A Thousand Days

And countless crimes against humanity

A memorial in Kiev commemorating 1,000 days of Russian aggression.

The day after Vladimir Putin launched his country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, his ally, Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Nikonov bragged that, “The enemy will be defeated and victory will be ours. And I have no doubts about this.”

Almost three years later, the hubris is obvious and the problems Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, identified two weeks into the invasion, remain operative today:

Moscow underestimated the strength of Ukraine’s resistance and the degree of internal military challenges we are observing, which include an ill-considered plan, morale issues, and considerable logistical issues.

The situation is so dire for Russia now that, after losing 10,000 troops in the first week of November, the country brokered a deal with Kim Jong-Un to supplement its losses. Ten-thousand North Korean troops were sent into Kursk to assist the beleaguered Russian army.

Today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the grim benchmark of 1,000 days of war by appearing in front of the European Parliament. Before he spoke, EP President Roberta Metsola said in her introductory remarks that the Parliament would continue to stand with Ukraine until it has achieved “freedom and real peace, for as long as it takes.”

She characterized Russia’s invasion as a “brutal, unprovoked, and illegal assault on Ukraine but also on the rules-based order,” and said, “The Ukrainian people’s sacrifice over the last 1,000 days is not just for themselves but for every European’s freedom and way of life.”

After thanking the EU for its continuing support, Zelenskyy said, “Thank you for ensuring that not a single one of the 1,000 days of this terrible war became a day of betrayal of our shared European values. . . . Together Ukraine, all of Europe and our partners, in America and around the world, we have succeeded not only in preventing Putin from taking Ukraine but also in defending the freedom of all European nations. Putin remains smaller than the united strength of Europe. I urge you not to forget this, and not to forget how much Europe is capable of achieving.”

Of all the unthinkable scenarios we’ve been forced to consider since Donald won the election on November 5th is the possibility that all of this will have been for nought. After all, the fate of Ukraine and Zelesnkyy may rest with Donald Trump, Putin’s puppet, a man who is enamored of and beholden to the very autocrat who wants to destroy our ally.

Elon Musk, who has been in regular contact with Putin since 2022, was on Donald’s first call to Zelensky after the election—a troubling sign of how things may play out. Since then, Musk has taken to mocking Zelensky publicly on Twitter.

As unthinkable as it may be, we must contemplate how the world will react if, as seems likely, Donald withdraws the United States’ support from Ukraine in order to appease Vladimir Putin, his puppet-master—and our enemy. What will happen to Ukraine and Zelenskyy when one of their staunchest allies betrays them?

Ukraine has been through hell, but they remain an example of how to beat extraordinary odds. Remember this?

“Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”

It was in February 2022 when Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island sent that message to the Moskva, the Russian ship that was shelling their outpost. It was an act of defiance that resonated across the world and bolstered a country under siege. Two months later, Ukrainians sank the Moskva.

What Ukraine has done since Russia violated international law and illegally invaded is nothing short of astonishing. And they have done it despite the fact that they haven’t received all of the assistance it deserved from us—whether because of Republican obstruction or the short-sightedness of the Biden administration.

It’s going to get so much worse under the Trump administration so we must continue to support Ukraine in whatever way we can. And we can start by saying to my uncle, “Go fuck yourself.”