PHOTO: About 12 weeks ago… Russian President Vladimir Putin...

BEYOND OUR BRIDGES – [HN NOTES & MULLINGS ON THE MATTER] – Of course, by now, everyone has learned the major, world-changing news that Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last evening. Various online sources have already reported “hundreds” of Ukrainians killed (while other sources report fewer casualties; the actual numbers have not been officially confirmed one way or another yet…), and as many as five Russian jets have been reportedly gunned down. Ukrainians were awakened by air-raid sirens, precision guided missiles, gunfire, explosions…

One source reported Ukrainian officials are planning to arm civilians in preparation for the possibility of street-to-street fighting with Russian invaders.

Throughout the overnight, Russian forces invaded Ukraine from the north, south and east.

Russian missiles have reportedly hit several Ukrainian military bases and airports…

Russian paratroopers landed behind Ukrainian lines…

The Daily Mail reports, “Hundreds’ of Ukrainian troops died in early fighting, with six Russian jets and a helicopter shot out of the sky before Moscow claimed to have eliminated the country’s anti-aircraft batteries…”

The attack was ordered by Vladimir Putin, who announced his plans to the entire world during a UN session that had been assembled in an effort to avoid the conflict. Putin professed he plans to “DE-militarize’ and ‘DE-Nazify’ the Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed “we will defeat everyone,” as he declared martial law, according to multiple online reports.

Here in Hyannis, the streets were quiet last evening. And the news in the Ukraine seemed such a long, long ways away…

How will this impact us here?

Several local “night owls” began expressing their concerns on social media as the news broke over the TV networks.

Glancing at my personal Facebook page, there’s that empty space where the app asks, “What’s on your mind?” I rattled off multiple things. And I shared a few powerful news-wire photos which I cannot share on HN because we’re not licensed to do so. There was the bloodied face of a Ukrainian woman outside of an apartment complex after a Russian airstrike. There was an image of police officers inspecting fragments of a missile that had just landed in the streets of Kiev.

There was also the sudden realization that last evening’s invasion could very well be one of the darkest times in European history since WWII.

I began wondering if this was the start of WWIII.

The recurring, unshakable thought, “Nobody wins… nobody wins… nobody wins…”

Unable to be there to make photos… and unable to share this morning’s haunting news-wire photos from the AP and Reuters, showing shell shocked civilians, including young children… I dug around for related public domain images and found one of President Joe Biden smiling and waving at Putin. It is, indeed, an extremely surreal image… (quite possibly “not real” in today’s “deep fake” world…) but certainly in stark contrast to the latest, world-changing developments…

TOP PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with US President Joseph Biden (via videoconference) on December 7, 2021 (about 12 weeks ago). Source/credit: Presidential Executive Office of Russia, via Creative Commons/HN Edits…

P.S. – Today’s Hytown Vignette is a brought to you by Johnny Hartman… [CLICK IT/CRANK IT!]