Reality on the Ground in Ukraine

Reality on the Ground in Ukraine

by Stephen Lendman

In his August 17th Foreign Policy article, I agree with John Mearsheimer (JM below) on some of his points, disagree on others.

Indeed it’s correct to stress that what’s ongoing in Ukraine is “playing with fire.”

JM failed to explain that the Obama/Biden regime lit it by its 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev.

Nor did he discuss 8 years of good faith Russian diplomacy to end made-in-the-USA/Kiev implemented aggression on Donbass from when begun in April 2014, continuing to the present time.

Kiev agreed to Minsk I and II conflict resolution principles in September 2014 and February 2015 with no intention of implementing them — as ordered by its US master.

And no evidence suggests that Russia changed its “goals” since launching its liberating SMO.

First and foremost, they’re all about protecting Russian Federation borders and national security, along with liberating Donbass entirely from the scourge of US-supported Nazified Ukrainian occupation.

Its campaign also aims to liberate predominantly Russia-speaking parts of eastern and southeastern Ukraine.

Weeks earlier, Vladimir Putin stressed the following about Russia’s SMO.

“Nothing has changed.”

“In the early morning hours of February 24, I said that directly and publicly to the whole country, to the whole world.”

“I have nothing to add.”

“Nothing has changed.”

“(T)actics suggested by the Defense Ministry and General Staff may be different — where to move troops, what targets to hit, and what to do in the meantime.”

As orchestrated and directed by its US master, “(t)he Kiev regime had been getting ready for (what’s going) for a long time, since 2014, so some diversionary moves were carried out there.”

Indeed, “each side (wants) to find ways to prevail and, more important, to avoid losing,” as JM explained.

Saying “there is little chance of a meaningful compromise” failed to explain that looking ahead, Ukraine’s battered and beaten military will collapse under its own weight.

Its best trained, armed and committed troops — Nazified ones — were largely annihilated.

Its conscripts are serving involuntarily with no will to fight.

Hundreds continue to surrender, many others deserting front line positions to avoid dying or being maimed for a lost cause.

True enough, the risk of things escalating to global war with nukes is ominously high — because of US imperial arrogance, its rage against Russia’s independence and indifference toward Ukrainian proxy troops, uncaring about how many perish.

From Obama to the current impersonator in the White House, US dark forces planned and implemented forever war in central Europe.

From the US 2014 coup to launch of Russia’s liberating SMO, the strategy of US dark forces has been perpetual war along its borders — using Ukrainian troops to terror-shell Donbass with intent for maximum killing of its civilians and destruction of essential infrastructure.

Since February 24, dominant Biden regime hardliners upped the stakes by launching more direct proxy war on Russia, including strikes on its territory by Ukrainian troops.

JM defied reality by falsely claiming that Ukraine’s military has been “hammering Russian forces (sic), especially around Kiev (sic).”

Hammering has been largely one-way, Ukraine on the receiving end of Russia’s overwhelmingly superior firepower and tactics.

True enough, sanctions by the Biden regime and its Western vassals are all about wanting Russia’s economy to scream.

JM failed to explain that EU and UK economies have done most the screaming — a key US goal to give corporate America a greater competitive advance on the continent and in world markets.

For its part, Russia’s economy is experiencing modest decline, but holding up well overall.

And looking ahead, Russian economic growth is highly likely to resume.

JM also failed to explain that aside from US Western vassal states, the vast majority of world community nations maintain and highly value normalized relations with Russia — including in Asia, South America and Africa.

He’s right saying that “Moscow did not (launch its SMO) to conquer (Ukraine) and make it part of a Greater Russia.”

As explained above, Vladimir Putin explained Russia’s SMO goals straightaway after its launch.

Putin, Sergey Lavrov and other Russian officials said its campaign will continue until Ukraine is demilitarized and deNazified. 

For years, Ukraine has been ground zero for US confrontation with Russia.

Over the past 25 years, the US/NATO regimes flagrantly breached  the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation.

US-dominated NATO pledged not to deploy nuclear weapons or troops in new member states.

The agreement covers principles for establishing security throughout Europe.

Russia and NATO pledged to refrain from use of force, as well to respect the sovereignty, borders, and territorial integrity of signatory nations to the agreement.

Throughout the post-WW II period and earlier, US regimes breached virtually all its agreements from the 19th century to the present time.

JM incorrectly claims that Russia intends to “annex…eastern and southern Ukraine.”

He failed to explain that self-determination is a UN Charter right of all people everywhere.

Russia supports what hegemon USA, its Western vassals and Nazified Ukraine reject.

Russia supports the right of areas it liberated from Nazified occupation to decide their own future — dictated by no foreign powers.

Most likely, they’ll either form independent republics or hold referendums to decide up or down on joining Russia.

Ukraine already is largely “a dysfunctional rump state” because of its vassalage to a higher power in Washington, compounded by tyrannical rule.

True enough, “negotiated (conflict) settlement will not happen…soon.”

True enough as well, Ukraine’s heavily battered and degraded military grows increasingly weaker day by day in the face of Russian advances.

The US already is directly involved in the conflict with large numbers of Pentagon and CIA elements directing Ukraine’s war-making — including by supplying intelligence, as well as operating US-supplied HIMARS and other sophisticated weapons.

It’s hard imagining that dominant Biden regime hardliners ever “concluded that Russia could be beaten in Ukraine,” as JM claimed.

Their goal is forever war with Ukrainian cannon fodder doing the fighting and dying as US proxies.

At the same time, billions of dollars worth of US/Western weapons, munitions and equipment poured into Ukraine changed nothing on the ground.

Most of what was sent was destroyed by Russian firepower.

Most of the rest ended up sold on the dark net by deeply corrupted Ukrainian officials, their ill-gotten gains stashed in foreign tax havens.

It’s highly unlikely that the Biden and Western vassal regimes will supply Ukraine with warplanes, as JM suggested is possible ahead — knowing they’ll be destroyed by Russian forces.

JM saying that “Washington is desperate to end war” in Ukraine ignores its goal of forever proxy war on Russia.

The notion of “Ukraine defeat(ing) Russia” is far more implausible than frigid Chicago winters turning balmy and staying that way.

Ukraine’s military has been undergoing slow-motion collapse.

It’s just a matter of time before it’s unable to put up a good fight against Chicago’s police force.