Keeping Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers here

[PollyannaMom]

Please forgive me for crashing this thread. I haven't been on the DIS in some time; I have a 6.5-year-old who takes up most of my time I am trying to avoid news, but there's a nice big red banner on Yahoo that I can't avoid when I check my email. I'm trying to stay level-headed but I am so flippin' SCARED. I try to remind myself of some of the small-but-good things I've heard, like the Turkish president trying to mediate, and I pray constantly every day, but I feel like the entire world is in a downward spiral. People around me are saying that nothing will happen here, stop worrying, but every day it seems like things get worse. I don't know how much longer I can deal with it.

I'm sorry for this, but I just feel like I need to talk to someone

I've been wondering where you were, and am glad to see you back here (even though of course I wish it was for a happier reason!)

It is hard, and I watch my "news diet" carefully too. Like you, I try to concentrate on the good things - the moments like the little girl singing, people helping in any way they can, etc. (There is a Mr. Rogers quote somewhere about looking for the helpers...)

Definitely don't be shy about coming to the DIS for a bit of normalcy! We've still got the Funny Memes thread going, and I think you'd like Thumper's Thread too.

Get outside and play with your little one now that it's spring. - Sunshine really does help me feel calmer! And if it gets really bad, don't count out talking to a counselor.

 

[BrianL]

Thought maybe you could use a nice story about the Ukraine situation that is local to me. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has taken some Ukrainian cancer patients to continue their much needed treatments:

https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/03/22/first-ukrainian-pediatric-cancer-patients-arrive-st-jude/

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Please forgive me for crashing this thread. I haven't been on the DIS in some time; I have a 6.5-year-old who takes up most of my time I am trying to avoid news, but there's a nice big red banner on Yahoo that I can't avoid when I check my email. I'm trying to stay level-headed but I am so flippin' SCARED. I try to remind myself of some of the small-but-good things I've heard, like the Turkish president trying to mediate, and I pray constantly every day, but I feel like the entire world is in a downward spiral. People around me are saying that nothing will happen here, stop worrying, but every day it seems like things get worse. I don't know how much longer I can deal with it.

I'm sorry for this, but I just feel like I need to talk to someone

Nice to see you! It’s kind of why this thread was started - and is still here. So many feel the way your do (or similarly) and this is a place we can come and talk about the humanity part of it a little bit (without straying too far into you-know-what).

I saw a poll on the evening local news the other day that said that 80% of Americans are fearful about this, as well (on top of pandemic concerns and rising gas and other prices, etc. - yes, those were in the poll, too, and it showed that most Americans were worried). So you are not alone.

I follow the news every day. I try to appreciate the good part of things, and am looking for a legitimate way to help. (For instance I have a ton of medical supplies I would like to donate. I just missed one collection yesterday but I’m sure there will be others.) If the U.S. has an influx of refugees, I would like to help them. As I mentioned a few pages back, I do believe that prayer helps. And I feel that we have a new leader to really look up to in President Zelensky. I think there are a lot of other things, too.

 

[Kennywood]

 

[SirDuff]

Thought maybe you could use a nice story about the Ukraine situation that is local to me. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has taken some Ukrainian cancer patients to continue their much needed treatments:

https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/03/22/first-ukrainian-pediatric-cancer-patients-arrive-st-jude/

SickKids (Toronto) has as well. As have hospitals in the UK.

 

[Dan Murphy]

https://www.mcezone.com/ukrainian-cellist-played-bach-in-the-ruins-of-his-hometown-of-kharkiv/

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Apparently Russian troops have become terminally demoralised and have been "encircled" outside of a key city...

 

[punkin]

Could this be good news for a change? https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...mostly-complete-focus-now-donbass-2022-03-25/

 

[Kennywood]

Russian troops attack own commanding officer after suffering heavy losses

Russian troops attacked their own commanding officer by running him over with a tank after many in their brigade were killed amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, The Washington Post reported, citing a Ukrainian journalist and a Western official.

Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk said in a post on Facebook that Russian Col. Yuri Medvedev was attacked after fighting in Ukraine left nearly half of the men in the 37th Motor Rifle Brigade dead, according to the Post.

Tsymbaliuk said the brigade injured both of Medvedev's legs by hitting him with a tank, causing him to be hospitalized, per the newspaper.

The incident occurred roughly 30 miles from Kyiv in Makariv, Ukraine, according to the Post. The country reportedly retook the town this week after Russia gained control of it earlier in the war.

A senior Western official told the newspaper he thinks Medvedev has died, saying the incident shows the low morale among the Russian troops in Ukraine.

He was killed "as a consequence of the scale of the losses taken by his own brigade," the official said, per the Post.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...-heavy-losses-report/ar-AAVuUv2?ocid=BingHp01

 

[pigletto]

Could this be good news for a change? https://www.reuters.com/world/europ...mostly-complete-focus-now-donbass-2022-03-25/

This is saving face and refusing to admit they are getting their *** handed to them by the Ukrainians.

However I don’t trust them to say this and actually do it . It would be more like them to regroup and do something heinous at a later date.

 

[punkin]

This is saving face and refusing to admit they are getting their *** handed to them by the Ukrainians.

However I don’t trust them to say this and actually do it . It would be more like them to regroup and do something heinous at a later date.

Well... yes. Of course. But they're basically declaring victory and pulling back (for now). Also there's news that Kherson may not be in Russian hands anymore and they never did manage to control Mariupol. That means there's no way to capture Odessa, which leaves Ukraine with an operational black sea port.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Apparently a Russian commended has been killed by his own Russian regiment as they have been battered by Ukrainian forces and suffering heavy losses...

 

[Planogirl]

The theater in Mariupol where so many citizens took refuge has been bombed and hundreds died. The cruelty just goes on and on.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Not sure if this link will work. CNN heroes with John Legend Never Break music. Sound is probably on mute by default.

Glory to Ukraine.

CNN Ukraine Heroes

 

[Pea-n-Me]

https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/03/25/boston-childrens-chorus-ukraine-independence-hymn

 

[punkin]

So I just watched the first 2 episodes of Servant of the People with Zelensky on Netflix. He's very funny.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I think I've started to feel a bit better. Still somewhat scared, but on Thursday I read and heard some things that I personally found encouraging, and from then on I've made an effort to not look at the big red alarmist banner on Yahoo that makes me look up other things. I have gotten the feeling that Yahoo *is* making it worse by constantly saying a particular word; when I look at CNN (website or TV), they are not saying the same thing at all. I just continue to pray - about every 2 or 3 minutes - that by some miracle, someone will negotiate an agreement and it will end. I probably will never feel "safe" again, but at least I no longer feel like something awful is imminent.

I did happen to see President Zelensky's show is on Netflix now. I'd like to see it - at some point. I don't think I can watch it just yet, but hopefully soon

 

[dvcgirl67]

Well, we were just able to so something very cool. I may have mentioned this group on this thread earlier, but I read about them in the NYT just after the war started. Then I saw a report about them on CNN. https://volunteerforukraine.org is the group....and they were a group of military experts/officers who were vetting retired US veterans who wanted to go to Ukraine to fight, to be medics, to help with logistics, weaponry....all of the ways the our military does. I signed up right then and at that time all that they were looking for was for anyone who was willing to donate airline miles to fly a veteran over to Ukraine to help.

I figured they had so many people who volunteered to help that they just didn't need us. And then today I got the the email! We were connected with a former Naval officer who specialized in logistics, but also was a licensed medic. DH and I got in touch with his wife immediately to secure the flight that her husband needed....this Sunday, from Fort Meyers all the way to Warsaw. We were able to even get him premium economy for a pretty good deal (48K miles...one way).....and a two bag per flight allowance as he was packing two very large bags packed with medical supplies. The veteran himself is going to call us before he goes so we can touch base. We've already told his wife that we'll make sure he has a flight home. She could not have been cooler...or kinder.

It was truly one of the most special giving experiences we've ever had. If you have extra FF miles laying around, or can donate in another way (I believe they're accepting actual funds now too)....this is a very cool way to help.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Watching the BBC...

Interesting accusations made by the Pentagon and GCHQ. They say that Putin is getting poor intelligence from scared commanders as to how well the war is going. They say that moral on the ground is poor, that some Russian troops had even been told they were "going on exercise", an "alarming" state of play. Russian troops have even been so disorganised they have shot down their own drones! Some troops are even deserting, having been told things would be over in days and there would be no resistance. At least one Russian commander may have been executed in rebellion by his own side!

So now what? Does Putin still continue with a disastrous invasion? Does he know how badly it's going? Certainly, he's opening fire with gas and oil, saying that to trade in it foreign bodies would have to trade in Rubles, not Dollars or Euros as Ruble values have been smacked by the war. Germany has gone on record telling him basically, get lost and America has made it clear that they will not kowtow to the Kremlin as they have more than enough in emergency supplies.

It's messy.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Update: Ukraine says that Russia has retreated form Chernobyl after digging trenches in highly radioactive areas. Several soldiers are being treated for radiation sickness in local hospitals.