[Forwarded from somewhere]

The war is going considerably less well for Putin than he had imagined. Putin was still the most popular politician in Ukraine in 2014, but has now united the entire population in hatred of him.

Putin may think that Ukraine is not a real nation, but his actions have made it a nation, as Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari on Monday wrote:

"Nations are ultimately built on stories. Each passing day adds more stories
that Ukrainians will tell not only in the dark days ahead, but in the
decades and generations to come. The president who refused to flee the
capital, telling the US that he needs ammunition, not a ride; the soldiers
from Snake Island who told a Russian warship to "go fuck yourself"; the
civilians who tried to stop Russian tanks by sitting in their path. This is
the stuff nations are built from. In the long run, these stories count for
more than tanks. The Russian despot should know this as well as anyone. As a
child, he grew up on a diet of stories about Russian bravery in the siege of
Leningrad. He is now creating more such stories, but casting himself in the
role of Hitler."

Yuval believes that Russia has already lost the war. Even if it succeeds to occupy Ukraine, Ukrainians will never accept it. Russia has also succeeded in unifying NATO, even prodding Germany into a much greater defense effort and sending weapons to a war zone.

Much of the world is united in disgust at what Russia is doing, and admiration for the heroic resistance of little David Ukraine against the great Goliath Russia.


--- FMail-lnx64 2.1.0.18-B20170815
* Origin: FMail development HQ (2:280/464)