Welcome back to the Good News Roundup, where we try and bring you good news to help brighten your day, but there are people in the world who need good news way more than we do. Right now, Ukraine is being invaded by Shitty Putin, so this week A) I’ve changed my flower cover image to Sunflowers, the official flower of Ukraine, in a show of solidarity, and B) this week my teams (Killer300 and Bhu) have gotten some good news stories based around Ukraine and the war. So lets get to it.
War is a different matter altogether, though; in recent days, Russia has not seen any of the jubilation that accompanied the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Going to war is one of Russians’ greatest fears, according to the Levada Center, an independent pollster. And after Putin’s angry speech and his cryptic televised meeting with his Security Council on Monday, Russians realized that possibility was lurching closer toward becoming reality.
“This hatred that you could read in him so clearly, it wasn’t fake,” said Gleb Pavlovsky, a political analyst and former adviser to Putin.
The sense of foreboding intensified Wednesday when Moscow said that separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine had requested Putin’s help, widely viewed in the West as a fabricated justification for invasion.
Like make no mistake, A lot of Russians don’t want this war, this is mainly just Putin stroking his own ego and trying to keep a hold on his deteriorating power. There have even been reports of Russian soldiers surrendering or refusing to fight.
As with so many around the world, including thousands of brave Russians protesting against their country’s brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine, I’m aware of the inadequate resources for defending Ukraine’s independence and wish for democracy. Biden, NATO countries, and others are marshalling economic power, but it seems not to be enough.
Granted, sending soldiers in would only make it worse. But what if there’s an untapped resource for wielding power that’s hardly being considered at all? What if the resource situation is something like this: There’s a village that for centuries has relied on a stream, and because of climate change it is now drying up. Given existing financial resources, the village is too far from the river to build a pipeline, and the village faces its end. What no one had noticed was a tiny spring in a ravine behind the cemetery, which — with some well-digging equipment — could become an abundant source of water and save the village?
Even if they are outmatched in power, there are plenty of ways the Ukraine people can resist the Russian invasion.
The EU Commission announced this afternoon that the European Central Bank will deploy its most powerful financial weapon against Russian aggression. Several hours later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the Federal Reserve will impose sanctions of its own upon the Russian central bank.
Central-bank sanctions are a weapon so devastating, in fact, that the only question is whether they might do more damage than Western governments might wish. They could potentially bankrupt the entire Russian banking system and push the ruble into worthlessness.
I recall back in 2016 after Trump won, and we all thought that Steve Bannon was some evil unstoppable mastermind, and that he knew exactly what he was doing, but then it turned out he was just a chump that got lucky, and he was out in under a year. It got me thinking ‘Maybe people are vastly overestimating Putin too’ and, well, here we are. Whatever Putin hoped to gain from this, whatever his original plan was, I don’t think this is gonna end how he wants it to end.
Bearing blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, singing patriotic songs and shouting chants against Russia’s president, thousands of protesters gathered at rallies across the country on Sunday in a show of support for Ukraine.
In Washington, Chicago, Boston and other cities, the crowds varied in size, but the number of gatherings, which followed several others on Saturday and came days after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia ordered troops to invade Ukraine, spoke to the level of concern in communities throughout the nation.
Many attendees expressed their love for their Ukrainian homeland. Some argued for more U.S. involvement in the conflict. Some vented their anger and called for harsher penalties against Mr. Putin. Other protesters wanted to make sure that the public’s awareness of the war didn’t fade.
Not just in the US, the whole world is standing behind Ukraine right now.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, Russia began its attack on Ukraine.
With heavy casualties expected on both sides, you might be wondering how you can help.
TODAY compiled a list of United States-based charities that will put your money to good use, based on information from their websites. Here are five organizations you can support:
Finally we leave with some charities you can give to in order to help out those in need, if you can spare the money that is.
That about wraps things up for this week. I wish you all a good week, and I wish those in the Ukraine a better week than they are probably having. Our hearts go out to you.
