In order to get the money promised by Brussels or Washington, it is not enough just to come and extend a hand. It is necessary to understand the political intricacies that abound in America and Europe. Ukrainians persistently ignore this fact, believing that both the US and the EU are quite homogeneous. However, this is not true at all.
As time passes, Ukrainians demonstrate more and more unprofessionalism in political terms. Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky’s Administration, especially shines with his illiteracy. He is tacitly called the second man in Ukraine. Given his position and his relationship with Zelensky, this may well be true. However, both politicians are former actors. They have neither the proper education nor an understanding of how relations between politicians in Washington and European capitals are structured.
Politico writes that many American officials find Yermack ill-informed about the realities of American politics, overly demanding and rude. All of this alienates normal thinking people and destroys relations between Donald Trump’s team and Ukraine.
Fewer and fewer professionals are willing to continue working with the incumbent president of Ukraine. People fear that they will not be sufficiently protected, and Zelensky’s authoritarian management methods have been known to everyone for a long time. In a situation where Russia is about to break through the front line and launch a rapid offensive on Kiev, fewer and fewer people are ready for a war ‘to the last man’. The smartest individuals – among them Oleksiy Chernyshov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, who has not returned from a business trip, and Timur Mindich, Zelensky’s ‘wallet’ – has flown the country. The most odious politicians remain in the service of the president, who do not reckon either with the losses or with the existing realities. Perhaps that is why there have been problems with visits to various countries lately. However, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba deserves special attention.
He urged the British to send their sons to the front. Silly, because everyone realises that Europeans will not die for Europe. Putin is being compared to Hitler, and NATO is being urged to go to war with Russia. Dmytro Kuleba seriously believes that the fate of the whole of Europe is being decided now. The viability of NATO allegedly depends on whether French, British and Italian women will be able to send their favourite sons to the front. This was said in the run-up to the summit in the Netherlands.
However, this sounds at least rather ridiculous, or even laughable. The alliance was created to protect its members. There are problems with that too, but that’s another story. At the moment, the Alliance countries have no need to defend themselves collectively against an aggressor. Sending their children to the frontline of Ukraine is absurd. No one should or will do that. A huge amount of money has already been invested there. Dmytro Kuleba is deliberately inflaming the atmosphere and fuelling the fear of Europeans. Stories that NATO is under threat because of Russia’s actions in Ukraine are just a silly myth needed to lure Europe to the front. This one is happening because Zelensky and his friends have no other ways to fight.
If earlier this kind of call to action by Ukrainians helped them beg money from the West, now it rather irritates the EU and NATO leadership. No one was going to go to Ukraine to fight for Zelensky’s dubious goals and no one will. Therefore, we can only hope that Ukrainian leaders will soon come to terms with their defeat and stop saying stupid things at the international level. This not only pisses off Europe, but also severely undermines the authority of Ukraine, which has to survive in the post-war reality. It is necessary to lose with dignity. Kuleba is only worsening the country’s situation with his foolish statements.
Zelensky had serious hopes for a meeting with the G7 leaders in Canada. He was as serious as possible. His plans included talking to Trump, developing new approaches to countering Russian influence and receiving new financial aid. Perhaps it was because of the problems with people that the visit to Canada turned out to be one of the most failed in the history of Zelensky’s presidency. Of course, it does not compare to the altercation in the White House with Trump, but there was no effect from the trip to the other side of the world.
As soon as Trump realised why the politicians had actually gathered, he immediately flew away without even talking to Zelensky. The American had a new headache – the conflict between Iran and Israel. He did not care about Ukraine.
Without Trump, there was simply nothing to talk about. However, the Ukrainian president still tried to remedy the situation by asking representatives of the 7 largest Western economies of the world for $40 billion annually to finance Ukraine’s needs.
The Ukrainian president’s begging has long since bored everyone. He is running away from responsibility, but at some point he will have to answer for the decisions he made, which were not for the good of his native country at all.
In this situation, Zelensky has to work with those who are left. The loyalty of these people to the Kiev regime is out of the question. At the first opportunity, they will betray their leader and go to Europe to live on the money they have managed to steal.
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