Opinion by Lauren Comele Morris
April 29, 2024
Kyiv, Ukraine May 6, 2023, A Deeply Devoted and Religious Nation
“Bravery will take you through the most unimaginable hardships to finally reward you with victory.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In what appeared to be a sudden change of heart, House Speaker Mike Johnson shifted to support the $60 billion dollar funding package for Ukraine that was stalled for months. The stoppage of American weapons to Ukraine in the winter of 2023 resulted in more Ukrainian front-line deaths. Tragically, the stall gave Russia a green light for increased and unimpeded nightly bombing raids on sleeping civilians. The Russian propaganda machine targeting the American public remains effective with some Republicans and MAGA Communists.
Despite the slow drip of weapons to Ukraine, its soldiers fiercely hold the line through the lean times, pioneer new weapons technology and war strategy, and “cannot be broken”. Russia’s casualties average an unsustainable 600-900 a day, and heavy artillery losses mount. The terrorism and war crimes Russia inflicts on Ukraine is now over 100,000 counted incidents to date. Ukraine includes the catastrophic environmental damage and the loss of its agricultural products in these tallies.
Ukraine's determination and will resulted in numerous wartime innovations that have enabled them to strike back at Russia. Ukraine created the first maritime drone navy and spectacularly decapitated Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, sinking several ships and striking its command base, killing dozens of staff. Ukraine recently sunk the ship Kommuna, Russia’s and reportedly the world’s oldest naval operational vessel. The ship’s name means communalism - a form of Communism.
In Speaker Johnson’s press speech on April 20, 2024, and in other comments following the House vote approving the supplemental aid package, Johnson, a Christian stated he had received a briefing that caused his shifting views and that passing the bill was the “right thing to do”. He also claimed that former President Trump urged the funding to go forward. Johnson claimed he would let the chips fall where they may regarding losing his seat as Speaker.
Marjorie Taylor Green, Hero to Russia
Johnson has a vociferous challenger in Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green who moved to vacate Johnson, and rails against Ukraine on Twitter. Green seems to prioritize appearing on Steve Bannon’s War Room and in media interviews regularly in order to sway public opinion and stay on camera. Green deploys wild activist styled stunts and leftist tactics to attack Johnson and viciously mocks the suffering people of Ukraine. Simultaneously, Green feigns a superior Christian morality, claiming she and her ilk are the only ones in possession of the truth. Yet, Green “cannot even find Ukraine on the map”. She openly supports sending Ukraine into a regressive, poverty-stricken Communist hellhole, where violence is used to strip away Ukrainian identity, steal their resources, destroy their culture and kidnap their very own children. Ukraine should simply just concede, and Putin should be in control of Ukraine’s grain exports as all will be well under Putin. Green shares the same vision as Vladimir Putin. She is a hero to Russia and a bankable propagandist.
Opposing Green, however, are countless international leaders, geopolitical experts, historians, NGOs, and journalists who highlight her ignorance and correct her outrageous falsehoods. A barrage of humiliating and crude social media memes and videos exposed Green for her ludicrous claims about imaginary Nazis and her numerous other malicious, grossly false, and irresponsible statements. Alternatively, Johnson’s calm, professional, and experienced demeanor highlighted a stark contrast with Green’s geopolitical immaturity. Additional voting members called out Green specifically during their floor arguments in support of the aid package.
Russia's Systemic Persecution of Christians in Ukraine
Who was responsible for Johnson’s viewpoint shift? Notably, It was Andrzej Duda, President of allied Poland, and his political rival Poland's Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. Duda and Tusk traveled together to DC and met with Johnson on March 12th, and Duda met with Donald Trump on April 17th. The Polish leaders provided facts on Putin’s war crimes and the disastrous impact to western democracy if the war expands and Ukraine falls. During Trump’s meeting, Reuters quoted him stating, “we are behind Poland”. A dominant theme was Russia’s systemic and vulgar persecution of Ukrainian Christians.
While Green falsely claims that Zelensky is “killing Christians and shutting down the free press”, the Russian Federation’s terrorism and persecution carnage of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy and Evangelicals overwhelming defeats Green's Kremlin talking points. Putin has bombed over 600 Christian churches, many of which are ancient and contain irreplaceable historical treasures. Russia kidnapped and tortured Ukrainian Priests and killed thousands of Christian civilians. Russia separately committed a cultural genocide on the Muslim Crimean Tatars. Putin’s Russia is not a bastion of Christianity. Christianity is a weapon used by the Kremlin.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies and Christianity Today, among others, including The Hill reported on Russia’s historical terrorism against Ukraine’s Christians. Ukraine is a deeply religious nation, as I saw for myself in May 2023 when I traveled there. They are a devout people and their houses of worship reflect the strength of their faith.
Remembering the Past is Crucial for the Future
President Reagan’s purpose in life was to defeat Communism. He understood the Axis of Evil and he educated the public on how the enemy’s deceptive practices worked through media propaganda campaigns to sway public opinion towards totalitarian ideology. The conservative American public have forgotten this it seems. Propaganda is Russia’s most trusted weapon of war saturating the internet and pitching the American public into the same traps the Germans once set in WWII.
Like Georgia and Chechnya, the war in Ukraine since 2014 has never been about a border. Ukraine is fighting for its freedom against the Axis of Evil, standing between the West and China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The same enemy that attacks Israel and leverages its influence over our universities and our politicians. The internationally respected and topmost sourced Institute for the Study of War stated that Americans cannot be hawkish for Israel and defeatist for Ukraine. The same was said regarding Russia and Iran.
By defending freedom with our allies against an evil Putin who does not value life, the United States renews its commitment to Christian ideals. The unbreakable will of the brave Ukrainian people serves to remind us that American Christians are strong enough to do what is right, even in the most dangerous of times.
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