A great sentiment to those fighting against tremendous odds.
Ukrainians, much as I am for them, are not fighting for freedom lovers everywhere. If they were, opposition leaders wouldn’t be in jail, and newspapers wouldn’t have been shut down. I can understand doing that during war-time, but that is not freedom. I can understand tolerating the likes of the Azov Battalion, because they’re doing the fighting in Mariupol and the Ukes are short-handed. But they’re a@@-holes. Not Nazi a@@-holes, despite what some people say, but a@@-holes nonetheless, and they are violating the freedoms of many people in the Donbass region. Corruption is a part of life in Eastern Europe and Latin America, and is becoming part of life in America. But it diminishes everyone’s freedom.
As far as I am concerned, the Ukes are fighting for their freedom from Russian oppression, and that automatically protects everyone fond of breathing from nuclear Armageddon, because if the bear is not contained, it will only be a matter of time before they are attacking NATO countries. But freedom is just an abstract concept that is easy to utter, but hard to implement truly.
Ukraine is making progress towards freedom, but Ukrainians are not yet truly free, even if the Russians all went home tomorrow. They may be one day. They are trying. But so were New Yorkers in the 19th Century, who had to contend with Tammany Hall corruption, bigotry towards new immigrants, and union-busting thugs and union thugs. Freedom is a goal for them. A good goal.