President Joe Biden, 81, and 45-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been caught in a big lie over the Ukraine War, insisting the Kiev government makes progress in driving Russia forces out of Ukraine’s sovereign territory. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko called Zelensky out for lying about Ukraine’s progress against the Russian Federation. Klitschko said Ukrainians are losing patience with Zelensky, seeing his decisions as causing great harm to Ukraine. When Zelensky demanded NATO membership before the Feb. 24, 2022 Russian invasion, he deliberately provoked 71-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nearly two years into the war, Ukraine’s leading Gen.Valeri Zaluzhny said the conflict is “stalemated,” prompting immediate denials by Zelensky and his national security team, all saying Ukraine was close to winning the war.
Zelensky practically stood on his head to deny Zaluzhny’s stark assessment, letting Washington and Brussels know that there was no end in sight to the Ukraine War, in fact, it will continue to drain the U.S. Treasury another $60 billion, replenishing Ukraine’s depleted military, now claiming that it lacks the means to fight Russia. What happened to all of Zelensky’s optimistic forecasts of beating back the Russian Federation with all kinds of new U.S. and NATO weapons? Zelensky said after Zaluzhny’s remarks that it was “anything but a stalemate,” contradicting his chief general. Zelensky knows there’s growing opposition in the U.S. Congress to funding the failed Ukraine War against Russia. Biden backs Zelensky’s requests for another $60 billion in war funding because he knows failure in Ukraine would damage his chances for reelection.
Klitschko said at some point Zelensky will pay for his failures on the battlefield with ordinary Ukrainians fed up with the war. Zelensky opted for war against the Kremlin, rather than negotiating a settlement with the Kremlin. Putin offered to withdraw his army if Zelensky recognized Russian sovereignty over Crimea and independence for Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region. Zelensky told Putin “het,” or no, starting the war that’s cost untold numbers of Ukrainian lives, destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure, bankrupting the economy and driving some 10 million citizens into exile. Klitschko said Ukrainians are fed up with the war and want life to return to normal. Telling the Swiss newspaper “20 Minuten” that Zelensky had been “euphorically” lying about the war’s progress, agreeing with Gen. Zaluzhny that the conflict was clearly stalemated.
Biden and Zelensky face growing doubts about the aim of the war, stated only recently by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in the third GOP debate Nov. 8 in Miami. Scott violated Top Secrete briefings telling the audience that he agreed with the aim of the Ukraine War to degrade the Russian military. Scott’s statements echoed 70-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who told a crowd in Ramstein, Germany April 26, 2022 that the goal of the war was to degrade the Russian military. Members of Congress have been told by Biden and Zelensky that the aim of the war is to stop Putin from invading other European countries, looking at Poland and the Baltic states. Biden and Zelensky have no facts to support their contention, only the fact that Putin invaded Ukraine. Putin wanted Biden to stop arming Ukraine to the teeth and demanding that Zelensky not join NATO.
Zelensky currently runs the Kiev government on U.S. government largess, funding the war with installments of Congressional funding. Biden and Austin have pressed Congress recently for an additional $60 billion in funding without saying what, if anything, the funding would do. Austin said at a speech at a Reagan defense forum Dec. 4 that “isolationism” will not work in an atmosphere of global threats. Austin knows that he and Biden created the biggest global threat by joining the madness of Ukraine’s war against the Kremlin. Biden and Austin turned a cooperative U.S. adversary, built off 75 years of diplomacy, détente and arms control, into a mortal U.S. enemy. Russia was a cooperative partner with the U.S. on a host of pressing foreign policy issues. Now the Kremlin considers the U.S. a mortal enemy, trying to destroy the Russian military and Putin’s government.
Klitschko exposes the big lie with the Ukraine War that more U.S. and NATO cash would change the outcome. “[Zaluzhny] told the truth,” Klitschko said. “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth . . .Of course, we can euphorically lie to our people and our partners. But you can’t do that forever. Some of our politicians have criticized Zelensky for the clear words—wrongly. I stand behind him.” Zaluzhny warned last month the war could “drag on for years and wear down the Ukrainian state,” saying there would be “no deep and beautiful breakthrough,” prompting immediate denials from Zelensky. Klitschko said while he supports Zelensky now, all politicians must answer for results. “But at the end of this war, every politician will pay for his success or failures,” Klitschko said, expressing discontent, hinting at future political ambitions.
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.
