One Thousand Days

On 19 November 2024, Ukraine marked a somber "anniversary" – 1,000 days since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. These 1,000 days (in reality, almost five times longer, as Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine began in 2014) have seen the perpetration of hundreds of war crimes by Russian forces, including environmental crimes and the genocide of the Ukrainian people. The latest, and certainly not the last, in Russia’s list of war crimes was a cynical strike with an intercontinental ballistic missile on the infrastructure of the city of Dnipro on the morning of 21 November. 

The West continues to remain passive in response to Russia's escalation, delaying the provision of effective military assistance to Kyiv that could allow Ukraine to adequately counter the Russian aggressor. Kyiv-based journalist and screenwriter Oleksandra Smilansky, temporarily residing in the United States, has once again appealed to American officials responsible for decision-making. In her plea, she urges them to stop fearing Putin's nuclear blackmail and finally begin helping Ukraine not just to defend itself but to defeat a brutal and cynical enemy.

For Americans who want their country to be great again, regardless of who the president is:

1,000 days ago, my family woke up to explosions for the first time. A few days later, my daughter heard machine-gun fire outside her bedroom window. For the next three weeks, she lived in the subway. Kyiv’s climate is like Boston’s, so believe me, the subway was deathly cold.

Why this matters to someone in Oregon, Maine, or Louisiana:

1. In 1,000 days, over 140,000 war crimes have been recorded.

These include mass executions, unimaginable torture, and sexual violence. Now imagine how many crimes remain undocumented. Half a million people will never write Facebook posts again—they’ve been killed.

2. Why should this concern you?

Thirty years ago, under U.S. insistence, Ukraine voluntarily gave up its nuclear weapons, becoming the only country in history to take such a risk for peace. In return, the U.S. guaranteed its security and territorial integrity.

You might think Ukrainians were naïve fools (and you’d be right), but that doesn’t change two critical points:

• The U.S. will disgrace itself if it allows the destruction of the only nation that gave up nuclear weapons. This is how it looks:

U.S.: "Give up your nukes, we guarantee your safety."

Ukraine: "Alright."

Ukraine (later): "I’m being killed, help!"

U.S.: "Sorry, but your attacker has nukes."

A great country indeed…

• If Ukraine loses, within a few years, every country on Earth will have nuclear weapons. Because they’ll see that’s the only way to stay safe when international law fails, and the USA doesn’t care. Do you think the world, including the U.S., will be safer then?

3. "But we’re giving a lot of money!"

It’s true, the U.S. government allocates substantial funds. The trick is that most of this money never leaves America. It’s used to produce weapons at U.S. factories, which pay taxes to the U.S. budget.

If Ukraine loses, future costs will skyrocket. Americans were once reluctant to enter WWII, but then came Pearl Harbor, and the costs, both financial and human, soared.

4. "What if Russia launches nuclear missiles to America?"

It won’t. A man who isolates himself behind a 30-foot-long table and imposes two-week quarantines on visitors is very, very concerned about his life and health.

And secondly, all their money, kids, and mistresses live not in the Russian hinterland but in Sunny Isles, Florida. Do you really think they’ll destroy the very places they’ve spent years stealing to enjoy?

Anyone saying Russia will nuke the U.S. is either a fool or a liar. Hello, Elon Musk, who bought the X with Russia’s money.

5. "The war needs to end immediately!"

Absolutely. The only question is—on whose terms?

Why do we imprison serial killers? To stop them from killing and raping. We don’t negotiate with them like this: “Promise to stop killing, and we’ll let you keep your penis in victim’s vagina.”

Thus, any talk of Ukraine ceding territory is akin to leaving the killer’s penis inside the victim.

6. "If we stop sending weapons to Ukraine, the war will end."

Yes, it will. For example, genocide victims didn’t have weapons, which is why historians now call them "genocide victims."

We convinced Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons, and now they’re victims of genocide. But we believe we owe Ukraine nothing; we are tired of the war. A great country we are, huh?

7. "How do we end the war quickly?"

Give Ukraine everything. Not 10 missiles, but thousands. These missiles are sitting in warehouses awaiting disposal. They’ll be replaced with new ones anyway, and disposal costs money.

Won’t this escalate things? No. We feared escalation with tanks, then gave them —nothing changed. We feared escalation with fighter jets, then provided them—nothing changed. We feared escalation by allowing strikes on Russian territory, then allowed it—nothing changed.

Why? Here’s the most important point:

8. Our biggest mistake? Thinking Russia is a country. Spoiler: it’s not. Russia is a simulacrum.

A) Russia has no defined borders. Its constitution claims five regions of Ukraine, four of which it doesn’t even fully occupy. Russia doesn’t control its borders, and its citizens don’t know where those borders are. They’d like to add Alaska, by the way.

B) Russia has no law or judiciary. A few days ago, a pediatrician was sentenced to five years in prison based on the accusation of a woman who claimed the doctor allegedly told her child that their father had died in the war as a legitimate target. There’s no evidence the doctor said this. But in Russian courts, evidence doesn’t matter.

C) Russia has no free press. Any journalist questioning the government faces the same fate as the pediatrician from above.

D) Russia has no civil society. Russia and its capital city are effectively separate states. Society is atomized, surviving on the principle, "You die today, I’ll die tomorrow."

E) Everything Russia has, it stole—science, culture, architecture, literature (yes, even its "great literature"), history, and nuclear weapons. Even its name (Rus) was stolen from a region in Ukraine.

9. "Isn’t there political opposition in Russia to negotiate with?"

Sadly, no. The so-called opposition believes Ukraine shouldn’t receive weapons because Russia must not lose the war.

10. "Why on earth should this matter to me?"

I live in Florida, along A1A, near the ocean. From October to March, streetlights are dimmed to guide baby turtles to the water instead of the road. Also, after recent hurricanes, insurance costs have risen so much that locals are being forced to leave.

In 1938, America was recovering from the Great Depression. Hitler could’ve been stopped easily, but Americans didn’t care about distant Europe—they had their own problems, like insurance and protecting baby turtles.

Then came Pearl Harbor, and American children went to die.

The great Ernest Hemingway once asked, "For whom the bell tolls?" We all know the answer: it tolls for thee—even if you don’t realize it yet.

The Axis of Evil—Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China—is already here. The problem is that most of us are still living in 1938.

The longer we 'don’t look up,' the closer we get to the point where there’s nothing left to look at.

And yes, it should matter.