Well, I sent out Wednesday’s next newsletter about my book Three White Lions instead of this one., which is late, late, late. But never fear, your Gloria Christie Reports news wrapup from my articles on The Bipartisan Report is on its way as we speak. Following the war is hard, as you’ve undoubtedly noticed. So let’s be a little easier on ourselves, okay? Otherwise, we might start missing all your deadlines as I did!
By the way, there’s a new COVID variant out and a fourth Pfizer shot available. So stay safe. Stay well. And I’ll see you next week!
Gloria
Ukraine Retakes City Of Mykolaiv In Bold Counteroffensive
‘The Ukrainian military has begun a successful counterattack against President Vladimir Putin’s war effort. Russians have been following a medieval playbook. The soldiers surround a city, isolate it from its sources of food, and starve the people into submission. In the meantime, they bomb locations specifically where Ukrainians congregate into rubble.
But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s strategy included taking back the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv. His military launched its counteroffensive, and the city has begun a hesitant return to life as they knew it before the Russians attacked.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated that the Russians were halted on Thursday as President Zelenskyy’s military caused “heavy casualties” on them, The El Pais reported.
Jen Psaki Clowns On Putin Over Laughable Russian Sanctions
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki faced the usual barrage of questions on Tuesday during her daily press conference. And the most outstanding came when one of the reporters asked her how she felt about Russia’s Foreign Ministry sanctioning both her and President Joe Biden and blocking them from traveling to Mother Russia.
Psaki responded with her wry wit to the question, noting that President Biden is a “junior,” so any Russian sanctions against “Joe Biden” would have to go to the cemetery where his father lies. The Business Insider wrote:
‘I WOULD FIRST NOTE THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN IS A JUNIOR SO THEY MAY HAVE SANCTIONED HIS DAD MAY HE REST IN PEACE.’
It appears that after we sanctioned Putin and his country for his horrendous crimes against the Ukrainian people, Putin childishly tried to get even. Secretary Psaki also joked that none of the people it blocked have Russian “bank accounts:”
‘THE SECOND PIECE I WOULD SAY IS THAT IT WON’T SURPRISE ANY OF YOU THAT NONE OF US ARE PLANNING TOURIST TRIPS TO RUSSIA, NONE OF US HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS, SO WE WILL FORGE AHEAD.’
Putin’s Propaganda TV Network Undergoes Surge Of Resignations
Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing a brain drain from his state-owned propaganda television stations. Shortly after Channel One’s editor, Marina Ovsyannikova walked on camera calling out Putin’s lies, word spread that three more journalists had resigned.
00:0401:06Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a message for members of the Russian media. First, he thanked Ovsyannikova. But then he urged anyone who worked for Putin’s state-owned media to resign. He said that “the fourth branch of power” could be in big trouble for “justifying war crimes,” according to BBC. And quitting was another form of protesting.
In another Putin-driven station, NTV, two more journalists left. They were anchor Lilia Gildeyeva, who had worked at that station for sixteen years. And Vadim Glusker, who walked out after nearly 30 years on the job.
American and its European counterparts have already sanctioned two of Putins’ talking puppets. The first Kremlin propagandist was enraged about losing access to his Italian villa and said on his show The evening with Vladimir Soloviev, according to The Daily Beast:
‘I WAS TOLD THAT EUROPE IS A CITADEL OF RIGHTS, THAT EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED, THAT’S WHAT THEY SAID… I KNOW FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ABOUT THE SO-CALLED “SACRED PROPERTY RIGHTS.”‘
Ukrainians Heroically Rescue Mayor Held Hostage By Russians
Vladimir Putin’s plan against Ukraine has been to capture a city either by force or by the medieval strategy of surrounding and starving the population. Melitopol in southwestern Ukraine was one of the first cities his armies took.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov disappeared last week, according to CNN. After armed Russians captured him, they covered his head and paraded him downtown. Hostage-taking has been a serious ratcheting up of the Russian military situation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled it as a “new stage of terror.”
A senior official in Zelenskyy’s administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko released this message to the media:
‘A SPECIAL OPERATION TO RELEASE THE MAYOR OF MELITOPOL IVAN FEDOROV HAS JUST BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED. VANYA IS SAFE. WE JUST TALKED TO HIM TOGETHER WITH THE PRESIDENT AND THE HEAD OF THE OFFICE. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY ONLY ONE THING – WE NEVER LEAVE OUR PEOPLE. IVAN WILL RETURN TO HIS DUTIES AS MAYOR OF UKRAINIAN MELITOPOL VERY SOON.’
Liz Cheney Singles Out Trump For Being A Putin Lover
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a video of what Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) called “the brutality Putin has unleashed” upon Ukraine. “There was not a dry eye in the house,” member after member of Congress told MSNBC’s News cameras Wednesday morning.
Cheney tweeted the full graphic video that President Zelenskyy had shown Congress, President Joe Biden, and America. And the representative added, “but don’t look away.” It showed what Ukraine, its people, and especially its children were like before Russian President Vladimir Putin went to war there.
Then, the Ukrainian president showed the terrible images of war. Directional bombs intentionally hit apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, and other places people congregated. The video showed bomb craters 35-feet-deep, dying children, and those who grieved them.
In her tweet, Cheney made reference to Donald Trump’s first reaction when he heard that Putin was trying to occupy Ukraine. The ex-president used words to describe the Russian president such as “genius” and “savvy.” Instead, the Wyoming representative called it as she saw it, “This is evil.”
‘THIS IS THE VIDEO @ZELENSKYYUA SHOWED CONGRESS TODAY. IT’S PAINFUL TO WATCH, BUT DON’T LOOK AWAY. THIS IS THE BRUTALITY PUTIN HAS UNLEASHED ON THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE. THIS IS NOT “GENIUS” OR “SAVVY.” THIS IS EVIL.’
And now if mildly depressed, here is something that will cheer you up a bit, from Sassy’s Facebook Page. Click here to watch:
Three White Lions is Gloria Christie’s new serialized book available in episodes on Amazon. Go to Kindle Vella and insert her name. She also writes for the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook.