My earliest sense of the war in Ukraine was that Putin was walking into a trap, which is what I wrote here on Substack. From the many news stories I had been gathering over weeks and months leading up to the war, it was easy to conclude that the West was prepared to meet any aggression by Russia with a much more united front than in times past.
And that Putin was too isolated and deluded to realize that.
In fact, there were plenty of indications that NATO would not only unify in support of Ukraine but potentially even do what it is now on the verge of doing, which is expand its reach into new countries near Russia, like Finland and Sweden that had previously remained neutral.
Even the stiff resistance of the Ukrainian people was foreseeable from the reports that were circulating pre-conflict, although the depth of that resistance was perhaps surprising.
To date, the war has only weakened Russia, further isolated Putin, and unified the West. Even the Pope is now suggesting that NATO may have goaded Putin into his ill-fated aggression.
I suppose we’ll have to wait for historians to render a clearer verdict of how this all came about. But for now, I’m sticking with my original analysis.
Today’s Headlines (36):
Finland Moves to Join NATO, Upending Putin’s Ukraine War Aims (NYT)
Nato may soon welcome Finland and Sweden – another blow for President Putin (Independent)
The Guardian view on expanding Nato: Putin has only himself to blame (Guardian)
Finland claims joining NATO won't threaten Russia. Here's what the Kremlin has to say (CNN)
Erdogan says Turkey not supportive of Finland, Sweden joining NATO (Reuters)
Ukraine aiming to arm a million people (BBC)
The Vatican's number two, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said that supplying weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression is morally legitimate under certain conditions, citing the Catholic Church's teaching on 'just war'. (Reuters)
Life in a Ukrainian Unit: Diving for Cover, Waiting for Western Weapons (NYT)
Russia takes losses in failed river crossing, officials say (AP)
Ukrainian forces destroyed a pontoon bridge and parts of Russian armored column as it tried to cross a river in the Donbas region, video footage released by Ukraine's military showed, and a Russian naval ship was set afire in the Black Sea. (Reuters)
Ukrainian forces destroy key bridge, Russian tanks in the east (NHK)
Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not be conquered (Politico)
Kyiv holds war crimes trial for Russian soldier as Sweden eyes NATO benefits (WP)
First war crimes trial held in Kyiv; nearly 100 children were killed in April alone (USA Today)
The top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Senate joined forces in a rare moment of unity in an attempt to pass $40 billion in aid for Ukraine, only to be stymied by a single Republican lawmaker: Senator Rand Paul. (Reuters)
The Taliban drapes Afghan women in repression (Edit Bd/WP)
With China in focus, Biden makes $150 million commitment to ASEAN leaders (Reuters)
Xi’s strict covid policies prompt rumblings of discontent in China (WP)
Suspect held in Netherlands over 1994 Rwandan genocide (Guardian)
Israeli police beat pallbearers at journalist’s funeral (AP)
Biden’s Summit of the Americas Is Threatened by Boycotts, Confusion (NYT)
N. Korea reports 6 deaths after admitting COVID-19 outbreak (AP)
Billionaire Elon Musk abruptly put his purchase of Twitter "temporarily on hold," he wrote in a tweet, "pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users." It wasn't clear how the metric has anything to do with his planned purchase. [HuffPost]
Texas has declared open season on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube with censorship law (CNN)
Netflix is standing by its decision to offer content that employees may find “hard to support” or “harmful,” according to a company culture memo. The memo included a suggestion for employees: “If you find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.” [HuffPost]
Cryptocurrencies nursed large losses, with bitcoin trading near $30,000 and set for a record losing streak as the collapse of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin, rippled through markets. (Reuters)
More Than $1 Trillion of Crypto Vanished in Just Six Months (WSJ)
Crypto reckoning looms in Washington as investors lose billions (Politico)
The world got a look at the first wild but fuzzy image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. Previous efforts had found the black hole in the center of our galaxy too jumpy to get a good picture. [AP]
Scientists Grow Plants in Moon Soil – A First in Human History (SciTechDaily)
More Than Almost Famous: Rock Star Journalist Ben Fong-Torres Tells All (Rolling Stone)
Fragment of the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs may have been found (CNN)
Kansas man finds a mythical-looking ax with a root for a handle in his front yard (NPR)
Laid-Back Company Allows Employees To Work From Home After 6 P.M. (The Onion)
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