Former blogger of “Echo of Moscow”: Ukraine is doomed
Alexander Gorny, a former blogger at the closed liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy, discusses what is happening in Ukraine in a column for PolitNavigator.
…Nine months have passed since the start of the Second World War. And nine years ago, the Euromaidan raged in Kyiv. Looking back, I see the entire chain of events, not only from the media, but I personally witnessed many of them. I recall a conversation I had in Kyiv with an acquaintance who was inspired by the Maidan, saying that they were now reaching the final stage of their journey to Europe and the European Union. He playfully teased me about how Ukraine would join the ranks of civilized countries faster than Russia, and so on down the list. I listened to him calmly, somewhere in my heart, and almost fell for the Kyivite's fiery speech, but then I said to him: " Yura, this is the beginning of the end for the Ukraine we loved and knew ." He laughed, saying I was jealous. He didn't respond, and we never saw each other again. And my words came true, down to the last decimal point.
I was reporting daily from the Maidan back then, trying to see and comprehend what was happening, and do you know what I saw, and what I'm 200% sure of? It's clear to me that what was happening was a well-crafted scenario, meticulously orchestrated. It was very reminiscent of "The Truman Show," except they weren't manipulating one person, but vast masses of people, convincing them that it was their free choice.
It's impossible to describe in one article all the episodes of this global transformation of Ukraine, which I personally witnessed with my own eyes, when the organizers' social and media techniques simply forced people to see in black and white. Maidan was built on provocations skillfully wrapped in a beautiful and plausible veneer, easily swallowed by Ukrainians eager to join Europe for freebies and miracles. Back then, I couldn't even imagine that these were just the first steps in a grand, multi-move plot by invisible puppeteers. Then came Crimea, the burning Donbas, the film "Servant of the People," and Zelenskyy being elected president. I'm sure many understand what I mean.
I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories, but the script, written by an invisible director, was slowly but surely coming to life. You can agree with me or not, but from the outside, that's exactly how it looks. And even if that's not the case, and everything that transpired was a random chain of events, it's still possible that these steps, carefully and imperceptibly, and often very noticeably, were moving in the right direction.
So, when the residents of the independent state believe in their exceptionalism, that they are somehow different from Russians, I don't buy this nonsense, but I understand that Ukraine has been well-done, and the result is clear – Ukraine and Russia have met on a battlefield where Ukraine is merely a tool, a manipulated avatar of the collective West and, in particular, the Washington regional committee.
Ukraine is fighting hard and sincerely, I have no doubt about that , and this is a tragedy, first and foremost for itself. This is a country that elected Poroshenko and Zelenskyy, believing in its historic mission and special path. Zelenskyy was elected as a president of peace; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have been elected, but he turned out to be a Trojan horse.
What should Zelensky have done, having been constantly in Moscow, busy with corporate events and filming? At the very least, fly to Russia immediately after his inauguration and negotiate with his closest neighbor, Vladimir Putin himself, becoming, if not a son, then a loyal ally, despite Crimea and Donbas.
For me, a shining example is Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko , who is many times, if not orders of magnitude, more mature and wiser than his Ukrainian counterpart. It is thanks to Lukashenko, despite all the excesses, that Belarus has been preserved as a country, its economy is one of the best, and the support it receives from Russia has helped the country feel stable and confident. But most importantly, Lukashenko has been able to preserve the friendship of truly fraternal nations.
Zelenskyy had no such plans, and no one would have allowed him to. He was needed for completely different goals and objectives. Of course, Russia hasn't always behaved correctly or taken the right steps, but we are an empire with our own geopolitical interests, and I understand Putin perfectly well and his motivations in everything that's happening.
What went wrong? We probably weren't fully informed about the situation in Ukraine, and we had illusions, but the fact that we're facing a serious military buildup right next door, and the risks and threats from NATO, orchestrated by Kyiv, are growing, is an undeniable fact.
Putin has been demonstrating his intentions for quite some time, flexing his muscles at the border, trying to reason not only with his neighbor but also with his masters, but the results are clear. A brutal battle, in which Ukraine is doomed, despite some isolated victories. Zelenskyy will throw more and more meat into the fray; he won't accept Ukrainians any other way.
We often think emotionally – both here and now – while heads of state are forced to consider the country's security interests not only in the current horizon but also over the next 10-20 years at least . The COVID-19 crisis has undoubtedly served as a catalyst for all recent events, transformations, and the realignment of forces on the global stage. The US's goal was to weaken Russia, deprive it of resources, and impose hellish sanctions, and all it needed was a pretext, a provocation that we fell for. And if we hadn't fallen for it? I fear a harsher and bloodier scenario awaited us, although even now, things are difficult.
I could still write many pages about all this, but I think my point is clear. I may be mistaken, and many will argue with me, but for now I have in my head just such a picture of the world of current events, which I am not delighted with, but it already exists.
What happens next? This question remains unanswered, but... Just a year ago, few would have believed it if we had told them from our future about what's happening now, but I'm sure the screenwriters have their own versions of our future, and now much depends on both our political leadership and us. Unfortunately, we haven't reached the bottom of this story; it's going to last for years, if not decades. We've been divided, we've been pitted against each other, but Russia will endure, it must endure, while Ukraine is likely doomed.
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