Pumped up with $10 billion in U.S. cash, 44-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymer Zelensky showed little interest in the third round of ceasefire talks with Russia to end the conflict. Zelensky kept saying it’s the “end of the world” but now has a different attitude with $10 billion in cash. Funny how a bottomless pit of cash changes things, suddenly not interested in compromising with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin was 100% upfront and clear with Zelensky that he needed to (1) declare Ukraine neutral [not aligned with the U.S. or NATO], (2) accept the Crimean Peninsula as Russian territory and (3) accept Donetsk and Luhansk as Russian territories. All three areas are already controlled by the Russian Federation, so it wouldn’t change life in Ukraine one iota. What affects Ukraine now is the ongoing destruction and carnage from refusing to negotiate.
Why the U.S. and European Union [EU] are not leaning on Ukraine to settle with the Russian Federation and end the war is anyone’s guess. Looks like the U.S. cut a deal with Ukraine to get back 79-year-old President Joe Biden into some familiar territory, prosecuting a proxy war. Former President Barack Obama and then Vice President Joe Biden prosecuted a multibillion-dollar proxy war against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for their eight years in office. U.S. spent billions on Syrian rebels groups promising to topple al-Assad. Obama and Biden’s Syrian proxy war killed over 500,000 and diplaced 15 billion more to neighboring countries including the EU. Obama and Biden’s proxy war practically broke the European Union, forcing members to take quotas of Mideast refugees. Countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland almost broke off from the U.S. over refugees.
What’s becoming abundantly clear is that Zelensky wants the $10 billion in U.S. cash to drag the Ukraine War into foreseeable future, morphing the conflict into a low-intensity, guerrilla war. Chief Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Zelensky, said “there were some small positive steps regarding logistics and humanitarian corridors,” insisting the would continue to negotiate. Ukraine wants Russia to cease all hostilities before seriously negotiating a ceasefire. Russia vowed to continue fighting the war until Ukraine agreed to its basic ceasefire conditions, not something that would change Ukraine’s daily life. Zelensky thinks with all the U.S. cash, he can fight-and-win a war wit the Russian Federation, something highly unrealistic. Inflicting casualties on the Russian military is about all Zelensky can accomplishment but only at the price of decimating Ukraine.
Russian and Ukraine agreed to open up humanitarian corridors in Kiev, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Sumy, all important Ukrainian cities under siege. Opening up humanitarian corridors means the Ukraine admits that Russia has laid siege Ukraine’s biggest cities and towns, including taking over the strategic port city of Kherson. So when the Ukraine military boasts of inflicting mass casualties on Russian forces, it certainly hasn’t stopped the Russian army from encircling Ukraine’s biggest cities and towns. Over 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the county with at least 5 million set to follow. Russia’s chief negotiator at ceasefire talks with Ukraine Vladimir Medinsky said he expects ceasefire talks to resume soon but little was accomplished. “Our expectations from the talks have failed, but we hope that we would be able to make more significant step forward next time,” Medinsky said. “The talks will continue.”
Western governments led by the U.S. and EU have shown no interest in accommodating Putin’s ceasefire demands. Putin demands Ukraine’s neutrality, not allowing a U.S. puppet regime on his border. Zelensky provoted Putin for nearly three years since taking office May 20, 2019, seeking NATO membership. NATO’s 62-year-old Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wisely did not admit Ukraine into NATO, knowing exactly what it meant: War with the Russian Federation. Zelensky has no qualms about letting NATO do the fighting for Ukraine, even if it means WW III or nuclear war. Handing Zelensky $10 billion assures that the war goes on in the indefinite future. Ukraine now fights a U.S. proxy war against the Kremlin, knowing that there’s no end in sight. Medinsky hopes that future rounds of ceasefire talks bears fruit but it’s doubtful now that Ukraine received so much cash.
Zelensky and Biden have changed their tune on working toward an urgent ceasefire anytime soon. Both seem committed to fighting the Kremlin until Putin gives up his demands for Ukraine’s neutrality or deeding over the Crimean Peninsula, Donetsk and Luhansk. With Russia and Ukraine agreeing on humanitarian corridors, it’s obvious that Russia has a stranglehold on key Ukrainian towns and cities. Agreeing to a ceasefire immediately saves lives and destruction to Ukraine’s infrastructure. Zelensky thinks it’s driving a hard bargain with Putin while more devastation occurs to Ukraine’s citizens and cities. Zelensky knows that Ukraine won’t get back Crimea or Donetisk and Luhansk, largely because the inhabitants want no part of the pro-Western Kiev government. If Zelensky wanted a ceasefire or peace talks, he wouldn’t accept $10 billion in U.S. military and humanitarian aid.
A
