Agreeing to supply Ukraine advanced rocket systems, 79-year-old President Joe Biden irked the Kremlin, saying he was pushing the Ukraine War to the brink of a wider conflict. If you listen to the White House or Kiev, they’re winning the war against the Russian Federation. Today’s New York Times features a front-page story about the Russian military has been humiliated and near defeat. Yet if you look at the maps of Russian-held territory in Ukraine, the Kremlin has seized nearly the entire Black Sea coast, something at odds with Washington and Kiev. Providing Ukraine with more advanced weapons suggests that whatever Biden furnished before wasn’t enough, given the amount of ground lost by 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky. “We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire,” said Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, 72, said that supplying rocket systems to Ukraine would risk escalating the conflict beyond Ukraine and Russia. Kremlin officials see the U.S. as fighting a proxy war against the Russian Federation. ”It is a direct provocation [by Ukraine] aimed an involving the West in military action,” Lavrov said. So, Biden thinks that supplying Zelensky rocket systems adds to his plan of pressuring Russia to end the conflict. Supplying Ukraine more weapons does exactly the opposite, assures that Russia stays in it for the long-haul. Peskov said the idea of Ukraine firing U.S. rockets into Russian territory would be an act of war. U.S. rockets systems are capable of traveling 80 km or 50 miles, something that could easily cross into Russian territory, especially near the eastern frontier. Peskov said that any new rocket systems would no push Ukraine to the peace table.
All the Western propaganda focuses on Russia slowing its military operation down, to win a war of attrition with Ukraine. White House and Kiev insist that because Putin did not conquer Kiev in the first few days of the war, Russia has failed. When you look at the Black Sea coast, Ukraine has lost so much territory to the Russian Federation Kiev is virtually land-locked. That fact isn’t reported by the White House, Kiev or any Western press outlet. All that Washington and Kiev report is Ukraine receives more lethal weapons, this time guided rocket systems with a 50-mile range. “Let’s not talk about worst-case scenarios,” said Peskov, referring to the possibility of a conflict with the United States. Peskov said that getting more advanced weapons does not encourage Zelensky to go to the peace table in Instanbul. Zelensky has already lost so much territory, it’s not coming back anytime soon.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 98, more lucid than most, said Ukraine must compromise on its territory to get to the peace table. Zelensky, fully armed with U.S. cash and weapons, rejects any concessions with the Kremlin. It isn’t concessions at this point because Zelens, as Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, has lost nearly the entire Black Sea coast. How are more sophisticated rocket systems going to get back all the lost territory? Everyday that goes by, Putin consolidates more strategic coastal territory in Ukraine. What’s Biden and Zelensky supposed to do, bluff their way into thinking that the war has gone well for Ukraine? When the Azovstal Steelworks and Mariupol fell last week, the White House and Kiev said nothing. Giving Ukraine advanced rocket systems must be weighed against the possibility of a mishap, a mistake that could start WW III.
Zelensky has made clear for some time he wanted the U.S. and NATO to do more, especially setting up a no-fly-zone. Biden resisted the idea because he thought it could trigger WW III. But pushing the envelop more, Biden’s decision to supply more advanced rocket launchers won’t get back Ukraine’s lost Black Sea coast. “We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so that it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” Biden said, admitting that Ukraine isn’t getting its lost territory back. What kind of cynical nonsense is it to continue sending advanced weapons, increasing the chances of WW III? Biden talks about the bargaining table like he’s got something in mind, like a date-certain for ending the war. If Biden’s thinking about the negotiating table, why has he pushed Ukraine to destroy itself?
Biden’s opinion piece in the New York Times exposes for all to see his reckless approach to the Ukraine War. Had Biden told Zelensky two months ago, it’s time to end the conflict and negotiate with the Russian Federation, he might have saved Ukraine widespread destruction, carnage and loss of its Black Sea coast. So Biden now tells the world that giving Ukraine more advance rocket systems buys time for Ukraine to have the better bargaining position with the Kremlin. Nothing could be further from the truth. Despite all the stories in the U.S. press about the Russian military sustaining massive losses and Putin near death from terminal illness, somehow the Kremlin has managed to seize most of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. If Biden really wants the conflict to end, he’d tell Zelensky that it’s time to talk. Another week, month or more of fighting only hurts Ukraine.
