Ukraine: The Politics of Dying
How the West’s political dynamics are changing
It’s Day Two of the Ukraine invasion and so far we have only maps and episodes. The 13 Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island telling a Russian naval commander to “go fuck yourself” before going heroically to their deaths. The Ukrainian aircraft shot down over Kiev. A bridge blown. Some captured Russian paratroopers claiming they thought they were on an exercise…
This morning it looks like the Russian armoured and airmobile advances have made progress on all fronts. Toward Kyiv, through Sumy and in particluar north-west out of Crimea towards Odessa. A Ukrainian summary at 05:37 today suggests Ukraine has deployed elite units to stop two large armoured columns driving down the right bank of the Dnepr, between Dimer and Yankiv about 35km north of Kyiv.
However, what we don’t know are how many soldiers and vehicles the Russians have lost; what their supply status is; and importantly what their morale is, given large public demonstrations in many Russian cities, and mass arrests. Nor is it clear how badly the Ukrainian army is suffering. Nor is it clear what level of civil control the Rosgvardia units…
