Ukraine War Upd. EXTRA: End of Year Hegemonic Ramble, & Terrible Torture
Table of Contents 📖
"I crawled back into the cell through the feces on the floor. I barely had the strength to stand up, but my heart was full of joy. I didn't feel any pain. I realized subconsciously that I was chewing meat and it would help me live until the morning...my mouth tasted of blood and liver...tufts of hair were stuck between my teeth...I spat out the mouse teeth...I chewed the tail for a long time, it was like chewing a hard piece of gum."
Hello Team
🎦 00:00-00:45⏩
Jonathan welcomes viewers to an "extra nuggets and tidbits" Update Extra video explaining that he hasn't done one recently because of other content. He warns that the first segment is "uncomfortable listening" as it's about the torture of a Ukrainian Prisoner of War and is "not going to be the kind of happy new year start to this video". He feels it's important to talk about such things so viewers understand the reality of what is taking place in Russian prisons and torture chambers.
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Alexei's Story
🎦 00:45-11:16⏩
Jonathan reads an article from Euromaidan Press about the treatment of Ukrainian POW Alexei, a 30-year-old kickboxing champion, who signed up to fight with his father on the first day of the war. They were captured early in March and Alexei was badly injured. He hid for 12 hours and considered shooting himself, burying his weapon, documents and chevrons before surrendering to Buryat soldiers. Alexei was taken to a torture chamber and interrogated. The Russians tried to unlock his phone but couldn't work out the password, threatening to cut off his fingers to use his thumb print. He was interrogated by a Lieutenant General who knew everything about his father, Yuri, including details about his secret service in the Soviet army. After being transferred to Rybkirna, Alexei was tortured. He describes witnessing the rape of a 20 year-old Ukrainian man who was forced to endure this at a checkpoint in front of his parents. Alexei himself was strung up by his arms for six days but when the Ukrainian artillery began shelling the area, he was moved to a detention centre near Kursk for 40 days where he suffered beatings and mental abuse. He reveals that the Russians were looking for anyone who was involved in the Maidan or other protests, and anyone who was found to have been involved in Maidan was killed. On May 5th, Alexei was transferred to a detention centre in Donetsk where he was starved, beaten, and forced to squat between 500 and 1,000 times each night. He describes the punishment cell he was kept in where he was forced to stand for 18 hours a day, being beaten with truncheons if he moved. He recalls how prisoners were forced to shout "Zelensky is a _expletive_, Biden is a _expletive_, Stoltenberg is a _expletive_, Putin is our President", highlighting the psychological torture they endured. Food was scarce: watery soup and bread with a couple of spoons of buckwheat or rice. Occasionally, boiled fish intestines were served. Once, Alexei found a worm, wrapped it in a rag and a week later was able to eat the brood. Desperate and starving, he caught a mouse he'd been watching and to prevent it from escaping, put it in his mouth, biting down hard and chewing on its liver and fur, only stopping when the guards intervened, thinking they'd injured him. Alexei's father, Yuri, an experienced soldier who hadn't believed the war would happen, was captured and burned alive inside a church. His remains were found by searchers. Alexei has since been released but it's taken 10 months to rehabilitate and the psychological and physical scars remain. Jonathan describes this as a war crime.
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Jake Bro's comment - the cost of war
🎦 11:16-14:15⏩
Jonathan addresses a comment from "Jake Bro" about the effectiveness of Russian missile attacks on civilian targets compared to Ukrainian attacks on military targets. While questioning the accuracy of Jake's assertion that only civilian targets were hit, he agrees with the overall sentiment that Ukraine is more effective at destroying military targets. He notes that Russia's attacks, while achieving some military goals, ultimately generate negative publicity and galvanise international support for Ukraine.
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New Year's Eve Comments
🎦 14:15-14:31⏩
It's New Year's Eve and Jonathan thanks his viewers for the amazing discussions in the comments, commenting that he reads an insane amount of them.
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American Politics and Misinformation
🎦 14:31-18:29⏩
Jonathan reads a comment from a Brit living in the US lamenting the polarised nature of US politics, noting how moderate Republicans are considered Democrats these days. This leads Jonathan to discuss misinformation. He shares an anecdote about a friend who is against aid to Ukraine. Having explained the funding mechanisms, his friend insisted that Europe was broke and Biden was giving Zelensky cash. He then showed his friend photographs of atrocities, only to be told "How do you know they're not fake?". Jonathan is clearly exasperated by this. He argues that misinformation is finding purchase everywhere, but feels it's worse in the US than the UK, which has high levels of support for Ukraine. He is frustrated by right-wing media, especially Fox News, for spreading disinformation. This, he says, makes it hard for the American public to get an accurate picture of what is going on. He describes the backfire effect, where people presented with evidence against their position become even more entrenched, and suggests that minds are more likely to be changed gradually.
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US Hegemony vs European Independence
🎦 18:29-43:04⏩
Jonathan discusses the question of whether the US should continue to be the world's dominant superpower or whether Europe should become more independent, a topic prompted by comments from viewers including Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. He explains how moral arguments are contingent on goals - "what we should do" depends on "what we want to achieve". He believes that before deciding whether the US should step back, it's essential to clarify goals, which can vary depending on whether you are American, European, a globalist or an isolationist. There are valid arguments to be made on both sides. A US withdrawal could weaken Russia and China or it could empower the EU. Jonathan acknowledges that there is no easy answer. He himself wants to see a world where everyone benefits from longevity, a good quality of life, education and democratic values. Jonathan reads a comment from "Nick Stanton" who argues that the war has exposed Russia's weakness, pushing them towards China and India. He lists a number of changes, including Germany's change of stance on Russia, the strengthening of NATO, and the emergence of Poland as a significant European power. He believes that the balance of power is shifting towards Europe, particularly in light of China's rise, and that the US needs European support. The question is whether the EU is sufficiently organised to use its leverage. Jonathan agrees that it will be interesting to see if Europe can persuade the US to maintain its support for Ukraine and whether a failure to do so will make the EU less supportive of US foreign policy. He then returns to the topic of Brexit, which he opposed, arguing that global problems require global solutions. He feels that the UK leaving the EU, one of the world's biggest trading blocs, has weakened its position, noting with frustration that seven years on, there is still no trade deal with the US and Canada. He reiterates his belief that working together is better, although acknowledges that this doesn't always benefit everyone.
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Zero Lad's comment and Greg's Charity
🎦 43:04-45:14⏩
Jonathan thanks commenter "Zero Lad" for his generous donations to Greg's charity, which will help Ukraine to survive as a sovereign nation. Zero Lad has donated enough for a whole drone. Jonathan thanks Zero Lad on behalf of both Greg and Darren Gerdes and also the Ukrainians who will benefit from the donation.
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Wrap up
🎦 45:14-46:00⏩
Jonathan wishes his viewers a happy new year and thanks his members and those who gift memberships for their incredible generosity. He hopes to do a frontline update later and thanks JR for his work on the maps and Grimsoft from Discord.
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