Lynn Rudmin Chong: How could a conquered Ukrainian people ever cooperate with being Russian subjects?

To The Daily Sun,

A photo of a street intersection in Bucha, Ukraine, in April 7's New York Times, is very like what I see driving into Laconia, coming from the west, and am at the lights before turning right to go to Sunflower store or Vista Market. But the overhead traffic lights and wires in Bucha are lying on the ground along with fallen support poles and other war debris. The photo caption reads: Ukrainian troops in Bucha, a town reclaimed from the Russians. Visible buildings in Bucha resemble the taller apartment building at that corner in Laconia and lower roofs too, off towards Laconia's downtown. See what I'm getting at?

One article interviews the brother of a body-bagged, returned-home Russian soldier (among thousands of dead conscripts). The brother says many Russians believe Vladimir Putin's lies about Ukraine and their President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, lies to justify Putin's aggression, for he'd rather have a puppet Ukrainian president than a Jewish one, loyal to his people, as Ukraine elected now.

Putin's war wrecks these people's lives and homes and peace (the complexity of modern city structure be damned too). How could a conquered Ukrainian people ever cooperate with being Russian subjects? Putin has his head up his rear. His unreality is strikingly like Donald Trump's self-deception. From The Guardian: "Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in more than 1,300 civilian casualties, including 474 killed and 861 injured [at the time of the writing — greater numbers now], Trump has highly praised Putin for his actions, calling him a 'genius'."

So — our Trump supporters in Laconia Daily Sun readership: this war is okay with you? Putin is okay with you?

Lynn Rudmin Chong

Sanbornton