There has been an active American Campaign to slander Volodymyr Zelensky, even before the historic clash between Donald Trump (Krasnov) and Zelensky yesterday.
Here's the cover of the Drudge Report earlier this week:
To date, we have provided $65.9 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its premeditated, unprovoked, and brutal full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and approximately $69.2 billion in military assistance since Russia's initial capture of Crimea in 2014.
[In the style of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs]
So you're telling me that Volodymyr Zelensky, the current President of Ukraine, after staring down the barrel of a Russian Tank during the invasion of his country in 2022, and his army defended every inch of unoccupied territory tooth and nail, now, he's just going to decide, OUT OF THE FUCKING BLUE, to abandon Ukraine?
We are going to go over the recent Ukrainian timeline again. These are the facts:
In 1991, the Soviet Union broke up. Ukraine declared its independence almost immediately. With one stroke of the pen, Ukraine became the world's third largest nuclear power. Russia was very queasy about the arrangement. Why?
Look up: Holodomor
Look up: Chernobyl
In 1994, Russia, America, and Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum. What's the Budapest Memorandum? It said, in part, that the United State and Russia wouldn't attack Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons.
In 2014, Russia, for all intensive purposes, annexed Crimea. It was a clear violation of the Budapest Memorandum. The world sighed. Why? Because Crimea was 80% Russian. Many Crimeans burned UKRAINIAN flags in the streets.
In 2022, Russia recognized the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent countries. Compromised by the Russians themselves, the republics didn't want to be ruled by Ukraine anymore. What was underpublicized was that the republics didn't want to join Russia either. That region of Ukraine was known historically for its deep roots in anarchism.
Look up: Makhnovia
In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Though Russia had some sympathizers in the Southeastern sections of the country, Ukraine fought valiantly against the first waves of the invasion. Ukraine overwhelmingly supported its own independence. I believe Putin's greatest miscalculation was that the Ukrainians did not roll over. Russia's justification for the invasion? Putin was "afraid" Ukrainian Nazis were preparing to invade Russia. WHICH WAS PATENTLY ABSURD, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT ZELENSKY WAS JEWISH.
In 2022, we at Beacon of Speech wrote this: "Now don't get (us) wrong, Zelensky is correct, Ukraine has a right to exist and shouldn't be partitioned off. And I am rooting hard for Ukraine, but I cannot say this enough, Ukraine has NO PATH TO VICTORY." (Victory being defined as pre-2014 borders.)
In 2023, Ukraine, even with the help of America's weapons, did not have the resources or the manpower to dislodge the Russians from Crimea. Parts of Donetsk became a lawless wasteland. In the city of Bakhmut, the population dropped from 75,000 to 500. The life expectancy dropped to 4 hours.
Editor's Note: The Battle of Bakhmut will be remembered as this century's bloodiest meatgrinder. Zelensky lived through being the commander-in-chief of that nightmare. At the same time, Donald Trump was running for president, attending fundraisers and complaining that the press wasn't treating him nicely.
In 2024, the war effort between Russia and Ukraine continued its stalemate. Again, we pleaded for the end of the war. Casualties were over a million soldiers (injured or killed.) In the West, the press framed the battles as Ukraine winning. They were not. In the East, milbloggers moaned "why haven't we won already?" In reality, the milbloggers were closer to correct. In the last year, Ukraine has made minor gains in Kursk, while the Russians have made gains across the entire Eastern Front.
If you were so inclined, you could watch the war from your laptop. You could make your own judgements as to who was "winning" or "losing." That's why Zelensky has to redefine winning as existing.
As the Russians continue to make slow gains, farm by farm, town by town, Ukraine cannot play defense forever.
Giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt, which he absolutely doesn't deserve, he may also see the same map and say: "See, the Ukrainians can't 'win,' we are wasting money." Though a cold interpretation, many agree.
But Donald Trump doesn't see the dead bodies on the map, he sees the dollar signs. I agree that the war has to end at its current boundaries, but not the way Trump is doing it.
Which brings us to the crux of the argument. We should have helped Ukraine based on one simple concept: Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons in exchange for their sovereignty. Once Russia invaded, in theory, we should have given Ukraine BACK their nuclear weapons.
Now Libertarians have argued, even if Ukraine had nukes back in 1994, they didn't have the launch codes, Moscow did, so the Budapest Memorandum wasn't a treaty, but a symbolic gesture.
I don't believe that at all. I am confident that if I had a nuclear weapon, I could make it go off. According to the magical internet, I could do it, but the nuke would be a dud, only killing tens of thousands, instead of millions.
But the fact remains that I could do some damage, just like bombing a nuclear reactor.
Since no one is returning Ukraine's Nukes, the very least we can do is help them defend themselves. But now Donald Trump wants payback for the defense of Ukraine in the form of $500 billion in mineral rights.
Uh, that's a tenfold return on investment on the lives of Ukrainian Soldiers. That is very untenable, that's the way the Mafia works. The Mafia was at its (second) peak in the 1950's. A young Donald Trump, growing up in New York City, would have certainly been aware of the way the mob worked, especially considering his Dad's (Fred Trump) ties to the New York Mafia.
The United States used to be about freedom. Now its run by shake-down artists.
Just like Russia.
After everything you just read, I have to admit, for once, I am in the majority. But I'll tell you what, a lot of people agree with Donald Trump.
If you stand with Zelensky, you stand on principle.
If you stand with Trump, you stand with money.
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