LOS ANGELES.–Claiming he’s opened a new offensive in the Russian Kursk region, 47-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tries to stay relevant before 78-year-old President Donald Trump and 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin announce their peacemaking summit soon. Zelensky said it was very dangerous for him to be excluded from any summit, demanding that he be present with the European Union at any peace talks. Zelensky has said in the past he refuses to meet with a war criminal like Putin, demanding that Putin be prosecuted for war crimes in The Hague’s International Criminal Court [ICC]. Setting conditions for any peace talks, Zelensky said the Putin must remove his military from every inch of Ukrainian territory and agree to pay the Kiev government reparations for all the destruction since the Feb. 22, 2024 war began. Zelensky knows his demands are unrealistic.
Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022, the day Putin rolled over 200,000 Russian troops into Ukraine. Former President Joe Biden, 82, and Zelensky called the Russian invastion “unprovoked and unjustified,” despite the fact that Putin had asked Biden for months to discuss new security arrangements for Ukraine. Biden rebuffed Putin’s overtures, continuing to arm Ukraine to the teeth, until Putin initiated his “special military operation,” designed to de-fang Ukraine from its U.S. weapons. Trump told Zelensky he made a big mistake going to war with the Kremlin, a far bigger-and-stronger fighting force, something that Zelensky found out the hard way. After three years of war, Zelensky has destroyed Ukraine’s infrastructure, driving millions in exile, caused thousands of civilian and military deaths and lost some 25% of Ukraine best sovereign territory.
Zelensky thinks that taking more territory or firing more missiles into Russia proves that he’s still battling the Kremlin before Trump and Putin meet in the near future. “In the areas of the Kursk operation, new assaults have taken place,” Zelensky said. “Russia has once again deployed North Korean soldiers alongside its troops,” saying he would respond to the redeployment. Zelensky thinks that if he shows he’s hitting Russian troops, he’ll get better terms for Ukraine at any future peace talks. Everything Zelensky does at this point only makes matters worse for Ukraine. Thinking that the EU will somehow defy 78-year-old President Donald Trump to continue the war effort is preposterous. No one in the EU wants to continue funding Ukraine and giving him more weapons. Everyone in the EU wants the war to end at the earliest possible time to stabilize the European Continent.
Everyday that goes by in the war Zelensky loses more Ukrainian territory, leading to the 25% loss of Ukraine’s best territory on the Black Sea coast. Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it captured another Ukrainian town, Toretsk, in the Donetsk region, confirming reports that Ukraine’s military lacks the personnel or resources to keep fighting. Zelensky’s nightly video message tells the Ukrainian people that he’s winning the war, only needing more time to drive Russia out of Ukrainian territory. When Trump meets with Putin, he’ll freeze current battle lines, essentially ceding Russia more Ukrainian sovereign territory. Zelensky fears he’ll be forced to admit that he lost the war, something obvious to military experts but something he’s denied for the last three years. Once Ukrainians find out they’ve been gaslighted, Zelensky will be chased out of Kiev.
Any ongoing war efforts by Zelensky are seen as last ditch attempts to show he’s still prosecuting the war. But anyone looking objectively knows that Zelensky has only destroyed more infrastructure and lost sovereign ground in an attempt to show he’s still capable for fighting the Kremlin. Zelensky hopes that the EU would defy Trump and Putin, continue to war until Ukraine meets its objective of driving all Russian troops out of Ukraine. Whatever North Korea does to help Putin in Ukraine, it can’t hide the fact that Ukraine has lost the war long ago but unwilling to admit it. Zelensky fears a loss of U.S funding something bound to happen soon because the war does nothing other than wreck Ukraine and its future. When Trump meets Putin he won’t be concerned about how much territory Russia has taken from Ukraine, only getting a ceasefire and peace agreement.
Zelensky latest battlefield incursions do nothing to change the outcome of the war or get back any of the lost Ukrainian sovereign territory. Zelensky wants to end the war but only on his terms something that he forfeited when he lost the war. Trump said Zelensky should have never taken on the Kremlin, knowing it’s a far bigger and more equipped military. All the fake talk about Putin’s terminal illness and Russian military near collapse was all Ukrainian propaganda. Zelenksy wants to call the shots but he lost that opportunity when he lost the war over two years ago. Now Zelensky must accept the terms that Trump and Putin agree to, all for the purpose of saving Ukraine’s sovereignty, while giving up more territory. Ukrainians must decide what to do with Zelensky who’s sold them a bill of goods over the last three years, wrecking the country and only losing land.
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.
