On Saturday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the PMC Wagner group, mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin attempting a coup d’etat of the Russian Kremlin. Within 24 hours of the mutiny’s launch on Friday, Wagner called off its march on Moscow about 200 kilometers (around 125 miles) shy of reaching the Kremlin.
In a Twitter post, Putin’s rival addressed the coup attempt. Zelensky wrote:
Today, the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability.
First, the world should not be afraid. We know what protects us. Our unity.
Ukraine will definitely be able to protect Europe from any Russian forces, and it doesn’t matter who commands them. We will protect. The security of Europe’s eastern flank depends only on our defense.
Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian guns, Ukrainian tanks, Ukrainian missiles are all that protect Europe from such marches as we see today on Russian territory. And when we ask to give us the F-16 fighters or the ATACMS, we’re enhancing our common defense. Real defense.
Second, everything must be real. It’s time for everyone in the world to frankly say that all of Russia’s criminal actions against Ukraine were and are unprovoked. And we all have to focus exclusively on our common security priorities. NATO is not just a word or a set of formal promises. These are reliable guarantees for everyone that peace won’t be destroyed. Without Ukraine, such guarantees are worthless. Already in July at the summit in Vilnius, it is a historic chance for real decisions without looking back at Russia. Any nation that borders Russia supports this.
What will we, Ukrainians, do?
We will defend our country. We will defend our freedom. We will not be silent and we will not be inactive. We know how to win – and it will happen. Our victory in this war.
And what will you, Russians, do?
The longer your troops stay on Ukrainian land, the more devastation they will bring to Russia. The longer this person is in the Kremlin, the more disasters there will be.
Today, the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability.
First, the world should not be afraid. We know what protects us. Our unity.
Ukraine will definitely be able to protect Europe from any…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 24, 2023
Zelensky’s statement is raising eyebrows:
- Without Ukraine, the promises of NATO will be destroyed?
- Does Europe depend on Ukraine’s military protection?
- Without Ukraine’s F-16s, all of Europe is defenseless against marches of mutiny?
- And he’s calling for regime change, with unironic timing.
Let’s take a closer look. Firstly, he said that Europe depends on the Ukrainian military for defense and that Ukrainian defense assets are “all that protect Europe.”
NATO
Well, what about NATO, the foremost military coalition in Europe? I must remind Zelensky that his nation is not a formal member state.
NATO, which Zelensky warned the United States it would “lose” if we didn’t support Ukraine’s war effort.
NATO, the alliance Zelensky fast-tracked its membership application to, which was a surprise for both President Biden and Congress, by not having the courtesy of informing the US ahead of this move. Now, he tells us that without Ukraine, NATO is a blighted effort? (I’m sorry, based on the Wagner group’s internal Russian politics, or…?)
Conversely, late in 2022 (outlined in the Twitter thread below), Biden said that arming Ukraine with advanced weaponry was a threat to the entire North Atlantic Treaty. So, the greatest threat to NATO’s pact was purported to be arming Ukraine, which is the exact opposite of what Zelensky claims.
Yes, it’s totally weird that Zelinsky threatened that US “would lose NATO” if we didn’t support the war.
Yes, it’s weird that NATO is tweeting us into wanton escalation.
Let’s review 🧵
1) Ukraine ::surprised:: the US with their fast track NATO application pic.twitter.com/KRxUDOrGEx
— BrutalBrittany💕 (@BrutalBrittany2) February 28, 2023
3) US knew how icy Ukraine’s surprise NATO Application was— we were like WOAH NOW.
Even arming them with ADVANCED weaponry was seen as a risk to the whole NATO pact, by BIDEN. pic.twitter.com/AqtDoHTKpZ
— BrutalBrittany💕 (@BrutalBrittany2) February 28, 2023
Read More:
Zelensky Lectures Americans, and You Probably Won’t Like It
Uncle Sam
And what about the fact that all of those Ukrainian, Ukrainian, Ukrainian weapons and equipment came from U.S. drawdown authority? Meaning we gave them away from our military stockpiles.
Let’s not forget that all of the top military defense companies are United States corporations: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrup Grumman Corp., and General Dynamics Corp. Who do you think is producing the weapons? The U.S. Nobody orders munitions from Ukraine, okay? Ukraine cannot unilaterally defend itself, let alone the whole of Europe. They couldn’t defend Crimea, and they still can’t.
Per NATO’s collective defense agreement, under Article 5, if one member state is attacked, all the others must consider it as an attack on themselves and come to the aid of the member state. The fact of the matter is, as Ukraine has been long-pushing NATO membership, including the entire time the country has been in conflict with Russia: it was always so we would be obligated to fight that war on their behalf.
If we are all so dependent on Ukraine for defense, again, why do they need to be in NATO so badly? Probably for the United States to fight for them, huh?
F-16s
Moreover, Zelensky mentions asking for F-16s. Isn’t it weird that he has to “ask” for them—and we have to… order them from Boeing? It’s almost like he’s not a military superpower or something.
Anyway, the real scoop is that Biden said, “No, he doesn’t need F-16s now,” in February. “No,” was also Biden’s one-word answer in late January.
But the answer is “yes,” now.
In May, RedState‘s Streiff reported:
The United States agreed to allow NATO nations to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine to replace battle losses and upgrade the Ukrainian Air Force.
One of the biggest stories of the last few months was the decision by the United States to permit allied nations to transfer F-16 fighters to Ukraine. Read my post here: US Announces Ukraine Will Get F-16 Fighters as Antony Blinken Takes Control of Policy.
Training Ukrainian pilots, estimated to take four or five months, will start in early June.
It comes off like Zelensky is shaming us, as if we owe him the F-16s. That wasn’t a thank you note. When Ukraine says, “Jump!” the U.S. better say, “How high?” Right?
Regime Change
Lastly, Zelensky calls for a regime change in the Kremlin. I’m not sure if he meant Wagner should steer that ship, a group that has been a brutal force on the frontlines of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. But he calls for non-specific regime change, anyway. While not any effort at “diplomacy”? He was addressing the Russian people, who probably don’t take instructions for mutiny from Ukraine very well.
In all, it was a weird victory lap for Zelinsky, because, if anything, it was a show of Wagner force, a group his soldiers battle daily. He shames all of his allies, telling the East and the West how much we need his protection. The Ukrainian President puffs out his chest well beyond that of the skinny mini we’ve seen dancing in heeled boots.
Wagner marches on Moscow, and Zelensky boasts about how he defends all of Europe and how NATO needs him? Huh?
While internal Russian politics are none of my business, I’m pretty sure it isn’t Zelensky that needs to be addressing the Russian people at this moment. War and political instability are troubling for them, too, and I doubt Zelensky is the savior of the Soviets, the whole of Europe, and the NATO alliance he purports to be.
Read More:
Russia Faces Either a Military Mutiny or Coup D’Etat From Wagner PMC Boss Prigozhin
Russian Coup Shocker: PMC Wagner Leader Suddenly Calls off March to Moscow
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