PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S WARSAW SPEECH: PUTIN HAS TO GO.

"Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Mayor, members of the parliament, distinguished guests, and the people of Poland, and I suspect some people of Ukraine that are here. We are gathered here at the royal castle in this city that holds the sacred place in the history of not only of Europe but human kind's unending search for freedom.

For generations, Warsaw has stood where liberty has been challenged and liberty has prevailed. In fact, it was here in Warsaw when a young refugee who fled her home country from Czechoslovakia was under Soviet domination, came back to speak and stand in solidarity with dissidence. Her name was Madeleine Korbel Albright. She became one of the most ardent supporters of democracy in the world. She was a friend with whom I served. America's first woman Secretary of State. She passed away three days ago. She fought her whole life for central democratic principles. And now in the perennial struggle for democracy and freedom, Ukraine and its people are in the front lines.

Fighting to save their nation and their brave resistance is part of a larger fight for essential democratic principles that unite all free people. The rule of law, fair and free elections, the freedom to speak, to write and to assemble. The freedom to worship as one chooses. The freedom of the press. These principles are essential in a free society. But they have always, they have always been under siege. They have always been embattled. Every generation has had to defeat democracy's moral foes. That's the way of the world, for the world is imperfect, as we know. Where the appetites and ambitions of a few forever seek to dominate the lives and liberty of many.

My message to the people of Ukraine is a message I delivered today to Ukraine's foreign minister and defense minister, who I believe are here tonight. We stand with you. Period! Today's fighting in Kyiv and Melitopol and Kharkiv are the latest battle in a long struggle. Hungary, 1956. Poland, 1956, and then again, 1981. Czechoslovakia,1968. Soviet tanks crushed democratic uprisings, but the resistance continued until finally in 1989, the Berlin Wall and all the walls of Soviet domination, they fell. They fell! And the people prevailed.

But the battle for democracy could not conclude, and did not conclude with the end of the Cold War. Over the last 30 years, the forces of autocracy have revived all across the globe. Its hallmarks are familiar ones -- contempt for the rule of law, contempt for democratic freedom, contempt for the truth itself.

Today, Russia has strangled democracy and sought to do so elsewhere, not only in his homeland. Under false claims of ethnic solidarity, there's invalidated neighboring nations. Putin has the gall to say he's 'denazifying' Ukraine. It's a lie. It's just cynical, he knows that and it's also obscene. President Zelenskyy was democratically elected. He's Jewish. His father's family was wiped out in the Nazi Holocaust. And Putin has the audacity, like all autocrats before him, to believe that might will make right.

In my own country, a former president named Abraham Lincoln voiced the opposing spirit to save our union in the midst of the Civil War. He said let us have faith that right makes might. Right makes might. Today, let us have that faith again. Let us resolve to put the strength of democracies into action to thwart the designs of autocracy.

Let us remember that the test of this moment is the test of all time. A criminal wants to portray NATO enlargement as an imperial project aimed at destabilizing Russia. Nothing is further from the truth. NATO is a defensive alliance. It has never sought the demise of Russia. In the lead up to the current crisis, the United States and NATO worked for months to engage Russia to avert war. I met with him in person, talked to him many times on the phone.

Time and again, we offered real diplomacy and concrete proposals to strengthen European security, enhance transparency, build confidence on all sides. But Putin and Russia met each of the proposals with disinterest in any negotiation, with lies and ultimatums.

Russia was bent on violence from the start. I know not all of you believed me and us when we kept saying, they are going to cross the border, they are going to attack. Repeatedly he asserted we had no interest in war, guaranteed he would not move. Repeatedly saying he would not invade Ukraine. Repeatedly saying Russian troops along the border were there for training. All 180,000 of them.

There's simply no justification or provocation for Russia's choice of war. It's an example, one of the oldest human impulses, using brute force and disinformation to satisfy a craving for absolute power and control. It's nothing less than a direct challenge to the rule-based international order established since the end of World War II. And it threatens to return to decades of war that ravaged Europe before the international rule-based order was put in place.

We cannot go back to that. We cannot. The gravity of the threat is why the response of the West has been so swift and so powerful and so unified, unprecedented and overwhelming. Swift and punishing costs are the only thing that are going to get Russia to change its course.

Within days of his invasion, the West has moved jointly with sanctions to damage Russia's economy. Russia's Central Bank is now blocked from global financial systems, denying Kremlin's access to the war fund that's stashed around the globe. We have aimed at the heart of Russia's economy by stopping the imports of Russian energy to the United States.

To date, the United States has sanctioned 140 Russian oligarchs and their family members, seizing their ill-begotten gains, their yachts, their luxury apartments, their mansions. We've sanctioned more than 400 Russian government officials, including key architects of this war. These officials and oligarchs have reaped enormous benefit from the corruption connected to the Kremlin. And now they have to share in the pain.

The private sector has acted as well. Over 400 private multinational companies have pulled out of doing business in Russia. Left Russia completely. From oil companies to McDonald's. As a result of these unprecedented sanctions, the ruble almost is immediately reduced to rubble. The Russian economy -- that's true, by the way, it takes about 200 rubles to equal $1.

The economy is on track to be cut in half in the coming years. It was ranked, Russia's economy was ranked the 11th biggest economy in the world before this invasion. It will soon not even rank among the top 20 in the world.

Taken together these economic sanctions, a new kind of economic statecraft with the power to inflict damage that rivals military might. These international sanctions are sapping Russian strength, its ability to replenish its military, and its ability to project power. And it's Putin, it is Vladimir Putin who is to blame. Period.

At the same time, alongside these economic sanctions, the Western world has come together to provide for the people of Ukraine with incredible levels of military, economic, humanitarian assistance.

In the years before the invasion, we, America, had sent over $650 million, before they crossed the border, in weapons to Ukraine, including anti-air and anti-armor equipment. Since the invasion, America has committed another $1.35 billion in weapons and ammunition. And thanks to the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people, the equipment we've sent and our colleagues have sent have been used to devastating effect to defend Ukrainian land and air space.

Our allies and partners have stepped up as well. But as I've made clear, American forces are in Europe -- not in Europe to engage in conflict with Russian forces. American forces are here to defend NATO allies. Yesterday I met with the troops that are serving alongside our Polish allies to bolster NATO's front line defenses. The reason we want to make clear is their movement on Ukraine -- don't even think about moving on one single inch of NATO territory. We have sacred obligation. We have a sacred obligation under Article 5 to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power.

And earlier today I visited your national stadium, where thousands of Ukrainian refugees are now trying to answer the toughest questions a human can ask. My God, what is going to happen to me? What is going to happen to my family? I saw tears in many of the mothers' eyes as I embraced them. Their young children, their young children, not sure whether to smile or cry.

One little girl said, Mr. President -- she spoke a little English -- is my brother and my daddy, are they going to be okay? Will I see them again? Without their husbands, their fathers. In many cases, their brothers and sisters have stayed back to fight for their country.

I didn't have to speak the language or understand the language to feel the emotion in their eyes, the way they gripped my hand, little kids hung on to my leg, praying with a desperate hope that all this is temporary. Apprehension that they may be perhaps forever away from their homes. Almost a debilitating sadness that this is happening all over again.

But I was also struck by the generosity of the people of Warsaw -- for that matter, all the Polish people -- for the depths of their compassion, their willingness to reach out [applause], for opening their hearts. I was saying to the mayor, they were opening their hearts and their homes simply to help.

I also want to thank my friend, the great American chef Jose Andres, and his team for help feeding those who are yearning to be free. But helping these refugees is not something Poland or any other nation should carry alone. All the world's democracies have a responsibility to help. All of them. And the people of Ukraine can count on the United States to meet its responsibility. I have announced two days ago, we will welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. We already have 8,000 a week coming to the United States of other nationalities. We will provide nearly $300 million of humanitarian assistance, providing tens of thousands of tons of food, water, medicine and other basic supplies.

In Brussels, I announced the United States is prepared to provide more than $1 billion in additional humanitarian aid. The World Food Programme told us that despite significant obstacles, at least some relief is getting to major cities in Ukraine. But not Metripol -- no, excuse me -- not Mariupol because Russian forces are blocking relief supplies.

But we'll not cease our efforts to get humanitarian relief wherever it is needed in Ukraine and for the people who've made it out of Ukraine. Notwithstanding the brutality of Vladimir Putin, let there be no doubt that this war has already been a strategic failure for Russia already. Having lost children myself, I know that's no solace to the people who've lost family but he, Putin, thought Ukrainians would roll over and not fight. Not much of a student of history. Instead Russian forces have met their match with brave and stiff Ukrainian resistance. Rather than breaking Ukrainian resolve, Russia's brutal tactics have strengthened the resolve. Rather than driving NATO apart, the West is now stronger and more united than it's ever been.

Russia wanted less of a NATO presence on its border but now he has a stronger presence, a larger presence with over 100,000 American troops here along with all the other members of NATO. In fact, Russia has managed to cause something I'm sure he never intended. The democracies of the world are revitalized with purpose and unity found in months that we've once taken years to accomplish.

It's not only Russia's actions in Ukraine that are reminding us of democracy's blessing. It's our own country, his own country, the Kremlin, it's jailing protesters. Two hundred thousand people who have allegedly already left. There's a brain drain leaving Russia. Shutting down independent news. State media is all propaganda. Blocking the image of civilian targets, mass graves, starvation tactics of the Russian forces in Ukraine.

Is it any wonder as I said that 200,000 Russians have all left their country in one month. A remarkable brain drain in such a short period of time. Which brings me to my message to the Russian people. I worked with Russian leaders for decades. I sat across the negotiating table going all the way back to Soviet Alexei Kosygin to talk arms control at the height of the Cold War. I've always spoken directly and honestly to you, the Russian people. Let me say this, if you're able to listen. You, the Russian people, are not our enemy. I refuse to believe that you welcome the killing of innocent children and grandparents, or that you accept hospitals, schools, maternity wards and for God sake's being pummeled with Russian missiles and bombs. Or cities being surrounded so that civilians cannot flee. Supplies cut off and attempting to starve Ukrainians into submission.

Millions of families are being driven from their homes, including half of all Ukraine's children. These are not the actions of a great nation. Of all people, you, the Russian people, as well as all people across Europe still have the memory of being in a similar situation in the late '30s and '40s. Situation in World War II still fresh in the minds of many grandparents in the region. Whatever your generation experienced, whether it experienced the siege of Leningrad or heard about it from your parents and grandparents. Train stations overflowing with terrified families fleeing their homes. Nights sheltering in basements and cellars. Mornings sifting through the rubble in your homes. These are not memories of the past. Not anymore. Because it's exactly what the Russian army is doing in Ukraine right now.

March 26, 2022, just days before we're at the 21 -- you were a 21st century nation, with hopes and dreams that people all over the world have for themselves and their family. Now, Vladimir Putin's aggression have cut you, the Russian people, off from the rest of the world, and it's taking Russia back to the 19th century. This is not who you are. This is not the future you deserve for your families and your children. I'm telling you the truth, this war is not worthy of you, the Russian people. Putin can and must end this war. The American people will stand with you, and the brave citizens of Ukraine who want peace.

My message to the rest of Europe, this new battle for freedom has already made a few things crystal clear. First, Europe must end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. And we, the United States will help. That's why just yesterday in Brussels I announced the plan with the president of the European Commission to get Europe through the immediate energy crisis. Over the long-term, as a matter of economic security and national security and for the survivability of the planet, we all need to move as quickly as possible to clean, renewable energy. And we'll work together to help to get that done so that the days of any nation being subject to the whims of a tyrant for its energy needs are over. They must end. They must end.

And second, we have to fight the corruption coming from the Kremlin to give the Russian people a fair chance. And finally, most urgently, we maintain absolute unity, we must, among the world's democracies. It's not enough to speak with rhetorical flourish of ennobling words of democracy, of freedom, of quality, and liberty. All of us, including here in Poland, must do the hard work of democracy each and every day -- my country as well. That's why, that's why I came to Europe again this week with a clear and determined message for NATO, for the G7, for the European Union, for all freedom-loving nations -- we must commit now to be in this fight for the long haul. We must remain unified today and tomorrow and the day after. And for the years and decades to come. It will not be easy. There will be costs. But it is a price we have to pay because the darkness that drives autocracy is ultimately no match for the flame of liberty that lights the souls of free people everywhere.

Time and again history shows that. It's from the darkness moments that the greatest progress follows. And history shows this is the task of our time, the task of this generation. Let's remember the hammer blow that brought down the Berlin Wall, the might that lifted the Iron Curtain were not the words of a single leader, it was the people of Europe, who for decades fought to free themselves. Their sheer bravery opened the border between Austria and Hungary for the Pan-European Picnic. They joined hands for the Baltic Way. They stood for solidarity here in Poland. And together it was an unmistakable and undeniable force of the people that the Soviet Union could not withstand. And we're seeing it once again today for the brave Ukrainian people showing that their power of many is greater than the will of any one dictator.

So in this hour, let the words of Pope John Paul burn as brightly today. Never ever give up hope. Never doubt. Never tire. Never become discouraged. Be not afraid! 

A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people's love for liberty. Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light. Of decency and dignity and freedom and possibilities. For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power. God bless you all. And may God defend our freedom, and may God protect our troops. Thank you for your patience. Thank you. Thank you." - President Joe Biden.

NATIONALISTIC FERVOR FOR MOTHER RUSSIA: DRIVING PUTIN TO THE DANGER ZONE.

ICHEOKU says the Russian strongman has probably reached a point of no return and now headed straight into his final eclipse. He cannot recover from the premeditated war which he launched against Ukraine and as the war goes, so goes Putin. His being readmitted back into the civilized committee of nations will be very difficult, if not impossible. Ukraine is steadily looking like the quagmire which finally swallowed him up, his Waterloo sort of; admitted many are still watching with giddy to see how his final last chapter will be eventually written, but it won't be flattering nor kind or forgiving. 

Unfortunately, it has always been condemnations of President Vladimir Putin as none of the pundits, talking heads, writers and molders of opinions of the war has ever pondered the why? What possibly triggered President Vladimir Putin and incensed him so much, to the extent that he threw every caution to the winds and went in head first into Ukraine. Why did Putin make the decision and exercise the choice to invade Ukraine despite the threats of punishing sanctions against Russia and a global plea for him not to do so, which he simply ignored as a dismissible nuisance and ordered his army into Ukraine?

The Russian strongman has repeatedly vented out his frustrations against the West, particularly the erosion of Christian-Judaeo values which hitherto provided the anchor of society and the orbit on which it rotates. He has also complained times without number, the inroad which homosexuality is making into the society and the attempt to cancel heterosexuality and traditional mother and father family units. He is also appalled that the United States of America has become too woke-centric and increasingly spending too much time pandering to societal diminishment rather than leading the world from the front. 

The attack on Ukraine is but an avenue to vent his long bottled up anger at the West, its woke culture, its antipathy to God and the Christian religion and the wide embrace of homosexuality and every other thing which he considers and sees as debasement of the civilized society. He had lashed out before about the way Western civilization is being torpedoed by things strange and unusual, and to some extent bordering on abnormality. 

He has watched as values which hitherto held societies together are steadily being drastically watered down and in some cases, outrightly washed away or canceled and being replaced with  such absurdities as extended pronouns, males being allowed to compete as females in female sports, men debasing womanhood by pretending to be women or "pregnant" or women with uterus and vagina pretending to be men. He also witnessed the bathroom law debate and increasingly questioned himself on why Russia should continue to submit to such a country which propagates such ideas. 

In short, President Vladimir Putin was triggered by the cancerous woke culture of the West and now Ukraine is at the receiving end of his fist of fury, thunder and brimstone. In his mind, the war he is waging against Ukraine is a war against the West and their skewed values. He sees it as a justifiable cause, as he is trying to stop the bleeding which woke culture is exacting on humanity in order to forestall an assured mass decay of every strata of the human society. 

Although his belief is largely misguided as the world has since evolved and moved on, it is still a belief which he strongly nurses and understanding the same might help provide an inroad into his mind and also an opportunity to smooch his ego towards ending the war. ICHEOKU concedes that Putin having such a mindset should not provide him a carte blanche freedom or right to operate as the sole soldier of conscience of the world or to do what he is doing in Ukraine. 

The world has since abandoned some of these societal foundational values in the name and "interest" of getting along with the vocal but more vicious minorities, and President Vladimir Putin should try and cope with it and hop on the train. He cannot remain the only sane person in the land of insanity and if the majority says that is how things are going to be, who is President Vladimir Putin to say otherwise. It might be unfortunate and/or disheartening to the much older generation, but that is the new reality and necessary adjustments must be made, the bitter pill. 

He is so mad at the West that he is now readying to purge Russia of people he considers as having pawned their heads rent free to the West. He called them some unflattering names including scums, bastards and traitors and expressed the wish and desire to get rid of them through a self-cleansing of Russian society. He was so pissed off that he added for good measure, that such Russians Western stooges should be spat out of Russia's mouth like an unwanted gnat which accidentally flew into one's mouth.

If only President Vladimir Putin is not an inveterate liar who usually says one thing while doing another, a Pharisee, may be his arguments in favor would have packed a punched weight. A man who as recently as last month assured the world that his amassed Russian troops at the border of Ukraine was only conducting military exercises and will not invade Ukraine; and who also divorced his wife of thirty something years but refuses that Ukraine will divorce his Russia, has such a garden-variety latent and inherent capacity to mislead that he has gathered multiple Pinocchios. 

He complained that the West wants to violate Russia's territorial space and weaken its cohesion; yet that is exactly what he has done and is doing in Ukraine. He complained that Ukraine has a Nazi government which he wants to deNazify, yet ignored the fact of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Jewishness and ancestry. He complained that the West wants to dismember Russia, but who has removed Crimea, Donetsk and Lugansk from Ukraine or is that not dismembering Ukraine? If the West does not want a strong and sovereign Russia, why then does Putin not want the same for Ukraine? 

How the current Russia's military adventurism in Ukraine will conclude nobody can actually say. Everyone is hoping that it ends sooner than later and before Ukraine is completely destroyed and ruined; and that the foray will stop in Ukraine and not exacerbate into surrounding countries. One thing nobody will take away from President Vladimir Putin is his abiding love for his Mother Russia. He is possessed by it and he is willing to do anything for it, including even perishing in the process. Paraphrasing Kenny Loggins song Danger Zone, President Vladimir Putin is on a highway to the danger zone and dragging the world along with him as he rides into the danger zone. May God protect his people IJN.

UKRAINE FUMBLED THE BALL IN THEIR DEFENSE STRATEGY: WALL OF JERICHO & TROJAN HORSE.

ICHEOKU says whoever the defense minister or defense chief of the Ukraine is that crafted how to defend against the Russians did not do a proper job. It is a great defense error of judgment to make one's position or place or homeland the theater of a conflict. Notwithstanding that the Russians invaded them, they should have mounted their defense at the border of Ukraine. They should not have allowed the Russians to first get into Ukrainian cities before putting up the belated effort now being seen, when Russians have already saturated their land, destroying it one city at a time from within, and with such a great vengeance and vengeful animosity. 

It was a huge mistake for them to have allowed the Russians a free stroll into Ukraine and would have taken a page from so many stories of past armies which defended their cities and nations from foreign invaders. Even if they could not have militarily stopped the Russians at the border, at least they would have forced the issue there and started the wearing out of the Russian troops out there and early enough when they were still several hundreds of miles away from their cities. Even a nuisance distractive engagement at the border would have been sufficient to make the battlefront at the border and not the current country-wide battlefront which overstretched them against a much bigger and larger Russian military. 

Such engagement would have at least slowed the Russians drastically down, as they would have lost some equipment and manpower at the border instead of allowing them to fully steam into Ukraine with their full tank still in place before engaging them. A fierce resistance of the Russians at the border would have surprised and shocked the Russian advance force and leave them second-guessing their mission, wondering what else the Ukrainians might have lying in wait for them inside their country, if they could mount  such a resistance at their border. 

Something definitely went awfully wrong with Ukrainians' earlier response to the Russian invasion. Maybe they were paralyzed with fear of the mighty Russian red army and couldn't timely react when it could have mattered most and made a whole lot of difference. Whether their strategy was to let the Russians to first fully enter their country and then fight them from within inside their country, ICHEOKU does not know; but no thinking person ever freely opens the door of their home to a thief or allows a thief to first gain entrance into their home before defending themselves and their home from such an intruding thief right inside their home. 

It is the reason homes are equipped and sometimes reinforced with parameter fences, strong doors, burglary proofs, alarms and security cameras; in order to give homeowners and occupiers of dwellings advanced heads-up or warning about bad intentioned persons. This helps them to stop such intruders before they make their entry as they can dial 911, pull out their gun and be ready to shoot the intruder through the door if need be. The best defense is always an offense and by preventing the staging of a conflict inside, injuries, loss of lives as well as destruction of properties are reduced to minimum.

The worst part of it all was that the Ukrainian government and military got early warning about the Russian invasion several moons before the Russians finally barged right through the borders into Ukraine. Instead of readying their defenses to meet the Russian challenge, Ukrainians were busily distracted with hoping that President Vladimir Putin will not attack them because they are all Slavs and share close affinity to one another. They appear to be too naive also not to trust American and other Western intelligence that were eavesdropping on Russia to learn of the impending invasion. It is possible too that they initially lacked the will to defend their country from the Russians?

The lesson from the Wall of Jericho and the Trojan Horse stories is that the defense of any place, be it home, city or as in the case of Ukraine, country, primarily rests at the border. It is the principal first point of contact which any invading force must first breach before they can enter and conquer or vanquish their target place. It is therefore expected that resistance from the victim will be strongest at the border, the reason the Wall of Jericho has to first fall before the Israelites army could march in and conquer Canaan. Ditto the hidden Greek soldiers inside the Trojan Horse (fake trophy to Troy) have to first be smuggled through the gate of Troy before they conquered Troy. 

The Russians were literally allowed to "walk" into Ukraine, meeting little to no resistance as they breached the border and at one point had a forty mile long military convoy sit at one place for nearly one week without any consequences from the Ukrainians. The same thing happened when the Russians seized Crimea in 2014 using their little green men, without meeting any fight, resistance or contest from the Ukrainians. Whether it is fear of the Russians or lack of adequate preparation or lack of weapons, only the Ukrainians would tell us what took the steam out of them and prevented them from engaging the Russians at their border.

History and posterity will not be kind to the military planners of Ukraine who failed to confront the Russians at the border and allowed them to permeate Ukraine, freely drove in through many roads and now laying siege and claim to some sections of many Ukrainian cities. Even an ordinary piling up of dirt in large numbers on the roads or extensively digging up the roads leading into Ukraine would have done the magic of confining the Russians around the border and making the frontiers of Ukraine the theater of war, instead of watching Russian tanks prying the streets of Ukrainian cities and wrecking such a havoc on Ukraine. 

So, while President Volodymyr Zelensky can be frantic all he wants, seeking a NATO or America to blame for the hell which Ukraine is passing through right now, he and his government and military has a great share of the blame for the manner they approached their defense. First, he dismissed the threat of the Russian invasion and blamed America for hyping the Russian military buildup at Ukraine's border. He called it a false alarm and said that there is nothing to worry or unnecessarily be concerned about. Then he failed to mobilize his military on time nor order them to the border to defend Ukraine's border and prevent the Russians from gaining unauthorized access into Ukraine or at least slowed them down drastically. 

Anyway, the Ukraine war will be studied for a long time as a lesson on how not to effectively defend a country from an invading army. Nobody is saying that Ukraine would have completely prevented the Russians from bringing the war to them, but at least some of the tanks causing great havoc inside Ukraine would have been destroyed at the border, put out of action and decommissioned right there. Some of the soldiers who are presently killing Ukrainians inside Ukrainian cities would have also perished at the border as well. Then add the morals of the Russian troops which would have been greatly dampened, being surprised by Ukrainian soldiers confronting them at the border. 

Although it is now a Monday night quarterbacking and every attention is focused on President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine, but, what actually did the Ukrainians do to help protect themselves from such an invasion? What happened to their defense budget and what weapons did they buy with it, afterall the West does not owe them anything. All the West has been doing, supplying them with advanced defensive weapons to help them defend themselves from the Russians is out of pure magnanimity and their hatred of President Vladimir Putin and a tactical decision they made not to allow Putin prevail in the proxy war they are fighting with Russia in Ukraine. 

It was a big fumble not to engage the Russians at the border and Ukrainian cities and people are now paying the price for that failure of defensive judgment. It is sad watching beautiful Ukrainian cities being pulverized by Russian military weapons, with the attendant loss of human lives. The chances of Ukraine recovering from such a massive destruction is steadily nearing a point of difficulty, if not impossible. Who will pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine and how many decades would such a gargantuan "Build Back Better" endeavor take? Maybe the Ukrainian president was too stubborn for Ukraine's good and was too naive not to first obtain an ironclad commitment to fight along with Ukraine from the West, before challenging President Vladimir Putin to do his worst. (Chinua Achebe's nwa nzaa rijuee afor, ochele chi ya ngbaa). There is enough blame to go around and war fatigue is gradually creeping in too.

STOP THE WAR, DON'T BELIVE THE PROPAGANDA, THEY'RE LYING TO YOU.

ICHEOKU says she is a brave-heart sweetheart Russian who took a stand against the war in Ukraine despite the dangers involved in opposing the midget of Kremlin. She is the stuff heroes and heroines are made of and for her extraordinary courage, ICHEOKU says Marian Ovsyannikova has raced herself into immortality. What a history making moment that was. Kudos to her. 

A WAR CRIMINAL: PRESIDENT PUTIN NO LONGER FIT TO STAY IN OFFICE AS RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT.

ICHEOKU says his fate is as good as permanently sealed because the international community will never accept him again, going forward, as the legitimate president of Russia. Criminals, including war criminals, belong in jail and not in presidential palaces or government houses anywhere, including the Kremlin. 

President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine without provocation and has been conducting the war therein in a manner that only a bloodthirsty vampiric vermin would; killing innocent people and destroying properties and infrastructure as only a demonic bulldozer would. Therefore, his office let another Russian take as he is no longer recognized as president of Russia.

By invading and levying war on Ukraine, Vladimir Putin violated every known international rule and order governing countries's sovereignty and independence. By the manner he is conducting the war, he also disregarded rules of engagement in wars and has displayed asinine indifference to civilian lives as well as overall human rights. He is bombing churches, shelters, kindergartens, hospitals, maternities, grocery stores, gas stations, residential buildings, schools, electricity grids, water source, roads and bridges as well as other public infrastructures that make life livable in Ukraine. 

He has bombed and killed a pregnant woman readying for delivery together with her unborn child. He has bombed and killed ten innocent civilians waiting in line for bread. He has bombed an elderly man taking a stroll on a sidewalk who luckily escaped from the hellish inferno from the sky. He has also bombed and killed a family of four fleeing from the war. And the toll of his victims keeps on mounting and he does not care who gets killed next as long as he keeps terrorizing the civilian population of Ukraine to force them to surrender. 

A midget of Kremlin whom CNN's Rosemary Church described as "morally and ethically bankrupt", and who President Joe Biden has now formally named a WAR CRIMINAL, cannot and must not survive this his latest infamy and must go with the war. President Vladimir Putin has murdered the sleep of the world, particularly Ukrainians and can sleep no more, never again. His sins are not forgivable and cannot ever be forgiven. 

President Vladimir Putin bit more than he can chew by invading Ukraine and his middle finger affront to the world, which rallied round in their attempt to dissuade him from invading Ukraine, must not go unpunished. He cannot be forgiven and his destructive actions in Ukraine can never be forgotten. It is good that President Joe Biden has now called him out for who he truly is, a war criminal, and that is the conveyor belt that will ride him out of the Kremlin, out of power and possibly, into a prison cell somewhere outside Russia. 

So, regardless of how the current premeditated war which President Vladimir Putin is levying on Ukraine finally ends, the monster of the Kremlin who unleashed the disaster and who has no qualms or compunction about killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child cannot continue in power.  The goblin of Russia cannot be allowed to carry on as Russian president going forward. There is no way the world can, in good conscience, continue dealing with such a vermin or continue to accord him recognition as a world leader. He has unearned the title, lost it.

If the Russian people decide not to do the needful by removing him from power, the world should help force their hand by putting the entire Russian Federation back into the cold and shut them out from the rest of civilized humanity until they are persuaded to remove Putin or Putin resigns in order to save Russia. Enough of tolerating his Napoleon Bonaparte syndrome. He cannot be allowed to continue to carry on with his brigandage of frequently violating the territorial sanctity of Russia's neighbors, one country after another. 

Ukraine should be made his last misadventure, for which he must pay for with either his life or loss of power. The West alongside other countries of the willing, must not yield a space in their demand to deal with only a new Russia without President Vladimir Putin in power. They must not allow him to survive the war and continue as president of Russia. It is either he is killed or toppled from power and if possible, arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned as a war criminal. This  was the bargain he made by defying the world to levy an unprovoked war on Ukraine and so, deserves no mercy, pity or any other favorable consideration. He has to pay the price. 

WHO WILL PAY FOR DESTROYED UKRAINE?

ICHEOKU says the cost of rebuilding Ukraine must be borne entirely by Russia alone, which bears the sole responsibility for destroying the same. Like the Marshall Plan, we can call it the Putin Plan, and whether he likes it or not, use Russia's money to pay for it. The rebuilding and reconstruction of destroyed properties and infrastructure of Ukraine wrought by the premeditated war of choice brought upon it by Russia, paid by Russia will be a way of dissuading any of such future roguery by a stronger state against its weak neighbor or any other victim state however far flung. 

Ukraine will not be another Europe which was destroyed by Germans, only for American taxpayers to bear the cost of rebuilding it, aka the Marshall Plan. This time, the destroyer of Ukraine, Russia, must be held to full account. Every Russia's money and assets outside Russia, both government owned and Oligarchs' owned, must be seized; the assets auctioned off, and the proceeds together with the cash used to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine. The world must not allow President Vladimir Putin to get away with his impunity in Ukraine, he must be personally held to account for his sins against humanity and for his depraved heart destruction of beautiful Ukrainian cities and cannot remain the president of Russia following this war. 

The wanton destruction of Ukraine by Russia which the world is watching play out daily in real time, cannot go unpunished. The demon who ordered the atrocities being perpetrated in Ukraine and his uniformed enforcers who are carrying out the illegal order to maim, kill and destroy in Ukraine must also be held to the fullest extent of the law possible for their actions. If Adolf Hitler was not allowed to get away with what he did to the Jews and Europeans, then Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to walk all over Ukraine and go home fulfilled. 

It is so sad what is happening in Ukraine and it is badder that the West, which normally fights as a "coalition of the willing" has left Ukraine to its own devices and fighting alone without any coalition against the mighty Russian red army. If America or Britain or any other country in the West cannot go it alone in a war, why then does any sane person in all the Western countries that make up NATO think it wise to abandon Ukraine in its hour of greatest need for help and ask it to fight Russia alone? #HelpUkraineStopRussia.

KILL ME NOW AND PUTIN RESPONDED: I ALREADY DID AND SHE DIES ALONGSIDE HER CHILD.

ICHEOKU says may her soul now rest. What a monster he is that would bomb a maternity hospital where expectant mothers were braving agonizing birth pangs, laboring through bringing another life into this world. But callous Putin, the vampire of Kremlin, was not born by a woman and his wicked sperm did not impregnate another woman who birthed children for him. Otherwise, why will he not understand that pregnancy, labor and childbirth are too much pain already and not to inflict additional pain on such vulnerable women. 

But while his own children were safely delivered, he is now preventing other people's children from being safely delivered, if at all; just like the heavily pregnant woman of Mariupol he bombed the maternity hospital managing her childbirth labor, who has now died alongside her unborn baby from injuries sustained when Putin's bombs rained down on the facility. According to doctors who tried to save her and her unborn baby, the bombs crushed her pelvis and detached her hips, causing her baby to die and partially ejected from her womb. May their souls now rest.

That President Joe Biden is still second-guessing himself on whether America should enter the already begun World War 3 in Ukraine now, is simply inexplicable. He said that America protects little guys from bullies, yet Putin is bullying Zelenskyy and bombing the daylight out of Ukraine. He said that America defends values dear to the country, yet he is watching as Putin is methodically grinding democracy to a pulp in Ukraine. How can the West stand by, hiding under one useless umbrella of NATO membership charter, to continue to tolerate the heavy-handedness in full display of Putin's invading army in Ukraine.

Journalists are being killed, pregnant women and children are being killed, young married women are being widowed, churches are being bombed, residential apartments complexes are being willfully shelled into ruination, hospital and maternity are being shelled, nuclear facilities are being intentionally fired at with the mischief of triggering a nuclear holocaust in Ukraine. Yet President Joe Biden feels that Russia has not escalated the conflict in Ukraine and that he should not escalate it either. 

Unless the definition of "escalation" has changed and no longer means ratcheting up or increasing something several folds, the war in Ukraine has increased in every aspect of the calculation imaginable, only that the will to confront Putin is not there. It is unfortunate that madman Putin is acting out because he believes that a sane Joe Biden will not brave it to challenge him. Putin wouldn't have dared dream up what he is presently doing in Ukraine when President Donald John Trump was in the white house because he knows better, that it takes a mad person to cure a mad person of his madness. 

Anyway, blame it on the woke culture of appeasement, the American media and the American voters who voted last November 3, 2020 to cut their nose in order to spite their face. Now everyone is suffering from their foolery, from an increasingly becoming unaffordable living expenses in America, to Ukrainians being murdered and their cities being destroyed. A car gas tank which used to cost forty dollars to fill now costs $120 dollars to fill up; ditto the cost of groceries and every aspect of staying alive. Why President Zelenskyy has not yet played the Hunter Biden's Burisma scandal card as an instrument of blackmail to force President Joe Biden's hand is not clear. Even a threat of it would have since done the magic. 

ICHEOKU says Putin cannot stop until he is stopped. He only responds to force. All the sanctions in the world cannot move him. The bombing of Yavoriv is a deliberate knocking at the door of NATO by Putin, to say to NATO, I am coming, be ready. He bombed American military facility in Iraq using Iran as his extended self in response of the killing of Suleiman. He again bombed American facility in Irbil using the same Iran as provocateur. The next of his bombs will land in a NATO territory, if not directly at an American military base in Germany. He figured out that woke politics has destroyed the West and rendered their apathy for wars a system-wide malaise; and he is utilizing the exposed underbelly to do what he has always wanted to do and dreamt of doing. #StopPutinNow. 

WORLD WAR 3 IS ALREADY UPON US: YOU CAN DENY IT ALL YOU WANT.

ICHEOKU says the Ukraine war has already turned into World War III but like the other two previous World War 1 & 2, which America entered late, America will also find itself entering the fight in Ukraine late. So regardless of how President Joe Biden wants to spin it, President Vladimir Putin has already globalized the war in Ukraine. His intentions are clear and his ambition is far wider than just capturing Ukraine, begging the question, is the West waiting for Ukraine to first fall before waking up to their responsibility to stop Putin and his Russian army from also gulping down other former Soviet countries. 

Syrians, Uzbekistans, Chechnyas, Eritreans, Belarusians and some other Middle East terrorists fighters have already answered Putin's call to join Russia in destabilizing Ukraine to make it easy for him to swallow. Ukraine cannot fight all these foreign nations' army alone and all by itself; it is therefore time the West recognizes the danger that the war in Ukraine has already morphed into World War III and enter in it now as if their life depends on it, because it does. A loss of Ukraine will be a shame of the West and the effect will be long lasting if not in perpetuity.

The West should contain Putin's army within Ukraine and not allow any other European country to witness the devastation which Ukraine is currently suffering. Ukrainian war refugees alone are becoming too many to handle already, then imagine what will happen when the entire Eastern European countries release a deluge of refugees into Western Europe as Putin's rolling thunders grind through their respective countries. Everything possible should be thrown into the war in Ukraine right now as tomorrow might be too late to stop Putin or cage his war machine. 

Those Polish donated MIG fighter planes should have arrived in Kiev since yesterday as every other talk or excuse about them is but a missed opportunity at stopping Putin right now. The fact of the matter is that the unleashed Russian army is not returning back to Russia any time soon as they will roll through Moldova once Ukraine is tucked in. From there, it will become one nation at a time licking as the weaker low hanging fruits among them will be vanquished first, as they go up the ranks and right through to Poland before making a quick dash West to grab Eastern Berlin. 

As many war historians agree, mobilizing an army is not an easy task or a thing done at such a whiff and once mobilized, there must be some proven mission-accomplished in order for the effort to be worthwhile. The president and commander in chief of such an army knows that everything is at stake including his own survival and must show cause why he sent the army into war. It was the reason Adolf Hitler kept going, one nation at a time; and it was the same reason America attacked Iraq because there was not much for its mobilized army to do in Afghanistan. 

President Vladimir Putin will do the same and will not accept the defeat of Ukraine for an answer and will make b-line for other former Soviet countries. Most likely, that will be the time when America will finally enter the already begun World War 3, in keeping to its promise to follow the letters of NATO's Article 5 to a logical conclusion. It is therefore either now or later, but no matter what the West says or does to try to avoid a war with Russia, Russia will force them into the war. Russia wants the war and Russia will scheme a way to drag the West into a war, whether the West wants it or not. 

It is one of the reasons Russia has increased its brutality in Ukraine, bombing maternity hospital with women in labor inside as well as residential buildings for seniors, hoping that the West might be moved by what they see as obvious atrocities into trying to stop Russia by imposing and trying to enforce a no fly zone over Ukraine. There will be aerial battles between both sides' jet fighter pilots, paratroopers will be parachuted behind enemy lines and before too long there will be boots on the ground in Ukraine, officially marking the beginning of the mother of all wars. Hello, welcome World War 3 and this time, it will be televised, live and direct. #StopPutinNow!

FIGHTER JETS ARE DEFENSIVE WEAPONS: UKRAINE NEED TO DEFEND ITS AIRSPACE.

 #SendTheFighterJets.

PUTIN HAS ALREADY DONE HIS WORST: ADMIT UKRAINE TO NATO AND THE EU NOW.

ICHEOKU says if Ukraine can hold Russia off for this long, nearly three weeks now, imagine what a combined 29 nations NATO force would do to Russia, possibly fight them right into the streets of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. If they use nukes on the West, the West will respond in kind, nuke them back and get over the hampering fear of a nuclear attack. Russians and their sole administrator Vladimir Putin are not suicidal and dare not use nuclear bombs on the West. They are only using the threat as a sword of Damocles to starve the West off helping Ukraine. 

It is the fear of what Russia might do to Ukraine that has been holding the West back from admitting Ukraine into NATO and the European Union. Now that the balloon of fear has been busted, what is the West still waiting for before admitting Ukraine into their fold. The West said that they did not want to provoke Putin's ire by admitting Ukraine into their fold, but Russia still invaded Ukraine anyway. 

What else has the West and/or Ukraine got to lose by not admitting Ukraine into both NATO and the EU now since their worst fear of what Russia's reaction might be has come through. A bold NATO should now go forth and formalize Ukraine as a bona fide member of the organization since Putin has done his worst and cannot destroy Ukraine more than he has already done and continues to do.

President Vladimir Putin is a bully and only recognizes force as a means to achieve an end. It is only a face-off and facedown with Putin that will put the fear of God in him and force him to change course. But as long as he continues to sense fear in the West, and that the West is afraid of engaging in a real war with Russia because their war-averse populace is not in the mood for any extended bloodshed, that long will he continue to seize the initiative and set the benchmarks in the current Ukrainian crisis between Russia and the West. 

If it was the Joe Biden of a few years ago that is the president in the White House now, Europe would have been wiped into a war ready and fighting shape to help America go full throttle metal jacket against Russia. What then is the use of the over $700 billion annual defense budget of the United States of America if those weapons cannot be put into effective use. If not against Russia, which other country? If not against Vladimir Putin for his many decades of provocations and wagging his index finger at America, who else? 

The only reason all these small talks are still going on is that ICHEOKU is not the president. It is also doubtful if even President Donald John Trump could have been able to do what is needed right now because he may not be as mad or mad enough to counter Putin's madness. William Shakespeare put it quite succinctly in The Taming of the Shrew that when two great fires meet they consume the thing feeding their furry, and although little fire grows with little wind but extreme gusts do blow them away. 

President Vladimir Mad-man Putin needs to be stopped now. A massive bombardment of his invading military Ukraine will send a clear message to him that his madness has reached the marketplace and needs to be forcefully contained. What type of monster would bomb a maternity hospital with women in labor and premature babies in incubators. Which man born of a woman would be so heartless not to have compassion for heavily pregnant women as well as some already in labor pangs to violate them in such a vicious way.

It is time President Joe Biden throws all his unnecessary cautions to the wind, firm his backbone and allow the West to meet Russia's challenge head-on. People will die, properties will be damaged and even nuclear bomb might be dropped, so what? How much of Putin's insult will the West continue to stomach before responding in kind to his idiocy. Enough of the Putin fear, meet him force for force and let the skies tumble down. Admit Ukraine to NATO and EU now an dot hell with Putin and his Russian murderous thugs. 

'NEVER AGAIN' IS NOT JEWISH PEOPLE'S EXCLUSIVE PRESERVE: UKRAINIAN LIVES MATTER.

ICHEOKU says Russia has already escalated the war in Ukraine far beyond anyone had anticipated and any continuing excuse by the West not to assist Ukraine because such would provoke Russia into escalating the war is nothing but pure bombast. Russia is callously and with deprave heart bombarding Ukraine with missiles, rockets and mother of all bombs (MOAB) which is digging sixty feet wide by twenty feet deep craters, such that even hospitals, maternity wards and shopping centers are now fair games for targeting by the Russian murderous invaders. 

Children, aged parents, women and even pregnant women, as well as other innocent civilians are being killed indiscriminately by Russians explosives. Schools and residential places are also being targeted for complete destruction. This begs the question what else needs to happen to Ukrainians and in their own country, before the world will go to the help of Ukrainians or haven't they suffered enough already for just desiring freedom and courageously sacrificing so much to achieve it.  Does the West not have certain redlines which cover the rule of engagement in a war, crossing of which they cannot tolerate from Russia. 

When again has it become an acceptable new normal for pregnant women in labor to be targeted in a war? Is it now okay in war to drop massive bombs at hospitals and maternity and also shell residential apartment buildings with mortars? Is the West waiting for Putin to first kill six million Ukrainians before they can firm their resolve and confront Russia to stop them from committing further atrocities on Ukrainians. When the West resolved NEVER AGAIN following holocaust, was it not as it appertains to every man's inhumanity to man as a whole; or is it only Jewish people that were insured by it? If Ukrainians are not Jews, at least their duly elected president is a Jew.

Ukrainian Lives Matter and such a declaration of NEVER AGAIN should be of uniform application throughout humanity and should cover any part of humanity that is facing a threat of extinction in the hand of another. The West knew that the odds were stacked against Ukraine when they goaded them into challenging Russia, and even when Ukraine still had a series of off ramp opportunities to climb down and avoid a direct war with Russia, the West continued talking as if they would help Ukraine in the fight against Russia. 

They promised Ukraine help but did not include the full range of help such as ballistic missiles and jet fighters and you ask yourself how did anyone expect Ukraine to defend themselves from an incoming missile when they have no anti missile batteries? How can Ukraine defend itself from prowling Russian fighter jets when they have no fighter jets of their own to engage the Russians in aerial fight? Where are the defensive weapons promised and why are they not defending Ukraine from Russian bombardments?

Now the West is pussyfooting about supplying Ukraine with Poland's donated MIG fighter jets, begging the question, is anyone even sure that NATO will hold in the event Putin decides to complete his military objective reclaiming former Soviet countries. It is time the West firmed their backbone and in an unmistakable language communicated to Russia that enough is enough. If it leads to a third world war, so be it and let those who survive the war repopulate and rebuild the world. Adolf Hitler started the same way and the West should not wait to later apologize to future Ukrainians for not coming to the present generation's aid when it mattered most.

This hesitance or rather outright refusal to assist Ukraine in the largely unbalanced war with Russia needs to end. Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to hold the West hostage to his nuclear threat. If the Kremlin goblin succeeds in having his way with Ukraine, it will be an unforgivable mistake which the West intentionally made and Ukraine will never forgive them for abandoning them in the hour of greatest need. If it was Israel that Putin invaded and bombarding as he is currently doing to Ukraine, will there be any discussion of a qualifying NATO membership? 

The West should send anything and everything to Ukraine now including boots on the ground, fighter jets, ballistic missiles and even tactical nuclear bombs. Anything that will stop the unfolding madness in Ukraine and help Putin undergo an epiphany should be done without any further delay, debate or rationalization. It is better to end the Ukraine war now with whatever military supplies possible, than to allow it to linger on, regardless of whatever military and intelligence gathering benefits the West might be mining from the war. Ukraine is being destroyed and Ukrainian people are dying, suffering and being displaced. End the war now, stop Putin now!

THE WEST STILL WON'T FIGHT RUSSIA: AFRAID OF A POSSIBLE DEFEAT?

ICHEOKU says was the West merely huffing and puffing prelude to the war, hoping they could intimidate President Vladimir Putin into changing his mind about invading Ukraine? He called the West's bluff and is now ravaging Ukraine but the West is still fidgeting with their response. Instead of meeting Putin in kind with an overwhelming force, the West is still struggling to come up with an "appropriate" response nearly two weeks into the war. The West is still trying to figure out how to best counter the brazen audacity of Putin, who repeatedly lied to the world about his true intentions with the amassed Russian army at Ukraine's border, only to give his middle finger to the West and still invaded Ukraine. 

Why is the West afraid to confront Russia or is their fable sloganeering "NEVER AGAIN" only reserved for the Jews? How many times does Ukraine need to be attacked by Russia before they too can qualify and acquire the same protected status as the Jews? The West prides itself as the nemesis of bullies who always come to the defense of the bullied little guy, so what is stopping them now from helping Ukraine. Is the West afraid that any direct conflict with Russia might expose their weakness as mere "Hollywood-manufactured" superheroes, who cannot excel in a real war with a formidable adversary such as the Russian military? Otherwise, why the perpetual avoidance by the West of a direct confrontation with Russia each time Russia pokes its finger in their eyes, daring them to a fight.

It did not start today as it was a constant occurrence during the Cold War, but each time an opportunity for a direct confrontation presents itself, it is always the West led by America that chickens out, humbled. What is the reason behind this West's coyness in matters of fighting Russia or is the West so afraid of Russia that they quickly backs off each time Russia provokes and prods them to a fight. 

Before President Vladimir Putin called off the West's sanctions bluff and sent his forces into Ukraine, many people thought that the opportunity for a West's direct confrontation with Russia had finally come, only for the West to again become a no show. What is the West fearful of or has they lost the will to defend their values and protect their interests. They have a willing partner in Ukraine, so what is the second guessing about?

Even the weapons which the West is providing to Ukraine is limited and does not include long range missiles, fighter jets and advanced radar weapons systems that could easily detect Russian military locations in Ukraine with pinpoint accuracy for precision targeted destruction. How can Ukraine defend themselves without such anti aircrafts and anti missiles defense systems when Russia is attacking them from the air and bombarding them with rockets and missiles as well as dumb bombs from great distances.

Ukrainian people have found themselves on the crossroads, left stranded, holding the plate and waiting for a much needed and anticipated assistance from the West, which unfortunately, is not coming forth. How anybody in the West thought or expected that Ukraine could stand a chance with Russia all by themselves alone, is simply ridiculous. It is possible too that Kiev would not have walked itself into a war with Russia and would have simply capitulated to Russia's demand if they knew that the West would not assist them in the fight with Russia. 

It would have been a much more palatable pill for Ukraine to swallow rather than to watch as Russia is now destroying their beautiful country, killing Ukrainian people in large numbers and also causing a massive displacement of their population and communities. Who will rebuild Ukraine and why not stop Russia now from their wicked intention of ruining Ukraine. 

If the story was different and it was Russia that demanded the West not to invade Ukraine, there would have been no invasion of Ukraine today.  It happened in Syria and Venezuela when the West wanted to change the leadership of both countries before Russia stepped in and said no way Jose. Several years later, President Bashar Assad of Syria and President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela are still in power because Russia put its feet down and was prepared to use its military power to achieve the objective. 

President Vladimir Putin also shored up the presidency of Alexander Lukanhesko of Belarus who was nearly removed from power by a Western sponsored democracy revolution, which the West did not protect when Russia roared. Why can't the West take a page from Putin's Russia and learn to resolutely put its money where its mouth is by defending its positions, regardless of any threat. Will the West continue to run away from meeting the Russian challenge and for how long?

Another opportunity for the West to confront Russia has opened up in Ukraine but the West is not dealing nor biting the bait. It seems that Russia has once again successfully intimidated the West into forswearing their expected assistance for Ukraine. If not now, when? And if not in Ukraine, where? When will the battle for superiority between the West and Russia be finally tested? 

Ukrainians are courageously fighting the Russians now and presents a golden opportunity for the West to fight Russia, if not formally, as military advisers. Ukraine needs help and deserves to get some help from the West. The fear of Russia's threatened use of nuclear weapons should not deter the West, the West also has nuclear weapons too.

No matter how much the West tries to avoid fighting Russia, they can never run away from fighting Russia, unless the West is willing to lie down and surrender to Russia. If the West fails to defend democracy now in Ukraine, they will eventually be forced to defend it someplace else. Russia will eventually bring the fight to them in Eastern Europe and let's see whether the West will summarily surrender Eastern Europe to Russia. 

Ukraine cannot do it all by themselves alone; they need all the help they can get and together, President Vladimir Putin can be stopped now while he is still in Ukraine. It took the collective strength of the West to stop Adolf Hitler and the West should take a page from that historical lesson and surge forces immediately into Ukraine before Russia becomes battle hardened. Stop fearing Putin, #FightPutinNow.

TALK OF A POST ZELENSKY'S UKRAINE NOW IS DEFEATIST: SHOULD BE DISCONTINUED.

ICHEOKU says it is utterly disappointing and disheartening to hear the West already contemplating the death or capture of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and making plans for his succession. Which other Ukrainian person would still willingly listen to the West or volunteer him or herself for another Western experiment at holding power in Kiev if the West couldn't protect President Zelenskiy? The capture or kill of the president by Russia, despite all he bravely sacrificed to identify with the West, will take away the oxygen in the Ukrainian resistance and should be guarded against very seriously. 

No harm therefore must be allowed to come to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy because it will leave many Ukrainians wondering, if Russia could get Zelenskiy, what then is the point fighting and what chances does any other Western installed leader in Kiev have in avoiding a similar fate. He is the symbol of the Ukrainian defiance to President Vladimir Putin and the arrowhead of the current resistance against Russia. He must be protected in order to keep the hope of saving Ukraine alive. Having successfully galvanized and mobilized the Ukrainian people, he has become the reason the face of the courageous fight against the Russian invaders. 

There will never be another Ukrainian war leader like him, so the West must bear this in mind and stop the morbid talk about his demise or toppling. The West must do whatever it takes to ensure his safety because without him, Russia will quickly seal up the fate of Ukraine as despondent Ukrainians would lose their appetite to carry on fighting. If it means sending some Secret Service officials or any other presidential protection detail from other countries to Kiev to help protect the president, so be it. That guy is the reason Russia has not overrun Ukraine and he needs to stay alive for Ukraine to have any chance at forcing Russians out.

The Ukrainian president and his people are already under a heavy amount of pressure, worrying themselves sick about protecting their country from the Russians. The great destruction which Russian bombs and artillery shells are causing in Ukraine is already keeping the leadership sleepless in Kiev, so why turn their bad situation into a nightmare by making plans for an Ukraine without President Zelenskyy. What Ukraine needs now is all the help they can get and not an additional issue to worry about, admitted they are mindful of the imperative and are already taking care of the business, ensuring the safety and security of their president. 

Such a loose talk about who will succeed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and whether the West will recognize any government installed in Kiev by Moscow is irresponsible and should be discouraged and discontinued. Imagine how the Ukrainian president, who has become the face of the resistance against Russia, would feel reading his own obituary by the West while still cheerleading his country men and women to sacrifice for their country. The West should join the Ukrainian president in the cheerleading resistance and not entertain such a ghoulish ill thought about the president. It is demoralizing.

Ukrainians need their rallying figure, the center of gravity of their resistance, to stay alive if they are to have any chance of forcing Russians to abandon the cause and leave their country. The West should help Ukrainians sustain their willingness to fight on and keep their morale high, and stop such destructive and undermining demoralizing talks about an inevitable death or capture of their president. Ukraine is fighting for their survival as an independent sovereign nation and their presidential security services are working overtime to ensure that their president remains safe and secure; they should be encouraged and not discouraged or in any other way damage their high morale to persevere. 

It is very foolish too for the West to say that they will not recognize any Russian installed government in Ukraine post President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Russia does not care whether or not the West recognizes such a future government, provided they have their installed government in place in Kiev. There are so many governments throughout the world which the West does not recognize and/or which are under the "strictest" Western sanctions, yet they are still flourishing. Zimbabwe, North Korea, Myanmar, Mali, Iran and Venezuela for example are all still functioning. 

Unless the West has already given up on Ukraine and is now preparing to lick its wounds of defeat by Russia, the present "we do not want to escalate the war" approach to the war in Ukraine should change. The West, instead of looking forward to the fall of Ukraine or the killing or capture of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, should actively be helping Ukraine to starve off both outcomes. Ukrainians want to win the war and they are fighting to win the war and save their homeland from Putin's assured dissolution. 

Many countries are also closely watching the events in Ukraine to see whether it will become another West's lured out and West's abandoned country which the West refused to defend when the consequences of their listening to the West came calling. China for example must be calibrating its next move in its quest to reunify Taiwan with the mainland, based on its assessment of the West 's response to the Ukraine invasion. Will North Korea be tempted to send a missile right into Japan? A lot is dependent on the outcome of the Ukrainian conflict and whether it is resolved in favor of the West, otherwise it will erode so much of the West's clout in the world. #NoHarmMustComeToZelenskiy.

INVASIONS FREQUENTLY DO HAPPEN: WHY THE UKRAINE INVASION IS DIFFERENT.

ICHEOKU says Ukraine is not the first country and will not be the last country to be ever invaded by a more powerful foreign military force. It will also not be the first country to ever be heavily bombarded from the air, causing many deaths, massive destruction of infrastructures and also a heavy displacement of its local population. 

What is going on in Ukraine presently has gone on before in many other countries and will most likely still go on in more countries in the future, long after the current hostilities in Ukraine are concluded. Many people are asking why the current obsession with the Ukraine invasion when other previous invasions, both those carried out by the same Russia as well as those carried out by America, did not receive much attention. 

According to them, the world is so affixed to the present invasion of Ukraine as if it is the end of the world or the first time ever a far more powerful country is breathing down fire on a weaker small country. There is also a noticeable difference in the manner the invasion is being "wall to wall" reported, the rush to evacuate Ukrainians, providing them with every assistance imaginable including quick resettlements throughout Europe.

The disparity in treatments is now fueling the growing murmur of white bias and racist preferential treatment of Ukrainians simply because they are white people. Some critics even point at the different treatment meted to black African students studying in Ukraine who were discriminated against as they also fled the same war, including being denied boarding access on evacuation trains and also refused entry at the Polish border. 

If the different treatment was due to white people's acute racism and their regard of white skin as superior and more important than other skin colors, why then did other previous Russian invasions of Ukraine, including the annexation of Crimea, not attract the same level of global condemnation of Russia and support for Ukraine? Why did Georgia's invasion by Russia not attract the same amount of world sympathy, Georgians are white people too? So, there was a good reason for the galvanized global opposition to the military campaign of Russia in Ukraine, short of racism and white bias.

The most plausible explanation is the pathetic reason given by President Vladimir Putin for the havoc which he is currently wrecking on Ukraine. How can any sane leader of a country, on a whiff, declare another country illegitimate and then take such destructive steps of levying a vicious war on the country to achieve his objective. The Russian strongman unequivocally stated that he does not recognize Ukraine's existence as a sovereign and independent country, forcing the world to take notice.

It would have been a different story had President Vladimir Putin claimed that  President Volodymyr of Ukraine was a drug dealer or was facilitating terrorism on Russia by providing safe haven and corridor for enemies of Russia to carry out attacks on Russia from Ukraine soil. If he had given even a minuscule of rational reason, manufactured or genuine, and then sought to topple such a government, the world would have looked the other way or at least curbed their enthusiasm and not be as hysteric as the present. 

He simply asserted that he does not recognize Ukraine as an independent and sovereign country and then took steps to dismantle it and annul its existence with a premeditated invasion. According to him, Ukraine is part of Russia, adding that he will never accept an independent Ukraine living side by side with Russia as that violates his conscience and understanding of history. He also did not care that Ukraine has been in existence for a long time, for more than 30 years as an independent and sovereign country.

This is where Putin's cookie of aggression crumbled as the world woke up to say that it is unacceptable for one man to decide to unilaterally "nullify" a country by fiat of his indignation. It is the brazenness of this illegality that shocked the conscience of the world to rise up to challenge Putin's declaration of war on Ukraine to achieve his objective to annul the country. A galvanized world has said no to Putin and have now practically isolated Russia in condemnation of what their president did.

Which sensible and conscionable person would accept such an international brigandage or in any other way, find any rationality in it. To accept what Russia is doing in Ukraine is to give license to every big country in the world to wake any one morning and decide to swallow its smaller and weaker neighbor. It is the law or lack thereof, of the jungle, that President Vladimir Putin is trying to brutally impose on Ukraine by indiscriminate bombardment.

Such lawless action is not an acceptable behavior in a civilized world and should be fought with every tool available, including putting Western boots on the ground in Ukraine as sanctions alone are not yielding the desired and expected result. Bullies need to be stopped and they only respond to force. President Vladimir Putin is a bully and his Russian military is now terrorizing and bullying Ukraine around, trying to bombard it into submission, subjugation and annexation. 

Those complaining that there is a double standard in the condemnation of Russia's invasion and not America's many invasions, should understand that the Ukraine invasion is different. It is not an ordinary invasion as Russia is trying to dismantle the country and absorb it into Russia. Other invasions have always been targeted at the leadership of a country but never at the country itself. To question the right of a country to exist is an attack which resonates among every independent and sovereign country.

So yes, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2.0, there were America's invasions of Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Panama, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. Russia also previously invaded Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova seizing territories therein. Germany also carried out its own invasion of Europe. But in none of these invasions was the primary objective to nullify the victim country and put them out of existence. 

This is the reason the current invasion of Ukraine is different and has attracted a generalized world condemnation than other invasions. Those complaining about a Western hypocrisy and bias against Russia because of the barrage of condemnations and sanctions, should see the distinction; and then adjust their indignation against the West accordingly, as not even Adolf Hitler's Germany did in Europe what Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish in Ukraine. Viva Ukraine. Long live President Volodymyr Zelensky.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALEXANDER VINDMAN: TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR UKRAINE..

ICHEOKU says his birth nation Ukraine needs him now more than ever before as they face existential threat of extinction by Russia. His great military expertise and war fighting experience would be very handy in Ukraine as they are rallying to defend themselves. 

At least he can start pooling together a volunteer-army force to go help Ukraine. Many veterans and other brave people are ready to go help his fatherland Ukraine protect themselves and their chosen way of life from the Russians, but they need to see his leadership in the effort. His fatherland has called, what is his response? #WhereIsLieutenantColonelAlexanderVindmam