LOS ANGELES.–Ukraine’s 46-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered strikes with U.S. and British long-range missiles deep into Russian territory, prompting 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin to say he’s escalating the war into a global conflict. Zelensky feels inclined to attack deep inside Russi with U.S. and U.K. weapons since 82-year-old President Joe Biden the green light to do it. Zelensky always complains that the lack of U.S. or NATO arms plus the OK to use them to attack any targets he sees fit. Zelensky knows when 78-year-old President-elect Trump comes to office Jan. 20, 2025, it’s a whole new ballgame with Trump already calling for a ceasefire on both sides. After meeting at the Elysee Palace in France Dec. 7 in Paris to commemorate the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, Zelensky said he wants a just and lasting peace. Zelensky thinks his recent attacks give Ukraine leverage.
Trump asked Zelensky in Paris to de-escalate the conflict, knowing in a short time Trump will ask both sides for a ceasefire and peace talks. Zelensky hasn’t yet accepted that he won’t be saved by war hawks in Congress that can keep the Biden Ukraine War policy going without the president’s approval. Zelensky can’t face the fact that the conflict could be frozen along current battle lines, handing Putin some 20-25% of Ukraine’s preferred territory on the Black Sea coast. Zelensky hoped in any future negotiation he could get Putin to surrender back the territory, knowing it’s not likely to happen. Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022 the day Putin moved some 200,000 Russian troops inside the Ukrainian border. Zelenksy rejects Putin’s ceasefire offer opted for war against he Kremlin. Three years later Zelenky has lost the war more sovereign territory.
Biden told Zelensky if he supply Ukraine with enough cash-and-weapons they can degrade the Russian military to the point the Kremlin could no longer wage war. Biden and his 71-year-old Defense Secretary said in 2021 they would neutralize Russia army and drive all Russian troops out of Ukraine. Zelensky offered his own 10-point peace plan, insisting that he would not negotiate anything with Putin, a Russian war criminal, demanding that Putin pull all his forces out of Ukraine. Rejecting all peace proposals from many respected countries, like China, Brazil and South Africa, Zelensky said they all favored Russia because they didn’t call for Putin to remove all this forces from Ukraine. Faced with a humiliating defeat once Trump takes office, Zelensky keeps hoping he can undermine Trump and let Congress overrule Trump after he takes office.
Unlike Biden, Trump is not cognitively impaired and easily gaslighted by Zelensky and his 38-year-old chief of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov who told Biden that Putin suffered from a terminal illness and the Russian military was near collapse. Budanov is like Baghdad Bob, who routinely told the press that Saddam Hussen was whipping his U.S. invaders only to see him toppled April 10, 2003. Biden gave Zelensky a blank check and promised to fund his proxy war no matter how long it took to get rid of Russia. Vice President Kamala Harris, 60, said she would continue the Biden policy of unending proxy war with Russia, prompting voters to reject her on Election Day. “On the morning of Dec. 11, the Kiev regime launched a missile strike with Western precision weapons at the Taganrog military airfield in the Rostov region,” said the Russian Defense Ministry.
Putin knows that everything changes after Trump becomes president and knows that Zelensky could do anything between now and Jan. 20, 2025. “This attack by Western long-range weapons will not go unanswered and appropriate measures will be taken,” said the Defense Ministry. Russia used a new Oreshnik hypersonic missile on Ukraine Nov. 21, something that Putin could do again in retaliation. How much Putin will retaliate knowing that Trump will move to end the conflict Jan. 20, 2025 is anyone’s guess. Why there’s so much resistance to a negotiated settlement isn’t known. But Democrat and Republican war hawks would like to see the war keep going indefinitely. Putin knows Trump takes over in five weeks, demanding that Zelensky cease-and-desist using long-range U.S. missiles to attack inside Russia. Putin has warned of the war spreading globally.
Biden and Zelensky lost the war with the Kremlin because they had no plan at all, only wishful thinking that Putin would back down. Putin realized that with the U.S. and NATO threatening Russia, the war had morphed into a conflict with the West, he was determined to win. Biden listened to Zelensky and Budanov, giving more excuses than a circus carnival barker selling the fountain of youth in a bottle. Zelensky once said that Ukraine defends European democracy, insisting without the war Putin would start seizing more European territory. Biden joined Zelensky’s many excuses telling U.S. allies that he needed to win the war to stop Putin from moving on more European territory. There’s enough paranoia in certain former Soviet satellites to believe Biden’s rubbish. Now that Biden’s on his way out, Zelensky will be forced to accept a negotiated settlement.
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.
