Sometimes it's hard to remember the sequence of events in the world. There are so many of them. I thought this chronology might help Gazette readers. 1. U.S. warns that Russia will invade Ukraine. General disbelief, daily Russian mockery. (December 3, 2021-February 24, 2022) 2. Russia invades Ukraine, kills tens of thousands, kidnaps tens of thousands of children, commits other war crimes (February 24, 2022 to the present) 3. Russia blames U.S. and Ukrainian “Nazis” for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Or NATO, which has done nothing to threaten Russia. (March 2022 – present, a line swallowed whole by some nice, peace-loving liberal Americans) 4. U.S. warns of terror attack in Moscow. Putin denies any risk and mocks the United States (March 7 and March 19, 2024). Russian riot police and security forces perform terror measures in Ukraine and suppress dissent in Russia. 5. Terror attack near Moscow, ISIS takes responsibility. At the same time, Russia kills Ukrainian citizens with drones and missiles, as it has for more than two years. (March 22, 2024) 6. Putin blames Ukraine for terror in Moscow. The men on trial for the crime show signs of torture: one came in on a wheelchair. We don’t know yet (March 25) if they will “confess” to Ukrainian involvement. Putin will probably use the Moscow attack to justify continuing atrocities in Ukraine. I wonder if my liberal friends will buy that line, too.

David Ball

Northampton