That wasn't supposed to happen

War memorial in Simferopol, 2018






















According to the legend, Stalin was more than a bit surprised when the USSR was invaded in 1941. For quite some time, Uncle Joe just could not believe that it really was happening. Yes, his intelligence officers tried to warn him that Hitler was going to attack and Stalin dismissed their fears. So it was not quite a case of history repeating itself when Putin's soldiers invaded the Ukraine. As readers of my blog will already know, I saw a lot of good things that have happened since the Russian takeover of the Crimea back in 2014. Way back before we were married, I also had the opportunity to see what things in the Crimea were like when the region was part of the Ukraine and under the authority of the government in Kiev. What a mess! 
But whatever good Putin may have done in the past is far outweighed by the disaster that is unfolding in the streets of Kiev, Kharkov and towns and cities all over the Ukraine.
 
With Albert, my father-inlaw, and Yevgenny, my brother-in-law


My dear wife only watches the Russian news programmes, so she is convinced that the war will only last a few days and there will not be many casualties because the Russian soldiers will be careful not to target any civilians. After what happened in Syria, my guess is that the war will go on (and on). The loss of life will be appalling and Kiev is going to be one big pile of rubble. I very much hope that I will be proved wrong.

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