I’m a Ukrainian-Ukrainian. To be perfectly clear, it’s none of my business who Ukrainian Americans elect as their president in line with their values and views on domestic issues. But since you mentioned Ukraine, my one and only neck of the woods, let’s rock and roll.
Allow me the liberty of abandoning diplomatic niceties as I put a few polishing touches on this freshly-minted gem that appeared in the Ukrainian Weekly on Sept. 27.
Credit where credit’s due, the “hall of shame” on the right side chronicling ex-U.S. President Barack Obama’s failed Ukraine policies looks right — right on the money.
Despite repeated calls from sympathetic Democrats to provide Ukraine with critically needed lethal military aid during its momentum-rich and high-priced nation-rebuilding window of opportunity (2014-2015), Obama screwed us. Bigly. No doubt about it. Mark his words: “Ukraine is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what.” Brilliant hindsight from someone who had graced Kyiv and, no kidding, Donetsk with his messianic presence as a senator in 2005. (Look for Ukraine in his bestselling book, “The Audacity of Hope.”) A decade later, sorry Ukraine! Bullies will be bullies. Ain’t our fault. Take it from the leader of the free world. Better yet, from the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president of a super power that denuclearized Ukraine.
Even so, the “hall of fame” on the left side highlighting the Republicans’ Ukraine achievements paints too rosy a picture. What’s the beef? The first two major selling points.
“Delivered lethal weapons to Ukraine — enough Javelins to destroy 3/4 of Russian tanks in Donbas and then approved using these anti-tank missiles at the front lines, halting Russian advancement.”
Grossly misleading and partially false. Battlefield math issues aside, the Javelins we’ve received (since 2018, mind you — time is of the essence) have never been combat-deployed. NEVER. They’re stashed away hundreds of miles from the frontlines. To the best of public knowledge, they’ve only been used in parades and exercises. Why? They came with strings attached, super-glued to the UN/EU/NATO/OSCE-prescribed Minsk “peace deal” (2015) and its endless lethal injections, or “ceasefires.” Fine-print side effects? Demoralized and disoriented Ukrainians. Eroded public trust. Relapsed kleptocracy. Derailed reforms. Thank you Obama, Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande and Emmanuel Macron for your “right side of history” in resolving the “Ukraine conflict.” This euphemism by omission alone merits the George Orwell, er, Nobel Peace Prize. Hence, great job pressuring Ukraine to gut its Constitution to appease Russia’s predatory “special status” for Donbas demands. Sadly, but not unpredictably, unlike with the Iran deal, Obama managed to quietly pass the Minsk baton to Trump. No questions asked. Any word in the pro-Trump ad on that sweetheart “peace deal” with the devil? Let the damningly inconvenient truth — virtually invisible to the blind eye of the Western media — finally bubble up: What you see happening in Minsk these days happened to Ukraine’s sovereignty and push for Westernization under Minsk.
Oh wait, think of the Javelins as a “deterrent,” a morale boost, the State Department says. As in nuclear deterrent, a term eerily reminiscent of the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal that Ukraine once possessed? Never mind! By the way, on Sept. 23 one of the Javelins failed to fire at United Efforts 2020. If you’re Putin, you’re probably cracking another bottle of Novichok.
“Sold Ukraine enough missile-equipped patrol boats to destroy or disable much of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.”
Outright false and utterly grotesque. Sci-fi meets slapstick? So far, the patrol boats in question have come with zero missiles. ZERO. After all, they’re just that — Island-class patrol boats used by the USCG to secure sea borders against nonmilitary threats like drug trafficking. They’re not littoral combat ships with the US Navy. As of this writing, Ukraine boasts just two Island-class patrol boats, with four more pledged. Even if you throw in up to 16 Mark VI patrol boats (lightweight missile-equipped at best) — yet to be delivered to Ukraine — would that be enough to take out much of Russia’s nuclear-privileged Black Sea Fleet? Missile cruiser Moskva, 5 frigates, 7 diesel subs, 7 landing ships, 9 corvettes and other assets? Seriously?
If so, good luck curing COVID with a couple of cans of Coke.
Taras Revunets is a Kyiv-based political commentator and fierce critic of the Minsk peace accords. He was also an activist during the EuroMaidan Revolution that drove Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych from power.
