There’s so much news about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It’s difficult enough to separate news from propaganda; I was surprised to find on my Facebook feed a post by a travel agency I’d never heard of and never subscribed to. It featured Russian university students solemnly intoning why Russia had invaded the Ukraine – straight out of Vladimir Putin’s playbook. From the other side, I’m seeing videos allegedly showing successful attacks against Russian tanks, troop carriers, and supply trucks – and then seeing the same videos shared but described as “simulations.” And my antennas of suspicion go on overdrive when the Western news media marches in lockstep in the coverage of anything, as they seem to be doing.
To try to sort the news from the propaganda, I’ve been looking to sources I trust. Historian Niall Ferguson, writing at Bloomberg Opinion (and I trust Ferguson over Bloomberg), says the fates of Ukraine and Putin turn on seven forces of history. Helen Dale at Law & Liberty says the war is about World War II’s unfinished business. A Ukrainian pastor has a one-word answer when he’s asked what he’s learning during the war (and he’s providing live updates from Kyiv here, as long as the Russians ignore his cell phone tower). Reporter Mstyslav Chernov has a harrowing tale of escape from Mariupol, knowing that the Russian soldiers were told to find and detain journalists (they had a list). Theology professor Bruce Ashford at Christianity for the Common Good asks how the U.S. should respond if the Russians deploy a tactical nuke. Father Jonathan Tobias at Second Terrace offers prayer in a new key, while Ukrainian poet Iryna Shuyalova describes, in a poem, how she deals with what’s happening.
More Good Reads
Poetry
A trip to Heaney country – Francesca Peacock at The Critic Magazine.
The Storm – John O’Donnell at Kingdom Poets (D.S. Martin).
Airplanes – Seth Lewis.
Art
Chris Thompson’s Lonely Streets – Spitalfields Life.
Writing and Literature
Contemporary novels from the past – Karen Myers at Hollow Lands.
Oscars Best Picture Spotlight: What to Read (and Watch) If You Liked 'Belfast' – Literary Hub.
Looming morality: On George Eliot’s Silas Marner – Carla Main at New Criterion.
Faith
Despairing Over the Culture? There's Still a Reason to Get Out of Bed Tomorrow – Carl Trueman at Crossway.
A Christian Father’s Last Will and Testament – Tim Challies.
Life and Culture
As If Medical Residency Weren’t Hard Enough – John Sailer at CityJournal.
The Takeover of America’s Legal System – Aaron Sibarum at Common Sense.
Every Technology Has Its Own Agenda – Chris Martin at Terms of Service.
The Internet is Not What You Think It Is – Julien Crockett at Los Angeles Review of Books.
Caim (Circle Prayer) – Jeff Johnson
Painting: Man Reading Newspaper, oil on canvas (ca. 1918) by Hugo Scheiber (1873-1950).
Glynn, this round up of credible sources on the Ukraine/Russia war is so helpful! Thank you.
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