Don's Weekly, 1 January 2024: Part 1

Hello everybody!
Here we are: the first day of the new year and time for next of Don’s Weeklies!

Indeed, it’s a new year, and thus we’re going to start in a new way…

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Why Ukraine Fights

The red viburnum (kalyna in Ukrainian) is a deciduous shrub that grows four to five meters tall. It is referenced throughout Ukrainian folklore. A silhouette of it is depicted along the edges of the flag of the president of Ukraine. “Chervona Kalyna” is also a song associated with Ukraine’s aspiration for independence and was banned in the Soviet Union from 1919-1991. Those caught singing it could be beaten, jailed or exiled.

“Kalyna (guelder-rose) is a symbol that has been a part of Ukrainian culture since ancient times. Its meanings were transferred through the ages in legends and songs. A broken kalyna tree was a sign of trouble and tragedy; abuse of this tree was a shameful act. Ukrainian people carefully protected it because there was a belief that kalyna grew only next to good people. According to our ancestors, kalyna has a power that brings immortality and can unite generations to fight evil.”…https://wiwibloggs.com/2022/03/18/go_a-release-kalyna-to-raise-funds-for-ukraine-and-to-remind-the-world-it-must-unite-to-fight-evil/271086/

On September 14, 2022, six people in the occupied territories were arrested or fined for singing the song at a wedding reception and the owner of the restaurant had to apologize and say he respected Putin…https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/14/crimea-wedding-party-arrested-fined-for-playing-ukrainian-patriotic-song-a78790

On October 5, 2022, it was reported that a Crimean beauty queen and a friend was fined 40,000 rubles for singing the song that is “the battle anthem for an extremist organization.”…https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/europe/miss-crimea-fined-ukrainian-song-intl/index.html

A teacher living under occupation was fired for playing a Ukrainian song for his students. He was later beaten and jailed for posting “Cherovona Kalnya” on social media…https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/11/23/crimean-teacher-jailed-for-posting-patriotic-ukrainian-song-a79472

In Odesa, on New Year’s night, drone attacks killed at least one person and wounded others. A neighborhood sang “Cherovona Kalnya” afterwards. But no one was beaten. No one was jailed. No one was exiled. Because they are still free…

https://twitter.com/olex_scherba/status/1741616162272624781

Oh, in the meadow a red kalyna has bent down low,
For some reason, our glorious Ukraine is in sorrow.
And we'll take that red kalyna and we will raise it up,
And, hey-hey, we shall cheer up our glorious Ukraine!
And we'll take that red kalyna and we will raise it up,
And, hey-hey, we shall cheer up our glorious Ukraine!...

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%83-%D0%BB%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%96-%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0-meadow-red-kalyna.htm

Mind: Vladimir Putin is the character that started this war, and is the only character that can end it, any time of the day. Vladimir Putin did not start this war because he wants peace. He did not start this war because he wants this or that part of Ukraine. Putin did not start this war to negotiate about peace. Even less so did he start this war because he wants some sort of negotiated peace in exchange for this or that part of Ukraine. He’s not going to end this war in that fashion, either. He started this war because experience taught him he can firm his grip to power in Moscow and Saint Petersburg - and thus all of Russia - through starting wars; and that he has it very easy to get away with starting wars in - for him - a highly profitable fashion. Because his lesson is that starting wars is securing his position, and because he knows he needs not being concerned about the price, no matter how much suffering he’s caused in Russia, in Chechnya, in Georgia, in Armenia, in Syria, in Belarus, in Kazakhstan, or in Ukraine.

When his basic idea about a quick and elegant victory failed, he didn’t stop this war: he merely converted it into a war of extermination of Ukraine. A war that has only one aim.

In all the 20+ years of this conflict; in 10 years since Putin invaded Crimean Peninsula, and especially in two years since he launched his war of extermination of Ukraine, nobody took care to give Putin even half a reason to change this aim. He’s only, and constantly, fed with yet more reasons to continue this war even if knowing he can’t win it any more. Because wars are good for Putin.

Therefore, and in most politely fashion: no one has a right to tell Ukrainians to stop fighting for their country, their people, and their freedom. Even less so has anybody any kind of right to explain Ukrainians what part of Ukraine shall they give away to Putin - based on pipe-dreams about achieving some sort of fantasy-peace in return.

(….to be continued…)