February 27, 2022

"They are hoping that their present support for Ukraine and democracy makes us forget their past support for Putin, even as former president Trump continues to call him “smart.” And yet, Republicans changed their party’s 2016 platform to favor Russia over Ukraine; accepted Trump’s abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria in October 2019, giving Russia a strategic foothold in the Middle East; and looked the other way when Trump withheld $391 million to help Ukraine resist Russian invasion until newly elected Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to help rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. (Trump did release the money after the story of the “perfect phone call” came out, but the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which investigated the withholding of funds, concluded that holding back the money at all was illegal.)"

Great article. Thanks for posting.

It is becoming a nastier war with Putin apparently ordering a "terror campaign" against the civilian population after facing a significant opposition on the ground from the Ukrainians. Russians are now using cluster munitions against population centers, primarily civilian and avoiding engagements with the Ukrainian military where possible