Donald Trump and the Ukrainian debacle- echo opinion

Hopefully, the United States can restore its reputation as a shining beacon of democracy- after Donald Trump has destroyed the American Dream! An echo opinion letter, written by Kim Fenske, published in the Summit Daily News, California.

Conspiracies reported in The Guardian - "Trump’s fondness for conspiracy theories stretches back years, to his claim to have seen 'thousands and thousands' (OMG!) of Muslims cheering on 9/11, to his denial of the climate crisis and many-many other falsehoods."

I was glad to hear that the House of Representatives initiated an impeachment Investigation against Donald Trump. By withholding of defense aid tagged by Congress, for Ukraine, in order to extort a reopening of a settled investigation into an energy corporation, Trump effectively killed Ukrainian military forces and innocent civilians in Donbass Region of the eastern Ukraine.

During trips to Odessa and Kiev in 2013 and 2015, I observed conditions in Ukraine before and after the overthrow of the pro-Russian government of Ukraine. After patriots protested in the streets of Kiev during 2014, the corrupt President Viktor Yanukovich fled Ukraine. I visited the memorial to the protesters killed in downtown Kiev, finding a flag of the United States displayed, a symbol of the Ukrainian love of freedom.

Ukraine has struggled to preserve freedom and root-out corruption since the 2014, revolution. In the Donbass Region alone, more than 4,300 Ukrainian patriots and 3,330 civilians have been killed.

In spring 2019, Vladimir Putin offered to provide Russian passports to all Ukrainians. 

President of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, replied, “We are perfectly aware of what a Russian passport actually provides. This is the right to be arrested for peaceful protest, the right to have no free and competitive elections, and the right to completely forget about natural human rights and freedoms.” He added, “We will provide asylum and assistance to anyone — anyone who is ready to fight alongside us for our and your freedom.”

Now, the U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to preserve democracy. Hopefully, the United States can restore our reputation as a shining beacon of democracy, for all nations of the world, for those who desire freedom and untainted (free!) elections.

From Ken Fenske, Fresno, California