This title is a line from the Ukraine national anthem. Today, “our freedom” is not only the freedom of Ukraine. Today, Ukraine lays down her souls and bodies for freedom everywhere. She is on the front line of the fight for humanity.
Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine! Gloire à l’Ukraine!
¡Gloria a Ucrania! Ruhm der Ukraine!
What is happening in Ukraine is happening to humanity. Are we still human? Have we died yet? The national anthem of Ukraine says that her glory and freedom have “not yet perished.” Nor has ours, I hope, for we are all Ukraine.
You may have to wait a bit for Ukraine national websites
to load from my links. There’s a war on.
#STANDWITHUKRAINE (official Ukraine website) “HOW CAN YOU HELP? The most important thing you can do for Ukraine now is to READ and SHARE verified information about Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “
I was greatly impressed that the nation of Ukraine says that the most important thing we can do for them now is to read and share information. Think about that. Act on it.
Good teachers always say that they learn by teaching. Learn by sharing. It really works, especially when you verify the source.
The glory and freedom have not perished. And so they cry out so often, “Glory to Ukraine.” So might we, to lift her up, to honor her sacrifices on the front lines of war on humanity.
(If you have trouble with this YouTube version, there is an audio-only version at the end of this post.)
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/ZEFB2Y2QDcw
Gloria all’Ucraina! ウクライナに栄光を！ Rûmet ji Ukraynayê re!
Full Definition of Glory: Great beauty and splendor. Honor, admiration, or distinction, accorded by common consent to a person or thing; high reputation; renown. That quality in a person or thing which secures general praise or honor. Victory.
Ukraine State Coat of Arms as of 1918 (in modern style)
So glory to Ukraine from our souls as a people joined in faith that glory and freedom are worth the fight, that they have not yet perished, not for us, not for her. Who is “us” now? Who is Ukraine?
Luwalhati sa Ukraine! Δόξα στην Ουκρανία! Dicsőség Ukrajnának!
Such is the spirit of her people. They cling to the conviction, even to death, that their glory and freedom are inalienable and eternal. They will be Ukrainian no matter what dictator runs the government, no matter what army, and they will overrun the dictator eventually, even without an army to fight with. Even without weapons. They take it to the streets in great masses. Check their history.
The tribute is to the glory and freedom of a people more than a nation.
Slava Ukrainai! Слава Україні! Kemuliaan kepada Ukraine!
The next video is a sing-along! It contains more than a beautiful, sweetly and powerfully sung song. It is a conversation between some “everyday” people in a park and you. It concludes with a simple statement that is more true and more important now than ever, which, as you will see in the video, they express in simple, profound elegance, with a gentle, peaceful pride:
~~~~~~~ “We are all Ukrainians now.” ~~~~~~~
This video was made in 2014 as a response to Russian attacks in Crimea and the east regions of Ukraine. The makers of the video wrote:
Dear World, I thought that you would like to understand the words that Ukrainians sing in a million voices nearly every hour for almost four months in a row. The words that keep us strong and united in our fight for the better future. So me and my friends translated these words into English and sang for you. We tried to communicate all the senses and finest meanings, as well as to preserve the original poem’s beauty and specific melodious quality of a Ukrainian song. I hope we did it. Proud to present — the National Anthem of Ukraine. Feel free to sing with us, so we could feel your support 🙂
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/COCEauuQrb0
Cossack/Kozak: A member or descendant of an originally (semi-)nomadic population of Eastern Europe and the adjacent parts of Asia, formed in part of runaways from neighboring countries, that eventually settled in parts of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian tsarist Empire (where they constituted a legendary military caste), particularly in areas now comprising southern Russia and Ukraine.
“Feel free to sing with us, so we could feel your support.”
Sing with them. Feel their support. If you were to cry out to the world for support, would it be done so sweetly, not so much as a cry, but as a declaration?
I declare war on the war on Ukraine.
I hate war and oppose it whenever I can. I vociferously opposed the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan when just about everybody needed it, wanting blood for 9/11/01. I said, “This war will not change anything.” I was so wrong. It changed everything for the worse. Still, I fully, unequivocally support and defend the right and need of Ukraine’s people to rise, fight, and kill in self- defense, in defense of humanity.
Is it practical for Ukraine to fight a war against Russia? Can they win without NATO troops?
History not was but is. –Faulkner
Look at history. Look at how Afghanistan kicked out the Russian-controlled Soviet Union, a war that was a big factor in the fall of the Soviet Union. They did it because of the massive, long term military help of the U.S. without NATO or U.S. deploying troops, though we did deploy the CIA.
See my article and video, The U.S. Gave the Taliban Fertile Ground in the 1990s for more on the topic. For an entertaining telling of the story about our defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, see the movie Charlie Wilson’s War. With the cast Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman (the best one in the show), Amy Adams and Ned Beatty, you can’t go wrong, especially with a screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Mike Nichols, and with music by James Newton Howard. Hanks co-produced it, too. Or, go deeper and read the book, Charlie Wilson’s War; The Extraordinary Story How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times by George Crile.
It may not work the same way as in Afghanistan, but we can do it again in Ukraine. Remember, I refer not to what we did to Afghanistan from 1990 to 2021. That is a thirty year bloodbath of American failures, beginning with abandoning the Mujahideen fighters after the Soviets were pushed out. This opened the door to the Taliban (and their client, Al Qaeda) to rise in Afghanistan, ultimately to “911” (September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. … just clarifying for the youngest generation), and to the U.S. revenge invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Don’t take it that I think we planted tulips all over Afghanistan. One may rightly say that we ruined them, and they are now literally starving.
I refer to our helping Afghanistan defeat the Soviet Union without our sending troops in the 1980s. I have heard Congressman Charlie Wilson on multiple occasions say that we did not win that war. He credits the great bravery and commitment of the Mujahideen fighters as the ground on which our military help operated. He said that before we did anything (when our budget for helping them was only $5million), his heart was turned to them by their refusal to give up in the face of continual setbacks. That’s Ukraine, too.
Ukraine’s military, technology, education of citizens, and economy are far more advanced than anything Afghanistan has ever known. They are imposing great damage to Russia’s forces as I write this. They will not surrender. However, they do not have the resources to win decisively in the short run against Russia. It could take decades without a massive surge, an infusion, of military, cyber-technical, fuel, food, shelter and other humanitarian support, and economic aid from the U.S. and others. And donations from individuals, groups, organizations and companies. See Verified ways to help Ukraine now, Euromaidan Press.
We have a unified global position of total opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the E.U., NATO, Australia, Japan and others. They need to stop talking about how to control Putin and start talking, immediately, about how to enable Ukrainians of all kinds (civilians are engaged in the fight) to stop the Russian forces and send them home to their families, preferably alive, but if necessary, in bits and pieces and puddles. I’m not a Quaker.
Putin will not stop at Ukraine. Ukraine is the future. Help them fight, and fight anyone who opposes helping them in every way we can.
This is not about hatred of Russian people. Hatred of Putin and his sociopath ilk (Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Mao, Pol Pot, Duterte, Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, etc.), yes, but not the Russian people. Russians are fighting for us, too. As may be heard among masses of anti-Putin activists being arrested in the streets of Russia:
Слава Украине! Glory to Ukraine!
Below are the lyrics in English as sung above (the original poem on which the official anthem is based) and in Ukrainian. I obtained these with gratitude from Euromaidan Press (read their impressive About page), “an online English-language independent newspaper launched by Ukrainian volunteers in 2014,” certain to become outlawed in a Russian occupied Ukraine. This is also where I found the above video, in the 2015 article, The National Anthem of Ukraine translated to English.
| Glorious spirit of Ukraine shines and lives forever. Blessed by Fortune brotherhood will stand up together. Like the dew before the sun enemies will fade, We will further rule and prosper in our promised land. |
Ще не вмерла України ні слава, ні воля. Ще нам, браття молодії, усміхнеться доля. Згинуть наші вороженьки, як роса на сонці, Запануєм і ми, браття, у своїй сторонці. |
| We will lay our soul and body for the cherished freedom. Cossack blood will raise the nation of the joyous people. |
Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу, І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду. |
| For the liberty the folk strives ardently from San to Don, And will let no alien power in our common home. Aged Dnieper and Black Sea arm in arm rejoice, And Ukraine will see daylight and live by Fortune’s choice. |
Станем, браття, в бій кривавий від Сяну до Дону, В ріднім краю панувати не дамо нікому; Чорне море ще всміхнеться, дід Дніпро зрадіє, Ще у нашій Україні доленька наспіє. |
| We will lay our soul and body for the cherished freedom. Cossack blood will raise the nation of the joyous people. |
Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу, І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду. |
| Passion and hard-working hands prove bright future true. Song of freedom, loud and clear, guides us all way through. Over mountains and steppes it flows, over ages told. Valorous Ukraine stands strong in a thriving world. |
А завзяття, праця щира свого ще докаже, Ще ся волі в Україні піснь гучна розляже, За Карпати відоб’ється, згомонить степами, України слава стане поміж народами. |
| We will lay our soul and body for the cherished freedom. Cossack blood will raise the nation of the joyous people. |
Душу, тіло ми положим за нашу свободу, І покажем, що ми, браття, козацького роду. |
National Anthem of Ukraine (audio):
Thank you for reading this far, but there’s important stuff below.
Related reading:
Article: Stories Of Ukrainian Heroism Are Emerging And Giving The Country Hope – “Acts of unthinkable bravery by Ukrainian citizens have already ascended into legend across the country, boosting morale and galvanizing a nationwide resistance that has already proved formidable in the face of Russia’s massive and experienced military.” by Christopher Miller, Isobel Koshiw, Pete Kiehart, BuzzFeed News, posted 2/28/2022
The Official Website of Ukraine and Ukraine Before the War
The information on these websites is verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA). Developed by PlusOne Social Impact, “the Ukrainian team of experts in communications, strategies, and complex creative campaigns.” Watch out for fake sites.
The official website of the President of Ukraine contains news, photos, videos and more from the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Володимир Зеленський).
See also these official pages:
https://www.facebook.com/UkraineUA.MFA/
https://www.instagram.com/ukraine.ua
Article: Verified ways to help Ukraine now, Euromaidan Press – Feb. 27, 2022 – “Based on popular request, we have updated our page on organizations helping the Ukrainian army that accept donations from abroad — now the info is as of January 2022. You can still access the original 2014 version in the Web Archive. … This list includes only trustworthy initiatives, most of which are organized by people personally known by Euromaidan Press members and that have clear and transparent financial reports. For suggestions for updates to this page, please write to euromaidanpress@gmail.com.” This is not just a list. It is an impressive, comprehensive narrative on each agency, plus names of people, websites, contact information, and dollar and euro bank accounts accepting donations.
Article: War in Ukraine has rewritten Germany’s political ideology, Euromaidan Press. “German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock addressed a special meeting of the German Parliament on Sunday. Her speech is historic for the country, as well as for the rest of Europe. … The day before, the remaining German resistance to aiding Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion fell, and with it, a new era has dawned upon the European landscape. In a joint statement from Baerbock and Vice Chancellor Robert Haebeck, Germany has agreed to a ‘targeted and functional restriction of SWIFT’ against specific Russian banks, allowing the passage of a measure from which they had been the main dissenting voice. … At the same time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the country was deploying 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles and 1,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine’s frontlines, a decision which followed the announcement that they would also be sending 9 howitzers, 10,000 tons of fuel, 400 rocket-propelled grenades, and 14 armored personnel carriers through NATO allies Poland, Estonia, and The Netherlands.” Go, Germany! —>go to the full article—>
#StopRussianAggression #RussiaInvadedUkraine
#UkraineCrisis #UkraineUnderAttack
Slava Ukraini!
The Balsamean 