The Weekly Lift, Ukraine Crisis Special Edition - March 3, 2022

This week's special edition is focused on the Ukraine crisis.

While acknowledging the tragic nature of Russia's senseless invasion of Ukraine, messages of hope, unity, solidarity, courage, and resolve have also come to symbolize the conflict. Here is a selection*:

Leadership: Volodymyr Zelenskiy: The Unlikely Hero Of The Ukrainian Resistance

El Pais (Spain) writes that "with a serious-but-exhausted look on his face, a two-day beard, and wearing a military shirt and green fleece jacket, Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks straight into the camera. “Tonight, on all fronts, the enemy will use all available forces to break our resistance,” he says, in a message to the nation recorded after the first day of attacks launched by?Russian President Vladimir Putin in?on Ukraine.

Some 24 hours before, when the worst predictions had yet to come true, he addressed the Russian people and called on them to stand in the way of the assault on his country. “Listen to the voice of reason,” he said in Russian. “The Ukrainian people want peace.”

The strategy was unsuccessful. Over three days, the head of the Kremlin ordered an offensive against Ukraine via land, sea and air, on the basis that the country is fictitious, the result of historical and diplomatic stitches.

A former comedy actor and self-made businessman, Zelenskiy debunks much of the Kremlin’s propaganda about Ukraine and its government, which has been described as a “bunch of drug addicts and neo-Nazis,” as well as being a place where speaking Russian is forbidden and the citizens of the Donbas region are the victims of “genocide.”

Zelenskiy was born 44 years ago in Kryvyi Rih, a city in the Dnipro region. He was part of a “Soviet Jewish” family, as he described it once – that’s to say, not so religious in a regime where religion was repressed.

He spoke about this to Russian citizens this week in another of his emotional messages, in which he called for the attack to be called off. He also spoke about his grandfather, Semyon Ivanovich Zelenski, a veteran of the Red Army during the Second World War.

Since the outset of Russia's invasion, Zelenskiy, who had lost popularity among voters due to his sometimes-erratic policies and corruption cases among his allies, has grown as a leader. The former actor, who is an expert when it comes to managing the language and staging of television and social media, has taken a major step in terms of the information he is conveying to Ukrainians, the emotional videos that he has been publishing online, and the patriotic messages that have seen his popularity return. “We will fight for as long as is necessary,” he said on Saturday, after the Kremlin threatened to step up its attacks.

He has also repeatedly highlighted the fact that European leaders have abandoned Ukraine to their fate in the face of Putin’s threats. “If you, my beloved world leaders, leaders of the free world, do not help Ukraine forcefully now, tomorrow the war will be on all of your doorsteps,” he warned in one of these speeches.

The Ukrainian president has presented the opposite arguments to the narratives from the Kremlin, and has compared Russia with Nazi Germany. “Our countries are on different sides of world history,” he said. “Russia is on the path of evil.”

Zelenskiy was initially perceived as a political lightweight and an easy target for Putin. But now he embodies the commander of a country at war, who is resisting a tough offensive by a nuclear state and whose troops and resources easily outrank his own.

Ukrainian and American secret services have been warning that one of the main objectives of the Kremlin is to overthrow the Ukrainian government and replace it with a puppet regime from Moscow. And to do that, Zelenskiy must be ousted. The United States advised him to leave the country, or at least, the capital. But the Ukrainian leader has insisted that he and his family will be staying in Kyiv. ?

Zelenskiy was victorious in the presidential elections of 2019 throughout the country when he ran against Petro Poroschenko, a businessman who had taken an unwavering stand against Moscow. He did so with anti-corruption policies and a certain anti-establishment attitude. He promised to bring an end to the war in the east, against the pro-Russian separatists being supported by the Kremlin. Poroschenko, his predecessor, had promised to win the conflict.

Zelenskiy came up with some brilliant policies at the start of his term in office. His government, which had a comfortable majority, opened the market of agricultural land, executed a huge digitalization campaign, and inaugurated a massive road-building program to renew rural routes, which were in a very bad way all over the country.

However, his problems with the media, the lack of organization among his teams and a number of controversies saw the confidence that the public had in him erode. Despite the reforms put in place, Ukraine is still the third-most-corrupt country in Europe, after Russia and Azerbaijan, according to Transparency International.

Zelenskiy also got caught up with the policies of Donald Trump. The then-US president made a call to the Ukrainian leader that led to the impeachment of the former. Trump, who had for some time put the sending of defense material to Ukraine on hold, called on his opposite number for the favor of opening an investigation into Hunter Biden and his father, Joe Biden, who was then the Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential race.

At the time, Zelenski appeared weak, and the episode worried many at the start of the Russian crisis, when Putin began to send troops to the Ukrainian borders and ramped up the threats against Kyiv given its intentions to enter NATO.

The Ukrainian president has also been harshly criticized by part of the political opposition due to his management. These criticisms, however, have been shelved for now – apart from a group of pro-Russians – and have made way for support in a bid to force more sanctions against Russia from allies as well as the supply of weapons.

Meanwhile, Zelenski has been addressing his citizens, whom he has been encouraging to come out onto the streets to defend the country – whether they use Molotov cocktails, weapons or whatever they have at their disposal. “Be prepared to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities,” he said."

Heroes of Ukraine: The Ordinary People Fighting For Their Lives In Face Of Russian Aggression

The Telegraph (UK) reports that "across Ukraine, ordinary people are taking up arms and demonstrating striking bravery in the face of Russian aggression.?

As the invasion continues, with civilians in the capital being urged by Ukrainian officials to prepare Molotov cocktails, we are seeing the emergence of everyday heroism – from the soldiers refusing to back down on Snake Island to the man who gave up his own life blowing up a bridge to prevent a Russian crossing.

Here, we pay tribute to the Ukrainians fighting for their lives and freedoms amid the conflict.

A Ukrainian woman telling a Russian soldier to put sunflower seeds in his pocket so that flowers will grow when he dies on Ukraine’s soil has emerged as one of the extraordinary scenes of defiance from the front lines of the Russian invasion.?

The unnamed woman was filmed voicing her outrage at a soldier blocking a street in a residential area of the port city of Henichesk in southern Ukraine, which, according to local media reports, has been?occupied by the Russian army who have erected roadblocks.

The video released on Twitter by the Ukraine World account shows the woman standing about a metre from the armed soldier and angrily demanding why he is there.?“You’re occupants, you’re fascists!” she says as he tries to claim he is part of a military exercise. She adds: “Take these seeds and put them in your pockets so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here."

“Put the sunflower seeds in your pockets, please. You will lie down here with the seeds. You came to my land. Do you understand? You are occupiers. You are enemies.” Sunflowers are Ukraine’s national flower.??

The tweet of the video went viral, with 88,000 likes and more than 27,000 retweets within a few hours, and?many chimed in to praise the woman's courage. “Ukrainians are bad ass,” commented one Twitter user.?“This woman is my hero,” said another.

A more chilling video emerged from Snake Island in the Black Sea, where an entire garrison of 13 Ukrainian border guards were killed after refusing to surrender to the Russian Navy.

One Ukrainian solder livestreamed the attack in a short clip of a few seconds where the boom of heavy weaponry can be heard in the background before he drops to the ground.?

Tiny Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, is about 30 miles off the coast of Ukraine and marks the edge of its territorial waters.

The garrison’s final act of resistance has become a rallying cry for the public after Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said they had “died heroically” while trying to protect the island.

"All border guards died heroically but did not give up. They will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously," Mr Zelensky said.?

A separate audio clip, posted to Facebook by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, appears to relay an exchange between a Russian naval officer and the soldiers, in which they are told to surrender to “avoid bloodshed” as the warship approaches.

In the audio exchange, which could not be independently verified, the Russian officer says: "This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed." A Ukrainian soldier allegedly responds: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself.

On the second day of the fighting, another unnamed hero emerged when a Ukrainian citizen attempted to block the passage of a Russian convoy. He was filmed standing in front of tanks as they made their way through the country.

Vitaly Skakun sacrificed his life to blow up the Henichesky Bridge near Kyiv, in an attempt to block the passage of Russian soldiers.?Faced with a column of Russian tanks advancing towards the bridge, a decision was made to destroy it using mines. However, Skakun didn't have enough time to leave the area and detonate the mines remotely, so he contacted his battalion to let them know that he would do it from where he was.?

Shortly afterwards, an explosion was heard - successfully destroying the bridge but also killing Skakun.

A social media post from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said: "His heroic deed significantly slowed the advance of the enemy, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organize the defense" and that he would be nominated for a national award."

Environment: Green Energy Stocks Surge As War Spurs Push Away From Russia and Fossil Fuels

The Japan Times (Japan) reports that "European and U.S. green energy stocks have surged as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increases pressure on governments to build more wind and solar power to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

The world’s biggest wind turbine-maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S and competitor Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA gained more than 15% on Monday, while Nordex SE rose as much as 21%. Denmark’s Orsted A/S, the world’s biggest developer of offshore wind farms, gained as much as 11%.

Shares of U.S. renewable energy companies also soared in New York. Sunrun Inc., the top U.S. residential solar company, surged as much as 13%. Enphase Energy Inc. and SolarEdge Technologies Inc., which supply inverters that are needed to install solar systems, both rose more than 9%, making them the two best performers on the S&P 500 Index. TPI Composites Inc., which produces blades for wind turbines, gained as much as 26%.

“There’s a realization that Europe has to move away from dependency on Russian oil and gas, and one way to achieve that is renewables,” said Deepa Venkateswaran, a senior analyst at Bernstein Autonomous LLP. “Now it’s not just about decarbonization, but also about security of supply ”.

The Russia-Ukraine war may serve to hasten the European Union’s ambitious plans to boost the share of its energy from renewable sources this decade. With projects still stifled by local red-tape, executives for the biggest turbine-makers wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week to urge the EU to take action to speed up the permitting process for new wind farms.

The German government on Monday set a plan to get all its electricity from renewable energy by 2035, 15 years ahead of its previous goal for so-called greenhouse-gas neutrality “before 2050.”

While Europe will likely continue to rely on natural gas for years to come, more renewables will lessen the bloc’s dependence on the fuel. That could make it easier to source its gas from countries besides Russia, which currently makes up more than a third of Europe’s supply.

The gains in renewable energy stocks Monday stood in stark contrast to firms heavily exposed to Russian fossil fuels. Austrian oil and chemicals group OMV AG fell 8%, while Uniper SE, which helped finance the new Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia that may never be used, dropped as much as 9.5%.

“Absent any additional shocks, high fossil fuel prices are likely to drive additional outperformance in decarbonization stocks,” Joe Osha, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, wrote in a research note Monday."

Solidarity: After Feeding Ukrainian Refugees, Chef José Andrés Warns: ‘We Didn’t Learn Enough From The Horrors Of The Past’

The Washington Post (US) reports that "Chef José Andrés had spent nearly all day handing out plates of hot food to hungry Ukrainian children and women who’d fled Russian missile attacks in their country and crossed the border into Poland.

But by?early Tuesday in Poland, the 52-year-old chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen organization had reached his breaking point in Sesow, a town in central part of the country.

He was about to go to bed in a warm hotel room, he said in a nearly four-minute-long video?posted to his Twitter account, while thousands of refugees would face freezing temperatures as they continued their plight?to neighboring countries. Others, mostly men, would be walking in the opposite direction to fight back against Russian forces.

“The snow is now coming as we speak. The temperatures are really freezing,” the chef said in the?emotional clip, his voice breaking at times. He added, “It’s hard to know that even in this moment there are mainly women, because the men are staying behind, with children walking for hours out of Ukraine to safety, to different countries.”

He added, “Why do we put young men and women in this situation? We didn’t learn enough from the horrors of the past. People, we need to speak up against leaders that are breaking us apart.”

As of Tuesday morning, his video had garnered more than 1.7 million views and about 15,000 retweets.

In?Poland, the chef and his organization were among the first to arrive to feed thousands of refugees running from the violence, dishing out cups of hot tea and chicken-and-vegetable soup.

Nate Mook, the chief executive of World Central Kitchen,?described the chaotic scene at the border in a Twitter video posted to the organization’s account early Tuesday in Poland.

“There are hundreds of cars lined up here, families fleeing Ukraine,” he recounted. “Many of them have been waiting 10, 20, sometimes 30 hours to get here, to get across the border.”

Mook said he was there handing out sandwiches, fresh fruit and chocolate to children. “Whatever we can do to support as they are here,” he said. “It is very cold out right now, and we’re just trying to do the little bit that we can to support and help out.”

Back in Sesow, Andrés condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s supporters.

“Anybody that ever thought about saying that Putin was a good leader should be ashamed,” the chef said. “Anybody supporting people that said that Putin was a good leader —?they should be more than ashamed.”

Global Finance: In Move To Sanction Russia, Switzerland Breaks From Long Tradition

The Washington Post also reports that "in a sharp break with its long-standing neutrality, Switzerland on Monday announced that it would join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, filling a key gap in Western efforts to curb the Kremlin following widespread criticism of the Swiss government.

The Swiss had for days held off on following the E.U. and the United States, citing the nation’s long-standing role as a neutral and diplomacy-focused country.

Swiss political isolationism dates back around two centuries. The 1815 Congress of Vienna signed a declaration formally recognizing Switzerland’s neutrality, saying it was “in the true interest of the whole of Europe.” Buffered by larger, mightier powers — France to the West, Germany to the North and Italy to the South — the small Alpine nation has been entrusted with special international functions, including acting as a mediator in conflicts.

Switzerland’s government now says it will immediately implement the measures already agreed on by the E.U. last Wednesday and Friday.

“We are in an extraordinary situation where extraordinary measures could be decided,” President Ignazio Cassis told reporters Monday. He said only history would tell if Switzerland would ever do the same again. Swiss neutrality remained intact, he insisted, but “of course we stand on the side of Western values.”

Switzerland will also close its airspace to flights from Russia and planes with Russian markings, and bar five oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin from entering the country. Authorities did not provide their names.

The nation will also impose sanctions on Putin and other officials in the Russian government.

“The attack of Russia against an independent European country — Ukraine — is an attack on sovereignty, freedom, democracy, the civil population and the institutions of a free country,” Cassis said.

E.U. and domestic pressure on the Swiss government had mounted for days. On Friday, an E.U. spokesman said the bloc expects Switzerland “to follow suit in standing up for defending the principles on which our communities and countries are based.”

Switzerland is not a member of the E.U., a bloc of 27 nations. Upon the 1945 founding of the United Nations, Switzerland ruled out membership, only joining the international body with a?slim margin nationwide vote?over five decades later in 2002. Switzerland didn’t join NATO, founded in 1949 — and instead has become part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, which allows it to build an “individual relationship” with NATO. The nation managed to keep its neutrality through both world wars, propped up by a system of armed neutrality.

Switzerland has mandatory military conscription for men. The armed forces focus on “assuring domestic law and order and defending the territory of the Swiss Confederation,” according to?its website.

Even Monday’s sanctions constitute “a striking movement away from their neutrality,” Neal G. Jesse, a political scientist at Bowling Green State University, who studies small, neutral nations, told The Washington Post. “Normally if there was conflict, they wouldn’t even consider it. Nobody would even ask Switzerland, ‘Do you want to take a side on this?’ — because it’s security related.”

The country’s status in the geographical center of Europe but on its political sidelines has long allowed its banks to uphold ties to entities and individuals whose businesses would probably run into obstacles elsewhere.

The sanctions aimed at punishing Russia are “clearly security related,” Jesse said.

“This is highly unusual,” he said. “This is a development that shows that Europe is headed now for a new era. If Switzerland believes that defense of Europe is something they want to be a part of, we are really seeing a new era of international relations in Europe that we haven’t seen since 1815.”

The largely neutral Sweden has also agreed to send military aid to Ukraine, including antitank weapons and body armor, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson?said Sunday."

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* Please note that certain articles or headlines have been modified or summarized to fit the format of the newsletter.

If you have come across a positive headline or article in the last two weeks, please send to [email protected].