It's All Connected
“Close your eyes
Have no fear
The monster’s gone
He’s on the run and your daddy’s here
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful boy”
Just over three years ago, had Waldo been hiding in Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, most Americans would have been unable to locate him. Then, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashed the Russian army, attacking Ukraine, a peaceful nation of 42 million. Claiming that there was no national Ukrainian identity, Putin characterized Ukrainians as simply Russians in denial. He wanted to incorporate Ukraine’s minerals, oil and gas reserves, vast agricultural resources, and skilled workforce into a reconstituted Russian empire the likes of which the world has not seen in over three decades, or taking a longer view, since Peter the Great.
At the time, democratic nations throughout the world sided with the Ukrainians, as did the American public. Setting aside geo-political issues, the tale was a familiar one. The experts predicted that Kyiv would fall within three days. Russian tanks would roll unimpeded across the Ukrainian countryside. Everyone was rooting for the underdog—David vs. Goliath, the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team, Rocky, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team.
But Kyiv didn’t fall. The supposedly invincible Russians were denied a quick victory largely because Putin relied on conscripts from the Russian hinterlands who had no idea what they were fighting for. Those conscripts were fed into a meat grinder, resulting in high Russian casualties. Putin didn’t care whether his soliders lived or died. The Ukrainians, on the other hand, were fighting for their homeland, language, and cultural identity. Every volunteer knew that this was a fight for the nation’s survival.
Western leaders were thrilled with the Ukrainian bulwark against Russian expansionism. Arms and humanitarian aid immediately began to flow. If Ukraine fell, Finland, Poland, and the Baltics would be next. That prospect carried frightening implications because of the obligations imposed on NATO members under Article V. Would America become engulfed in another European war if it didn’t support the Ukrainian effort to halt Putin’s onslaught?
Throughout the last three years, Chicago’s Ukrainian Community has held dozens of demonstrations and other events to support the war effort, hoping to preserve their ancestral homeland as they remembered it. Today, on short notice, 100 members of the community gathered for what was dubbed an emergency rally.
Last Friday, Putin committed another in a long series of war crimes by launching an attack on Kryviy Rih, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown. Twenty people were killed, and 75 others were injured when a Russian missile slammed into a restaurant. Among the dead were nine children.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, released an official statement condemning the attack, stating,
It’s an unimaginable horror — nine children killed, most while playing in a park, as a military weapon exploded into shrapnel above them . . . The use of an explosive weapon with wide area effects by the Russian Federation in a densely populated area —and without any apparent military presence — demonstrates a reckless disregard for civilian life.
Over the last three years, the Russians have committed thousands of documented war crimes. One of those who documented the crimes, Victoria Amelina, was killed while uncovering similar war crimes. She died like the children of Kryviy Rih. A Russian Iskander missile slammed into a pizza parlor where she and several colleagues were dining. Fortunately, she recorded her testimony in a diary, which was recently published carrying the title, Looking at Women Looking at War: a War and Justice Diary. What Amelina left behind is well worth reading. She discusses many atrocities, but as a well-known Ukrainian author, she also addresses Ukraine’s rich literary and artistic traditions.
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights. The two are accused of “the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.” Ukrainian children have also been sexually exploited.
Because Russia has fired thousands of missiles into Ukrainian civilian areas, over 2,000 Ukrainian children have been injured or killed. On March 21, 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner reported,
Between 24 February 2022 and 31 December 2024, the UN Human Rights Office verified that 669 children were killed and 1,833 injured, many as a result of the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Of these, 521 were killed and 1,529 injured in territory controlled by Ukraine, and 148 were killed and 304 injured in currently occupied territory. The actual numbers are likely much higher.
Vast areas of Ukraine are now littered with landmines and explosive remnants of war, posing long-term risks to children’s lives and safety.
As of December 2024, an estimated 737,000 children had been internally displaced by the hostilities.
So, Friday’s incident was just the latest in a long series of war crimes perpetrated against Ukrainian children.
Naturally, Chicago’s Ukrainians wanted to draw attention to the young victims. Today’s effort began with a rally in Jane Byrne Plaza (site of Chicago’s Old Water Tower). The usual suspects spoke, including Zoryana Smozhanyk and Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, President of the UCCA Illinois Division. Singer Olha Tsvyntarna led the assembly in stirring renditions of the American and Ukrainian National Anthems.
Those who turned out were in for a special treat. Ukrainian singer Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko was on hand, but she is so much more than a singer. Ruslana—one of the few artists who is identified by just a single word—like Elvis, Madonna, and Prince— is also a songwriter, dancer, producer, activist, and former politician. She has won the World Music Award and the Eurovision Song Contest. She also served as a deputy in the Ukrainian Parliament. The U.S. Secretary of State even honored her with the International Woman of Courage Award in March 2014. For a taste of her music, checkout two of her music videos, Dance with Wolves and Wild Dances.
Unfortunately, today was a serious event rather than a pop concert. Nevertheless, Ruslana performed admirably, serving up an impassioned speech addressing the war and Russian war crimes. As she spoke, Ruslana leapt from side to the other while gesturing wildly. She made a point of thanking Americans for all the assistance the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.
Following Ruslana’s speech, the group marched under heavy police protection to the plaza in front of the Wrigley Building where there were several more speeches. The 90-minute rally and march broke up shortly after Olha Tsvyntarna reprised the Ukrainian National Anthem. The community had once again brought attention to Russian war crimes, particularly those committed against children.
Donald Trump and JD Vance now control the White House, bringing with them their America First mantra, which is just a slick phrase for isolationism. Trump couldn’t care less about underdogs, alliances, or freedom. In his warped world-view, Russia is a potentially lucrative trading partner, which may explain why it was one of the few nations to escape Trump’s imposition of crippling tariffs this past week.
On March 17, 2025, the Trump Administration, acting through Pam Bondi’s captive Justice Department, announced that the U.S. was withdrawing from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. In 2022, then Attorney General Merrick Garland created the War Crimes Accountability Team within the Justice Department. The Trump Administration has largely curtailed this group’s work.
Trump, ever the useful idiot, doesn’t know history. Throughout the Cold War, the United States overestimated the Soviet Union’s strength, beginning in 1959 with the release of the Gaither Report, which suggested that the Soviet Union could have significant ICBM capacity by the end of 1959, making a surprise attack a realistic possibility in the minds of policymakers. When the Soviet Union was finally dissolved on December 31, 1991, the West learned that it had been fretting over what was a paper tiger. The country’s economy had been in shambles throughout the 1980s, if not before. Following the failed war in Afghanistan, the Soviet military was in not much better shape. The Soviet federation was racked by ethnic tensions. Its mortality rate was dismal.
Aside from Vodka and caviar, Russia has nothing to trade, or at least that the U.S. desires; although Putin can still determine whether there will be a Trump Hotel in Moscow. Trump has nevertheless sided with Putin since becoming president. Everyone knows about the infamous meeting in the Oval Office, where Trump gave Zelensky a dressing down for not dressing up. From the outset, Trump has tied future U.S. aid to a resources deal that is more onerous than the reparations imposed on Germany following the end of World War I.
The pundits have described Trump as “transactional,” which means the only reason the United States should do something is if it gets more in return. This explains why: 80-year-old alliances with European nations are in a shambles; the USAID has been dissolved; funding for medical assistance to curb HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis in less developed nations has been terminated; the U.S. has withdrawn from the World Health Organization; and tariffs are being used to end globalization—a rising tide lifts all boats.
Secretary of State Dean Acheson first conceived and utilized “soft power,” as a means to maintain a peace that produces prosperity. The U.S. has been the chief beneficiary of soft power, but Trump’s tiny brain doesn’t see the immediate flow of dollars back to the U.S., so Trump has buried Dean Acheson.
The children of Kryviy Rih returned no dollars to the United States, but in Trump’s view, a relationship with Putin could be a profitable one despite all the evidence to the contrary. So, Trump looks the other way.
Why Trump remains delusional is an enigma. Recall that Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine on January 20, 2025, his first day in office as the 47th president. Everyone knew that was puffery. But when Trump and his representatives began talks with Putin, they soon saw what the Ukrainians had long known. Putin wasn’t interested in peace; he was interested in devouring Ukraine. We heard that Trump was “pissed off” at Putin once Putin revealed his unyielding demands, but Trump still believes he and Putin are friends. Trump never had a friend. For Trump, Putin remained a business opportunity, so he said nothing about the dead children. He never will.
It’s all connected.
[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]
Zoryana Smozhanyk Speaking to WGN News
Pavlo Bandriwsky Proudly Standing with His Daughter
That's Exactly What She is Doing
"You Can't Be Neutral with Terrorists!"
Signs and Flags
Exchanging a Zelensky Blue Suit for a Blue Parka
Making a Sign on the Fly
Wolves and Russians Know Not to Mess with Ruslana
Ukrainian Singer and Activist Ruslana Speaking Her Mind
In Protective Custody
A Silent Sentry Standing By
Ruslana in Living Color
Just Stating the Facts
"Russia Kills Teens Like Me"
Standing at Attention While Ruslana Speaks
Rulana and Marta Farion Standing Together for Ukraine Against the Russian Wolves
Dr. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, President of the UCCA Illinois Division, Rallying the Troops
Standing Together with Olha Tsvyntarna for a Stirring Rendition of the American National Anthem
Patriotism on Full Display
Calling for the March to Begin
Heading Out from Jane Bryne Plaza
The Ukrainians Come Streaming Out of the Park
Riding in Style
Rolling Under Protective Blue and Yellow Cover
Passing By
Passing Victoria's Secret
Chicago Ukrainians Bloom Under Police Protection
Gathered Around Zoryana
"How Ma Ny More Kids"
Team Photo
Demanding that Putin Cease Ukrainian Genocide
Russia Kills Kids Like Him
Supporting Both the United States and the Defenders of Azovstal
She is Lucky to Live in the United States Rather Than Russian-Controlled Territory in Ukraine
Outraged by Russia Treatment of Ukrainian Children
"Russia Kills Children"
Standing United Against Russia
Drawing Attention to Childhoods Erased by Russian Missiles
Speaking with Passion
Closing Out the Rally on a Dignified Note
Hand Over Heart During the Ukrainian National Anthem
With Gusto
Copyright 2025, Jack B. Siegel (except the first two images in the post, which are copyrighted 2024). All Rights Reserved. Do Not Alter, Copy, Display, Distribute, Download, Duplicate, or Reproduce Without the Prior Written Consent of the Copyright Holder.
