Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal did a rare story on the Ukraine war, though it was buried on page A 10, after a front-page teaser. That has been the pattern until Russia launched a massive drone attack against Ukraine on Sunday which attracted some media attention. Otherwise, media has seemed generally bored with the war.
In recent weeks the media again has been pre-occupied by celebrities, including the ones attending the Bezos-Sanchez wedding in Venice, and the "news" that it took 900 hours to make the bride's dress. And yet the killing grinds on between Russia and Ukraine with minimal advances on either side and no immediate possibility of a ceasefire or peace deal.
Ivan Bespalov is a Ukrainian Presbyterian pastor in Kiev, who is temporarily in the U.S. to rally support from churches and the public for his country. In a telephone interview from his New York City hotel, I ask him if he has any hope that a peace agreement with Russia can be achieved and the killing on both sides stopped?
"Our concern is whether the Russians can be trusted," Bespalov said. "When Russians feel they are powerful it is very unlikely they will seek a compromise." Bespalov says he thinks the killing will continue "until they establish their supremacy, their control. Only when Russia comes to believe Ukraine is strong and they feel they are paying too high a price to continue this war, then they may come to an agreement."
Bespalov denies reports of persecution against certain segments of Christian churches in Ukraine. He says even the Russian Orthodox Union, which is largely supportive of Vladimir Putin, faces government restrictions only on its political positions, not its faith practices. But he says while the Orthodox "don't do it openly, they do encourage people to surrender (to Russian soldiers) and not to resist. They support the narrative 'we are one people' and there is no harm with them trying to establish Russian influence and Russian power. So naturally when our government hears these kinds of messages, they warn the priests and others who promote this narrative. And if they continue doing this, some of them wind up in jail or are removed from their positions."
This apparently accounts for where reports that Ukraine is persecuting certain churches have come from.
How is Bespalov trying to break through the multiple news and celebrity stories in the U.S. that have replaced what is taking place in Ukraine?
"We are speaking to various churches and had the opportunity to speak to the General Assembly of the (conservative) Presbyterian Church in America of about four to five thousand people," Bespalov said. "We are asking people for their prayers and thanking them for the physical help they are sending us through a charity, Crates for Ukraine."
Bespalov also says people who contribute are helping Ukrainians who have been displaced from their homes. This reminds me of the CARE packages that were delivered to Eastern European nations occupied by Russia beginning in the aftermath of World War II.
How much longer does Bespalov think Ukraine can hold out if Putin doesn't come to an agreement to stop the war? He said, "I think that Ukraine will be resisting until the very end."
By that he clearly means the end of Ukraine's independent status, not the end of Russia. The key, though, as he told me, is to make Putin pay so high a price that he will seek peace. That is not likely to happen without further military and financial support for Ukraine, especially from European nations. Now would also be a good time to get today's equivalent of CARE packages shipped to Kiev.
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