WAR IN UKRAINE: March 3, 2022
I begin today’s update with a moving vignette from here on the ground in Lviv…
Yesterday i was invited for dinner to the home of a gracious local family, along with an offer of a bed due to the curfew. Mid-dinner we were jolted by the sounds of air raid sirens and fled the table (thankfully, nothing happened).
This morning we were one person less. The 16-year-old son of the host had departed silently to go fight on the frontlines in the east. Nothing the mother said dissuaded him. I believe the same type of story is playing itself out in households across Ukraine.
On the short stroll home today I spoke to Maria, the young lady operating a small coffee stand on the edge of the old town of Lviv. She told me she is a student at the Ivan Franko University and that, due to the war, classes had been suspended as of Feb. 27. “They told us classes will resume March 11 but I am not sure.” Like all of the gracious and hospitable locals I have encountered here, she greeted me with a smile and incredible kindness. I will continue to check up on here and make sure her tip jar is amply filled!
As Russian forces advance onto Ukraine, mostly in the east and south, we are seeing the makings of a land bridge linking Crimea - illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 - and the Russian mainland. This strategy was something I had been warning about for months. I believe that if all of a sudden, the fighting stopped, that the Kremlin would see the land bridge as a major military achievement and retain the territory - no matter what the cost. Some analysts have told me Russian forces may reach even further, creating a corridor all the way to Moldova, which would mean taking Odesa as well. Frightening prospects.
The key city of Kherson, home to more than half-a-million people, is reported to now be under Russian control. Mariupol, a strategic port city, is under heavy bombardment. The map below shows what’s happening…
Also on the way home this morning, I passed by this bus stop poster...it reads:
“Russia destroyed our star, “Mriya” (the largest airplane in the world) but we are now building a new one. Support the March 1, 2022 application for Ukraine to become a member of the European Union. We are stronger together, support the Ukrainian Army.”
Predictably, the Ukrainian currency is taking beating due to the hostilities - though hardly as bad as the Russian ruble which has faced double digit devaluation. Here is a comparison of rates now to around the time I first arrived in Ukraine almost a month ago…The time will soon come for the international community to help defend not only Ukraine’s sovereignty - but also its currency.
Meanwhile, the Moscow Stock Exchange stayed closed for the third day-in-a-row. Russian companies on the London exchange have lost 98 percent of their value in two weeks - wiping out $572-billion in value. Russian energy giants and big banks have been reduced to penny stocks - Global News.
The violent Russian missile strike on the Kyiv TV Tower, one of the tallest structures in the city, not only destroyed a vital piece of infrastructure, but also caused debris to rain down on the surrounding area, which includes the world-renowned Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial. During the Holocaust, the Nazis murdered more than 100,000 Jews in Babyn Yar. A dear friend who lives nearby shared these images with me after the carnage.