While visiting Lithuania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a joint press conference with his host, President Gitanas Nauseda, in Vilnius, the capital, in which he advocated bringing the U.S. into the Normandy Format.
The latter was established in 2014 after the U.S.-supported coup in Ukraine and the start of the ongoing war in the Donbass. Its members are Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany. Bringing Washington into the process is analogous to Mexico inviting Russia to mediate border and immigration issues with the U.S.
The Ukrainian head of state, not noted for his statesmanship or finesse, bluntly blurted out: “If we see deceleration in the Normandy format, I say frankly about this, I think that there is a deceleration. Therefore, I want countries – strong countries, powerful geopolitical players – to join the format so that they can influence the Russian Federation, which means the end of the war in Ukraine.” Ending the war, that is, by driving Russia and its Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea and subjugating the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. The U.S. is decidedly, particularly in military terms, a strong country and a powerful geopolitical player.
In fact Zelensky highlighted its potency in calling for “U.S. power to help Ukraine put an end to this tragedy in the center of Europe in the 21st century.”
At roughly the same time the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Lithuania, with their Polish counterpart, also met in Vilnius in the context of the Lublin Triangle alliance of the three nations. It was recently announced that the U.S. will lead war games this month in Ukraine with the joint military unit of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade.
As to where that brigade may eventually be deployed and for which purpose, the contents of two documents signed by the foreign ministers, Lublin Triangle: Roadmap for Further Cooperation and the Declaration on European Heritage and Common Values, as well as comments by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will help one understand.
According to Ukrinform‘s synopsis of the first document, it “confirms Ukraine’s European perspective, condemns Russian aggression, the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories and Russia’s destructive actions in the Black Sea.” It also unequivocally supports the Crimean Platform initiative to expel Russia and its fleet from Crimea and pledges the three nations to “work closely together to ensure the de-occupation of the Crimean peninsula.”
The document identified four concerns and areas for common action:
- Russian aggression against Ukraine
- The militarization of the Black Sea region [by Russia and not the U.S. and NATO, of course]
- The situation in Belarus
- Threats from the Nord Stream 2 project
A separate section of the document confirmed Ukraine’s road to NATO according to the decisions of the NATO summits of 2008 and 2021.
The Ukrainian foreign minister added this diatribe, characteristic of his reductionist and abrasive style of “diplomacy”:
“Today we signed and adopted important documents of the Lublin Triangle. They reflect our common European past, our common response to modern challenges and a common future for Ukraine in the EU and NATO, together with Poland and Lithuania. The Lublin Triangle is strengthening, being filled with practical mechanisms of interaction and gaining new importance. In fact, we offer an alternative to the ‘Russian world’ in our region.”
The ministers of nations with a combined population of 86 million also directed their collective attention to a state they all border, Belarus, with a population of 9.5 million. The two NATO members and NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner vowed to “support the Belarusian people in their just aspiration to live in a free democratic country where human rights are protected.”
Ukraine’s Kuleba promoted the concept of incorporating Belarusian “civil society” in Lublin Triangle activities.
Presumably, then, if subversion in the color revolution mode proves unsuccessful, the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade can be activated, and to assist it the 10,000 troops assigned to NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroups and the U.S.’s Operation Atlantic Resolve in Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Latvia.
The colour revolution model is already obsolete. Far too many countries have watched it happen and know just how to crush it in the incipient stages now. Back to assassination and coup d’etat as the tool of the hour.
Z wants “U.S. power to help Ukraine put an end to this tragedy in the center of Europe in the 21st century.” Yes, let’s trigger a nuclear holocaust, which by all means would be a horrendous tragedy to the entire world. All this blood shed is for Ukraine to take back Crimea, which is inhabited mostly by ethnic Russians. Who is with Z?
Who is going to do “the heavy lifting” ? Lithuania?
Maybe not only do the heavy lifting, but take the heavy hits that a thermonuclear bomb state can deliver. Maybe they should consider what would happen to these Gnomebody states if the big guys took off the gloves started settĺing scores with them???
If only desire equale capability. Pigs would fly and fish would charge fishermer like bulls, Lithuania would shoo shoo off Russia and we would all be kings… Too bad it’s not going to be.
The Ukraine President’s talk of “driving Russia and its Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea” assures there will be no peace. Russia won’t ever do that, and can’t be made to do it.
Does he want or need the war to maintain domestic politics?
Does he get what he wants from the US by playing at this warmongering?
Since this is unstable and can’t go on, it won’t go on indefinitely. The end result will be total destruction of Ukraine, along the lines of what happened to Georgia when it was led into disaster by US war-talk.
At least the Ukrainian guy is honest enough to say it out loud: “We want the US to do our fighting for us” instead of holding a bunch of back-room meetings and hammering out some deal for a ‘special relationship’.
i live in Lower Slobovia, and we have a 4 ft stone wall to keep those godless Upper Slobovians out
EVER asked the people in Crimea whether or not they want to return. It does not seem so where are the protests wanting the Crimea to return to Ukraine? Go ahead and try and take the Donbas and Crimea. Russian will destroy you. Remember kicked in the teeth. I do not think that Putin was kidding. But be my guest and find out?
I suspect that the vast majority of Crimeans prefer affiliation with the Russian state rather than with the Ukrainian state.
But as for “where are the protests,” the Putin regime seems to have cracked down on that kind of activity quite a bit in the last few years. And no, it’s not the only regime that’s done so. US domestic police forces routinely use chemical weapons on protesters, something that would be considered a war crime if done abroad (as when Border Patrol thugs fire chemical weapons into Mexico).
No only illegal ones! Not even one sign or interview? And the reason why they want to be back home and they are!
Yes, only illegal protests — with illegal being defined as any protests the Putin regime doesn’t like.
The reason why there is no protests is because they are happy with their choice which the ussa media can not spin! Crack down? Like Pussy Riot?