Ukraine Update- 22 April, 2022- Spreading Conflict, Saber Rattling, Ignorance, and War Crimes

Another day of war, and all indications are that this is only the beginning. But then I am an eternal skeptic.

According to an MSN.com article from this morning, Putin and his mouthpieces are still talking about a greater war… with Europe and the world.  The quote in the article that caught my attention was this one, by television presenter and staunch Putin supporter Vladimir Solovyov:

“When this operation concludes, NATO will have to ask itself: ‘Do we have what we need to defend ourselves? Do we have the people to defend ourselves?’ And there will be no mercy. There will be no mercy,” he said.

I will counter that statement with two numbers- 4,173 and 13,247. The first is the total number of Russian military aircraft (before they began their war of aggression- it is decidedly lower at this point), and the second is the total number of US military aircraft. (Number are from the website GlobalFirepower.com.)  Just US military alone. This does not includes NATO or other allies.  Russia may want to rethink its belligerence, rhetoric, and rather saber rattling. Reference the NATO airwar in Kosovo and operations in Serbia in teh late 1990’s if there is any doubt. Bottom line- if Russia pushes the world into war, most of the suffering will be on their side.

Next, from the BBC this morning- there is growing evidence for Russian war crimes, specifically in Bucha where the headlines spoke of 50 of the bodies from mass graves there being identified, with another 300-400 yet to be identified. The BBC.com article Mass Graves Near Mariupol talks about war crimes in Mariupol, with mass graves being identified there.  A Reuters article from today confirms the growing evidence for war crimes, outlined in an interview with U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet.

Finally, Russian combat losses continue to mount. The question is, how long can Putin continue to send Russian sons, husbands, fathers, and uncles to be killed? And more importantly, how long will the Russian people continue to allow it?

It is time for the Russian people to summon some courage and make change happen in their country. If they need an example of what courage is- perhaps they have forgotten- they only need look towards Ukraine.

Russian combat losses as of 22 April, 2022