I’ve been struggling to make sense of what’s going on in today’s world and wondering if my opinion and those of others are simply a private matter. People I know are at loggerheads over who exactly is the baddie. Some say we’re (the West) are being duped by politicians and media, hoodwinked by Zelensky and those who want Putin out. Don’t get us wrong, they say. Putin ain’t no angel. But neither is anyone else. I read posts. I read comments on posts. I see who is saying what and if something goes against what I think, I dig deeper in an attempt to find the truth, or some semblance thereof. The truth seems to be in short supply, an elusive something that is toying with us all.

Take it that the posts I read are from FB friends. I rarely stray outside those 500 when on social media. They’re diverse enough to fill the full spectrum of opinion, given that I also read what their friends say.

By way of example. I saw a post recently saying that UA really does have a neo-nazi problem in Azov. That bothered me. I asked around and was directed to the BBC’s Ros Atkins. It took 10 minutes to watch and explained a lot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzDonLIJsjc

There’s a video circulating showing Ukrainian soldiers shooting Russian POWs in the legs.  Is the video real? It’s still being verified. I don’t want it to be real. But it could be. I’ve heard how Ukrainian border guards are tripling customs duties on donations moving across the border from Hungary. I don’t want that to be true, either. I see Poland is remonstrating with Hungary about refusing to commit to the EU strategy on UA. I see VO courting the voting nation with his rhetoric on Hungarians not paying for the war. And I see that he’s hijacked the vaccination database to do so. He’s now writing me emails explaining his stance. The latest was in response to Zelensky calling him out in front of the EU Summit:

[…] We understand that the Ukrainian head of state represents Ukrainian interests, but others must also understand that we represent Hungarian interests. Even though there are foreign and domestic actors who demand this , we do not want to get caught up in this war. During the NATO negotiations, the Prime Minister made it clear that Hungary will not send troops to Ukraine. At the summit, it was also accepted that we will neither send weapons nor allow arms shipments to pass through. We were able to accept this because the most important common NATO goal remains that the war does not in any way go beyond ukraine’s borders. […] Our main goal remains to preserve the peace and security of Hungary. We condemn Russian military intervention, we are concerned about the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we are providing assistance to those in trouble, but we cannot allow the price of the  war to be paid by Hungarian families.

The Czech Defense Minister responded:

I will not personally go to Hungary for a meeting of Visegrad Four defense ministers, (…) I have always supported the V4 and I am very sorry that cheap Russian oil is more important to Hungarian politicians than Ukrainian blood.