Alexander Vindman posts 'difficult to watch' video of Ukraine: 'So many lives destroyed'

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (US Army, retired) posted a heartwrenching video on Wednesday night as the focus of the war in Ukraine appears to be shifting to the East.

"Officials in Ukraine began urging people living in the eastern part of the country to evacuate Wednesday as new attacks on civilians were reported in areas where Russia is expected to step up offensives after withdrawing from Kyiv," The Washington Postreported. "The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded a tougher E.U. response Wednesday and criticized leaders who 'still think war crimes are not as horrific as financial losses.' The Biden administration announced new sanctions that will target two of Russia’s largest banks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adult daughters."

The battlefield shift was also reported by The New York Times.

"Spurred by reports of Russian atrocities outside Ukraine’s capital, and alarmed at signs that Russia’s invasion force is about to escalate assaults in eastern Ukraine, many civilians in that region are fleeing while they can, officials said Wednesday," The Timesreported. "More than 11 million Ukrainians — roughly one in four — have fled their homes since the Feb. 24 invasion, according to the United Nations, including more than four million who have fled the country."

Vindman, the former director for European affairs at the Nationals Security Council, was born in the Soviet Union in what is now Ukraine. At Trump's first impeachment trial, Vindman joked he speaks "Russian, Ukrainian, and a little bit of English."

He posted a powerful video using animation to remind viewers of how the country looked before Putin's invasion.