Zelensky Brings Victory Plan to Washington

Ukraine has a big political ask. 

By Dave Patterson  Sep 26, 2024 @ Liberty Nation News, Tags Articles, Military Affairs, Opinion

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the United States again, this time, he says, with a plan for victory. For more than two and a half years, the Ukrainian people have depended on their president to plead their case to the Biden-Harris administration for support, and his efforts have had mixed results. For the most part, his pleas for financial aid and ammunition have been successful. However, with few exceptions, his requests for the weapons to match the Russians in the number to be effective have been delayed or refused.

Zelensky Goes to Washington for Support

This week, when Zelensky meets with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, at the top of the Ukrainian leader’s agenda will be getting permission to launch long-range missiles deep into Russia. The United States, Britain, and France have provided such tactical projectiles but limited their use to inside Ukraine and just over the border into Russia. Since Russia has destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s thermal power plants and hydroelectric energy capability, why is Kyiv being prohibited from doing the same to Russia? To coerce Russia into a peaceful solution means having the ability to hold the Kremlin’s infrastructure, munitions depots, airfields, armed forces assembly areas, and energy production at risk. Forcing Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to seek peace was a pivotal point Zelensky raised in his speech before the UN Security Council on Sept. 24, when he explained:

“And that’s why this war can’t simply ‘fade away.’ That’s why this war can’t be calmed by talks. Action is needed … Putin has broken so many international norms and rules that he won’t stop on his own. Russia can only be forced into peace. And that is exactly what’s needed – forcing Russia into peace as the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the UN Charter.”

Zelensky carried this theme into the UN General Assembly when he addressed that body the next day. Additionally, he warned the group that Russia has the capability and inclination to significantly damage existing nuclear power plants in Ukraine, putting in jeopardy all of Europe. It was a sobering description of what could happen if Russia is left to its own devices in its brutal assault on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president showed no doubt regarding the suggestions that Ukraine should accept a ceasefire that left significant Ukrainian land in the hands of the invaders. “When the Chinese-Brazilian duo tries to grow into a choir of voices — with someone in Europe, someone in Africa — something alternative to a full and just peace, the question arises what are their true interests? Everyone must understand, you will not boost your power at Ukraine’s expense,” Zelensky said.

In addition to Beijing and Brasilia, the Ukrainian president may have taken a tangential swipe at the Republican vice presidential candidate. While visiting a munitions company in Pennsylvania, Zelensky was highly critical of JD Vance. “Vance said this month that if elected to the White House, Trump would work with Russia, Ukraine, and European leaders to establish a ‘peaceful settlement’ that would grant Moscow the territory it has illegally seized since its 2022 invasion,” Fox News reported.

Zelensky responded by calling Vance “too radical,” warning, “The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable. But I do not consider this concept of his, a plan, in any formal sense. This would be an awful idea, if a person were actually going to carry it out, to make Ukraine shoulder the costs of stopping the war by giving up its territories,” the Ukrainian president told The New Yorker in an interview. The Ukrainian leader might remember before the Russians invaded, Biden mentioned “he might temper sanctions if Russia invades just a little bit of Ukraine,” Liberty Nation News reported.

Thirty Months of Fighting Leave Nerves Raw

It’s probably charitable to take Zelensky’s comments in the context of his position. More than 30 months of constant fighting, with cities and towns left in rubble from Russian pounding, have taken a toll on the Ukrainian people and their president. While he will meet with Biden and Harris, he no doubt will talk to Donald Trump about his plan for victory over the Russian invaders.

Ditch the Diatribe – Try This!

Though leaning forward to support Ukraine, the Biden-Harris administration has not done Zelensky and Ukraine’s armed forces any favors by parceling out that help in dribs and drabs. The consequence has been a protracted, deadly human meat grinder on the battlefields. Regarding who came to Kyiv’s support when asked, the Trump administration provided Javelin anti-tank missiles while the Barack Obama administration refused. In an interview with The New York Times, Zelensky put the question of Ukraine’s fate clearly: “Do they really want us to prevail, or is it about something long, some terrible and long tragedy?”

Ukrainian soldiers have stepped up to engage the Russians aggressively. They were willing to move into Russia and take the ground battle inside Mother Russia. Zelensky’s plan for victory soon will be revealed. However, giving the Ukrainian fighting forces permission to reach out and attack deep into Russia with US weapons is a political decision neither side of the divide seems ready to embrace.

The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.

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Liberty Nation does not endorse candidates, campaigns, or legislation, and this presentation is no endorsement.

 

Read More From Dave Patterson

Ukraine Rejects Ceasefire with Russia at Davos ‘Peace’ Summit Ahead of World Economic Forum Meeting -

Kurt Zindulka 

4 Jan 2024 - Ukrainian officials vowed to continue the war against Russia until Moscow returns all of the occupied territory during a so-called peace summit in Davos, Switzerland ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.  Switzerland hosted a meeting of 81 representatives from countries and international organisations in Davos on Sunday to discuss a formula “for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine”. American officials from the Biden administration attended the meeting, including U.S. special representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker and the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien, Reuters reports..............To Read More..

 

My Gazette: Russo/Ukrainian War

By Rich Kozlovich

I find geopolitics more than interesting, and difficult to grasp what really is going on, so I've developed The Seven Rules of Geopolitics to try an get a better understanding of what actually going on.

1. First Rule of Geopolitics: All geopolitics is about four factors, geographics, demographics, economics, and that most elusive factor of all, the happiness factor.  
   
2. Second Rule of Geopolitics:  Everything is about the basics.  You have to be able to see issues at their foundational root levels in order to understand and fix complex problems.
   
3. Third Rule of Geopolitics:  History is everything since historical events lay the foundation for the social paradigms of nations, which have been in effect for centuries in most areas of the world.
   
4. Fourth Rule of Geopolitics:  People are like nations, and will act in their own best interests, unless they don't.  
5. Fifth Rule of Geopolitics: Nothing is ever as it appears.  Look behind the curtain, there's always something hidden. 
6. Sixth Rule of Geopolitics:  The patterns of life keep repeating over and over again. 
   
7. Seventh Rule of Geopolitics:  Everyone lies.     
   

Most of what I read about Ukraine and Russia is at best contradictory.  Here are some articles that appeared at the Jamestown Foundation, and I think they're more insightful than most because they deal with "the basics", and look behind the curtain.   I recommend subscribing, it's free. 

Ukraine at War: The Year Past and the Year Ahead (Part Two) - By: Vladimir Socor - Read Part One. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) made clear in 2023 that Ukraine could not expect to be offered a sought-after membership plan so long as Russia’s war continues. Any decision on this... MORE

Ukraine at War: The Year Past and the Year Ahead (Part One) By: Vladimir Socor In 2023, Russia redoubled efforts in its two-fold war in Ukraine: against Ukraine itself and against the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Moscow openly declares this dual agenda. Most Western governments,... 

Kazakhstan Turns Toward China Amid Cooling Relations With Russia November 28, 2023 By: Nuray Alekberli-Museyibova - In late October, Kazakhstan halted the export of 106 products to Russia, a move attributed to Astana’s growing compliance with Western sanctions. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration Kairat Torebayev confirmed that the banned products are primarily linked to military goods, including drones, their internal components, and specialized electronics and microchips (Tengri News, October 19). President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev considers upholding the sanctions regime while balancing relations with Kazakhstan’s neighbors as paramount to the country’s economic security (Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, September 29)..........

Russia’s Row With Finland Exacerbates Baltic Solitude - By: Pavel K. Baev - Russia’s geopolitical influence is increasingly shrinking in the Baltic Sea region. The most recent episode in the region’s worsening relations with Moscow was the sudden arrival of hundreds of migrants from the Middle East and... ........

China Exploits Russia’s Vulnerabilities December 5, 2023 05:51 PM By: Ksenia Kirillova According to reports from Chinese media in late November, Beijing has refused to invest in the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 natural gas pipeline, proposing instead that Moscow fully cover the multibillion-dollar project. China also insists on substantial discounts for Russian gas, demonstrating strong... MORE

The Kremlin Prepares for Winter in Ukraine Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor - By: Pavel Luzin November 16, 2023 - Many observers of Russia’s war against Ukraine have been discussing what they term “an impending stalemate” on the battlefield (Kyiv Post, August 28; Euromaidan Press, November 4; The Moscow Times, November 11). Others have pushed for peace talks and formulated a future “Korea scenario” for Ukraine (Kyiv Post, February 13; Uacrisis.org, August 28; TASS, August 30). The Kremlin, however, seems to be losing its demonstrative optimism in pushing back Ukrainian forces, as Kyiv’s slow, but steady counteroffensive presses on (see EDM, November 15; Ukrinform, November 16 [1], [2]). The Russian military is scrambling to prepare for the worst possible scenarios as the winter campaign begins...............

Russian Armed Forces Remain Severely Understaffed By: Pavel Luzin The true organizational state of the Russian Armed Forces has been a “black box” since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The exact number of troops at the Kremlin’s disposal is unclear, and..........

 Kazakhstan and Turkey Make Steady Progress in Expanding Military Cooperation By: Nurbek Bekmurzaev On November 28, Kazakhstan’s Defense Ministry declared that the process of selecting a domestic company for the production of Turkish combat drones was already underway (Kazinform, November 28). The statement confirmed earlier news that the... ....

 

 

Political Blackmail – Biden Blasts GOP Border Demands

Silly Republicans, it’s only okay when Democrats do it. 

By James Fite | Dec 8, 2023 Articles, Opinion, Politics @ Liberty Nation News

Senate Republicans voted unanimously Wednesday, December 6, to block $106 billion in new funding for Ukraine and Israel over the lack of attention being paid to America’s own southern border. President Joe Biden railed against the GOP, calling the legislative deadlock political blackmail and a gift to Russia President Vladimir Putin – and he’s one to talk. President Biden and congressional Democrats have routinely employed this very tactic he now labels political blackmail. Evidently, it’s only okay when the Democrats do it. As the old saying goes, if it weren’t for double standards, some folks wouldn’t have any at all.

The Stakes Are Too High

“Republicans in Congress are threatening to cut off support for Ukraine unless they can force through their extreme partisan policies,” Biden posted on X. “It’s political blackmail, pure and simple. The stakes are too high and the consequences are too significant for political brinksmanship.”

Anyone who pays attention to Congress and the president when there’s a spending bill chock-full of progressive pork or an attempt to raise the debt ceiling rather than spend responsibly likely sees the irony. Democrats won’t give Republicans a single-subject spending bill with a government shutdown looming. They won’t agree to any budget reduction while demanding a “clean” debt limit bill or nothing when the government’s credit nears the max. And they won’t give in on border security for the sake of sending aid to Ukraine and Israel.

“The stakes are too high and the consequences too significant,” yet it isn’t worth compromising with political nemeses across the aisle. “Republicans think they get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise,” Biden complained. “Now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.” Of course, that sword cuts both ways; as one X user posted, if you replace Republicans with Democrats in Biden’s post, it remains exactly as valid. The stalemate only continues for as long as both sides are willing to stand their ground no matter the cost. And somehow all the brinkmanship is on the part of Republicans? The inability – or unwillingness – to see the hypocrisy is astounding; Democrats are old hands at this method now termed political blackmail – and Biden is a master.

Political Blackmail, Pure and Simple

But if accusing Republicans of political blackmail and pretending they never do it themselves doesn’t change any minds, perhaps engaging in a little more will. That seems to be the reasoning behind President Biden’s and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s own threats. Both tie US foreign aid to Ukraine winning its war with Russia, and both suggest Putin would move on to NATO countries immediately after, requiring US troops in Europe fighting Russian soldiers.

All this hinges, of course, on Putin moving against NATO directly. He thought he could take Ukraine in a matter of weeks, else he wouldn’t have gone in. He still thinks he can win – once the West (namely, the US) grows tired of keeping the beleaguered nation supplied and funded. But he also knows that a war with the weakest member of NATO means fighting the strongest as well – along with everyone in between.

Does Putin want to absorb former Soviet states into a renewed Russian Empire? Of course. Would he love to see the US fall? Almost certainly. But both goals are mere fantasy, and Putin knows it. He also isn’t quite enthusiastic about nuclear war with the US and NATO allies, either, despite some saber rattling in the first year of his invasion.

“We haven’t gone mad,” the Russian President said in 2022. “We are fully aware of what nuclear weapons are.”

The stakes are always astronomical for politicians – though it seems Democrats are more prone to this hyperbole than Republicans, generally speaking. The end is always nigh and someone’s always going to die if they’re to be believed when they want more money for their pet causes. But Biden may well be on to something here. Political blackmail does seem to aptly describe one party holding hostage something vitally important – like the US government’s budget, the nation’s ability to borrow and pay debt, or in this case, funding for foreign wars and the very lives of American soldiers. Where he falls short is in recognizing – or admitting – that political blackmail is just politics as usual.

 

Read More From James Fite

Biden drops sanctions -- and another war happens

By Monica Showalter  December 7, 2023

It's getting to be as predictable as sunrise.  Joe Biden drops sanctions on some rogue regime to get hold of its oil -- and then another country gets war rained down on it, attacked and invaded.  Anything but drill our own.  It seems to be happening for a third time during this Biden administration, this time with Guyana the victim.  The timelines for all of these incidents are remarkably precise. Start with the first one, from Europe, via CNN, dated July 21, 2021:..........To Read More.....

 

Is It Time for the Tough Talk With Ukraine?

Even Zelensky insiders are suggesting it’s all over.

By Mark Angelides Nov 24, 2023 @ Liberty Nation News 

Close advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are reportedly suggesting that the end to war is on the horizon – but not necessarily in the way the nation’s leader might have hoped. When Russian forces invaded Ukraine almost two years ago, the world rallied to the plucky nation’s defense – not with boots on the ground, but rather with military equipment, piles of cash, and solemn vows. As attention shifts to ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, the initial enthusiasm for supporting Zelensky against Vladimir Putin, the arch-villain Russian president, has waned. Perhaps it’s time to ask the question that has been studiously avoided over the last 20 months: Could Ukraine ever win against Russia?

A Bad Case of the Realisms

Time magazine’s Simon Shuster traveled to Kyiv after Zelensky’s recent speech in Washington, DC. Having previously penned the 2022 “person of the year” article proclaiming the Ukrainian leader the winner of such an honor, Shuster appeared both a fan and an insider. So his Nov. 1 article detailing close allies pooh-poohing the idea of victory should be considered a serious wake-up call.

A long-term member of Zelensky’s team “tells me that, most of all, Zelensky feels betrayed by his Western allies. They have left him without the means to win the war, only the means to survive it,” Shuster wrote. It got worse:

“Despite the recent setbacks on the battlefield, he does not intend to give up fighting or to sue for any kind of peace. On the contrary, his belief in Ukraine’s ultimate victory over Russia has hardened into a form that worries some of his advisers. It is immovable, verging on the messianic. ‘He deludes himself,’ one of his closest aides tells me in frustration. ‘We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.’”

A Proxy by Any Other Name …

For President Joe Biden, the leaders of the European Union, and presidents and prime ministers the world over, the conflict in Ukraine offered a unique opportunity to reap the benefits of being wartime leaders without the negative optics of flag-draped coffins returning home from overseas. They could talk tough, look tough, boast about defending the world, and all it would cost them was taxpayer cash – which has rarely been a deterrent for the ambitious politician.

As such, the great and the not-so-good have pushed Ukraine to continue to engage in a war that, if we were to be honest, it never had a chance of winning by itself in the first place. It appears that key figures in Ukraine are starting to realize this harsh truth, but it may be too late to change course or protect the future of the belabored nation.

A History of Warfare

Russia and the erstwhile Soviet Union are not strangers to international conflict. Since Napoleon’s invasion in 1812, the nation has been involved in roughly 50 wars – some European-based, some internal, and some in far-flung locations. But it is a rare war in which, historically, Russia has not flung half a million lives at a problem before determining whether to properly engage. As of early November, it is estimated that Russia has lost a little more than 300,000 personnel – however, these figures are provided courtesy of the Ukrainian government and as such should be taken with a pinch of salt. The EU’s political science blog, The Loop, suggested that Russia and Ukraine have overestimated enemy casualties by double.

Regardless of the actual totals, it is clear that this has become a war of attrition; that means the side willing to lose more people will eventually win. British broadsheet The Telegraph commented:

“Ukraine, meanwhile, had a pre-war population of 44 million. By the end of the first year of the war, some six million had fled abroad. The armed forces number around 200,000 active personnel, roughly the same again in reserve, and can draw on another 1.5 million fighting-age males.

“It’s a brutal but simple calculation: Kyiv is running out of men. US sources have calculated that its armed forces have lost as many as 70,000 killed in action, with another 100,000 injured.”

When compared with a potential ten million service members, outside contractors, and a huge conscript pool available to Putin, it seems that a commitment to the bloody cause will be the ultimate prevailing factor. As Dalibor Rohac, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, succinctly observed: “Human losses weigh far more heavily in the calculus in Kyiv than in Moscow.”

Can Ukraine Save Its Future?

In February 1968, famed reporter Walter Cronkite concluded his statement on a recent trip to Vietnam, saying, “[I]t is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could.”

It was a powerful indictment of both optimism and pessimism in the face of an ultimately unwinnable war. It was also a realistic appraisal that called for maturity over fury, and for cooler heads to consider how many human lives were expendable chasing after a goal that clearly could not be achieved.

While political capital is still to be made, it seems that those cooler heads will be pushed to the sidelines. Zelensky has rallied his countrymen and the international community for almost two years, a near-impossible feat. Perhaps it is now time to consider that a generation of young men will be lost to this struggle, a tragic situation that may well have further-reaching impact than who controls Crimea. Zelensky lived up to his pledge as best as he could. But now it is time to think of the future.

 

Read More From Mark Angelides

Russo-Ukrainian War: What Zaluzhnyi Actually Wrote

William Walter Kay Nov 15, 2023

The clearest, most authoritative, and comprehensive depiction of the current state of the Russo-Ukrainian War is Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s recent 4,500-word treatise: Modern Positional Warfare and How to Win in It. Here’s a high-fidelity abridgement of that document. (Western military equipment, endorsed by Zaluzhnyi, are hyperlinked to their corporate brochures.)

Mid-2023 the Russo-Ukrainian War assumed positional (non-maneuverable) forms reminiscent of 1914-18 trench warfare. Positional forms favor Russia. Ukraine must implement FIVE non-trivial transformations to overcome the positional crisis.  

1. Gain Air Superiority.................
2. Breaching Mine Barriers.................
3. Build-up Electronic Warfare (EW) Capabilities...............
4. Improve Counter-Artillery Effectiveness ...................
5. Create and Train Necessary Reserves..............

Recommendations:..............Finally, high rates of fire drain Ukraine’s already inadequate munition stocks. Russia spends lavishly on munitions, and benefits from pre-war preparation. Russia maintains munition superiority by expanding production capacity. Partners’ munition production increases require a year or two to reach needed scales. Ukraine could mitigate munitions inferiority by destroying Russian warehouses (thereby lengthening Russian trucking distances) with long-range missiles...........To Read More...

As he again readies a nuclear weapon, is Putin crazy or crazy like a fox?

December 14, 2022 By Andrea Widburg

With news that Putin is taking steps to lend reality to his nuclear threats, we must hope that the administration is taking him seriously. Whether he’s genuinely planning to launch a nuclear attack, which would indicate that he’s crazy, or is merely doing an elaborate head fake, making him crazy like a fox, is a matter of life and death for the Western world. What’s concerning is that the Biden administration seems so blasé about the whole thing.

Since early in the Russia-Ukraine war, Putin has been making noises about dropping a nuclear bomb, if necessary—that is, if he thinks it’s necessary. For the second time in just three months, he’s preparing a long-range missile:...........To Read More....

Monica Showalter Reports

By Rich Kozlovich 

Ukraine's heroes aren't impressed with doddering Joe Biden - As Ukraine shows the world what heroes look like, and every civilized nation in the world gathers to offer some kind of support -- from prayers, to lit buildings, to demonstrations, to Internet, to arms -- Joe Biden isn't looking too good in this matter.That's the word of Ukrainian officials who repeatedly signal that Biden doesn't know what he's doing, is slow on the uptake, and not to be trusted. What a sorry picture from the same country that once seated the great Ronald Reagan and the great Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Ordinarily, people under attack praise America's president to the high heavens...........

Ukrainians in their courage startle and inspire world -- and NPR beclowns itself - Ukraine is fighting back. And that must startle invading Vladimir Putin, who seems to have expected another Afghanistan-style takeover, the way the Taliban did it -- the Taliban marching in, the the local president loading up his money and flying off without a fight, and the boldest locals cramming onto U.S. waiting jets. Few fought back in that one and the disaster speaks for itself. We don't see that in Ukraine. The U.S. offered Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a flight out and he refused it. "I need ammunition, not a ride," he told the U.S........... 

Ukraine: The left spews an amazing banquet of stupidities - As had been said in the aftermath of 9/11: ' The world has changed.' And much of the left's response?  To just keep on living in the pre-02-22-22 world where they'd felt so comfortable in their cocoons.  For a lot of them, Russia's 17th century–style conquest of the modern sovereign state of Ukraine goes way beyond their processing capacities.  We see statements and stunts like the following from the left as news comes out about Russia's bloody and violent takeover attack........