Promising a spring counteroffensive for months, the propaganda-rich Kiev government continues to talk about an upcoming counteroffensive with various Ukrainian officials saying it already began or never stopped, meaning that Kiev doesn’t want to admit it’s military failures. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky fears losing funding from the U.S.-led Western Alliance, beating back reports of a ”frozen conflict.” Stalemate is an anathema to Kiev because it would force Zelensky into a ceasefire and peace talks knowing it can’t win on the battlefield. Over 15 months of war, 37-year-old Kiev’s Information Minister Kyrylo Budanvov creating endless disinformation, telling the U.S. and foreign press with carefully placed news reports that Ukraine is winning the war, despite losing some 25% of sovereign territory including the strategic Black Sea coast.
Forget about reality, the Ukraine War, in Budanov’s thinking, can only be won by brainwashing the enemy, but, more importantly, duping the Western Alliance into thinking a vaunted counteroffensive will drive Russia out of Ukraine. Western governments have played along with Budavov, repeating his rubbish for over 15 months, all to placate U.S. war hawks in Congress looking to take on those Commies in Moscow. Any reports by credible U.S. or Ukrainian officials that suggest the war is a frozen conflict or stalemate have to be suppressed. Retiring 64-year-old Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Miley committed the unpardonable sin Nov. 10, 2022 saying only a political solution can end the Ukraine War. Miley has been hounded into retirement for telling the truth. All the claptrap about the counteroffensive from Washington and Kiev is rubbish.
Ukraine has never stopped its so-called counteroffensive against the Kremlin on the ground in Ukraine, using every available new weapon supplied by the U.S. and NATO. Zelensky sent mixed messages to the Wall Street Journal June 2, telling editors with a straight face he’s concerned about losing more Ukrainian troops in the upcoming counteroffensive. Zelensky has been lying for the last 15 months about Ukraine’s civilian and military losses, strictly controlling the narrative with Budanov to never admit failure. Zelensky and Budanov play a game of psychological warfare against the Kremlin, saying yesterday that he’s open to the Kremlin surrendering, leaving Ukraine to spare Russia more lives. With obvious disinformation like that, it’s obvious that the U.S. and foreign press participate in Kiev’s information warfare, knowing the Ukraine War is essentially stalemated.
Zelensky and Budanov send mixed messages, some for Moscow and others for Washington and Brussels. Message to Moscow are give up, surrender because you can’t win against superior Western firepower. Messages to Washington and Brussels involve don’t stop sending cash-and-weapons to Kiev because eventually we will win the war. Any message by Ukrainian officials that doesn’t support the prevailing disinformation and propaganda is slapped down quickly. When it comes to Budanov’s ongoing psychological warfare, he can’t let Western officials know that Ukraine has begun its counteroffesnive long ago, but won’t admit the failure. “Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the star,” said Ukraine’s Defense ministry. When is the U.S. and foreign pres going to tell the truth about Ukraine was being a frozen conflict or stalemate to start some kind of peace process?
Budanov keeps reading his dog-eared copy of 1984, where Winston and Julia, while holed up in their hideout in proletarian London, fantasize about the resistance toppling Big Brother. To Budanov, Russia is Big Brother, that the vaunted resistance is the so-called counteroffensive, promising to liberate Ukraine from the Kremlin. “To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different,” Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal June 2. referring to the counteroffensive. “But we are going to do it, and were are ready,” Zelensky said, expressing concern about possible casualties. Zelensky and Budavov think they can buffalo any U.S.or foreign news organization, realizing that the billions in U.S. funding depends on perpetuating a fantasy of vanquishing Big Brother, the evil Russian Federation. Biden’s White House is deeply invested in perpetuating Zelensky’s disinformation and propaganda.
Zelensky and his propaganda minister Budanov have done a superb Orwellian job pushing the counteroffensive narrative, giving Western benefactors reason for hope in the Ukraine War. Zelensky and Budanov should be commended for controlling he narrative in the Western press, trying more recently to tamp down expectations of what a counteroffensive looks like. Occasional slips by Kiev officials suggest that the counteroffensive started long ago but has gained little traction as Zelensky tries to control expectations for anything dramatic. Zelensky’s biggest fear is that the U.S. and its Western allies lose patience with Kiev’s reluctance to move the conflict from the battlefield to the peace table. Zelensky wants billions in U.S. aid to continue rolling in to run the bankrupt Kiev government and prosecute his unending war with the Kremlin, now pushing 16 months.
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.
