As a humanitarian disaster unfolds in Ukraine, there are lies and betrayal coming out of its longtime ally.
I struggle with posting information like the following on REVwords. What is happening in Ukraine is perhaps no worse than other parts of the world, like Gaza, but we know hundreds of people in Ukraine. That makes it personal.
So, I risk sharing because I think you care.
Ukraine This Week
The Atlantic Council reported on October 13, 2026:
“A revised Russian victory plan has been taking shape in recent months that focuses on an expanded air offensive exploiting Ukraine’s depleted defenses.”
This week, the Kremlin deployed a combination of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and increasingly sophisticated strike drones. Their targets? Vulnerable civilian sites throughout the country.
This bombing campaign includes round-the-clock attacks on major population centres. The prime targets are critical civilian infrastructure and key economic sites. Russia’s overall objective is to render much of Ukraine unlivable and cause a humanitarian disaster that will force Kyiv’s capitulation.
The StarShield Blame Game
On October 13th, Ukraine’s military suddenly had its access to Starshield satellite internet terminals restricted. The terminals are produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government.
The sudden outage came as Russia launched ballistic missiles at Ukraine without any advance warning from the US for a second night. The President denied that his administration cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine and blamed Musk. Musk blamed Trump. Nobody blamed Russia.
One President To Another
Viktor Yushchenko, the 3rd President of Ukraine, wrote a public letter to Donald Trump on October 15th. In part he said,
“Mr. President, look at what is happening in Ukraine right now, at this very moment. Every day and night, our cities shudder under Russian ballistic missiles, Iranian Shahed drones, and aerial bombs. Russia strikes ordinary residential buildings in ancient Kyiv, sleeping neighborhoods in Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and towns across our country. Families are killed in their homes. Millions live under the threat of another siren, another explosion, another night wondering whether their children will still be alive in the morning.
And when there is talk of ‘concessions’ or deals with Putin, the Kremlin’s answer is more missiles, more drones, and more bloodshed. Ukrainian families pay the price.”
Russia attacked Ukraine employing a record 850 Shahed drones in one 12-hour period, with 350 in a central Ukrainian region largely untouched by Russia since February 2022.
Diesel Fuel and Pretense
On October 14th, Anne Applebaum wrote, “In the past 72 hours, Donald Trump has dropped all pretense, torched a couple decades of American policy, and undermined 18 months of his own diplomacy. He lifted sanctions on the import of Russian diesel fuel, in violation of the letter and spirit of laws that he himself signed.”
A resident of Kharkiv posted on the morning of October 14th, describing what was happening in Ukraine.
“Just so you understand the scale of betrayal: first, our “partners” didn’t warn Ukraine about the incoming ballistic missiles, so the air raid alert wasn’t activated before impact, robbing people of their chance to survive.
Then, Starlink (Starshield) was restricted to stop working at speeds above 100 mph. This renders useless, first and foremost, our interceptor drones. It doesn’t limit our ability to attack inside Russia, it limits our ability to stop another apartment building or school full of civilians from being hit.”
Personal
Then things got very personal. While enjoying dinner on the 14th, Jocelyn and I received a text message from a friend, followed by a note from Ed Dickson and pastor Oleg. “The church we work with in Lutsk (near the Polish border) … the mall where they host church was just hit by a drone. The church was not damaged, but the rest of the mall is damaged.” 
The hostel attached to the mall where Jocelyn and I stayed last summer had a main wall collapse taking out the hostel. Lutsk has been relatively untouched through the 4 ½ years of the war. Danger is rising across Ukraine.
Pastor Oleg and us in the art museum next to his church
Destruction from the drone
And on October 15th, a supermarket filled with civilians in Odesa, a community on the Black Sea and the equivalent of a Canadian resort town, was hit by a drone at noon. An attack occurred near an elementary school in Poltava. 
Uninformed Comments
I’ve received a few social media comments protesting Canada’s use of taxpayer money to support Ukraine: “To the average Ukrainian that is still there, their lives would be no different under Russian rule.”
Under Russian rule, Ukrainian civilians and leaders in the occupied territories have been murdered, language banned, businesses stolen, and children kidnapped.
If Russia, who invaded Ukraine, a country at peace, stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends.
Europe and Canada owe a huge debt to Ukraine for being the front line of freedom for the Western world.
So, it’s the least I can do to post truth in support of Ukraine.
Pray for Ukrainians.
Our travel to Ukraine is still a “go” for November 20th.
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” G.K. Chesterton
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