I Am Not Armenian, But New Graves in Yerablur Bring Tears: Lapshin on the Difference Between Armenians and Ukrainians

Russian-Israeli journalist and blogger Alexander Lapshin wrote on his Facebook page: "You can relate to the situation in Ukraine differently, you can support one side or the other. It’s your own business. I don’t even want to delve into the political aspects. Ukraine, one of the most corrupt countries in the world, a country that has successfully destroyed its most powerful industry during the years of independence, has wiped out its own armed forces, and brought millions of its own citizens to massive emigration. All these are objective facts that have made Ukraine a failed state, somewhere on the brink of the third world.

But you can see how Ukrainians have managed to organize and unite in the last six months. They have become a nation, become a state, become a force. I repeat, regardless of how you feel about them. These are also objective facts. Whatever the outcome of the current situation, Ukraine will never be the same because they know what they are fighting for and they will not stop.

Look at the tremendous efforts the Ukrainians have made for the complete rearmament of the army, for training personnel, and for the implementation of new advanced strategies and tactics. Yesterday, I read in Russian media that Russia is facing enormous difficulties related to reconnaissance on the battlefield because Ukrainians have the necessary means to combat drones, and Russia is losing hundreds of devices. The same goes for combat drones, which usually do not reach their targets.

Why am I telling all this? These days, Israeli media are publishing news that Israel is selling its most advanced anti-drone systems to Ukraine through Poland. Why through Poland? So that it doesn’t appear that the Israelis are supporting Ukraine; it is important to maintain at least neutral relations with Russia. It is no secret that Israel is not only one of the main manufacturers of drones and other military equipment in the world but also the main developer of means to combat them. In recent years, not a single reconnaissance or combat drone launched from Lebanon and Syria has reached its targets.

It turns out that countering drones is quite possible and necessary. It is known that Turkish and Israeli drones dealt a huge blow to the Armenian side in 2020. It seems like two years have passed; shouldn’t conclusions have been drawn? But yesterday's escalations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the repeated Bayraktars, which operated absolutely freely in Armenian territories, showed that once again no conclusions were made.

Ukrainians managed to reorganize in half a year or a year and create a serious combat force from a collapsing army. Why does Armenia repeatedly step on the same rake? Azerbaijanis have not come up with anything new, the same predictable provocations, the same means of attack, the same propaganda. If you know that the enemy will attack again, if you even know when they will attack, and you know what weapon they will use, then why has nothing been done in the last two years?

Why were dozens of soldiers killed again because strong bunkers and shelters were not built, which caused soldiers to once again find themselves under vehicles' tires and sand protection? Why do drones fly freely over Armenian positions, and there are no systems to suppress and disable them? I’m really trying not to get annoyed and think too much about it. After all, I am not Armenian, I am not a citizen of Armenia, and I shouldn’t be concerned since it is the Armenians’ right to either be strong or be a third-world country on which others can trample. But still, it is a shame; new graves in Yerablur bring tears."