When Sanctions aren't Enough

I am tired of hearing about how the poor Ukrainian citizens are suffering with Putin's invasion. Enough of the bullshit, Mr. President. Inherit a spine and grow a pair of balls, act now to save these citizens. This should not be happening period and in delaying military action you are prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people. We had a similar situation in the 1940's called Hitler. We should not be waiting for concentration camps to be reopened and people slaughtered. Putin is already killing innocent people, elderly and children. 

How long is the world going to stand by and watch this onslaught? It is time for the United States and her allies to stop the barbarism of Putin. 

Russia has just derailed the Iran Nuclear deal.

Russian demands that a revised nuclear agreement with Iran shield it from sanctions imposed because of its war in Ukraine halted efforts to revive the deal on Friday, just as negotiators said they had all but finalized the agreement.

The breakdown in talks delays any prospect of a deal, and risks scuttling it entirely, allowing Iran to move closer to the ability to build a nuclear bomb.

More immediately, the lack of a deal also delays the resumption of Iran's ability to sell oil on the world market, which Western countries hoped would ease soaring energy prices.

For 11 months, negotiators have been working to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement, which placed important limits on Iran's nuclear program and lifted punishing economic sanctions on Iran imposed by the United States.

Military Base attacked

Thirty-five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed when their training base was attacked. This base is located near the Polish border. Who will be next in this onslaught? When will NATO act? Russian missiles hit a military training center near Lviv, in the west of Ukraine near the Poland border, on Sunday with the number of people killed and injured rising throughout the morning.

Meanwhile, Russian forces have made some gains in their attempts to fully seize the besieged port city of Mariupol in the south of the country. Conditions in the city are dire, with civilians trapped there with limited food, water and electricity.

More than 1,500 people have died in attacks on Mariupol to date, the Associated Press reported Sunday, citing the mayor's office. Ukraine's authorities accused Russia of preventing the evacuation of civilians.

Pope, in toughest comments yet, calls Ukraine invasion 'armed aggression'

A sombre Pope Francis on Sunday issued his toughest condemnation yet of the invasion of Ukraine, saying the "unacceptable armed aggression" and "massacre" must stop.

The pope has not used the word "Russia" in his condemnations of the war since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on Feb. 24. But the pontiff's choice of words appear increasingly aimed at rejecting Moscow's justifications for the invasion. "Faced with the barbarity of killing of children, of innocents and unarmed civilians, no strategic reasons can hold up," he told 25,000 people in St. Peter's Square during his Sunday blessing.

Moscow says its action is designed not to occupy territory but to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" its neighbor. It has also denied targeting civilian areas.

"The only thing to do is stop this unacceptable armed aggression before it reduces cities into cemeteries," Francis said. "In the name of God I ask you: stop this massacre!" Francis said, before asking the crowd to join him in silent prayer for an end to the war.

He called Ukraine's besieged port of Mariupol a "martyred city" and again appealed for "truly secure humanitarian corridors" to allow residents to evacuate.

Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol on Wednesday. Ukraine said pregnant women were among those hurt; Russia said the hospital was no longer functioning and had been occupied by Ukrainian fighters. Francis seemed particularly sombre. After an unusually brief greeting to groups in the square, he left the window on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace and returned to the papal library.

Russia calls its action a "special military operation". Last Sunday Francis implicitly rejected that term, saying it could not be considered "just a military operation" but a war that had unleashed "rivers of blood and tears".

On Sunday Francis also urged people to take in refugees from Ukraine and thanked those who had joined a "great network of solidarity" to help those fleeing war. Source: Reuters

I am not an advocate for war, but support it under the right conditions. The situation in the Ukraine are the right conditions. I refuse to condone the slaughter of innocents. During world war two, six million Jews were slaughtered by Hitler. Again, how long will the world watch while one country suffers? Time to act and it will not be pretty. Russia treated the German citizens the same way during world war two and their commanders did nothing to stop the gang rape of young girls and women.