From: Tribune Chronicle by CAL THOMAS – Syndicated columnist
Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal did a rare story on the Ukraine war, though it was buried on page A10, after a front-page teaser. That has been the pattern until Russia launched a massive drone attack against Ukraine on Sunday, which attracted some media attention. Otherwise, media has seemed generally bored with the war.
In recent weeks the media again has been preoccupied by celebrities, including the ones attending the Bezos-Sanchez wedding in Venice, and the “news” that it took 900 hours to make the bride’s dress. And yet the killing grinds on between Russia and Ukraine with minimal advances on either side and no immediate possibility of a ceasefire or peace deal.
Ivan Bespalov is a Ukrainian Presbyterian pastor in Kiev, who is temporarily in the U.S. to rally support from churches and the public for his country. In a telephone interview from his New York City hotel, I ask him if he has any hope that a peace agreement with Russia can be achieved and the killing on both sides stopped?
“Our concern is whether the Russians can be trusted,” Bespalov said. “When Russians feel they are powerful, it is very unlikely they will seek a compromise.” Bespalov says he thinks the killing will continue “until they establish their supremacy, their control. Only when Russia comes to believe Ukraine is strong and they feel they are paying too high a price to continue this war, then they may come to an agreement.”
Bespalov denies reports of persecution against certain segments of Christian churches in Ukraine. He says even the Russian Orthodox Union, which is largely supportive of Vladimir Putin, faces government restrictions only on its political positions, not its faith practices. But he says while the Orthodox “don’t do it openly, they do encourage people to surrender (to Russian soldiers) and not to resist. They support the narrative ‘we are one people’ and there is no harm with them trying to establish Russian influence and Russian power. So naturally when our government hears these kinds of messages, they warn the priests and others who promote this narrative. And if they continue doing this, some of them wind up in jail or are removed from their positions.”
Voice of Ukraine 