Two pieces on Ukraine’s struggles and needs (with help from, yes, David Letterman). To read each full column follow the link embedded in each headline.
Zelensky does Letterman, Dec. 19: An American comedian interviewing a Ukrainian comedian gave viewers a serious reason to recommit to helping repel Russia’s evil invasion.
Longtime late-night host David Letterman traveled to Ukraine to interview that country’s president, the former comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, before a small audience on the platform of a busily operating subway station supposedly safe from Russian missiles. The resulting Netflix special was a public relations tour de force for Zelensky and Ukraine, as it seems well-nigh impossible for any viewer to come away with anything less than deep appreciation and respect for the man and his country…. To lighten what was, to repeat, a surprisingly substantive interview, Zelensky did tell one good joke about observers discussing what Russia says is a war between Russia and NATO. ….
Against Russian assault, a battery for defense, Dec. 21: Wednesday’s decision for the United States to send a Patriot missile-defense system to Ukraine is a good one, better late than never.
Frankly, one wonders both why it took so long to agree to send the defense system and how many lives or injuries could have been avoided if the Patriot had been sent earlier. The way to win wars isn’t by gradual defensive escalation but by decisive use or repulsion of force. If the Patriot isn’t too big a provocation to Russia now, then it would not have been too big a provocation months ago, when President Joe Biden should have agreed to share it in the first place. By waiting this long, Biden unwisely ensured that Ukraine actually will not be able to use it until spring because it will take a few months to train Ukrainian forces how to operate…..
