It's encouraging for a change to see ordinary people all over the civilized world protesting, finding an event so outrageously cruel and vicious that they feel motivated to gather in their thousands to express their outrage over a belligerent country invading a neighbour to satisfy the sinister aspirations of its tyrannical president to enlarge his own country's already-giant footprint on the globe. There is always some issue, large and small, to infuse people with anger over some kind of perceived injustice.

 

This injustice, where an egocentric strongman feels entitled to violently disabuse a neighbour of its intention to align itself with the democratic principles of the West, certainly qualifies as a monumental injustice and an assault of huge proportions against a neighbour's right to determine its own destiny, one that its population is profoundly invested in. 

Anger is manifest in the reports of reactions from Russia's near neighbours -- with the exception of some like Belarus and Chechnya where Russian puppet leaders are installed to ensure their close collaboration with Moscow -- at the bald intention of Vladimir Putin to recapture into its political orbit former eastern European countries that had been vassal states of the USSR, until its dissolution and their subsequent freedom. They now see themselves threatened anew in the violent assault on Ukraine which refused to bow to a tyrant's edict.

What is happening to ordinary Ukrainian civilians, men, women and children of all ages exposed now as close to the spectre of death as possible through shelling, artillery and bombing making hell of their lives serves to concentrate the mind of those living in far distant lands, on how fortunate they are to live in democratically-governed nations, however flawed they may be.

In the vast geography of Ukraine today, under fire and fear, people grieve for their freedom. Many flee to bordering countries for haven, many more will not leave their homes and have decided to take up the government's offer, accepting firearms to be used in self-defence and defence of the nation.

 

Here, in our corner of the world, we feel a deep upset at the situation so far from us, in Canada. And thoughts go to Ukrainian-Canadians and the uncertainty and concerns they now live with in worries about their native land and distanced family members and friends. Outside Ukraine itself, Canada through immigration, has the third-largest ethnic Ukrainian population in the world with Canadian citizenship.

 

In our corner of the world, the morning shone bright for a winter day in February. The atmosphere was calm and the sun lit up and warmed the air, hinting at spring's eventual arrival. It was -16C, windless and sunny, hinting at as beautiful day as we enjoyed yesterday. But by the time we left the house in  mid-afternoon, though the temperature had climbed to -6C, the wind had returned and the sun had retired.

 

We had, despite that, an enjoyable turn in the ravine. The temperature is set to plunge again this coming night to -21C, and at some time during the day tomorrow another snowstorm is expected, though not a large one. But it will be accompanied by fierce winds that will offer white-outs. It's been a quite cold February, this year of 2022, with a considerable amount of snow mounding the landscape.

 

In history, however, this year will be known as one of infamy, when the Russian Federal Assembly green-lighted their president's ambition to invade Ukraine under the pretext of saving it from the tentacles of 'terrorists', 'neo-nazis', and 'fascists'. And to return Ukraine and its people, to the warm bosom of the Russian Federation. The process involved creating millions of homeless and refugees, and taking the lives of innocent people who just wanted to live as proud and free citizens of Ukraine.