Hitting Ukrainian cities with more air strikes, 44-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensl told his nation that his country has “defeated” Russian attempt to intimidate through missile strikes. Zelensky awaits his new arsenal of battle tanks, hoping that he’ll drive Russia off Ukrainian sovereign territory. Since the War began Feb. 24, 2022, Zelensky has lost some 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, nearly the entire Black Sea coast. Yet Zelensky keeps telling 80-year-old President Joe Biden that all he needs are more cash-and-lethal-weapons to repel the Russian invaders. Zelensky told a joint session of Congress Dec. 21, 2022 that Ukraine was not a charity case but an investment in saving European democracy. Imagine that, war-ravaged, bankrupt Ukraine is going to save European Democracy from 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin? No one in Congress said a word.
Zelensky has asked NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg for fast-track approval into the Trans-Atlantic Alliance. Stoltengerg said while he sympathizes with Ukraine dilemma battling the Kremlin, there’s no Ukraine membership in NATO for the foreseeable future. NATO members frankly don’t want to take on Ukraine’s fight with the Russian Federation. Only Biden has taken on Ukraine’s fight. U.S.-Russian relations are at an all-time low, according to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Zelensky was rejected for NATO membership. U.S. and NATO officials also rejected Zelensky’s request for a no-fly-zone and troops. After getting U.S. and EU’s best tanks, Zelensky now wants F-16 fighter jets, all to expel Russian troops from Ukrainian soil. Zelensky changed his mission with all the U.S. cash-and-weapons, now wanting to take back the Crimean Peninsula.
U.S. and EU officials haven’t yet come to the conclusion that the Ukraine War has no end in sight. Putin isn’t about to surrender to the Kiev or the U.S. anytime soon. So what Zelensky has asked for is an open-ended war that could last years, if ever end. Getting U.S. fighter jets would enable Kiev to go more aggressively against Russian targets but wouldn’t stop Moscow’s relentless missile strikes that could get worse over time. Zelensky and Biden have miscalculated Putin’s resolve to defend Russia against the U.S. and NATO proxy war to break up the Russian Federation. Whatever weapons Ukraine gets, it could take years for Ukraine to reclaim its lost sovereign territory. Going to the peace table would be Ukraine’s best chance of getting backs its strategic port cities lost over the last 11 months. Putin has asked Kiev to come to the peace table, work out a mutually agreeable settlement.
Zelensky complains about Russian air strikes against Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and civilian population but he won’t let U.N. peacemakers work out the contours of a peace deal because he thinks with unlimited U.S. cash-and-arms he can beat back the Russian assault. Zelensky knows that Putin isn’t likely to abandon Russian-speaking, separatist people in Donetsk and Luhansk and Crimea. Putin won’t let go of Crimea where the Russian navy parks its warm water fleet. Zelensky’s ambition to destroy the Russian military and drive Russia out of Ukraine’s sovereign territory isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Biden must rethink his proxy war against the Kremlin before he starts WW III or nuclear war on the European Continent. Former President Donald Trump, 76, told the press it’s a “crazy war,” that does the U.S. no good in national security or foreign policy.
Zelensky has shown he seeks as much cash-and-weapons as he can get from the U.S. and NATO. But whether or not more cash-and-weapons translate into battlefield successes is anyone’s guess. Putin shows no signs to letting up because the sees the U.S. proxy war as an existential threat to the Russian Federation. Whether Ukraine gets battle tanks or F-16 jets from the U.S. and NATO, how’s that supposed to stop the Russian air strikes that have bombed Ukraine into the Stone Age. Everyday the war goes on, Zelensky complains about war crimes with Putin going after Ukraine infrastructure and civilian population. If Zelensky wants to stop the destruction and carnage, he’d allow peacemakers like44-year-old President Emmanuel Macron broker a ceasefire and peace deal in a neutral setting. Macron has worked feverishly to end the war and work out a mutually beneficial peace deal.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 64-year-old Gen. Mark Miley said recently that there’s no military solution to the Ukraine War. Miley told Biden that only a political solution can end the conflict. Whether Biden listens or not, why would he employ Miley as the nation’s chief military officer and not follow his advice? Miley understands that no matter what the losses to the Russian military or economy, Putin isn’t about to surrender to Washington or Kiev. Getting tanks wasn’t enough for Zelensky, now asking from F-16 fighter jets from the U.S. and NATO. Whether admitted to or not, there’s no limit to Zelensky’s demands for cash-and-lethal-weapons. Whether that ends the war or not, Zelensky will continue asking for more. It’s up to Biden to recognize that Zelensky’s strategy for expelling Russian troops from Ukraine isn’t working, no matter what the cash-and-weapons.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.
