Post

@WGNRadio

@BorisJohnson

@WGNRadio

More from @JPLindsley

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 23

Four polarizing Americans, by attaching themselves to the Ukraine story, have spurred many Americans to oppose Ukraine.

Well, let me show you three shocking little revelations that will change how you see it all. 🧵 next ⤵️

Victoria Nuland: Let Them Eat Cookies

Photos of State Department official Victoria Nuland handing out cookies during Ukraine's 2014 Maidan Revolution became a symbol of America's failed meddling in other countries. The fact that her in-laws, the Kagans, are part of the American philosophical war machine doesn't help the picture.

And so many people readily believe the Kremlin story that this one cookie-lady orchestrated an entire revolution that resulted in the regime fleeing, the police collapsing, and a rejuvenation of local democracy and ancient language.

But here's the truth: Victoria Nuland was not fueling a revolution—she was trying to stop it.

Yes, if you look close at that famous leaked call in which Nuland and another American official are talking about who they want to be in the Ukrainian government, you'll see that see was working to make a deal with the hated Yanukovych regime.

In the end, Ukrainians rejected the deal that Nuland and EU bureaucrats were creating with the corrupt pro-Kremlin government.

If Nuland truly cared about Ukraine, she'd drop the Main Character Syndrome and admit she failed to halt the revolution. next ⤵️

The Vindman Brothers: Self-Serving Narratives

Shhhh. We're not supposed to talk about them but I'm in a war zone, and truth matters firstly. The Twins Vindman leaked Trump's 2019 call with Zelensky. By doing so, they poisoned U.S.-Ukraine relations and turned Ukraine into a partisan wedge.

No way, you say! They were doing the honourable thing, by exposing Trump's bullying. Well, did you know that two days before that Trump-Zelenskiy phone call, the anti-Trump Washington Post ran a front-page story asking questions about Biden family shady dealings in Russia and Ukraine? We seem to have forgot about that part!

So it makes perfect sense that Trump and Zelenskiy would discuss such a matter. Anyway: that was but a tiny part of their chat. Mainly they were agreeing how terrible Merkel was and how she was in bed with Russia.

Vindmans didn't like this convo. And when Biden was elected, the pro-Merkel crowd was happy: Biden removed Trump's sanctions on Russia's pipeline to Germany. Hmmm... who was better for Ukraine?

Now that one of the Twins Vindman is headed to Congress, I hope it's ok to ask questions about them without them saying they are being "bullied." Their egos turned Ukraine’s fight into their own drama, fueling distrust in the U.S. next ⤵️

Read 5 tweets

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 21

Elon Musk said this week ⤵️ that there are "good questions" to be asked about Burisma. I agree! And there’s one good question no one is asking:

❓Why does everyone—from the leftwing BBC to rightwing Tucker Carlson—call Burisma Ukrainian when it’s actually Russian?

Burisma is Russian?! No way, you say. Yup, it sure is. Hang onto your butts—here’s the reality: 🧵

Burisma. That one word reeks of corruption, insider deals, and everything Americans rightly hate about Washington. elites. As such, 'Burisma' has become a one-word argument against support for Ukraine.

The story goes: Hunter Biden made beaucoup bucks from Burisma, which the media calls “Ukrainian,” so of course that's why Joe Biden is sending money to Ukraine! Aha!

But what if Burisma is the key to Biden's disastrous policy of not letting Ukraine win?

Let’s rewind to 2014 ...

In February 2014, Burisma’s CEO was part of the cabinet of Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president, Viktor Yanukovych—the very deep-state Soviet rot Ukrainians rose up to overthrow that winter.

Burisma CEO Zlochevsky was deputy secretary of Yanukovcyh's defense council, having previously, as an oil oligarch, been 'ecology minister.'

From October 2013-February 2014, in protests more resolute than the Ottawa Truckers, Ukrainians faced bullets from the Yanukovych regime and refused to leave Kyiv's main square, or Maidan.

Victoria Nuland, a U.S. bureaucrat with main character syndrome, arrogantly tried to broker deals between Yanukovych and the protesting Ukrainian people.

Yes, Nuland tried to STOP the revolution! And what, pray tell, happened?

Read 8 tweets

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 18

1/ Watch this clip from Lviv, Ukraine: a bar filled with people singing vibrant carols about the birth of Christ.
This is commonplace in Lviv, but you’d be hard-pressed to find such a spontaneous scene anywhere else in our modern world—and definitely not in Russia.
Here’s the story of Russia's war on Christmas: 👇

2/ Did you know Russia is one of the most godless nations on earth? Since Bolshevik and Soviet days, most Russians have celebrated New Year’s instead of Christmas.

That’s right—Christmas has long been cancelled in Russia. For awhile, this attitude affected parts of Ukraine, too. ...

3/ The Soviet Union crushed faith wherever it could. In eastern Ukraine, where Moscow’s influence was brutal, you still see the impact: fewer churches today and many people who at least until recently celebrated New Years while knowing nothing of their ancient Christmas traditions ...

Read 7 tweets

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 17

Yes, @ScottAdamsSays, greetings from Kyiv, and thanks for asking what I've observed about drones here in Ukraine.

You’re probably right about those drones over New Jersey: It's the US preparing. But drones aren’t the future of warfare. They’re the foundation of it now.

Ukraine proves it every day.

The U.S.? It’s missing out—bigly. Here’s what I’ve seen: drones built in garages that outperform $1M U.S. models—and a nation innovating faster than the Pentagon can even imagine.

Let me explain. 🧵

Here’s the reality:

95%+ of U.S. drones fail in Ukraine. They can’t handle:

–Jamming
—GPS denial
—Electronic warfare

A U.S. CEO of a successful defense startup told me he was shocked to learn that daily battlefield adjustments are needed to avoid jamming. It sounds too exhausting to Americans ...

But an increasing majority of battlefield kills on both sides are the result of drones. 60%+ of all UA casualties at front are from Russian drones. 80%+ of Russia's losses are attributed to Ukraine's drone units.

Drones don't replace all weapons but they are the foundation. [Side note: the Russians also use drones to unit Ukrainian civilians; drone-jamming tech is essential].

But amid all of this, someone is sleeping: the Pentagon. ...

Read 15 tweets

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 16

I have broadcast live from Ukraine every weekday for 1,027 days of war on Chicago's @wgnradio—the only reporter anywhere to do so. Here are the ten crucial lessons I’ve learned about media, life, war, and resilience. 🧵

📸 Photo: Nikopol ("City of Victory"), 2022—across the water from the Russian invaders. That's me on right.

First, a quick background: In February 2022, I was in Ukraine, having stayed through the pandemic because I found this to be a wonderfully free country. They had broken the Soviet chains of oppression.

In the lead-up to the full-scale invasion, I reported on various U.S. media. Only Chicago's WGN Radio invited me back the Monday after.

"You were the only person saying Ukraine would not fall in three days," morning host Bob Sirott said live on-air. "We thought you were crazy. You were right. So now, we’re going to have you on every day.”

And so, it's hard to believe, since 2022 I’ve kept at it, 10 minutes a day, every weekday—through missile attacks, power outages, internet struggles, moments of joy, deep depression, and renewed hope.

Often, the audience can hear the real mood of the war in my voice. They send notes of concern. They've been loyal—sending money for trucks and drones, and even coming here to volunteer but most especially tuning in every single day. They've been critical, too: challenging me, forcing me to share the reality in a concise and clear way.

From Bakhmut to Kharkiv, Odesa to the Danube, I’ve brought Ukraine to America’s third-largest city every day.

Here are some of the most striking things I’ve learned:

Read 15 tweets

JP Lindsley | Journalist

@JPLindsley

Dec 12

🎯 Three huge differences between Russian and Ukrainian culture, as revealed in their languages.

“A different language is a different vision of life,” said legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini.

At university, I immersed myself in Russian literature. Now, reporting live from Ukraine on American radio, I see firsthand how these identities differ—and it’s profound.

This video offers a quick overview, but the thread below dives deeper—and it might just change how you see this war. From my perspective, it's a clash of two polar opposite worldviews: two visions of how societies can be built.

Read on 🧵 ⤵️

1️⃣ Victory

For Ukrainians, victory is перемога (peremoha), meaning "beyond ability." It’s about doing the impossible, like an Olympian feat. Hell, victory feels impossible at times, but you keep going, overcome barriers, and find new possibilities. This is exactly what I see Ukrainians doing with Russia's "red lines."

In Russian, victory is победа (pobeda), meaning "after misery." Victory is just surviving suffering. Imagine how this mindset shapes everything else.

Imagine the difference in toasting "after misery" verses "beyond our abilities!"

2️⃣ Hospital

In Ukrainian, the word for hospital is лікарня (likarnya), meaning "a place of healing."

In Russian, it’s больница (bolnitsa), meaning "a place of pain." Think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

How you name things reflects how you see them.

Read 8 tweets

Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

JP Lindsley | Journalist

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @JPLindsley

JP Lindsley | Journalist

JP Lindsley | Journalist

JP Lindsley | Journalist

JP Lindsley | Journalist

JP Lindsley | Journalist

JP Lindsley | Journalist

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Send Email!