UKRAINE IS BURNING AGAIN.  The Russians are targeting civilians throughout Ukraine.   From the Washington Post: 

In little more than a month, the war in Ukraine has turned abruptly from a grueling, largely static artillery battle expected to last into the winter, to a rapidly escalating, multilevel conflict that has challenged the strategies of the United States, Ukraine and Russia.

Russia’s launch of massive strikes on civilian infrastructure Monday in about a dozen Ukrainian cities far from the front lines brought shock and outrage. The strikes, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as “wave after wave of missiles,” struck “children’s playgrounds and public parks,” left at least 14 killed and nearly 100 wounded, and cut electricity and water in much of the country.

“By launching missile attacks on civilians sleeping in their homes or rushing toward children going to schools, Russia has proven once again that it is a terrorist state that must be deterred in the strongest possible ways,” Ukraine’s United Nations Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said at the opening of a General Assembly session scheduled before the assault to promote world condemnation of Moscow.

The attacks were the latest of many head-spinning events — from Ukrainian victories on the ground to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat of nuclear weapons use — that have changed the nature and tempo of the war in recent weeks, and raised questions about whether the United States and its partners may have to move beyond the concept of helping Ukraine defend itself, and instead more forcefully facilitate a Ukrainian victory.

COMMENT:  Isn't it remarkable that foreign policy is playing no role in our current political campaigns.  Amazing.  At one time, when our national discussions were more mature, foreign and defense policy was at the top of the agenda.  The experience of World War II assured that.

We still do not have a coherent Ukraine policy.  The American people seem to have lost much of their early interest in the conflict.  It's a big mistake.  The war in Ukraine is the largest ground war in Europe since 1945.  It is our business, whether we want it to be or not.

October 10, 2022