Comrades,
Map of railways still operating safely in Ukraine - one of the largest systems in the world at 19,787km of track. Bear in mind, Ukraine is approximately 1,200km from east to west, almost exactly the same distance as Sydney to Broken Hill.
Reveals true extent of Russian military territorial gains...
Making the world safe for the Miracle of Democracy with the people's art.
On the
streets...a few you may have missed from last week.
St Petersburg, Russia.
Paris, France.
In a bomb crater, Idlib, Syria.
UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ancient City of Aleppo, Syria, before and after Russian bombardment, 2016.
Comrades,
Folks tend to forget that Vlad the Impaler has some very serious form when it comes to urban warfare. If you think Putin will hesitate for one second in totally demolishing Kyiv - if that's what it takes to conquer the Ukraine - then think again. He will. With no regrets. If he could get away with nuking it, he would. Make no mistake. He would love nothing more.
The complete &
utter destruction of the capital of Chechnya, Grozny, in late
1999-early 2000 was on direct orders from Putin as the final act
in the Second Chechen War. The city of half a million people was
relentlessly pounded by air strikes, missile attacks, and heavy
artillery until hardly anything was left standing. Even after
the war was officially declared over, the Red Army went about
dynamiting anything that was left for months afterwards, just to make sure. As a
result of Putin's sheer barbarity, all traces of Grozny were erased
from the surface of this earth and as many as 30,000 civilians
died. In 2003, the United Nations declared Grozny "the most
destroyed city in the world". That's all Vlad's work.
and let's also never ever
forget it was Putin's jet bombers who pulverised the Ancient City
in Aleppo - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - until it lay in ruins
in
2016, including the medieval Al-Madina Souq, the largest covered
market in
the world at some 14 kilometers long, dating back to the 13th
century. Despite some recent diligent efforts in re-building work,
it's
originality is gone forever, but never forgotten. If you are
looking for a modern example of the wanton destruction of an ancient
city, that's it. That's all Vlad's work. History repeats.
So, you'd have to sincerely hope that the city surveyors and heritage people in Kyiv have been out in force in recent months, closely mapping the built city and accounting in intricate detail for all of it's long history and heritage, just like the Polish people did in Warsaw back in '44, when they realised the Nazi's would totally destroy the city on Hitler's orders, before they were forced to leave. Without those historic plans created and held in secret by the Poles, an entirely levelled Warsaw would have never been rebuilt.
The people of Ukraine know all of this all too well, so it's no surprise to see millions fleeing ahead of an invasion by the Red Army, who also have a very poor reputation as an occupying force. Look no further than Berlin, May 1945. History repeats.
"The Face of War"
Ukrainian Artist, Daria Marchenko, with her portrait of V.V.Putin made from bullet casings found near the "Line of Control" in Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
