…while their young soldiers dodge Russian gunfire in their own homeland. — Careless Gatsby (@JamesGatzTrump) December 11, 2019

It was a summer of agony in Ukraine.

While Americans were shuttling the kids to the beach for summer holiday Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were dying, locked in a hot war fending off Russian aggression.

do I believe @realDonaldTrump is scared of Biden? he's scared of salad, condoms and certain light bulbs so yeah all 2020 Dems frighten him do I believe Donald would request Biden dirt in a multi-layered mafia scheme? also yeshttps://t.co/IAAgXc8hMS — Will Knows We Must Block Their Dominionist Coup (@bywillpollock) September 22, 2019

Ukraine suffered through 70 days without $400 million in U.S. support that Trump & MAGA minions ordered frozen to extort dirt on Joe Biden. Donald will be impeached for it, officially, as early as next week.

Here’s a snapshot (through public reporting and by no means exhaustive) of what happened during that consequential—and treasonous—period between 3 July – 11 September 2019. Significant loss of life, morning families and orphaned kids:

JULY

– “Bohdan Bihus, 28, Oleksandr Bardalym, 33, and Roman Dzhereleiko, 31, were all killed by Russian-separatist forces; according to Kyiv Post Bardalym was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded fellow soldier” (via Newsweek) According to Unian: “60-year-old man was in the garden, not far from an apartment building at 36 Tchaikovsky Street, when he was hit by an OG-9 high explosive fragmentation grenade launched from the village of Staromykhailivka. He was rushed to hospital in the town of Kurakhove where he died from multiple shrapnel wounds.”

AUGUST

via Newsweek: “Oleksandr Sharko, 30, Vladyslav Rak, 20, Serhiy Shandra, 24, Vasyl Kurdov, 20, Roman Romanenko, 25, Vasyl Yevstyhneyev, 38, and Tykhon Kurbatov, 26; Sharko, Rak, Shandra and Kurdov were marines all killed together on the morning of August 6… caught in an enemy artillery barrage while conducting engineering work on their positions”

SEPTEMBER

Donbass ceasefire was reportedly violated at least 15 times early this month; one Ukrainian soldier was killed (Kyiv Post); from Unian news agency, “Russia’s hybrid military forces on September 4 mounted 12 attacks on Ukrainian Army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action” // The armed forces of the Russian Federation and its mercenaries violated the ceasefire 21 times on September 5; one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded as a result of enemy shelling” (Unian)

According to Kyiv Post, 72 Ukrainian soldiers died in 2019 alone (that figure comes from an August report so the total is higher). From ABC Australia:

Since its outbreak, the war in Ukraine has been defined by the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and haunting images of a wave of demonstrations in the capital Kiev, known as Euromaidan.

Do NOT lose sight of how Russia is the aggressor in this war; Ukraine, our close ally in the region, is defending itself from Putin and Russia stealing land and murdering innocent people. Could that military aid have saved lives? Probably, but we’ll never know the answer.

Donald Trump has canoodled Putin without conditions, repeatedly, without any record of what they discussed. To use this aid in the way Trump did is pernicious and sociopathic, to say the least—and it’ll be his undoing. 🔴

“what must Ukraine think of us?” sadly that’s the right Q#maddow — Will Knows We Must Block Their Dominionist Coup (@bywillpollock) November 12, 2019

Will Pollock is a perpetually crabby New York City escapee based in Midtown Atlanta. He’s a freelance multimedia journalist, media analyst and author of two books (award-wining Pizza for Good & Leaving Triscuit), with more on the way.

In 2001, Will earned his Masters from The Medill School of Journalism, graduating with highest honors from the magazine sequence. As permanent member of Journalism’s National Honors Society, he’s been active in monitoring, writing and blogging about media and journalism ever since he graduated.

Obsessed with good storytelling and journalistic excellence, Will uses snark, humor and reason to distill dumb shit and make it fun. He’s a seeker/maker of non-consensus news, and helps you cure crankies by finding the nut in every story.

As for-profit media continues to fail us, it’s more important than ever to find reliable sources. Authentic storytelling exists—you just have to look for it. On this blog you’ll get ideas, not ideology. Sass with class. Reporting with rapport. Evidence with a touch of evil. You get the idea.

CrankyYank is a safe space for whistleblowers, sources on background, and anonymous tips. Please follow this link to learn more about secure contact options. Twitter DMs always open.

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