This is “Ukraine’s Israel moment,” declared Jonas Öhman.
Öhman, a former Swedish special-operations soldier, hopes to sound the alarm on the current crisis in Ukraine and provide aid through Blue Yellow, his non-government organization (NGO) which takes its name from the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Öhman witnessed the student-led Maidan Revolution in 2014 that was sparked by public disgust over corruption in the Ukrainian government and eventually toppled then-President Viktor Yanukovych (a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin). The Maidan movement also led to reforms within the government.
Completely devoted to the Ukrainian cause, Jonas and other volunteers launched Blue/Yellow.
We “provide support to the frontlines within three hours of request–drones, bulletproof vests, etc. [but we are only] giving away non-lethal [supplies],” Öhman told Newsmax.
With the support of a significant amount of the Lithuanian public and financial donations from individuals and private businesses throughout Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Israel, Öhman estimates Blue/Yellow now has roughly $30 million in donations.
Asked about the U.S. aid to Kyiv in terms of military and non-lethal supplies, Öhman believes there is a good reason to be concerned about the process and precisely what is being sent.
Blue Yellow's supplies go “straight forward to all units [in combat]” explained Öhman, “but their [the soldiers on the frontlines] needs don’t correspond with what Kyiv asks the United States to provide.”
According to Öhman, the U.S. sends its resources to Poland and then to Ukraine which means that 50 percent of the efficiency is lost. The resulting dilemma of this lost efficiency, he stressed, is that the U.S. fails to be involved in the process as a whole.
A great deal more can be done by the United States for Ukraine, Öhman argued, but it isn’t being done because the process takes too long and is done in a way that is too formal.
All of this is occurring at a time when, he said, “Russia is playing nasty. And the United States has everything Ukraine needs [such as] gas masks.”
Öhman also voiced his view that even if Ukraine suppresses Russian aggression and forces the invaders out, the danger of Russia still haunts Europe. One wonders, he said, "what, or who, is next?"
This opinion was seconded last week by Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, who flatly stated that Russia will continue to menace Europe, even after a ceasefire.
“Any ceasefire will be violated within days, '' echoed Öhman. “You can’t cut a deal with Russia–[it is] impossible.”
He summarized the current crisis in Ukraine in the words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “The history of failure in war can almost be summed up in two words: Too late.”
(Micah Hart, a Newsmax intern, is studying politics and journalism at Hillsdale College in Michigan).