Notes and Essays -- John Brown

After the United States reached a preliminary deal with Iran, the mood seemed lighter than had been expected. But President Trump’s remarks highlighted persistent divisions among the allies. Leaders gathering for a photo during the G7 summit, in Évian-les-Bains, France, on Tuesday. Credit... Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times Mark Lander, Erica L. Green and Aurelien Breeden The New York Times   Current time in Évian-les-Bains, France 8:16 p.m. June 16 Here’s the latest. President Trump signaled on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine was not a priority for the United States, telling reporters at the Group of 7 summit in France that his country had “nothing to do” with a war that was “thousands of miles away.” Mr. Trump’s remarks highlighted persistent divisions with G7 allies even after the announcement of a preliminary deal with Iran had eased some of the tension heading into the summit in Évian-les-Bains. European leaders have hoped to rekindle his interest in engaging with Russia on a ...

  Lightweight UFC fighter Michael Chandler in the White House’s Grand Foyer on Sunday. (AFP/Getty Images)

  from Quora Jean-Marie Valheur  upvoted 13h Elena Gold  ·  Follow Media analyst, author 14h Why is the Russian government attacking 10 districts of Kyiv? Ukrainians are in shock today—a Russian attack set a 1,000-year-old Christian icon on fire, which is older than Moscow itself. Dozens of people in Kyiv are injured, including kids; 4 people killed; 1 more person died later at the hospital. Just as Trump was holding a cage fight at the White House for his 80th birthday, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine, striking multiple heritage and cultural sights. Among them is the historic Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO world heritage site—the holy place that’s quite removed from any government buildings in the center of Kyiv. Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv and All Ukraine: called it a “crime against humanity, against history, against Christianity.” "As a result of the Russian shelling that is taking place now, on the night of June 15, the roof of one of the holiest p...

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/06/15/russian-attack-kyiv-damages-historic-monastery-kills-least-5/

AI Overview  [this link may not be reachable] -- Ukrainians view both Poles and Russians as historical oppressors, but there is a major distinction in the scale and memory of that oppression. Russians are overwhelmingly seen as the primary, existential oppressor, while Polish rule is remembered more as a complex period of social subjugation and political domination.   The Conversation  +3 -- Russian Oppression: Viewed as Existential and Systemic Ukrainians broadly view the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and modern Russia as fundamental threats to their national identity. Historical grievances include centuries of Russification policies—such as the Tsarist bans on the Ukrainian language (e.g., the Valuev Circular and Ems Ukaz)—and the Holodomor, a man-made famine engineered by Joseph Stalin's Soviet regime in 1932–1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. This history has forged a consensus in Ukraine that Russian domination was designed to eradicate Ukrainian statehood...