Ukraine

Does anyone care to press pause and ask what’s going on? The first weeks of the war were riddled with pro-Ukraine propaganda. While rooted with obvious good intentions, most of it was proven false. Remember the illustrious ‘Ghost of Kiev’? Completely fabricated. We also had a few other early war stories that were discredited. These ranged from war hero Zelensky visiting the troops, to Russian fighter jets flying over Kiev. The first story showed a picture from 2021, while the second showed still frames from a 2020 video. Also, the media aired what they thought was footage of attacks going on, while it was actually footage from video games. One of the grandest lies was the inspiring story of the trapped Ukrainian soldiers on the island that told the Russian ship threatening to kill them to ‘go f*ck themselves.’ Even the Ukrainian government came out to admit this was wildly fabricated. This propaganda did what it was supposed to do, regardless of being fake. It stirred up positive emotions to convince folks it’s important to rally for ‘the cause,’ which is a war tactic as old as war itself.

There was a laundry list of strange things that occurred in Ukraine soon after. These were largely under reported, and committed at the hands of ruler Zelensky. First, he banned the opposition party, and then nationalized the news in an effort to control the narrative and guarantee he remain in power. Remember, America is supporting this cause to ‘save Democracy!’ This is odd when you consider Ukraine was ranked 122nd (of 180) for least corrupt countries in the world in 2021. It’s also interesting that the American media turned a blind eye to the Nazi situation on the eastern border of Ukraine. While Putin was clearly overstating his intent to ‘liberate Ukraine from Nazism’ the statements do carry weight, as the group he was fighting against was most certainly Ukrainian Nazis.

It’s also important to get a grip on just how much aid and weaponry the USA has provided Ukraine. As of July 8th, we’ve sent fifteen war aid packages their way. This equates to $7 billion since the war began. Two months ago Congress authorized a package totaling up to $54 billion in aid. Most recently we sent over four more multiple-launch precision rocket systems, known as HIMARS. This raised the total from twelve to sixteen. Apparently, that’s not enough. Ukraine says they want fifty. The USA has expressed great difficulty in accomplishing this. Somehow, this number doesn’t appear to be swaying American polling, yet. One of the most recent polls shows 63% of Americans believed that the U.S. government’s response to the Russia invasion has been either ‘about right’ or ‘should be tougher.’ However, a mere 21% believe Ukraine will win the war. And, 52% disapprove of Biden’s handling of the war.

All of this takes us to this past week. It’s been one filled with the most bizarre series of events since the war began. First, Hungarian leader Obran (which borders Ukraine) stated that it’s time for America to step in and negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia. However, Zelensky has put a stop to this each time anyone dare suggest he foregoes an inch of his land prior to the invasion in an effort to secure peace and end the war. Zelensky then squashed two of his most senior officials. These officials would be best compared to the US head of the CIA and Attorney General, respectively. He accused them of Russian collaboration. He then released a ‘blacklist‘ of people he and his colleagues believe are pedaling pro-Russian propaganda. This list includes Americans. The founder of the Intercept, Glen Greenwald, was on the list, as well as former US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Lastly, current Senator Rand Paul made the list.

He also suggested that his allies in Western Europe stop using Russian oil. This would essentially destroy their economies overnight, as they’d have minimal alternatives to other sources of energy. He then said that American banks, JP Morgan and Citigroup, should be prosecuted for war crimes because of their relations with Russian gas giant Gazprom. He kept going by asking the USA for a ‘lend-lease’ program in which we supply Ukraine with $8 billion worth of our own liquefied natural gas for the Ukrainian winter. A lend-lease program is where Ukraine would pay America back at a later date, presumably with the money we’ve sent them in our aid packages. He also called out America’s gripes on inflation during an interview with Piers Morgan. He said ‘inflation is nothing’ and ‘Covid is nothing.’ Lastly, he did all of this while having time to meet up with Anna Wintour to do a photo shoot for Vogue. I don’t believe Winston Churchill ever paused his efforts in defeating the Nazis and saving the world from Hitler to take a photo shoot.