A sublime resolve.

The war for the cities begins.

As did their fathers before them.

As this is written, it is just past midnight in Kyiv. The capital city is, it seems, under a partial siege and we can expect this night and weekend to be, if not decisive, then determinative. If the city breaks in the darkness, then the Russians can still claim the swift victory they sought — and politically need. If the bells under the golden domes ring across a fighting Kyiv by Sunday morning, then it means the cities of Ukraine will do their timeless work of absorbing armies, and pulling them to pieces, bit by bit in the byways and warrens of unnumbered homes, alleys, and buildings. The Ukrainian state is obviously working toward that end. Small arms and ammunition are handed to whomever wants them. The ranks of the army are thrown open to all, and the ersatz recruiting centers are overwhelmed with volunteers. Instructions for the creation of Molotov cocktails are broadcast, and young women set up home factories, in kitchens and flats, for the supply of their men as they prepare to resist. Former presidents and former heavyweight champions, clad in blue jeans and dark jackets, shoulder Kalashnikovs and patrol their streets. 

And, at the border crossings jammed with fleeing civilians, the gendarmes let the women and children pass. But the men, they seize and turn back. Every man fights. This is the war of the whole nation, for absolutely everything that it was meant to be, and should be still.

The war is just two days old.

There are a few items that we should consider as events race to their unknown culmination. In no particular order, here some things you, as an informed citizen, ought to be thinking through this weekend.