V-J Day

 

Travel Bubble

From the BBC:

“Zelensky says airlines should avoid Russian airspace as Ukraine escalates drone operations”

Ukraine's president has told airlines that Russian airspace will be "effectively closing" as his country escalates its drone strikes. "We want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, everyone who still uses key Russian airports: the Russian sky is becoming completely dangerous," Volodymyr Zelensky said. Ukraine has since formally notified the UN of the risks to civilian aviation. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the comments amounted to a "declaration of state terrorism".

Most Western commercial airlines do not fly over Russia because of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, but carriers in countries like Turkey and China do. Explaining the elevated airspace risk in his nightly video address on Tuesday, Zelensky said that "Ukraine does not threaten civilian aviation as such - not a single civilian aircraft" and did not want the loss of innocent lives.

"There will simply be drones in Russia's skies on a scale that has to be taken into account," he said. Zelensky directed the warning to airlines continuing to operate flights to Russian airports, especially in major cities like St Petersburg and Moscow. In a statement on X, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine had officially notified the International Civil Aviation Organization that Russian airspace was not safe for civilian aviation. "We want to prevent unintended incidents," he said, adding: "The war is returning home to Russia."

On Wednesday afternoon, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed many planes flying over Russia, including arriving and departing from the two main airports, which had some delays, but few cancellations.

Several airlines that fly through Russia told the BBC that they were carefully monitoring the situation. Qatar Airways, which flies into Moscow and travels through Russian airspace to get to the US west coast, said its flight planning was "guided by rigorous and continuous monitoring of airspace security, safety assessments, and geopolitical developments". Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus cancelled its flights to Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing "technical and operational reasons", but said future flights "are operating as scheduled". FlyDubai, an Emirati government-owned carrier, told the BBC that it would "closely monitor the evolving situation in the region and adjust our flight schedules and routings as necessary".

Ukraine has targeted energy facilities deep inside Russian territory and there have been repeated attacks on depots belonging to Russia's two biggest online retailers, Wildberries and Ozon.

Its drone attacks have for months led to disruption at some of Russia's biggest airports, especially in Moscow where at times all four major airports have been forced to halt arrivals and departures.

Several cancellations were reported on Wednesday. Ukraine does not have to target airports to cause disruption. Under Russia's air defence "Kovyor" (carpet) plan, flights are suspended if a drone is detected in the relevant area. Aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions said in an alert to clients that while the majority of Ukraine's drone and missile strikes were likely to occur within 300km (186 miles) of the border, daily attacks deeper inside Russia were almost certain to continue this year.

 "There is also a realistic possibility that the frequency of Ukrainian strikes will continue to increase in the short term deep inside Russian territory," the alert added. "It is assessed that miscalculation and/or misidentification is likely in areas related to the Ukraine conflict." Speaking to reporters at the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said: "They are asking us to resume negotiations... but you don't negotiate with terrorists." His comments come as Russia's attacks on Ukraine continue, with heavy strikes killing 12 people on Tuesday and further attacks on Odesa, Sumy and Kyiv on Wednesday. Russia's military has said it is preparing to carry out "massive" strikes on Ukrainian power stations.

The Ukrainian capital and its surrounding region have come under attack for seven days in a row. A few weeks ago, Zelensky said Russia was attacking Ukraine every day, and Ukraine's military had "begun the process of bringing the war back to Russia". At the weekend he said the same, that Russia had to feel the war was "returning to where it came from". Putin acknowledged that Ukrainian strikes had damaged infrastructure inside Russia, while insisting that "only 10%" of oil refineries were left to repair.

Chinese, Turkish and Gulf state airlines are among those using Russian airspace, with savings in time and fuel on routes between Asia and Europe. Other carriers have largely avoided the eastern European region since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February, 2022. Ukraine has closed its airspace to civilian aircraft throughout that period. The risks of civil aviation during a war are clear. A few months after war broke out in eastern Ukraine in 2014 between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military, a Russian-made missile brought down a passenger plane, killing all 298 people on board. Last year, the UN aviation agency ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the air disaster. In 2024, Putin apologised to the president of neighbouring Azerbaijan over the downing of a commercial airliner in Russian airspace, in which 38 people were killed.He said the "tragic incident" had occurred when Russian air defence systems were repelling Ukrainian drones. A thin, grey banner promoting the News Daily newsletter. On the right, there is a graphic of an orange sphere with two concentric crescent shapes around it in a red-orange gradient, like a sound wave. The banner reads: “The latest news in your inbox first thing.”

^Anyone (Russian or Foreigner) flying into, through or out of Russia should be very worried that their plane will be hit by a Ukrainian Drone.

Ukrainian Airspace has been closed since Russia started its War in February 2022.

Now it's time for those in Russia to feel the effects of their War not through Russian Government Controlled Media, but by bombings of Military Targets disruptions in Air Travel, Fuel Rationing and Shortages throughout Russia.

Russians don't care how many of their Boys and Men are being killed and wounded in Ukraine (over a Million and counting) but they do care about not being able to live in the safety bubble they created for themselves.

It's time for Ukraine to burst that bubble. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v9yydy2wvo

85: Star of David

85 years ago today (September 1, 1941) the Germans required Jews in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia  to wear a Yellow Star of David with the German Word “Jude” for “Jew.”

(A Jewish Girl in German-Occupied Croatia forced to wear a Star of David with the Ž for “Židov”, English: “Jew” on it.)

Every Man, Woman and Child over the age of 6 had to buy these Badges (using their own Clothing Ration Coupons) and have them clearly visible on their outer clothing (including a coat) so that they could easily be identified and discriminated against for being Jewish.

When Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 they required Jews there to wear a White Armband with a Blue Star of David for the same purpose.

(Jewish People in German-Occupied Belgium forced to wear the Star of David with the J (for "Jude" in German, "Juif" in French and "Jood" in Dutch.)

Parts of Poland had different Badges. In German-Occupied Warsaw Jews had to wear the Armband and in German-Occupied Lodz Jews had to wear the Yellow Star (because that part of Poland was illegally annexed into Germany.)

(A Jewish Man in German-Occupied Poland forced to wear the Star of David Armband.)

In every European and North African Country/Territory that Germany occupied during World War 2 the Jews there had to wear similar Identifying Badges with the local name for “Jew” on it (French: “Juif”, Dutch: “Jood”, Croatian: Ž for “Židov”, English: “Jew” for the British Channel Islands which Germany occupied, etc.)

Failure to not wear the Armband or the Star or to “hide it” and not have it clearly visible resulted in instant death.

This requirement was on top of every Jewish Man, Woman and Child having to carry an Identity Card with a large “J” on it – since 1938 in Germany and every German Jewish Man, Woman and Child having to add either “Israel” for Men or “Sara” for Women to their Names to be “more easily recognizable as Jews” – since 1936.

The Germans wanted to first identity the Jews and then to murder them.

Knowledge Day

 

Today (September 1st) is Knowledge Day (День знань) in Ukraine.

It is the first day of the new School Year. After almost 3 years of War here is how this Knowledge Day is different from others.

For Ukrainian Children Forced to Flee Ukraine: They have to go to a new School, meet new Friends, learn a new Language in a new Country.

For Ukrainian Children in Ukrainian-Held Ukraine: They have their classes in bombed-out schools. They have to run to the Air Raid Shelter when the Russians bomb them.

For Ukrainian Children in Russian-Occupied Ukraine: They have their classes in bombed-out schools. They have to run to the Air Raid Shelter when the bombs fall. They are forced to use the Russian Language and learn the Russian Nazi Curriculum. They are punished severely if they use the Ukrainian Language.

Millions of Ukrainian Children have been killed or wounded by the Russians and those that haven’t continue to be traumatized by Russian Bombs, Bullets and Soldiers on a daily basis.

Kaliningrad

 

Kaliningrad City, Russia has been separated from the rest of Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991 (35 years ago.)

Kaliningrad, Russia was known as Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany until 1945.

1,029,966 People live in Kaliningrad Oblast (489,359 in the City of Kaliningrad.)

 

Now Kaliningrad is surrounded by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

 

The Airspace needed to go from Kaliningrad, Russia to Minsk, Belarus (an ally of Russia) is blocked by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Latvia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Estonia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Finland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Sweden (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Not only is the Airspace closed to Kaliningrad, but also the Land and Rail Borders through Poland and Lithuania because of Russia’s War in Ukraine and Belarus’ frequent Violation of NATO and EU Airspace and Land Borders since 2021.

 

Kaliningrad City is only 290 miles from Minsk by car (2 hours by plane), but now it takes several more hours to go by plane only.

So all People, Food, etc. have to be flown in from Belarus or Russia via Russia.

 

Belarus has been ruled by the Dictator, Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 (32 years.)

Russia has been ruled by the Dictator, Vladimir Putin, since 2000 (26 years.)

Note 1: The United States closed its Embassy in Minsk, Belarus in 2022 because Belarus allowed Russia to invade Ukraine from Belarussian Territory.

There has not been an American Ambassador to Belarus since June 2022.

American Citizens are told not to travel to Belarus and Belarussian Citizens can no longer get American Visas.

Note 2: The United States closed its Consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2018, its Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia in 2020 and its Consulate in Yekaterinburg in 2021.

The US Embassy in Moscow, Russia is open, but only to help American Citizens inside Russia.

There has been no American Ambassador to Russia since June 2025.

American Citizens are told to not travel to Russia.

The US Embassy no longer gives Russian Citizens American Visas.

 

Defenders Of Ukraine

 

Today is Memorial Day of the Defenders of Ukraine (Ukrainian: День пам'яті захисників України.)

Here are pictures (at St. Michael's Cathedral) in Kyiv, Ukraine of the Men and Women who died protecting Ukraine and the rest of the World from Russia.

43,000

 

Russia had 43,000 Soldiers dead or wounded in Ukraine in July 2026 alone.

King Harald

From the BBC:

“Norway's King Harald dies aged 89: A beloved monarch buffeted by family crises”

Norway's King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition. The palace in Oslo said he passed away peacefully at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) on Friday at the national hospital in Oslo. The royal flag on the roof of the palace has been lowered to half-mast, and a period of national mourning has been declared leading up to the day of his funeral. Crowds of mourners have streamed to the royal palace to lay flowers and flags.

Harald was Norway's first king born in Norway since the 14th Century. He has been succeeded by his son Haakon, 53, who will hold an extraordinary council of state with the government later on Friday. King Charles III sent his "most heartfelt condolences" at the death of his "dear cousin" - who was a second cousin to Queen Elizabeth II - while King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden remembered "a good friend to me, my family and to Sweden", and wished his godson Haakon "success and good fortune".

After 35 years on the throne, Harald will be remembered as a popular and reforming figure who modernised the monarchy, broke with tradition by marrying a commoner and served as a unifying figure at Norway's most difficult moments. Royal observers say he was down-to-earth, respected and beloved, describing him as a "grandfather" of the nation and the "People's king" - a title also used by his father King Olav V.

During his reign, the Norwegian monarchy became more egalitarian and transparent with finances and health, Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, historian and TV2 royal correspondent, told the BBC. Tove Taalesen, royal correspondent for Nettavisen, described the late king as "one of us", while Caroline Vagle, royal expert for Se og Hør magazine, said he had "always been very close to the people". "He has never been afraid to show emotion, humour or vulnerability, and that has made him very human."

In the wake of the 2011 bomb and gun attacks on Oslo and the island of Utøya, Harald appealed to Norwegians to support each other and not "let fear take over". More recently, Harald and his family faced health challenges and scandal, especially over his daughter-in-law Mette-Marit's association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and her son Marius Borg Høiby's conviction for rape. He is survived by his wife of almost 58 years, Queen Sonja, their daughter Princess Märtha Louise, their son, the new King Haakon, and six grandchildren.

Harald was born on 21 February 1937 on the Skaugum estate near Oslo. He was three when dictator Adolf Hitler ordered Norway's invasion by Nazi Germany early in World War Two. Harald's mother fled with her children across the border to Sweden, and they travelled to the US on the invitation of President Franklin D Roosevelt. Prince Harald returned with his family to Norway at the end of the war and completed his school and compulsory military service. He became crown prince in 1957, and studied social science, history and economics at Balliol College in Oxford from 1960 to 1962.

He met Sonja Haraldsen, a non-royal and the daughter of a businessman, at a party, but the crown prince had to wait nine years before he was allowed to marry her. Eventually he told his father that if he could not marry Sonja, he would stay single, King Harald told Norway's public broadcaster.

His father finally gave his consent, and the couple wed in Oslo Cathedral on 29 August 1968. Harald's choice paved the way for his own two children to marry commoners too, and for Vagle, that "helped bring an end to a very male-dominated Royal Family".

When his father became ill in 1990, the crown prince became regent. Harald then ascended to the throne when Olav died on 17 January 1991. The new king came into his own around 2000, according to historian Trond Norén Isaksen, growing from a shy man into someone much more open and empathetic. In July 2011 Harald faced his greatest challenge yet as king, when neo-Nazi Anders Breivik murdered eight people with a car bomb in Oslo before moving on to a youth camp on the island of Utøya, where he shot dead 69 others, most of them teenagers. He gave a televised address the next day, and weeks later he delivered a speech, empathising with the victims and their families as a father, grandfather, husband, and king. On the verge of tears, his voice quivered and broke. "I can only imagine the depth of your pain. As King of this nation, I feel for each and every one of you," he said.

Looking back, historian Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen said: "I think that moment has been burned into our minds of what a monarchy should be." In 2016, the king made headlines again by giving a speech supporting diversity of religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. He said Norwegians are from "Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia, and Syria," they "believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing", and they "are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other". The king was also a keen athlete and environmentalist - one of the initiators of the Norwegian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who served as president of the Norwegian chapter for 20 years. He was such an accomplished sailor, he represented Norway three times at the Olympics.

When Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit in 2001, the king and queen welcomed her four-year-old son from a previous relationship. Høiby was treated as one of the family, but the royal house later stressed he was never a royal. The king's daughter Princess Märtha Louise initially married a Norwegian writer before controversially remarrying in 2024 to an American self-styled shaman. The couple's business activities eventually led to her halting her royal duties. While some Norwegians may have felt Harald was too lenient with his family's controversial life decisions, Vagle believes he had "shown himself to be someone who puts talking things through ahead of issuing harsh instructions".

As the king's health declined, he permanently reduced his public engagements in April 2024. More recently he was treated with cortisone for a rare blood condition, haemolytic anaemia, which causes the number of red blood cells in the body to be reduced. He entered hospital on 17 August and his son became regent, taking over his activities.

This year alone the Norwegian royal family has faced compounded personal health challenges and scandals. The rape trial of Høiby, convicted of multiple offences in June, hung over the royal family for many months. He has now appealed against a four-year jail term and appeared at Harald's bedside shortly before he died. Days before the trial began, documents were released revealing his mother Mette-Marit's frequent contact with Epstein. She later apologised to King Harald and Queen Sonja for her three-year friendship with Epstein and admitted to "poor judgement".

Two days after her son's trial came to an end, Mette-Marit received a lung transplant. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis eight years earlier. Her doctors will not declare her stable until a year after the transplant, and King Haakon will face a difficult period of succession as he continues to support her. The crises surrounding the monarchy have had an effect on its popularity. One poll for Aftenposten newspaper found that support had dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54%. Other polls suggested almost half of Norwegians believed Mette-Marit could no longer become queen, although Haakon is now highly likely to say she will.

However, Vagle said criticism was rarely directed at the late king personally, leaving her with the impression that "everyone has loved King Harald". "When things go wrong in the royal family, people tend to blame anyone but the king," Isaksen remarked. Haakon has faced questions about the turbulence surrounding his own household that will "follow him into his position as a king", according to Taalesen, however she believes he has shown leadership and dealt with recent events well.

The royal family's main strategy has been to separate itself from Høiby's trial, and Schulsrud-Hansen believes that has largely succeeded. Although there may be further scrutiny over the Epstein files, the focus for Norwegians now will be on remembering a "greatly beloved king" and supporting his son.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clykn5p5172o

Ratko Mladic

From Reuters:

“Ratko Mladic, former general convicted of Bosnia genocide, dies”

Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide for orchestrating the 1995 massacre of at least 8,000 Muslims in a U.N.-designated "safe area" of Bosnia, Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two, has died, a U.N. official said on Thursday.

The slaughter in Srebrenica was the grisly culmination of a war that had lasted over three years, in which the general pounded the besieged capital Sarajevo daily with the artillery, tanks, mortars and ‌heavy machine guns of his nationalist Serb army, killing 10,000.

The dead from Srebrenica were bulldozed into mass graves over four days in July 1995, some of them dug up and relocated to remote mountains so as to ‌hide evidence of the killings. The goal, as determined by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), was "ethnic cleansing" — the forcible expulsion of Bosnian Muslims, Croats and other non-Serbs to clear Bosnian lands for a Greater Serbia. The tribunal found that Mladic, together with late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian ​Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, were part of a criminal conspiracy to implement the plan. "I do not recognise this court," Mladic, dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" by his opponents, said at an ICTY hearing on his case in 2014. When he was sentenced to life in prison in 2017 he shouted: "This is all lies, you are all liars!" According to his son, documents gave Mladic's date of birth at March 12, 1942, but he was actually born on March 8, 1943.

'GERMANS HAD HITLER, SERBS HAVE MLADIC' Karadzic, also convicted of genocide in 2016, and Mladic topped the ICTY wanted list for years after Western powers ended the war. But until Milosevic was toppled by a popular uprising in 2000, Mladic lived securely - if discreetly - in Belgrade. Milosevic died in detention on March 11, 2006, a few months before a ‌verdict in his four-year tribunal trial for genocide and other war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia ⁠and Kosovo.

The army Mladic created to fight in Bosnia was a model of ruthlessness, daring and brutality in the Serb warrior tradition, once prized in the life-or-death partisan struggle against the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in World War Two. In some of the most horrific examples, prisoners suffocated in the heat after being forced to eat salt and denied water; were starved and raped in prison camps; ⁠were made to jump off a bridge and shot; and were gunned down at night by the hundreds after being driven out of detention with chemical gas. "For me Mladic is a symbol of all horrible crimes that happened during the war - our girls were raped, and boys killed, only because they were Muslim," said Munira Subasic, whose son and husband were killed by Bosnian Serb forces after they overran Srebrenica. "Germans had Hitler, Serbs have Mladic," Subasic continued. "There is no difference between the two."

Mladic had a cameraman film the blitz on the encircled enclave of ​Srebrenica, ​to show him extolling his "lads" and haranguing Dutch U.N. peacekeepers who misguidedly accepted his solemn word that the inhabitants would be safe in his ​hands. Srebrenica supposedly had "safe area" status, meant to protect civilians from ethnic cleansing. "We give this town ‌to the Serb people as a gift," Mladic said to the camera, claiming the victory as revenge against Muslim Turks, who once held the area as part of the Ottoman Empire. The next day, Mladic's forces were filmed handing out sweets to children, promising their safe passage. Meanwhile, thousands of men and boys were being readied for execution.

When NATO tried in 1995 to rein in his forces with the threat of limited air strikes, his troops defiantly seized U.N. peacekeepers as human shields, chaining them to likely targets. In November 1996 Mladic and top generals gave in to strong Western pressure that he step down as ordered by Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic, who succeeded Karadzic and was later jailed for her role in war crimes.

SON OF PARTISAN FIGHTER The son of a World War Two partisan fighter killed in 1945, Mladic was an officer in the old communist Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) when Yugoslavia's disintegration began in 1991. When Bosnian Serbs rose in 1992 against Bosnia's Muslim-led secession, Mladic was picked to command the new Bosnian ‌Serb army that swiftly overran 70% of the landlocked country. Dozens of towns were besieged with heavy weapons that once belonged to the JNA ​and villages were burned down as 22,000 troops of the U.N. Protection Force stood by more or less helplessly, with orders not to take sides. A ​combination of Western pressure, covert American arms and training for Croats and Muslims gradually turned the tide against Mladic's army. ​Determined NATO strikes did the rest.

SICK AND FRAIL Despite Western appeals, the reformists ruling Serbia after Milosevic's fall did not dare move against a man who was a hero to a core of nationalist ‌Serbs. Sporadic sightings put him at a Belgrade horse race or a soccer match. In 2004, NATO ​said he had toasted hard-drinking old comrades at his former bunker ​in Han Pijesak, Bosnia. When he was finally arrested in 2011, he put up no resistance. His right arm was lame, the apparent result of an untreated stroke. He looked nothing like the burly general in camouflage who ruffled the hair of a Srebrenica boy in 1995. He suffered a heart attack in 2013 and seemed older than his years. By his own account, he felt like a frail old man. In his few court appearances, he wavered between self-pity, smiling ​defiance and vague distraction. "I am a very sick man," Mladic pleaded to the court. In 2019, ‌Mladic told the judges that he was too ill to participate in outdoor exercises and requested leave to visit the graves of family members in Serbia. The request was denied. His appeal against conviction was rejected in ​2021, as were repeated requests for his release on compassionate grounds. In August 2026, a UN doctor found Mladic's death "may occur at any time," possibly within weeks, but his application for release was again rejected as ​not in the interests of justice.

^ Finally some good news: the death of a War Criminal who murdered thousands. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/bosnian-serb-general-ratko-mladic-130437135.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

35: More World

 

35: World

The World honors Ukraine's fight over Russia on Ukraine's 35th Independence Day today!

35: Simpsons

 

Even "The Simpsons" support Ukraine on Ukrainian Independence Day today.

Ukraine

 

Today (August 24th) is Ukrainian Independence Day (Ukrainian: День Незалежності України.)

It marks the Ukraine’s Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991.

On December 1, 1991 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics held an Independence Referendum where 92.3% of those with Ukrainian Nationality on their Soviet-Issued Mandatory Internal Passports voted in favor of an Independent Ukraine.

Poland and Canada were the first Countries to recognize Ukrainian Independence on December 2, 1991.

The United States recognized Ukraine’s Independence on December 25, 1991 (after the Soviet Union Collapsed.)

In 1991, for the first time ever, Ukraine became an independent Country.

35: Monument

35 Years of Ukrainian Independence

For Ukrainian Independence Day tomorrow (August 24, 1991) the Motherland Monument in Kyiv launched a five-minute audiovisual art installation titled "The Future Remembers."

The Project tells the story of Ukrainian History and Identity through light, symbols, and music.

During the projection, the Monument displayed changing images that reference various periods in the History of Ukraine, including Cossack embroidery, Crimean Tatar ornaments, and motifs of Greek, Scythian, and Slavic cultures.

35: DC

 

Today, Washington, DC turned blue and yellow as Ukrainians and Americans gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the restoration of Ukraine’s independence in 1991  -35 years ago tomorrow.

35: Canada First

Canada was the Western Country to recognize Ukraine’s Independence from the Soviet Union on December 2, 1991.

Soviet Russia (the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic) also recognized t=Ukraine’s Independence on that day.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) did not recognize Ukraine’s Independence.

The United States recognized Ukraine’s Independence on December 25, 1991 (the day the Soviet Union collapsed.

 The United Kingdom recognized Ukraine’s Independence on December 31, 1991 long after the USSR was disbanded.

35 years ago tomorrow (August 24, 1991) declared it’s Independence from the Soviet Union which had occupied the eastern and central parts of Ukraine since 1922 and the western part of Ukraine since 1945.

Pet Massacre

The British Pet Massacre

(British Pet Owners waiting in line to euthanize their healthy Pets between September 1939 and September 1940.)

The British Pet Massacre took place in the first days of September 1939, after the United Kingdom declared War on Nazi Germany and again during the first days of the Germans bombing British Cities in September 1940.

A Quarter of all the Cats and Dogs in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) were euthanized by their Owners for fear that they couldn’t feed them during Wartime or that they would be hurt or killed by a German Bomb.

400,000 Healthy Cats and Dogs were euthanized across the United Kingdom from September 3-7, 1939.

It was caused by War Panic.

A British Government Pamphlet was later created (after the fact) advising Pet Owners on Wartime Animal Care provided some encouragement for the killing, noting euthanasia an option for People unable to take their Pets with them when evacuating.

The National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) was formed to decide what to do with Pets during Wartime.

The Committee was worried that when People evacuated, they might leave their Pets behind. In response to that fear, NARPAC published a Pamphlet titled "Advice to Animal Owners."

NARPAC's messaging was primarily focused on evacuation, suggesting moving Pets from the big Cities and into the Countryside; but a line at the end noted that "if you cannot place them in the care of Neighbours, it really is kindest to have them destroyed."

Many Veterinarian Groups such as the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) were against these drastic measures, but their Hospitals were still flooded with Pet Owners in the first few days of the War.

PDSA founder Maria Dickin reported: "Our technical officers called upon to perform this unhappy duty will never forget the tragedy of those days."

Hilda Kean wrote that lines for London Clinics stretched a half mile.

The event triggered a shortage of Chloroform and a waste management challenge.

(British Pamphlet about how to euthanize your Pets)

A Book about the British Pet Massacre was published in 2017.

It’s called “The Great Cat and Dog Massacre” and goes through the Initial War Panic that led Pet Owners to euthanize their healthy Cats and Dogs and the Grief of their decision after the fact.

When the Germans started to bomb London and other British Cities  - The Blitz - a year after the War began (in September 1940) more Pet Owners decided to euthanize their Dogs and Cats.

300,000 Cats and Dogs were euthanized at this time.

The Blitz lasted 8 months (September 7, 1940-May 16, 1941) and saw 43,000 British Civilians killed, 139,000 British Civilians wounded and 2 Million Houses destroyed.

Battersea Dogs Home, against the trend to euthanize healthy Cats and Dogs , managed to feed and care for 145,000 Dogs during the course of the War and provided a field in Ilford as a Pet Cemetery, where about 500,000 Animals were buried, many from the first week of the War.

In total 750,000 healthy Cats and Dogs were euthanized across the United Kingdom in September 1939 and September 1940.

The Number is much higher and doesn’t include the Pet Owners who euthanized their own Pets themselves.

After 1945 the British Pet Massacre was all but forgotten until the 2017 Book about it was published.

37: Baltic Way

37 years ago today (August 23, 1989) the Baltic Way occurred in Soviet-Occupied Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

(The Baltic Way in Latvia.)

The Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian: Balti kett) was a peaceful demonstration where 2 Million Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians joined hands to create a human chain that was 430 miles long and stretched from Estonia, through Latvia and into Lithuania.

August 23, 1989 was the 50th Anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939) that not only made Nazi Germany and the USSR Allies, but also allowed the Soviet Union to invade and occupy Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

The 1989 event was organized by the Baltic Pro-Independence Movements: Rahvarinne of Estonia, the Tautas fronte of Latvia, and Sąjūdis of Lithuania, to draw Global attention by demonstrating a popular desire for Independence and showcasing Solidarity among the three nations.

It has been described as an effective publicity campaign, and an emotionally captivating and visually stunning scene.

Background to the Baltic Way:

On August 23, 1939 the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany became Allies (which they stayed until June 21, 1941)

The Soviet Union invaded, occupied and illegally annexed Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia from September 2, 1939 until June 22, 1941 and then again from 1944 until December 26, 1991.

The Soviets made the Russian Language the Official Language throughout Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, they deported and murdered Ethnic Estonians, Ethnic Lithuanians and Ethnic Latvians and moved Ethnic Russians into the Baltics to forcibly Russify the areas.

From 1939-1941 the Soviets Forcibly Deported from the Baltics to Siberia:

11,000 Estonians from Estonia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia (9,267 died.)

17,500 Lithuanians from Lithuania to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia. (9,945 died.)

15,000 Latvians from Latvia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia (9,400 died.)

Thousands upon thousands of these Innocent Men, Women and Children were killed from Soviet Bullets, Forced Labor, Lack of Food, the Harsh Weather, etc.

From 1939-1941 the Soviets Arrested, but didn’t Deport:

8,000 Estonians inside Estonia and murdered 2,000 of them.

12,900 Lithuanians inside Lithuania and murdered 3,000 of them.

21,000 Latvians in Lativia and murdered 5,000 of them.

From June 1941 until 1944 the Baltics were invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany.

The Nazis murdered: 950 of the 1,000 Estonian Jews during the Holocaust and 49,000 Estonian Civilians (7% of Estonia’s 1939 Population.)

The Nazis murdered: 195,000 Lithuanian Jews during the Holocaust and 150,000 Lithuanian Civilians (14% of Lithuania’s 1939 Population.)

The Nazis Murdered: 66,000 Latvian Jews during the Holocaust and 154,000 Latvian Civilians (12% of Latvia’ 1939 Population.)

From 1945-1951 the Soviets Forcibly Deported:

35,000 Estonians from Estonia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.

130,000 Lithuanians from Lithuania to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.

60,000 Latvians from Latvia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.

70% of all the Deported were Women and Children under 16 years old.

Thousands upon thousands of these Innocent Men, Women and Children were killed from Soviet Bullets, Forced Labor, Lack of Food, the Harsh Weather, etc.

From 1945 -1951 the Soviets Arrested, but didn’t Deport:

30,000 Estonians inside Estonia and murdered 11,000 of them.

186,000 Lithuanians inside Lithuania and murdered 20,453 of them.

32,000 Latvians inside Latvia and murdered 12,000 of them.

Aftermath:

In December 1989, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies accepted and Mikhail Gorbachev signed a Report condemning the Secret Protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact – acknowledging the Soviet Invasion and Occupation of the Baltics for the first time.

In February 1990, the first Free Democratic elections to the Supreme Soviets took place in all three Baltic States and Pro-Independence Candidates won majorities.

On March 11, 1990, within seven months of the Baltic Way, Lithuania became the first Soviet State to declare Independence from the Soviet Union (which was recognized by the USSR on March 11, 1990.)

On May 4, 1990 Latvia declared its Independence from the Soviet Union (which was recognized by the USSR on September 6, 1991)

On August 20, 1990, Estonia declared its Independence from the Soviet Union (which was recognized by the USSR on September 6, 1991.)

The independence of all three Baltic States was recognized by most Western Countries by the end of 1991 and the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26, 1991.

Estonia joined NATO on March 29,2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the Eurozone in 2011.

Lithuanian joined NATO on March 29, 2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the Eurozone in 2015.

Latvia joined NATO on March 29, 2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the Eurozone in 2014.

Flag

 Today is Ukrainian Flag Day!

The Blue symbolizes the sky, and Yellow represents the golden fields of wheat.

Missing are the Flags of the Different Occupiers of Ukraine:

The Trapezuntine Empire: 1204–1461

The Golden Horde: 1242–1502

The Republic of Genoa: 1266–1475

The Ottoman Empire: 1478–1499  and then 1517–1774

Poland and Lithuania: 1349-1795

The Czarist Russian Empire: 1654–1917

The Austro-Hungarian Empire: 1772 -1918

Czechoslovakia: 1918 – 1938

The Kingdom of Romania: 1919-1945

Nazi Germany: 1939-1944

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: 1919-1941 and then 1941-1991

The Russian Federation: 2014 to Present

Black Ribbon

Black Ribbon Day

Today (August 23rd) is Black Ribbon Day. It is the day the European Union, Georgia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States remembers the Men, Women and Children murdered by both the Nazis and the Communists. The date was chosen because it was when the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the German Nazis and the Soviet Communists was signed in 1939.

The Nazis murdered 24,826,424 Men, Women and Children (Non-Military Civilians) from 1933-1945.

That number also includes those in Targeted Groups that the Nazis specifically went after:

 Jews:   6 Million Men, Women and Children;

Non-Jewish Polish Civilians: 3 Million Men, Women and Children

People with Disabilities: 270,000 Men, Women and Children (doesn’t include the 375,000 Disabled who were Forcibly Sterilized)

Roma and Sinti (Gypsies): 500,000- 1.5 Million Men, Women and Children

Jehovah's Witnesses:  5,000 Men, Women and Children

Homosexuals:  9,000 Men and Women in Concentration Camps (Doesn’t include the 50,000 Men and Women held in Regular Prisons)

 

 The Communists murdered 149,469,610 Men, Women and Children (Non-Military Civilians)  Worldwide since 1917 and the Communists in China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea continue murdering Innocent People.

We should also remember the Ukrainian Men, Women and Children being murdered by the Russian Nazi Zs since 2022.