The Three Things--the plight of Navalny... and more (episode 4, week of Aug. 15, 2023)

Welcome back to The Three Things with Preston Smith, which covers politics, current affairs, crime, spy/intrigue and all things in between in Central Europe. Each section of the Three Things runs approximately 15-20 minutes, and we have provided markers to help you get where you need to go.

This week's topics include:
17:52 The first thing: Alexei Navalny--the imprisoned opposition leader received an additional 19 years on Aug. 4, yet still he stands defiant. In this segment we take a hard look at his past controversies and current plight as a political prisoner.

42:35 The second thing: an interview with Michael Houlehan, president of Aspenaid.org, an NGO doing big things in Ukraine. Houlehan spent the past seven weeks in Ukraine, and his take when it comes to Ukrainian morale and the counteroffensive is noticeably more optimistic than that of many US news teams.

1:07:27 The third thing: the Ukrainian war update. The Russian offensive toward Kupiansk continues, but Ukraine has made progress in the south.
Also, be sure to check out www.thecorners.pl, where the quarterly magazine is available, and where updates appear daily on the site and also on the paid-for Patreon site, accessible from the main site, that offers just a bit more. Although much, much more is coming soon.
And if you would like to support Ukrainian families in need, the Christian Joy Foundation is a great way to help, and account and foundation information is listed below:

Chrześcijańska Fundacja Radość
ul. Przyleśna 3, 04-807 Warszawa
biuro.fundacja.radosc@gmail.com
http://www.fundacja-radosc.pl/
KRS: 0000245205 NIP: 952-198-19-33
Rach. Bank.: PL 77 1050 1025 1000 0023 0001 5076
SWIFT: INGBPLPW
USD account: PL 44 1050 1025 1000 0090 8190 1911
EUR account: PL11105010251000009081936552
GBP account number: PL 92105010251000009072321715
PayPal: biuro@fundacja-radosc.pl

Photo credits:

Navalny by Mitya Aleshkovskiy, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bulgaria woman photo by Tencho B, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Polish woman in traditional dress by Poland Lestat (Jan Mehlich), CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
US farm woman by National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki Gov.pl, CC BY 3.0 PL https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons
Refugees by Ggia, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Black Sea map created by User:NormanEinstein, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons
Band x George Rose, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Navalny byBogomolov.PL, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia
Commons
Big Tex by TheNewAnimaniacsFan2001, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Navalny Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Putin by Kremlin.ru, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Navalny by Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Совет министров Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
War in Ukraine maps by Deepstate.ua.