Thank you for very moving reporting. My question is how do we, in Canada, financially support the Ukrainian people and assist the social programs available to Ukrainians (children in schools, mothers, LGBTQ+). We have been donating to a number of groups targeting various groups but want your on-the-ground experience to guide us. Stay safe, Justin.
One interesting thing I've heard for some time, but which was really driven home while I was there, is the degree to which there are *a lot* of people fundraising with good intentions but with pretty ineffective impact.
I gather that, bar none, the best effective things to fund are military kit and first-aid material. Not everyone is comfortable kicking in for the former, but the latter is just as important.
I'm not going to endorse any group in particular, here, but I've only heard good things about the World Ukrainian Congress (and its foundation is a registered charity): https://unitewithukraine.com/donate
And I am personally fond of Saint Javelin. I met its founder, Christian, last time I was in Ukraine in 2018. People familiar with the company attest that the money goes to the right places. Their clothing is also very nice. (I have a sweater!): https://www.saintjavelin.com/pages/about-us-our-story
Thanks, I have never, in my life, donated to buy a drone. However, we have to do what we have to do to support the Ukrainian people. Thanks Justin. Keep spreading the word of how we can help the Ukrainian people.
Yes I've purchased several things from St-Javelin. Expensive, but I know it's for a good cause, and I appreciate you've shared your meeting with the founder.
As I started this article I asked my partner, who has a biology degree, if jellyfish are animals or plants. she looked visibly upset as she explained which kingdom and phylum there are in, that they have nerves and local motion. then she roasted me for a while longer while continuing to clean up dinner…
anyway, thanks for the analysis. interesting as always.
That was excellent, Justin, and also enjoyed the video! Thanks also for the Globe and Mail article. (The paper's Comment section sure attracts few good-quality contributions -- embarrassing.)
Thought of you when reports came in of the bombs raining down on Kyiv.
Trust you'll signal in this space when your other contributions from this trip become available.
Russia *wishes* it could be this effective. I've talked to so many of these defeatnik Putin apologists and have to conclude that that arrogance, and a weaponization of history, is to blame, here.
I’m so focused on this war. I truly believe a win for russia (putin) will be the beginning of the end for Europe. I haven’t heard a single argument that convinces me that putin will negotiate, settle, or be deterred from his imperialistic fantasies if he’s allowed to subsume Ukraine. Oh, except for those same armchair experts in the west who seem to think the US (and Canada) are separate and immune.
I've oscillated a lot in terms of how optimistic I am — from "just barely" to "cautiously" — but I still think things are trending in the right direction overall.
Russia probably can't sustain its current industrial output, Ukrainian strikes on its refineries are going to have an enormous toll and will probably continue, and the UAF are innovating some interesting solutions that will frustrate Russian war efforts.
So I think Ukraine will continue to hold the line against Russia. But without a victory, I think you're right, Russia is absolutely going to look beyond Kyiv to achieve its aims. That's going to be bad.
To get into the mindset of Putin and much of Russian society, I found an article by Gary Saul Morson in the February 22 issue of the New York Review of Books very helpful. Eurasianism holds that Russia does not belong to Western civilization. It belongs to an entirely separate civilization -- a synthesis of Slavic and Mongolian. Ukraine is part of "us." Its currently most prominent adherent is Aleksandr Dugin. "Dugin’s ideas—cited, recycled, adapted, and plagiarized—fill bookstores and saturate mass media." (More in my substack compilation post of Feb 2024.) Know thy enemy.
...you can jump to the main index from there, that's the page where she writes down "all the boys I know from Lethbridge who volunteered", which goes on through the next page.
That was Vol III; I'm now on Volume VI, and those Lethbridge boys are dying, one after another. Two cousins; the intended of a close friend, two weeks before the wedding; two school friends; a 23-year-old dashing Major (!) , she clearly had eyes for - who'd just won a medal....that last guy at the 2-year mark in WW1. Two years in, and England was getting weary of that crap, heartily.
So we know what that's like. Ukraine can continue, as Britain did; but, damn, it would be helpful if they had more support.
In Canada, all the major parties must simply be pounded on the litmus test of their unstinting Ukraine support. Every politician should be litmus-tested on that one, though I normally hate the practice.
Oh wow, what a fascinating project. I'm scrolling through some of her letters about the tensions re: the war while she's staying in Kent. This must've been an enormous amount of work.
I worry if we've lost our ability to apply litmus tests. I've been feeling quite down, recently, about the media's power to shape the conversation at all. Lots of people, on the left and right, hear that and scream "good!" And maybe it is. Trouble, though, is that *nobody* is shaping the conversation. Political parties are trying, and are probably more successful, but it seems we're just screaming into the voids. I feel like this trend has gotten a lot more intense over the past year.
It makes me think that there would be no consequences if some party opted to just shred their support for Kyiv entirely.
Thank you for very moving reporting. My question is how do we, in Canada, financially support the Ukrainian people and assist the social programs available to Ukrainians (children in schools, mothers, LGBTQ+). We have been donating to a number of groups targeting various groups but want your on-the-ground experience to guide us. Stay safe, Justin.
One interesting thing I've heard for some time, but which was really driven home while I was there, is the degree to which there are *a lot* of people fundraising with good intentions but with pretty ineffective impact.
I gather that, bar none, the best effective things to fund are military kit and first-aid material. Not everyone is comfortable kicking in for the former, but the latter is just as important.
I'm not going to endorse any group in particular, here, but I've only heard good things about the World Ukrainian Congress (and its foundation is a registered charity): https://unitewithukraine.com/donate
And I am personally fond of Saint Javelin. I met its founder, Christian, last time I was in Ukraine in 2018. People familiar with the company attest that the money goes to the right places. Their clothing is also very nice. (I have a sweater!): https://www.saintjavelin.com/pages/about-us-our-story
On it!
Thanks, I have never, in my life, donated to buy a drone. However, we have to do what we have to do to support the Ukrainian people. Thanks Justin. Keep spreading the word of how we can help the Ukrainian people.
Yes I've purchased several things from St-Javelin. Expensive, but I know it's for a good cause, and I appreciate you've shared your meeting with the founder.
As I started this article I asked my partner, who has a biology degree, if jellyfish are animals or plants. she looked visibly upset as she explained which kingdom and phylum there are in, that they have nerves and local motion. then she roasted me for a while longer while continuing to clean up dinner…
anyway, thanks for the analysis. interesting as always.
I'd like to be a jellyfish
'Cause jellyfish don't pay rent
They don't walk and they don't talk
With some Euro-trash accent
They're just simple protoplasm
Clear as cellophane
They ride the winds of fortune
Life without a brain- Jimmy Buffet.
I knew that line would anger some marine biologist somewhere!
That was excellent, Justin, and also enjoyed the video! Thanks also for the Globe and Mail article. (The paper's Comment section sure attracts few good-quality contributions -- embarrassing.)
Thought of you when reports came in of the bombs raining down on Kyiv.
Trust you'll signal in this space when your other contributions from this trip become available.
I made the mistake of looking at the replies to the Globe's tweet, sharing the column. Oyvey.
And I'll absolutely keep sharing links to my future reporting on this. I'm tapping out a piece on Ukraine's drone innovations as we speak.
Just wanted to say good work,Justin. Smart analysis.
Thanks, Linden!
Yes, those “armchair experts”. Some of them appear to be influenced by russian bots, or at least have no knowledge of history.
Russia *wishes* it could be this effective. I've talked to so many of these defeatnik Putin apologists and have to conclude that that arrogance, and a weaponization of history, is to blame, here.
I’m so focused on this war. I truly believe a win for russia (putin) will be the beginning of the end for Europe. I haven’t heard a single argument that convinces me that putin will negotiate, settle, or be deterred from his imperialistic fantasies if he’s allowed to subsume Ukraine. Oh, except for those same armchair experts in the west who seem to think the US (and Canada) are separate and immune.
I've oscillated a lot in terms of how optimistic I am — from "just barely" to "cautiously" — but I still think things are trending in the right direction overall.
Russia probably can't sustain its current industrial output, Ukrainian strikes on its refineries are going to have an enormous toll and will probably continue, and the UAF are innovating some interesting solutions that will frustrate Russian war efforts.
So I think Ukraine will continue to hold the line against Russia. But without a victory, I think you're right, Russia is absolutely going to look beyond Kyiv to achieve its aims. That's going to be bad.
Well, any positivity brightens my day. Thanks for being there and giving us your updates and perspectives!
To get into the mindset of Putin and much of Russian society, I found an article by Gary Saul Morson in the February 22 issue of the New York Review of Books very helpful. Eurasianism holds that Russia does not belong to Western civilization. It belongs to an entirely separate civilization -- a synthesis of Slavic and Mongolian. Ukraine is part of "us." Its currently most prominent adherent is Aleksandr Dugin. "Dugin’s ideas—cited, recycled, adapted, and plagiarized—fill bookstores and saturate mass media." (More in my substack compilation post of Feb 2024.) Know thy enemy.
I will track this down and give it a read, for sure!
Got the story; a trip well worthwhile.
I'm currently scanning the WW1 diaries of my grandmother:
http://brander.ca/EEC/V3/0115.html
...you can jump to the main index from there, that's the page where she writes down "all the boys I know from Lethbridge who volunteered", which goes on through the next page.
That was Vol III; I'm now on Volume VI, and those Lethbridge boys are dying, one after another. Two cousins; the intended of a close friend, two weeks before the wedding; two school friends; a 23-year-old dashing Major (!) , she clearly had eyes for - who'd just won a medal....that last guy at the 2-year mark in WW1. Two years in, and England was getting weary of that crap, heartily.
So we know what that's like. Ukraine can continue, as Britain did; but, damn, it would be helpful if they had more support.
In Canada, all the major parties must simply be pounded on the litmus test of their unstinting Ukraine support. Every politician should be litmus-tested on that one, though I normally hate the practice.
Oh wow, what a fascinating project. I'm scrolling through some of her letters about the tensions re: the war while she's staying in Kent. This must've been an enormous amount of work.
I worry if we've lost our ability to apply litmus tests. I've been feeling quite down, recently, about the media's power to shape the conversation at all. Lots of people, on the left and right, hear that and scream "good!" And maybe it is. Trouble, though, is that *nobody* is shaping the conversation. Political parties are trying, and are probably more successful, but it seems we're just screaming into the voids. I feel like this trend has gotten a lot more intense over the past year.
It makes me think that there would be no consequences if some party opted to just shred their support for Kyiv entirely.
Thanks Justin for your work! 🤓