July 14 Program: Ukraine Crisis 2022 By Gregory Ehr On Thursday, July 14, at 3:00 p.m., Friedrich K. Jeschonnek, airborne Colonel (Ret.) of the German Army, will present the free program “Ukraine Crisis 2022: Origins, Impact, and Challenges for the West.” The program will be in the Rogow Room of the Transylvania County Library, 212 S. Gaston Street in Brevard. Col. Jeschonnek, pictured here, served in the German military for more than 40 years, both as a troop commander from platoon to division level and as a General Staff officer performing German Army and NATO staff functions. Twice he was deputy commander of the German contingent in the Balkans and served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. He currently leads the German Reservist Association task force editing the geopolitical “Eastern European Handbook.” Col. Jeschonnek’s program on July 14 will analyze Russia’s ambition to reestablish the old Russian Empire, the will of the Ukrainian people to remain independent, and the role of the Western world in the resulting conflict. This crisis in 2022 mirrors the clashing of deep-seated national wills, intentions, and ambitions that date back centuries. Col. Jeschonnek’s presentation will explore how Ukraine (which means “borderland”) has served over the years as a battleground for competing powers that included Russians, Poles, Turks, Cossacks, Austrians, French, and Germans. Col. Jeschonnek will review Ukraine’s geographic, economic, ethnic, and cultural characteristics, and will explain how international political and military factors surrounding Ukraine have influenced the Ukrainian people’s historical struggles for sovereignty and... Read More