to be OH Shoot!

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

I thought of that and saw the cockpit was out of the flames until it impacted the ground about 3 1/2 seconds after the rocket hit them. They did not suffer.

[parabelum]

Good riddance.

[philip964]

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

We will always honor your father’s sacrifice to this country. I will never for get my first year in college seeing young men a little older than me walking to class with canes. The war became real at that point. I guess they were the lucky ones. They came home. I’m very sorry you missed getting to spend time with a true hero.
Bless you and your family.

I find my self depressed over this unnecessary war. I see no positive outcome. At worst I may have to use those iodine pills I bought 8 years ago. A better outcome I see suffering on suffering for the people of Ukraine. A resumption of the Cold War and potentially more and more conflict and suffering in Europe. Potentially Taiwan being taken over as well. Gas has jumped 70 cents in two weeks. Diesel is as high as I have ever seen it in my lifetime. No end to the bad news is in sight.

God bless America. Give us the foresight and leadership to survive and help the world. Asked in his name, Amen.

[03Lightningrocks]

My dad was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam that went down. All aboard were killed instantly. I see a video like that and think of him. As crazy as that may sound.

We will always honor your father’s sacrifice to this country. I will never for get my first year in college seeing young men a little older than me walking to class with canes. The war became real at that point. I guess they were the lucky ones. They came home. I’m very sorry you missed getting to spend time with a true hero.
Bless you and your family.

I find my self depressed over this unnecessary war. I see no positive outcome. At worst I may have to use those iodine pills I bought 8 years ago. A better outcome I see suffering on suffering for the people of Ukraine. A resumption of the Cold War and potentially more and more conflict and suffering in Europe. Potentially Taiwan being taken over as well. Gas has jumped 70 cents in two weeks. Diesel is as high as I have ever seen it in my lifetime. No end to the bad news is in sight.

God bless America. Give us the foresight and leadership to survive and help the world. Asked in his name, Amen.

Thank you. I was nine years old when it happened. In my head I mark it as the end of my childhood. Somehow it made me feel like I was now the "man" of the family. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/1433 ... -L-DURHAM/

[powerboatr]

i had to go to odessa ukraine in 2000 for a business trip (navy)
they were in the midst of being a full fledged democracy of sorts,
i feel for the people i met there, i was moved. But they had a long long row to hoe .

i fear if ukraine falls to again be under russia, then poland or romania are not far behind

[Ruark]

We skyped with my wife's cousin in Kharkov again today. Not much has changed in her east central Kharkov apartment. They hear guns and whatnot far in the distance. But they have all their utilities, internet, phones, and go grocery shopping as usual. Everybody is hoping it won't take much longer for the Russian forces to clear out the neo-Nazi radicals, of which the Ukrainian army is infested. They're the ones causing most of these problems in Donbass - shooting at people trying to leave, firing from apartment roofs, etc. In fact, some Ukrainian army troops are actually shooting at them, for all the trouble they're causing.
She also said everybody's angry with Zelensky, not just because he hasnt' lifted a finger the past 8 years to suppress the radicals, but how he's fanning the flames of the conflict, making it worse and worse, and trying to beg his way into the EU and NATO. That's the latest.

[Ruark]

Peter Santenello has a YouTube channel where he investigates different types of communities and does human interest reports on the people who live there, and what their daily lives are like. He’s covered the Amish and Mennonites in Ohio, Muslims in Detroit, NYC gang life, Chicano culture in East L.A., immigration and the Texas/Mexico border, etc.

He lived in Ukraine for 4 years, reporting on things there, and returned to the US about a year ago. His wife is Ukrainian, and they have a number of friends both there, and in Russia. One gets the impression that he’s maybe a little bit left of center, but he’s not a whack job, and he scrupulously keeps politics out of his videos…which I have enjoyed and found interesting.

Interesting comments from him, thanks for posting it. A couple of points did sort of jump out. He talked about most Ukrainians being against the Russian presence - EXCEPT for people from some parts of the south and the east. Exactly. Those are the ethnic Russians, 14,000+ of whom have been killed over the past 8 years by Ukrainian radicals.

He also said "if Russia wins, there will be no Ukraine." Not true. Russia's mission in Ukraine is twofold: to stop the persecution of ethnic Russians in the south and east, which continues as you read this, and to demilitarize the country, because of the threat it poses if it ever joins NATO. The goal is for Ukraine to become a neutral country politically, without militaristic aspirations like it has today. Zelensky is horribly inflaming the situation, pretending to be some valiant Joan of Arc hero, and making everything worse and increasing the destruction and suffering.

If Russia wanted to "conquer" Ukraine, they could have easily steamrolled over it in a few days. They could have bombed Kiev into the stone age in a couple of hours. They haven't, simply because they're not interested in "acquiring" Ukraine in any way, shape or form. Russia wouldn't have Ukraine if you handed it to them on a silver platter.

[parabelum]

Peter Santenello has a YouTube channel where he investigates different types of communities and does human interest reports on the people who live there, and what their daily lives are like. He’s covered the Amish and Mennonites in Ohio, Muslims in Detroit, NYC gang life, Chicano culture in East L.A., immigration and the Texas/Mexico border, etc.

He lived in Ukraine for 4 years, reporting on things there, and returned to the US about a year ago. His wife is Ukrainian, and they have a number of friends both there, and in Russia. One gets the impression that he’s maybe a little bit left of center, but he’s not a whack job, and he scrupulously keeps politics out of his videos…which I have enjoyed and found interesting.

Interesting comments from him, thanks for posting it. A couple of points did sort of jump out. He talked about most Ukrainians being against the Russian presence - EXCEPT for people from some parts of the south and the east. Exactly. Those are the ethnic Russians, 14,000+ of whom have been killed over the past 8 years by Ukrainian radicals.

He also said "if Russia wins, there will be no Ukraine." Not true. Russia's mission in Ukraine is twofold: to stop the persecution of ethnic Russians in the south and east, which continues as you read this, and to demilitarize the country, because of the threat it poses if it ever joins NATO. The goal is for Ukraine to become a neutral country politically, without militaristic aspirations like it has today. Zelensky is horribly inflaming the situation, pretending to be some valiant Joan of Arc hero, and making everything worse and increasing the destruction and suffering.

If Russia wanted to "conquer" Ukraine, they could have easily steamrolled over it in a few days. They could have bombed Kiev into the stone age in a couple of hours. They haven't, simply because they're not interested in "acquiring" Ukraine in any way, shape or form. Russia wouldn't have Ukraine if you handed it to them on a silver platter.

I’ve lived through the war criminal Slobodan Miliosevic and his fellow Russian dictatorship comrades friend. Putin and the invaders are torching civilians, kids and everything that stands in the way, right now. They are evil, pure evil. What you type is straight out of Pravda. Those of us who lived directly through Russian aggression ain’t buying it pal. They are getting hammered in toe to toe fighting, so now it is civilian infrastructure destruction and psychological warfare they are after. By the way, their low rank soldiers by in large are not into this. I’m sure Pravda isn’t reporting though.
Putin is an evil communist bully, why be an apologist for this monster? Sorry to be personal, but what you’re typing might as well be coming from Kremlin directly, with all due respect.

[BigGuy]

Peter Santenello has a YouTube channel where he investigates different types of communities and does human interest reports on the people who live there, and what their daily lives are like. He’s covered the Amish and Mennonites in Ohio, Muslims in Detroit, NYC gang life, Chicano culture in East L.A., immigration and the Texas/Mexico border, etc.

He lived in Ukraine for 4 years, reporting on things there, and returned to the US about a year ago. His wife is Ukrainian, and they have a number of friends both there, and in Russia. One gets the impression that he’s maybe a little bit left of center, but he’s not a whack job, and he scrupulously keeps politics out of his videos…which I have enjoyed and found interesting.

Interesting comments from him, thanks for posting it. A couple of points did sort of jump out. He talked about most Ukrainians being against the Russian presence - EXCEPT for people from some parts of the south and the east. Exactly. Those are the ethnic Russians, 14,000+ of whom have been killed over the past 8 years by Ukrainian radicals.

He also said "if Russia wins, there will be no Ukraine." Not true. Russia's mission in Ukraine is twofold: to stop the persecution of ethnic Russians in the south and east, which continues as you read this, and to demilitarize the country, because of the threat it poses if it ever joins NATO. The goal is for Ukraine to become a neutral country politically, without militaristic aspirations like it has today. Zelensky is horribly inflaming the situation, pretending to be some valiant Joan of Arc hero, and making everything worse and increasing the destruction and suffering.

If Russia wanted to "conquer" Ukraine, they could have easily steamrolled over it in a few days. They could have bombed Kiev into the stone age in a couple of hours. They haven't, simply because they're not interested in "acquiring" Ukraine in any way, shape or form. Russia wouldn't have Ukraine if you handed it to them on a silver platter.

I’ve lived through the war criminal Slobodan Miliosevic and his fellow Russian dictatorship comrades friend. Putin and the invaders are torching civilians, kids and everything that stands in the way, right now. They are evil, pure evil. What you type is straight out of Pravda. Those of us who lived directly through Russian aggression ain’t buying it pal. They are getting hammered in toe to toe fighting, so now it is civilian infrastructure destruction and psychological warfare they are after. By the way, their low rank soldiers by in large are not into this. I’m sure Pravda isn’t reporting though.
Putin is an evil communist bully, why be an apologist for this monster? Sorry to be personal, but what you’re typing might as well be coming from Kremlin directly, with all due respect.