Lies, Damn lies, and Territorial (and ideological) concessions

If a bit of a projection, it is very telling. Zelensky asks “To what end are we carrying on this charade?”, but in his own special way - by begging!

Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash

Dearest reader,

I wanted to have something written in our tech space for Intel’s fall from grace and then the worst July-for-DEI on record for entertainment outlets, in film/streaming and video games alike, but alas, something else has my mind - politics.

Those pastimes can wait. That’s all superfluous compared to what’s on the butcher’s counter of Le Monde, my favorite (not really) French intellectual eatery.

In an unsurprising turn of events, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskayah gave a very candid interview in French Le Monde, something I paid an introductory fee for, but I remain unsatisfied with my brain food.

So, please join me at the table and share in my euro-to-USD delicacies, and sit back as we digest the “interview (mild on the skin) by Thomas d’Istria, correspondent”. I can’t believe I paid to read this garbage, so read along with me, please. Help yourself.

The Good, the Begging, and the Ugly reality

Firstly, dear reader, in interest of Le Monde’s financial stake, I implore you to read the pre-fold on your own. I won’t discuss it much here, mostly just lashings that not even Zelensky wanted to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics - save for the third question.

But in the interest of fair media critique, I must j’accuse and call into question the credibility of the entire soft-ball, woe-is-they last-ditch beg-off for more, more, more - more of your money, more Ukrainian children, more cope, more time wasted on a clearly un-winnable war, and more land ceded in the end, by choice or by force.

Let’s get into it.

In Fascism, the enemy is constantly seen as terribly weak and easy to overcome, but also unstoppably strong and insatiably powerful. It’s an inherent contradiction necessary to make the enemy a unique threat deserving of all the feels.

“The second reason, and this is a fact we have to accept” is not a good starter sentence fragment even if English is not your native tongue, but the next part of “the Russians are afraid to back down” is a good bat-connects-to-ball across the plate.

It’s true, Russians are scared to death of what happens should they reverse course now - but we’ll talk more about that at the end. Lives are quite literally at stake, but not as Mr. Zelensky portrays, as he will go on to undercut his argument later in the piece.

My apologies for interrupting again. He goes on..

What Mr. Zelensky considers in the first part of his answer “necessary” would immediately make his “together-for-as-long-as-it-takes” friends direct culpable participants in whatever terrible acts he has planned for such weapons. He’s suggesting that to win the war, he should be allowed to do … missile bombing in Russia, as if cross-border shelling of Belgorod has not yet satiated his bloodlust.

Insanity. He exists only to drag his “allies” into the war, his country exhausted of middle-aged men and now resorting to the conscription of young adults and teens as he implies below, all to win a war >he admits< is based on size and military capacity; Ukraine a far less populous less wealthy nation to begin with compared to Russia; following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and given collapsing birth rates through the 1990s and into the 2000s as young people (at the time) fled the country in droves even prior to the 2014 US-backed “Maidan”.

He ends this mini-tirade against sheer numbers themselves by begging, of course, for more - more of whatever you can give him please, he isn’t very specific at this point and would just like more of whatever isn’t nailed down. And could you have it overnighted?

On we go to the undercutting I mentioned before.

Mr. Zelensky likes to chide Russia for not considering human life and death toll in the process, however mass swaths of middle-aged men have disappeared through the ongoing 2 and a half year tragedy thus far, leading to severe worker shortages in Ukraine and lack of state income from utilities not used, never mind the protests of widows of presumed KIA soldiers never accounted for who lack closure - and death benefits.

Rather, he’d like to boast about how he’s now moved on to conscripting people under 25. No, seriously. That’s what he just bragged about.

In doing said brag about reducing the nation’s conscription age and then boasting further that their training takes longer, Zelensky quietly admits he simply doesn’t have the manpower he at one time did (or otherwise claimed to).

Just gone, no specifics given. No acknowledgement of the lives lost, no accurate death toll provided of his own men, let alone those permanently disfigured or otherwise mentally broken by war.

A dodge of the highest order, and a projection clearer than anything anyone has been able to achieve in some time.

He in doing all of this bragging claims to preserve the life of his men, but of those that have surrendered in recent weeks, some are making claims of being told to hold unpopulated towns with “no clear strategic value” in order for Zelensky to score political points - a literal slaughter with no point, just cleaning out groups such as the “47th Brigade”, something even Forbes figured out.

This, of course, all stemming from Zelensky refusing to hold any sort of vote or referendums during the period when it was appropriate (any time in the last 3 years), when the public could have otherwise had the ability to vote for someone who is less antagonistic and openly hateful towards Russia: someone less of a western tool to beat Russia over the head with from time to time. Someone less likely to drive their children to death and destruction.

Le Monde senses danger and throws him a softball again, but Zelensky angrily bunts and blames… Russian foreign trade in minerals - as if Ukraine has any room to talk. No, seriously, look:

Isolating only Zelensky himself further and as if Burisma didn’t cause this problem in the first place.

‘Say, how is that Hunter Biden art working out for you, value-wise?’, asks Le Monde, and Zelensky comes back with one of the biggest lies he’s ever told in his short and blood-soaked political career. They can’t influence elections, you guys - it’s up to you! (ED: WHICH IS INFLUENCE!)

At the end of his response he consoles himself with the warmongering US Congress, a body which has never seen a foreign proxy war it did not immediately love like a firstborn son, in hopes of saving his death and debt-ravaged country, seemingly unaware of the song and dance at this particular moment.

He doesn’t know what happens when you’ve been chewed up - spit out, of course.

An LM fastball to break the tension: but what about China?

Zelensky is hit by the ball, but nobody noticed.

As usual, Zelensky defers to China’s superiority and says it should be the mediator, even though Ukraine rejected the much-hyped Chinese proposal previously - in a string of unforced errors, Zelensky reveals himself to only be playing his “Greatest Hits” tour for the fans, the lines he once would shout into a phone camera in a sweaty soundstage somewhere in a bunker near Krakow.

Le Monde is unsatisfied, or rather, may be pressing on the overarching issue they are trying to broach - a political mediation to end hostilities once and for all.

Zelensky dithers, and appears to be considering violating his own territorial law - suggesting Ukraine and Russia should partake in a mutual summit to end this, as “that doesn’t mean we have to do it by force of arms alone”. Mr. Zelensky went in just a few questions from “we need more equipment and men to hold our territory” to “we could actually settle this amicably, and soon”.

He makes himself look stupid and like he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth. Look:

Russia, of course, wanted these issues settled with the Minsk Agreements, but the west on Ukraine’s behalf winced and reneged, too afraid of the good life preferring instead a never-ending Cold Warrior arms race, using neonazism as a nationalistic point of pride along the way.

Russia, of course, happy to give that in return back to the west, and a little more on top for good measure - something Zelensky would like to (seemingly) end.

Le Monde is still unsatisfied with their Ukrainian interlocutor. They ask: “Will you cede territory?”

Zelensky dodges and again dithers, but in a very under-his-breath way says “yes”.

Crimea beach party is off the table. Goodbye Kherson, Kharkov, Odessa, goodbye Donetsk and Dnipro. Goodbye need for any more weapons - if you’re ready to negotiate and cede territory, then why would you need more weapons to defend your territorial integrity?

Get more diplomats, not more Generals. The time for war is over, according to you.

The question of course, was not difficult at all - many historic leaders in times past have conceded land (and with it, mineral resources and human lives) to warring sparring partners, and have done it in a far more dignified manner than whatever this has become. This is a pissing match between the United States/Britain/Ukraine and Russia. Even with all the piss in Britain, Ukraine still can’t win.

Zelensky’s answer was, unsurprisingly, the painful part. Instead, a simple “Yes, we could negotiate a settlement based on those terms” is all that was necessary. Zelensky could not manage it. His pride is going before the fall. And so with it go untold 18-25 year old Ukrainian men and women alike.

Last question, desert Le Monde, a bit of cope: “Do you wish America would let you strike Moscow and Vladivostok with a missile or two?”

Zelensky: “Yes, Yes I do. I hope so with all my heart. And if they won’t, we’ll just resort to more car bombs.”

This is not a serious person leading a serious country, this was not a serious interview, there will be no serious negotiations at any “world-demanded” summit, the war will continue as long as is necessary and the Ukrainian birth rate will be worse off for it.

Russia is right to be afraid of what happens should they not back down, given the careening-guardrail-to-guardrail responses given in this interview, some of which leave implying that Ukraine would gladly strike it with missiles, given the permission and capacity from their handlers.

It would be a disgusting, horrible world if they didn’t stand tall and proud against this malignancy of belligerence on display. You can’t claim defense by wanting to do missile terrorism in response using someone else’s credit card. That’s not how any of this works. That’s why there’s no appetite for this in America.

It’s a terrible look for Ukraine, and the west should also be terrified - of what they are and have been for a very long time: Terrorist-using warmongers on credit, with un-winnable proxy wars dragging down the card balance, in the hopes of stopping Russian energy on the world stage - even in an era of BRICS. Stop, just stop. Arrest!

My thanks to Thomas d’Istria for his very safe, family-friendly jingoistic questions that are so mild I very almost failed to taste them. Nice work. Fuck Le Monde, I want my money back.

- RS