Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a “military operation in eastern Ukraine”.
In a televised address to the Russian people, the president said clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces were “inevitable” and “only a matter of time”.
He added that Russia did not aim to occupy Ukraine. Putin said the responsibility for the bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime”.
Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen”.
For all the ordinary men and women, Ukrainian and Russian, who stand on the brink of disaster, as the wheels of diplomacy spin uselessly and gigantic planes, their cargo bays crammed with weapons, ply the skies above them, oblivious to their shattered hopes and dreams.
Take my hand, beloved. Come.
The day is almost over.
Be by my side, see the view,
Evening on earth.
Our life, my love, has been hard
And heavy is my heart.
How should I live, if you had to leave,
And we should be separated?
Let’s hold each other
At the edge of night.
As shadows fall and nightmares crawl,
The sun sets as far as the eye can see.
The world is hanging by a thread.
And all the heroes fled.
Like weathered stone, we’re alone,
And look east with dread.
be with me in the storm
When angry gods are born.
When the flesh tears and love runs out,
And bloody is the dawn.
Take my hand, beloved. Come.
The day is almost over.
Be by my side, see the view,
Evening on earth.
Chris Trotter
