Geopolitical situation
NATO's misguided strategy has allowed Russia to wage war against Ukraine and undermine the security of Western countries in every possible way, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
"It is time to stop looking for excuses and finally admit that there is no alternative to accepting Ukraine if NATO's goal is to ensure the security of the Euro-Atlantic community. I do not doubt NATO's current commitment to Ukraine. Alliance members have been providing vital assistance to Kiev since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion. But I question NATO's strategy when it comes to Ukraine and the long-term security of the Euro-Atlantic region", said Mr Kuleba.
According to the politician, "NATO's fear and the caution of its strategy have had extremely painful consequences for the thousands of Ukrainians who have been kidnapped, raped, tortured, displaced or murdered. NATO's misguided strategy has also allowed Russia to undermine Western security through cyber-attacks, espionage and political interference".
However, Kyiv has no doubt that the position of the NATO countries will change in the same way as that of the other EU countries, when in June 2022 all 27 EU Member States finally agreed to grant candidate status to Ukraine.
"The current NATO leaders did not take the wrong decisions that brought us here, but they can take the courageous decision to expand the Alliance to protect the Euro-Atlantic. Leaving Ukraine open will only increase instability and Russian aggression," Kuleba stressed.
For now, Ukraine's accession to NATO is a dim prospect.
The US has said it supports Ukraine's accession to NATO after the war, while Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia issued a joint statement underlining the need to provide Ukraine with security guarantees even before it joins the alliance.
Hungary stated that Ukraine's accession to NATO is only possible with Russia's formal consent (oops!). In response, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ukraine does not need Russia's consent and called it a dangerous situation where "Hungarian politicians are trying to make the security of the Euro-Atlantic area dependent on Moscow's whims".
Meanwhile, Germany has rejected a quick solution to Ukraine's NATO membership, while the Polish foreign ministry has accused Berlin and Paris of delaying Kyiv's accession to the alliance.
Kuleba is right that NATO was not prepared for the Russian invasion. However, in fairness, it should be acknowledged that Kyiv itself was not prepared for the Russian invasion. If Ukraine had sent the same messages to the world since 2014 as it did after the 24 February invasion, the geopolitical situation would be different today. It is therefore not fair to put all the responsibility on NATO alone, especially given that the alliance must first and foremost ensure the security of its countries and borders.
Dmitry Medvedev, the alcoholic Secretary of the Security Council, is once again scolding us that we are on the brink of a new world war. "Rising nuclear tensions could lead to a conflict that will engulf the whole world", says Putin's briefly sobered shadow to scare the world.
The Kremlin, shaken by alcoholic withdrawal, has mythically linked the danger of nuclear war to the problem of climate change, claiming that rising nuclear tensions and growing concern about climate change could lead to a global conflict.
Medvedev is currently playing a role orchestrated by the FSB and reading out the texts that Zhirinovsky used to lay out in public. Each such FSB text has its own purpose and addressee. In one case it is a threat, in the other it is a test of the West's readiness. And, of course, repetition in order to switch off vigilance. We have to be very careful to remember how Zhirinovsky, for several years, shouted about missile strikes on Kiev, which made everyone shudder, and then got used to it and regarded such talk as delusional.
As we can see, unfortunately, it was not delusional.
Significant developments
Some of the main Western media channels are reporting on the success of the Ukrainian army in the Kherson direction. Yes, there has been an intensification on this front, but we cannot say that a full-scale offensive has begun.
However, the Drisksy are already getting their pants in a bunch, with reports that Russian 'collaborators' are being evacuated from Zaporizhia. Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the military administration of the Ukrainian-controlled Nikopol district, says that evacuation buses have started to arrive on the other side of the Dnieper river, which is controlled by Russia.
All seats on these buses have reportedly been reserved in accordance with the decision of the administration.
The local population fears that before withdrawing, the Russians will organise a provocation with mass casualties in Enerhodar in order to blame everything on Ukraine.
Briefly
United States President Joe Biden officially launched his campaign for re-election in 2024 yesterday, making him the Democratic frontrunner in a race that could see him face Republican challenger Donald Trump for a second time. A majority of Democrats would back the 80-year-old Mr Biden over his Republican rival in next year's elections, a recent poll showed.
Ukrainian media report that a Moscow resident has had an argument with her daughter over her support for Ukraine. The mother, Tatiana, supported Russia and her daughter supported Ukraine. Tatiana stated that the argument had escalated to threats and that the mother feared for her life. She alleged that her daughter threatened to kill her for supporting the so-called "special military operation".
To us, this message smacks of a psychological ploy to show that the war in Ukraine is a Slavic internal struggle.
Ukraine is losing Bakhmut. We have long argued that it is necessary to move the line of defence and concentrate on counter-attacks in other directions, but this is the land of the Ukrainians, and only they can and must decide how to fight for it.
Lithuania
Sometimes it seems that the people who are elected to power fall into a state of weightlessness and take decisions that are completely illogical and contrary to common sense.
Who can answer the question of why pollution in Vilnius is being tackled by reducing five car lanes at the busiest intersections to three? Traffic jams are almost doubled, and the city is flooded with smoke and swearing.
Are you saying that we need to move the capital's population from cars to scooters and bicycles? In a country where it rains and is cold for 9 months? Maybe the masterminds behind these initiatives could take a taxi, pretend to be an ordinary passenger, and talk to the driver, who is constantly screeching through the streets, about the problems and expectations?
A taxi driver, by the way, was also impersonated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who wanted to find out first-hand how his own citizens felt about NATO.
But Lithuania is not Norway. "Lithuania, dear, is a very brave country". As we quietly watch the signs and figures of a looming recession, we can afford to expand, contract, cut and replant. Raise taxes. Raise excise duty on diesel as a 'punishment for drivers' and a gradual shift to green transport.
But shouldn't the change in the country's transport economy start with the authorities? Politicians and decision-makers should lead by example, by agreeing to switch to bicycles or simply to walking, and by driving delegations of foreign visitors around in WV-Up electric cars.
Otherwise, it looks like the authorities are having fun whipping the buffoon and fucking the common man.
Photo: UK ammunition for Challenger-2 tanks.
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