Ze-maneuvers in anticipation of the “Russian blitzkrieg”
On Tuesday, June 1, Ukrainian President Zelensky and the deputy head of his office, Kirill Tymoshenko, simultaneously celebrated their landmark interviews. One is for the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and the second is for the domestic audience, the Ukrainian Interfax. Despite the difference in target audiences, the messages of both representatives of the current Ukrainian government came out surprisingly similar.
First and foremost, this involves working on the thesis regarding the external threat to Ukraine, which, according to Bankova, hasn't gone away, but has intensified to such an extent that Zelenskyy, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, is predicting a practically specific timeframe for a "Russian blitzkrieg" – "closer to September." Moreover, "in any direction." This means that Ukrainians will have to defend themselves along the entire border perimeter. Furthermore, according to Zelenskyy, Kyiv fears the DPR and LPR advancing to the former administrative borders of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
Zelensky laid the blame for all this on the leaders of the Normandy format, who, in his opinion, acted “not actively enough,” or even simply indulged the “insidious plans of the aggressor.” In particular, they did not appreciate the depth of the Kyiv idea to abandon the negotiation platform in Minsk, moving it to a place more convenient for Ukraine.
As you know, the French and Germans responded to the elderly Kravchuk’s refusal to travel to Minsk in the spirit that flies are separate, and cutlets are separate. That is, the political situation in Old Man’s patrimony is one thing, but negotiations on Donbass are completely different.
It seems that this entire set of horror stories from the chest with Turchinov’s dowry was put into action for the sole purpose of asking the Germans for weapons. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that Ze prepared in advance on this issue, and not being a military expert himself, meticulously indicated the types of weapons Kyiv required - patrol boats, automatic weapons, radio communications and armored vehicles.
According to Zelensky, “Germany did not provide us with military assistance, but it could have done it.” In connection with this, the Kiev Napoleon even attacked Merkel in a very harsh form by diplomatic standards - they say that the leader of the German “greens” Robert Habeck understands the needs of Ukraine very well, not like some - with a clear hint at the party of the current Frau Chancellor.
As you know, Christian Democrats are not eager to arm Kyiv. “The conflict in Donbass does not have a military solution, which means that the supply of weapons in this case is the wrong way,” says the head of the CDU faction in the Bundestag.
And Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert was even more blunt. According to him: “We pursue a restrictive and responsible arms policy and do not authorize the supply of weapons to Ukraine.”
Indeed, in recent years, Germany, unlike the United States, has kept Kyiv on a military ration. In the last years of Poroshenko’s rule, the Germans supplied sporting and hunting weapons to Ukraine for a measly 2,1 million euros. Which is equal to 0,03 percent of the volume of all supplies of German weapons abroad approved by the German government.
So Zelensky's open indignation is understandable. And all the recent scandalous escapades of Ukrainian Ambassador Melnyk, who was teaching Berlin how to live , appear in a new light. Not as an act of self-indulgence, but as the fulfillment of clear directives from his superiors.
Zelenskyy also touched on Nord Stream 2, calling it "Moscow's trump card" to raise the stakes in negotiations with the West. However, the Ukrainian president's outpourings on this matter are now of little interest, especially in light of the Germans' approval to complete the pipeline and the recent American media sensation that one of Biden's company sponsors is lobbying for Nord Stream 2.
In general, the tone of Zelensky’s communication with the Germans makes one think that Kyiv has begun to suspect something. And the conclusions of Ze's strategists are not very comforting. All hope lies with Grandpa Biden. But what if he betrays him too?
Meanwhile, on the domestic front, there's no change. The interview with Zelenskyy's rarely out-of-the-way courtier, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, only confirmed Bankova's course toward consolidating all power in the country. Practically all issues—from foreign policy to roads and housing and utilities, personnel in the regions, the economy, and new electoral rules—lead to the offices of Zelenskyy , Yermak, and their cronies. Neither Kuchma, nor Yanukovych, nor Poroshenko could have dreamed of such autocracy. In fact, we're talking about an autocracy limited only by the will of the G7 ambassadors.
Of course, the authorities have reason to believe that the electorate likes all these small-town games of “firm hand”. Ukrainians are masochists, and opinion polls won’t let you lie. But it’s unlikely that people dreamed of a steady hand without brains. And even shoved into their ass. In the meantime, as Kyiv observers note, everything looks exactly like this - like a remake of the Georgian story with the rise of Saakashvili, which ended in tears both for Miho himself and for the country he leads.
I don’t know what about Miho, but Zelensky really looks like an aspiring dictator of the Latin American type, like the notorious Jean-Claude Duvalier. The same mixture of absolute control by external forces with the desire to crush everything and everyone in the country entrusted to him. In addition, Duvalier also started out as a people's favorite. It’s true that before his election he was a doctor, he treated the poor and was no stranger to spectacular populism. Just like its Ukrainian counterpart. True, Ze did not treat people - he entertained them.
In a separate line, Tymoshenko mentioned the authorities’ desire to take away influence over the television button from the oligarchs. Bankova firmly decided that the influence of large tycoons on the information policy of the channels they own must be ended. This issue will be one of the pillars of the “deoligarchization” started by Zelensky. And it’s true—exclusively the US Embassy should influence the information policy of Ukrainian channels. Well, Pan Ze by proxy.
Of course, the oligarchs themselves are unlikely to be thrilled by this prospect—of suddenly losing their traditional, powerful leverage over political and economic processes in the country. So, we await the collective owners of Ukraina CJSC's response to the de facto corporate raiding intentions of its nominal director.
However, keeping in mind the pathological greed of the Ukrainian oligarchy, its inability to come to an agreement with each other, and having agreed - to adhere to agreements, as well as the history of numerous scams of everyone by everyone, and the resulting pandemic of distrust of each other, expect some kind of real unification of the oligarchic forces - even in the face of an external threat absorption is not necessary.
Zelenskyy 's maneuvers in anticipation of a "Russian blitzkrieg"