"Russian warship, go f*** yourself": Ukraine's last stand on Snake Island

AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Hopeful news about the surprising effectiveness of Ukraine’s resistance continues to pop up online but it can’t be good that Russian forces have reached Kiev on day two. Volodomyr Zelensky is already warning western leaders that they might not see him again alive. The outcome of this war is certain, at least during the invasion stage. The insurgency stage might be a different matter.

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The only way Ukraine can “win” the invasion stage is to win the battle for international public opinion by displaying uncommon valor in its own defense. The more heroic the Ukrainians are in defying Russian occupation, the more brutal and repulsive Putin seems by comparison. His self-serving lie that Russians and Ukrainians are one people and therefore Moscow is entitled to rule looks more absurd every time a Ukrainian shows bravery in resisting.

They were brave yesterday on Snake Island. Ed mentioned the incident in an earlier post but it’s worth listening to the exchange:

All 13 defenders on the island were killed, making the episode a microcosm of the wider war. Ukraine can’t win but they can impress upon the world in dramatic ways that many prefer death to subjugation by Russia.

Case in point:

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Here’s another incident that’s circulated widely. No death in this one but great courage all the same:

Ukrainian politicians have also risen to the occasion, keen to show defiance despite knowing that they’re marked for death. That begins with Zelensky, whom Russia intends to replace with a puppet ruler. He could bug out and claim to lead a government in exile but he’s intent on staying and dying if need be rather than flee in fear:

Michael Weiss put it well: “Zelensky is becoming a Western statesman whose greatest contribution may yet be showing how much more ‘West’ Ukraine is than a lot of European countries.” The more impressive Zelensky becomes in his crisis leadership, the more of an international outrage it’ll be when Putin has him killed or imprisoned. Whether that’s a strategic calculation on Zelensky’s part or just instinctive courage at work, he’s making Putin’s ugly war look uglier by the moment.

You might recognize this guy. He used to be heavyweight champion of the world before retiring and entering politics, eventually becoming mayor of Kiev. He’s ready to die too:

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So is Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko was president of Ukraine before losing to Zelensky in the 2019 election. He’s got his gun and is stationed in the streets of Kiev:

Many locals are also preparing to fight. This message from Ukraine’s ministry of defense reportedly reads, “Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier!”

Citizens are arming up, some of them reportedly over 60:

Meanwhile, the military is in position to defend the capital:

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Are any of these heroics actually slowing the Russian advance? Maybe. Last night the UK’s defense ministry assessed the state of battle and declared that “It is unlikely that Russia has achieved its planned Day 1 military objectives. Ukrainian forces have presented fierce resistance across all axes of Russia’s advance.” U.S. officials agree:

Whether that’s propaganda aimed at undermining Russia or an honest account of the state of play is unclear. No one thinks Russia will be unable to take Kiev, though. The question is what price they’ll have to pay to do it.

It was only a few weeks ago that we were warned Moscow was preparing elaborate false-flag operations to justify an invasion. At this stage, though, Putin seems to have dispensed with any vaguely plausible pretext for the war and is resorting to crude smears like this:

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It’s now a battle of public opinion between Ukrainian valor and the tsar mumbling about liberating the country from drug addicts. Before this is done, he may yet talk himself into getting Russia kicked out of the SWIFT system. Germany seems to be coming around:

I’ll leave you with this, another viral clip that makes for a nice contrast with what’s coming out of the Ukrainian side.

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