Common Grounds

Our Friday News Analysis | A Balance of Power Through a Balance of Terror (Part 2)?

August 26, 2022

“Ukrainians Resent Being Denigrated as Cannon Fodder and Human Shields … for Whom?”

By Abraham A. van Kempen, featuring President Volodymyr Zelensky’s self-proclaimed landslide victory.

What is the Side of the Story that is Not Yet Decisive?

Ohrid, Macedonia, 26 August 2022 | If you know of any story that is decisive, tell the world. We’re still searching.

Ukraine celebrates Independence Day

In a speech marking the occasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to prevail. He said the country had been “reborn” with a renewed sense of identity, now wholly separate from Russia, and as one that has united democracies with a new sense of purpose.

Mr. Zelensky added: “the country did not gain freedom through the ballot box but by fighting… a new nation emerged on 24 February 2022 …not born, but reborn …a nation that didn’t cry; didn’t scream; didn’t get scared …didn’t run away …didn’t give up; didn’t forget.”

President Zelensky extolled his countrymen not to give up, saying that the country has gone through too much not to have the right to reach the end … the old declaration was to make‘peace,’ but now it’s ‘victory.’

How? With weapons of mass destruction supplied by the West?

Isn’t Ukraine a mere afterthought in the struggle for world dominion between East and West? Are Ukrainians willing to continue serving as cannon fodder and human shields for the pleasure of the EU-US (NATO) Axis? On whose side is Mr. Zelensky? Ukraine or “the united democracies that have a new sense of purpose?” When is enough, ENOUGH?

In his speech, Mr. Zelensky suggested: “[We’re] wholly separate from Russia?” What about the 17.3 percent of Ukrainians of Russian descent living next door or around the corner in Ukraine? According to Worldometers, today’s Ukrainian population clocks in at 43,179,581. Approximately 7,3 million of the Ukrainian population are of Russian descent. And most Ukrainian-Russians have settled in Eastern Ukraine, some for more than five generations.

Contrary to the propaganda perpetrated by “the united democracies that now have a new sense of purpose,” most Ukrainians are seemingly not buying what Mr. Zelensky pontificates.

Only 62.9 percent of the Electorate Turned Out to Vote

On 21 April 2019, Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky posited a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election. With nearly ‘all ballots’ counted in the run-off vote, based on a turnout of 62.9 percent of the electorate, Mr. Zelensky had taken more than 73 percent, with incumbent Petro Poroshenko trailing far behind 24 percent.

Note! Only 62.09 percent or 26,822.880 Ukrainians of the 43.2 million voted. In short, 16,377,120 Ukrainians did not vote.

This means that 19,580,702, or 45,3 percent of Ukrainians, slid comedian Volodymyr Zelensky into the Presidency. A landslide?

In ‘Time for the Joking to Stop,’ BBC News Analyst Jonah Fisher reported from Kyiv:

“Ukrainians are waking up this morning and discovering that the last few months were not a dream.

They have elected a man who currently stars in a TV series as the president - as the country’s next real president. And it wasn’t even close. The pressure will now be on Mr. Zelensky to demonstrate that he knows what he is doing.

Throughout the election campaign, he avoided thought-provoking interviews and policy discussions, preferring to post light-hearted videos on social media.

He’s got about a month before the inauguration. Then the comedian-turned-president will face a complex in-box that includes a simmering [civil] war with Russian-backed rebels in the east.”

Mr. Zelensky, a political novice though educated as a lawyer, is best known for starring in the satirical television series ‘Servant of the People,’ in which his character accidentally becomes the Ukrainian president.

He told reporters he would “reboot” peace talks with the separatists fighting Ukrainian forces and volunteers in the east.

“I think that we will have personnel changes.

In any case, we will continue in the direction of the Minsk [peace] talks and head towards concluding a ceasefire,” he said.

Russia’s Response: Let’s Improve Relations!

Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, commented that Russia wants him to show ‘sound judgment, ’‘honesty,’ and ‘pragmatism’ so that relations can improve. Mr. Medvedev added that he expected Mr. Zelensky to “repeat familiar ideological formulas” that he used in the election campaign: “I have no illusions on that score. At the same time, there is a chance to improve relations with our country.”

Mr. Zelensky’s opponent, the incumbent Mr. Petro Poroshenko, in power since 2014, admitted defeat after the first exit polls were published. He told voters that Mr. Zelensky, 41, was too inexperienced to stand up to Russia effectively. Mr. Poroshenko added that the election result “leaves us with uncertainty [and] unpredictability. I will leave office, but I want to stress firmly, I will not quit politics,” he said.

Mr. Zelensky, Become the Leader You Are Meant to Be!

What happened since his Presidential Inauguration on 20 May 2019? Has Mr. Zelensky done everything he could to avoid war with the Russian Federation? Indeed, he inherited a civil war between the nationalist in the West and the separatist in the East. It’s a conflict that’s been brewing since the 1980s. What could the newly elected and wet-behind-the-ears President of Ukraine have done?

Mr. Zelensky could have engaged the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) to guarantee the safety of all Ukrainians, especially those of Russian descent who feared for their lives, as ASOV executed many as saboteurs, separatists, or simply undesirables.
Mr. Zelensky could have engaged the EU-US (NATO) Axis to guarantee Russian access to Ukraine’s seaports along the Black Sea, including Odesa, to facilitate shipping lanes for the free flow of Russian oil, gas, grain, and other foodstuffs.
Mr. Zelensky could have engaged the EU-US (NATO) Axis to guarantee the free flow of Russian oil and gas through advanced pipelines from Russia through Ukraine to Central Europe and Germany.
Mr. Zelensky could have secured trade agreements with all member states connected to the EU-US (NATO) Axis.
Mr. Zelensky could have secured trade agreements with the entire Russian Federation.

And what an economic feast it could have been for Ukraine, located between East and West. A natural conduit, Ukraine could have been the buffer state between the EU-US (NATO) member states and the entire Russian Federation, with all its natural resources coveted by the EU. Ukraine could now earn $billions of new-found revenues as a go-between of East and West.

Instead, the East and West are at war. Global hegemony is at stake. The people of Ukraine, serving the EU-US (NATO) Axis as cannon fodder and human shields, are smack in the middle.

…

Reaction from President Vladimir Putin:

“Therefore, regardless of disagreements in international relations, Russia has always defended a system of equal and indivisible security, which is vitally necessary for the world.

In December last year, we proposed to secure an agreement guaranteeing this security. Russia called on the West to engage in honest discussion to find fair compromises which accounted for each other’s interests. All of this was in vain! They didn’t want to listen to us. And this means that, in reality, they had entirely different plans, and we have seen this.

Preparations for another punitive operation in the Donbas went on in the open: an invasion of lands that have historically been ours, including Crimea. In Kyiv, they announced about potentially acquiring nuclear weapons; NATO began the active military assimilation of territories along our borders – which became an unacceptable threat directly at our borders.

This indicated that a clash with neo-Nazis and Banderites – on which the USA and its smaller companions relied – would be unavoidable. Let me repeat: we saw all this military infrastructure being set up. We saw hundreds of foreign advisors beginning to work and the regular deliveries of the most modern weaponry from NATO countries. The danger grew with each passing day. So Russia launched a preemptive attack against this aggression. It was necessary, timely, and the only choice—the decision of a sovereign, strong, independent country.

Particularly after the collapse of the USSR, the US has talked about its exclusivity [hegemony] – belittling not only the rest of the world with this but also their ‘satellites’ who then have to pretend that they don’t notice this and must obediently swallow it all.

But we are a different country. Russia has another character. We will never reject love for our homeland, the truth or those traditional values, the customs of our forebearers, and respect for all nations and cultures.

But in the West, these thousand-year-old values have been canceled. This moral degradation has taken hold with the cynical falsification of the history of the second world war: stoking the flames of Russophobia, praising traitors, making a mockery of the memory of sacrifice, and crossing out the bravery of those who achieved and endured victory.”

[Editor’s note | To liberate Europe from NAZI Germany, Russia sacrificed 27 million of its noble citizens. Many Russians who the Nazis slaughtered were ethnic Ukrainians.]

(Read: ‘Vladimir Putin’s victory day speech,’ 9 May 2022.)

Dear Mr. Zelensky,

Have you noticed? NATO is impotent. It didn’t stop Russia from invading, attacking, and decimating Ukraine.

Have you noticed? The sanctions haven’t stopped Russia’s resolve. They hurt, but it won’t hinder Russia from securing its shipping lanes and pipelines.

Have you noticed? You bet on the wrong horse. The United States is imploding from within – Democrats versus Republicans. The leaders of the European Union are blaming each other for cutting their fingers – stopping the flow of oil and gas unless the EU pays in Russian Rubles.

Have you noticed? You have triggered a tectonic change in global geopolitics. The world needs to recalibrate its balance of power. One global policeman is not enough. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We are witnessing the development of three hegemonies to balance their respective international footholds: Russia as one, China as another, and the EU-US (NATO) Axis as the weaker of the three. Rectifying the present imbalance of power might form the basis of peaceful coexistence. It might also become a recipe for disaster.

Finally, Mr. Zelensky, you’ve lost the war. Today, the EU-US (NATO) Axis recognizes Ukraine as a de facto EU Member State and a de facto member of NATO. This recognition will not last.

Mr. Zelensky, why do you insist on limiting yourself to being part of the EU when you could be in control of Ukraine’s destiny, being the go-between of the EU and Russia?

Mr. Zelensky, peace can never come too late. Read Vladimir and Volodymyr … Rulers of Peace? Your first name in Ukrainian, Volodymyr, translates to Vladimir in Russian. Volodymyr or Vladimir means ‘Ruler of Peace.’ I strongly urge you and Mr. Putin to live up to your names.

Mr. Zelensky, stop the rhetoric and reach the noble pursuits of your Presidency.

Sincerely,

Abraham A. van Kempen

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Next week’s News Analysis will feature Professor Alexandr Dugin, who says:

“The sovereignty of Ukraine represents such a negative phenomenon for Russian geopolitics that it can, in principle, easily provoke a military conflict. Ukraine as an independent state constitutes an enormous threat to Eurasia; without solving the Ukrainian problem, it is meaningless to talk about continental geopolitics.”

Read the short introduction: ‘Who is Russian ultranationalist Alexander Dugin?’ by David Child, Al Jazeera, 23 August 2022.

Can the world reach a balance of power without a balance of terror? When will humanity learn from the lessons of history? Read all about it next week.

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Related articles by Abraham A. van Kempen:

Last Week’s News Analysis, ‘A Balance of Power Through a Balance of Terror (Part 1)

Friday News Analysis, ‘What’s Mine is Mine, What’s Yours is Mine Also.’

Friday News Analysis, Blood is Thicker than Water

Friday Edition, Israel’s Twin Sister?

Friday Edition, Not in My Backyard (Part 3)

Friday Edition, Not in My Backyard (Part 2)

Friday Edition, Not in My Backyard (Part 1).

Friday Edition: Who Are They Fooling? Us or Them or None? Do the Russians Know Their Game?

Friday Edition: Why Should Ukrainians Die for Europe, the Eu-US Coalition of the Willing?

Friday Edition: Who’s Wise (Part 8: The Coalition of the WISE Versus the Coalition of the WILLING)