From day one of Putin’s invasion, photographer Lynsey Addario was on the ground capturing moments of ruin—and heroic resolve. One year later, she says it’s unlike any war she’s ever covered.
“The United States, in 2022, funneled at least $68 billion to the Ukrainians in the form of military hardware and humanitarian aid”
————————————————-
No matter what your position is, we need to be able to agree that it is absolutely insane for the United States to be paying for any of this.
Europe has money. Allow me to repeat that for emphasis. EUROPE HAS MONEY.
Sell them all the weapons you want. Sell them the fighter jets. Sell them nukes. Let them pay us to train their guys if necessary. Whatever. Don’t care.
But this is THEIR PROBLEM. They can f***ing pay for it.
I was in the Ukraine about 3 years ago. I rode on the train pictured (or at least painted the same way). Ride from Lviv to Ternopil to visit my daughter while she was working in a home for disabled people. Both those cities were beautiful and I’m sure today they are in ruins.
This war was instigated by the US to trap Russia into fighting AND for the US and NATO to impose sanctions against them.
The US is now sending Ukraine money to “help save democracy”. What a load of BS!!!
My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people because they were used as pawns and now their beautiful country and very beautiful people are in ruins.
The US is sending tax payer money as a sign a Virtue Signaling”.
And Zelenskyy keeps convincing dumb ass leaders like mine in Canada to send more money.
It’s a dam shame. Ukraine is now the new Afghanistan. Soon the US will start a war in the South China Sea and only then will they leave Ukraine. They will shout: We must go save democracy in China !!!!!
“On top of that, there are the tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed. That includes at least 400 children. Russian troops have raped and tortured countless Ukrainians.”
——————————————————
On day one I said we should give Putin the Donbas region and turn eastern Europe into a weapons depot to establish deterrence.
We chose not to do that, because Jake Sullivan and Susan Rice and Chuck Todd and a bunch of other total f***ing morons knew better, and the above listed atrocities happened. And Ukraine is now in ashes. Good job, simpletons.
Glory to Ukraine……..but first we have to burn the entire country to the ground………but glory to Ukraine.
Has anyone here been to Russia? It’s nice. You can’t criticize the government and they have great hotels. Putin is a bad guy but it is not North Korea.
Putin controlling the Donbas region as opposed to Saddamyr Husseinskyy controlling the Donbas region represents a 0.00% change in quality of life for the people who live in the Donbas region.
When you elect a feckless corrupt child molesting coward, and deterrence fails, the best option is NOT to get into a slap fight with an insane person who has nukes.
I agree with Kevin. The war in Ukraine was created by the U.S. government & NATO, and the U.S. government & NATO can end the war today. TFP should publish a companion piece about THAT story.
Nice pro-US Empire propaganda piece here. I'm sure it will have its intended effect of strengthening the resolve of many war hawks to never ever negotiate a peace to end this tragic war, because "Putin is Hitler and we don't negotiate with terrorists, USA good Russia bad, freedom and democracy, rules-based order, blah blah blah". Enjoy the wonderful world of kindergarten.
We can all cheer for the bravery and resolve of Ukrainians. And weep for the savagery and needless deaths, especially of the innocents. And curse Putin for this invasion.
But let's not lose sight of the fact that former Israeli PM Bennett has credibly asserted that the Biden Cabal - especially the odious Victoria Nuland - scuttled the peace talks that might have ended this madness. And then blew up the Nordstream Pipeline and lied about it, creating the worst environmental disaster of recent memory. Continuing to dribble arms into this conflict - instead of working to end it - is not "defending democracy." It is dangerous and cruel. Maybe there isn't a way out but cheering on this madness isn't what sane and sober leaders do. Is there irony in Democrats waving Ukrainian flags but cursing ours? Defending Ukraine's border while abandoning ours. In vowing to run if America were invaded but exalting in Ukraine's fight for its homeland? Or caring about Ukrainian suffering but mocking the residents of East Palestine OH? Just wondering.
It is no wonder that the world hates the United States. We are by far the most powerful nation; we spend more on our military than all other countries combined - including China and Russia, yet our government has not for decades used that power thoughtfully, wisely, or sparingly. We use it to meddle in the affairs of nations everywhere. As much as I love America, we are rightly perceived by the world as bullies.
And why is this? It is not because the people want it; those we elect to power want it; those vastly more powerful than them in the unelected Permanent Deep State want it; the Military-Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about wants it. Have no doubt: the public is no longer remotely in control of its government or the elites who in turn control IT. And as Tom Sowell has said, there is no more dangerous or stupid way to make decisions than to put them in the hands of those who bear no penalty for being wrong.
A YouTube video by professor John Mearsheimer seven years ago, "Why is Ukraine the West's Fault?"
explains the "Ukraine question" perfectly. Russia, whose economy is 1/14 that of the United States, was never going to allow a NATO ally on its border, and Putin said so unequivocally. Given the US' size and hostility toward Russia - and its history of "regime change" politics, he would be out of his mind to allow the enemy to perch against his back. Yes, Putin's a horse's ass, but what did you expect him to do? And of course the US Government - who wouldn't spend $5B USD to protect its own border has now spent over $100B "protecting" that of a country most Americans can't find on a map. And why would the thoroughly corrupt Alleged President* administration do such things? I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Why is the US taxpayer responsible for this? Why? Why can't our tax dollars be used to benefit us? Just once?
The money isn't helping anyway, it's hurting. Every dime we send to this madness just fuels it. It's an ancient border dispute. And it would have been resolved long ago if we hadn't put fuel on the fire.
Insanity. Absolute insanity.
Yet, somehow, Biden the Incoherent has a 40% approval rating. Maybe we have the leaders we deserve...
While I feel for these people, I care for America more. It’s like we, or at least Joey, have so much invested in ukraine, the US doesn’t register. The southern border? Meh, not important we are being invaded with young military aged men run by the cartels. East Palestine OH? Meh. More important to focus on white construction workers than an environmental disaster.
Ukraine needs to end. Russia may retain Crimea and the Donbas. I don’t really care. We should not be fighting this to the last Ukrainian and the last American taxpayer dollar. Enough.
One can’t help but feel sympathy for the people of Ukraine, and I do, but part of me wonders why this war began in the first place and why it is still raging after a year.
When Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006, after 4 soldiers were abducted from a border station and killed, the U.S. rushed to halt the fighting as quickly as possible. Condoleeza Rice forced the Israelis to a truce just as they were on the cusp of defeating the Hezbollah war machine once and for all. The correct policy would have been to destroy Hezbollah, which has now completely rebuilt and is ready for a rematch.
Similarly, after the despicable bombing of a Passover service in Israel which killed over 20 people, an enraged Israel rolled into Jenin and went house to house, killing militants. They blew holes in walls to move to the next building quickly and safely, a tour de force of urban warfare. In this case, as well, the U.S. stupidly pushed Israel to back out before it could finish the job.
The U.S. abhors violence, except when it serves our needs. No one tried to negotiate a halt to the Iran-Iraq war, a scarcely mentioned conflict that raged during the entire Reagan era, 1980-88, causing over a million deaths (some estimates are double that) including tens of thousands of Iranian child soldiers killed.
Setting aside the righteousness and legality of self-defense, which no one would dispute, war is a terrible thing that should be the last choice after all other bad choices have been tried. A consistent U.S. foreign policy should always be to find a peaceful solution, even if it means territorial concessions and humiliating outcomes for one or both sides. Certainly this approach is applied consistently in the Israeli context.
But not Ukraine. No, we want Ukraine to burn. Make the Russians pay dearly. Degrade their military and destroy their economy, and then at last they will no longer be a threat. Clearly, this is what the United States wants; Biden even said it himself—he would not mind a minor incursion into Ukraine. Incredibly, few mainstream new organizations ever mention this or question what we are doing.
A more foolish plan could hardly be imagined. One year later, a couple hundred thousand people killed, and the war still rages, inconclusive and apparently bound to continue until one side or the other is destroyed. China is propping up Russia, we continue to support the Chinese economy and military buildup, even as we empty our military stockpiles and pour billions of dollars into keeping Ukraine afloat.
Would it not have been better to negotiate a settlement a year ago? Give the Russians Crimea and Donbas and a neutrality pledge by Ukraine, in exchange for demilitarization of the border and restoration of discounted oil and gas shipments. Maybe I’m wrong… I welcome an explanation of why it was necessary for all those people to die.
Sorry. This reads as propaganda. The casualty statistics read as propaganda. The pictures are staged like propaganda. Not saying there isnt a kernel of truth in any part of it. But overall, it is a propaganda piece. Lets read the same story from the Russian point of view. Oh wait. Thats all been censored by the government. Ukrainian Propaganda.
On a related point—- The FP still hasn’t covered the story of Biden blowing up the Nordstream pipeline. Have we heard how the Germans reacted to this? Were they warned? What has this done to their economy? Or are they playing along, playing dumb to protect Joe?
Today’s WSJ editorial mirrors my concerns about President Biden’s commitment to providing “everlasting support” to Ukraine. Again, Ukraine is demanding more powerful weapons from America, and although Biden says no, he’ll cave and slowly start to provide them with fighter jets and long-range missiles. The road we’re on feels like we’re slowly headed toward war.
Russia, China, and Iran have formed an alliance (Axis) against America and the West. The war in Ukraine is only the beginning of future conflicts between the Axis and America. This will become a battle for world-order.
“The United States, in 2022, funneled at least $68 billion to the Ukrainians in the form of military hardware and humanitarian aid”
————————————————-
No matter what your position is, we need to be able to agree that it is absolutely insane for the United States to be paying for any of this.
Europe has money. Allow me to repeat that for emphasis. EUROPE HAS MONEY.
Sell them all the weapons you want. Sell them the fighter jets. Sell them nukes. Let them pay us to train their guys if necessary. Whatever. Don’t care.
But this is THEIR PROBLEM. They can f***ing pay for it.
I just find it astounding Biden has the gall to go to Ukraine first before Ohio.
I was in the Ukraine about 3 years ago. I rode on the train pictured (or at least painted the same way). Ride from Lviv to Ternopil to visit my daughter while she was working in a home for disabled people. Both those cities were beautiful and I’m sure today they are in ruins.
This war was instigated by the US to trap Russia into fighting AND for the US and NATO to impose sanctions against them.
The US is now sending Ukraine money to “help save democracy”. What a load of BS!!!
My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people because they were used as pawns and now their beautiful country and very beautiful people are in ruins.
The US is sending tax payer money as a sign a Virtue Signaling”.
And Zelenskyy keeps convincing dumb ass leaders like mine in Canada to send more money.
It’s a dam shame. Ukraine is now the new Afghanistan. Soon the US will start a war in the South China Sea and only then will they leave Ukraine. They will shout: We must go save democracy in China !!!!!
Crap, Crap, Crap.
“On top of that, there are the tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians who have been killed. That includes at least 400 children. Russian troops have raped and tortured countless Ukrainians.”
——————————————————
On day one I said we should give Putin the Donbas region and turn eastern Europe into a weapons depot to establish deterrence.
We chose not to do that, because Jake Sullivan and Susan Rice and Chuck Todd and a bunch of other total f***ing morons knew better, and the above listed atrocities happened. And Ukraine is now in ashes. Good job, simpletons.
Glory to Ukraine……..but first we have to burn the entire country to the ground………but glory to Ukraine.
Has anyone here been to Russia? It’s nice. You can’t criticize the government and they have great hotels. Putin is a bad guy but it is not North Korea.
Putin controlling the Donbas region as opposed to Saddamyr Husseinskyy controlling the Donbas region represents a 0.00% change in quality of life for the people who live in the Donbas region.
When you elect a feckless corrupt child molesting coward, and deterrence fails, the best option is NOT to get into a slap fight with an insane person who has nukes.
I agree with Kevin. The war in Ukraine was created by the U.S. government & NATO, and the U.S. government & NATO can end the war today. TFP should publish a companion piece about THAT story.
Nice pro-US Empire propaganda piece here. I'm sure it will have its intended effect of strengthening the resolve of many war hawks to never ever negotiate a peace to end this tragic war, because "Putin is Hitler and we don't negotiate with terrorists, USA good Russia bad, freedom and democracy, rules-based order, blah blah blah". Enjoy the wonderful world of kindergarten.
Terrific photos.
Stay safe, Lynsey Addario.
We can all cheer for the bravery and resolve of Ukrainians. And weep for the savagery and needless deaths, especially of the innocents. And curse Putin for this invasion.
But let's not lose sight of the fact that former Israeli PM Bennett has credibly asserted that the Biden Cabal - especially the odious Victoria Nuland - scuttled the peace talks that might have ended this madness. And then blew up the Nordstream Pipeline and lied about it, creating the worst environmental disaster of recent memory. Continuing to dribble arms into this conflict - instead of working to end it - is not "defending democracy." It is dangerous and cruel. Maybe there isn't a way out but cheering on this madness isn't what sane and sober leaders do. Is there irony in Democrats waving Ukrainian flags but cursing ours? Defending Ukraine's border while abandoning ours. In vowing to run if America were invaded but exalting in Ukraine's fight for its homeland? Or caring about Ukrainian suffering but mocking the residents of East Palestine OH? Just wondering.
It is no wonder that the world hates the United States. We are by far the most powerful nation; we spend more on our military than all other countries combined - including China and Russia, yet our government has not for decades used that power thoughtfully, wisely, or sparingly. We use it to meddle in the affairs of nations everywhere. As much as I love America, we are rightly perceived by the world as bullies.
And why is this? It is not because the people want it; those we elect to power want it; those vastly more powerful than them in the unelected Permanent Deep State want it; the Military-Industrial Complex that Eisenhower warned us about wants it. Have no doubt: the public is no longer remotely in control of its government or the elites who in turn control IT. And as Tom Sowell has said, there is no more dangerous or stupid way to make decisions than to put them in the hands of those who bear no penalty for being wrong.
A YouTube video by professor John Mearsheimer seven years ago, "Why is Ukraine the West's Fault?"
https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4
explains the "Ukraine question" perfectly. Russia, whose economy is 1/14 that of the United States, was never going to allow a NATO ally on its border, and Putin said so unequivocally. Given the US' size and hostility toward Russia - and its history of "regime change" politics, he would be out of his mind to allow the enemy to perch against his back. Yes, Putin's a horse's ass, but what did you expect him to do? And of course the US Government - who wouldn't spend $5B USD to protect its own border has now spent over $100B "protecting" that of a country most Americans can't find on a map. And why would the thoroughly corrupt Alleged President* administration do such things? I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.
Why is the US taxpayer responsible for this? Why? Why can't our tax dollars be used to benefit us? Just once?
The money isn't helping anyway, it's hurting. Every dime we send to this madness just fuels it. It's an ancient border dispute. And it would have been resolved long ago if we hadn't put fuel on the fire.
Insanity. Absolute insanity.
Yet, somehow, Biden the Incoherent has a 40% approval rating. Maybe we have the leaders we deserve...
While I feel for these people, I care for America more. It’s like we, or at least Joey, have so much invested in ukraine, the US doesn’t register. The southern border? Meh, not important we are being invaded with young military aged men run by the cartels. East Palestine OH? Meh. More important to focus on white construction workers than an environmental disaster.
Ukraine needs to end. Russia may retain Crimea and the Donbas. I don’t really care. We should not be fighting this to the last Ukrainian and the last American taxpayer dollar. Enough.
Thank you, Peter and Lynsey, for this story. Covering the war is a difficult assignment, and you should be proud of the journalist you are.
One can’t help but feel sympathy for the people of Ukraine, and I do, but part of me wonders why this war began in the first place and why it is still raging after a year.
When Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006, after 4 soldiers were abducted from a border station and killed, the U.S. rushed to halt the fighting as quickly as possible. Condoleeza Rice forced the Israelis to a truce just as they were on the cusp of defeating the Hezbollah war machine once and for all. The correct policy would have been to destroy Hezbollah, which has now completely rebuilt and is ready for a rematch.
Similarly, after the despicable bombing of a Passover service in Israel which killed over 20 people, an enraged Israel rolled into Jenin and went house to house, killing militants. They blew holes in walls to move to the next building quickly and safely, a tour de force of urban warfare. In this case, as well, the U.S. stupidly pushed Israel to back out before it could finish the job.
The U.S. abhors violence, except when it serves our needs. No one tried to negotiate a halt to the Iran-Iraq war, a scarcely mentioned conflict that raged during the entire Reagan era, 1980-88, causing over a million deaths (some estimates are double that) including tens of thousands of Iranian child soldiers killed.
Setting aside the righteousness and legality of self-defense, which no one would dispute, war is a terrible thing that should be the last choice after all other bad choices have been tried. A consistent U.S. foreign policy should always be to find a peaceful solution, even if it means territorial concessions and humiliating outcomes for one or both sides. Certainly this approach is applied consistently in the Israeli context.
But not Ukraine. No, we want Ukraine to burn. Make the Russians pay dearly. Degrade their military and destroy their economy, and then at last they will no longer be a threat. Clearly, this is what the United States wants; Biden even said it himself—he would not mind a minor incursion into Ukraine. Incredibly, few mainstream new organizations ever mention this or question what we are doing.
A more foolish plan could hardly be imagined. One year later, a couple hundred thousand people killed, and the war still rages, inconclusive and apparently bound to continue until one side or the other is destroyed. China is propping up Russia, we continue to support the Chinese economy and military buildup, even as we empty our military stockpiles and pour billions of dollars into keeping Ukraine afloat.
Would it not have been better to negotiate a settlement a year ago? Give the Russians Crimea and Donbas and a neutrality pledge by Ukraine, in exchange for demilitarization of the border and restoration of discounted oil and gas shipments. Maybe I’m wrong… I welcome an explanation of why it was necessary for all those people to die.
Sorry. This reads as propaganda. The casualty statistics read as propaganda. The pictures are staged like propaganda. Not saying there isnt a kernel of truth in any part of it. But overall, it is a propaganda piece. Lets read the same story from the Russian point of view. Oh wait. Thats all been censored by the government. Ukrainian Propaganda.
On a related point—- The FP still hasn’t covered the story of Biden blowing up the Nordstream pipeline. Have we heard how the Germans reacted to this? Were they warned? What has this done to their economy? Or are they playing along, playing dumb to protect Joe?
Today’s WSJ editorial mirrors my concerns about President Biden’s commitment to providing “everlasting support” to Ukraine. Again, Ukraine is demanding more powerful weapons from America, and although Biden says no, he’ll cave and slowly start to provide them with fighter jets and long-range missiles. The road we’re on feels like we’re slowly headed toward war.
Russia, China, and Iran have formed an alliance (Axis) against America and the West. The war in Ukraine is only the beginning of future conflicts between the Axis and America. This will become a battle for world-order.