Jun 1

Jun 1 Resilience

Demonstrations, Donald J. Trump, Parades, Protest, Public Declarations

Chicago’s Ukrainian Community woke up to good news today. After weeks of listening to President Trump vacillate over whether he should intervene on Ukraine’s behalf, the community, along with the rest of the world, saw how a decisive leader behaves. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian military forces staged a Pearl Harbor-style attack deep in Russian territory. Their weapon of choice: drones.

Early reports indicate that Operation Spiderweb resulted in the destruction of 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, at an estimated cost to the Kremlin of $7 billion. Perhaps of greater importance, the Ukrainian attack humiliated Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising an intriguing question: Will there be a coup?

Even if Putin retains power, the attack should give him pause. For the last three years, he has fooled himself into believing that he is just days away from conquering Ukraine. So far Putin and the Russian military have failed in achieving that objective, largely because the Ukrainians are smart and tactical. Perhaps of greater importance, they are fighting for their freedom and culture—motivation being the ultimate weapon.

On the other hand, the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine either are conscripts from distant parts of Russia, or have received financial inducements to fight. They are not fighting for the survival of their country. Moreover, Putin does not value their lives, so they are fed into the daily meat grinder of war. Once they are dead or wounded, Putin’s commanders shove the next wave of useful idiots into the meat grinder. Put simply, like missiles, Putin’s soliders are expendable—disposable weapons.

Were Putin to succeed in occupying Ukraine and installing a puppet government, Russia’s military personnel and government officials would find themselves ensnared in an endless war, forced to answer a multitude of questions: “Is that a friendly barkeeper, or will he spike my beer with cyanide?” “Why are so many Russian soldiers hanging from Ukrainian walnut trees with their testicles stuffed in their mouths?” “Will an IED explode, killing my family as we head to a Sunday picnic in the countryside?”

With impeccable timing, Roman Hlyva, a member of Chicago’s Ukrainian Community, organized another one of his “Sunday Sermons” today. Obviously the event was not timed to coincide with Operation Spiderweb (unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took Hlyva into his confidence), but the event gave everyone hope and an opportunity to celebrate the attack.

Rather than meeting on a street corner for a demonstration, Hlyva called for a car caravan. The origination point was Montrose Harbor. After assembling in a parking lot, the group drove south on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, exiting at Michigan Avenue. Eventually they found their way back to Ukrainian Village.

As a photographer, I am not a fan of car caravans. Unless they are very large and the route is clearly defined, these events do not produce great imagery. Even under the best of circumstances, the images are of automobiles rather of people. As everyone knows, I hate modern automobiles, which are white or grey boxy objects on wheels. Now had Hlyva assembled a caravan comprised of vintage Ford Mustangs, 57 Chevys, and muscle cars with oversized wheels, I would be far more enthusiastic.

Montrose Harbor is about two miles north of my house, so I decided to walk along the lakefront so that I could catch the Ukrainians meeting before the caravan headed out. I spent about 40 minutes in the parking lot, taking photographs of people as they arrived, painted their cars with slogans, and positioned flags. In total, there. were 15 to 20 cars involved.

The group certainly had a perfect day for the event. Hopefully, when shoppers and tourists on Michigan Avenue saw the Ukrainian flags passing by, they thought of Operation Spiderweb.

As usual, several parents brought their young kids to the event, which is evidence that Chicago’s Ukrainian Community has a strong family orientation. Given the size of today’s event, I recall seeing just two kids, but nobody could miss them. As their parents carefully wrote slogans like “Support Ukraine” in colorful marker ink (washable) on car windows, the two kids used the sides of the car as a whiteboard. As is always the case, the kids were a delight. I’d much rather photograph a kid having fun than a grey SUV.

As for the indecisive President of the United States, he should change his focus. Rather than making Canada the 51st state, he should consider Ukraine. Trump has charged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with hardening the U.S. military. The Ukrainians could certainly teach Trump and Hegseth a thing or two about how to do so. They are tough as nails. Additionally, the Ukrainians know how to do more with less, so they could help the Trump and the Republicans reduce our budget deficits by trimming military spending.

And in closing, one prediction. Expect to see a number of Russian generals fall out of open windows in the weeks ahead. Bon Voyage.

[Click on an Image to Enlarge It. The Images Are Not Necessarily in Exact Chronological Order]