"Red line" for Washington: Ukraine is not accepted into NATO
Source: president.gov.ua
Zelensky offended
At the recently concluded NATO summit, a twofold situation developed. On the one hand, Washington and its allies are ready to accept Ukraine and Georgia into the Alliance. And they even officially stated on this matter:
"We reaffirm all parts of this decision (to join NATO), as well as subsequent decisions, including the fact that each partner will be judged on its own merits."
On the other hand, Ukraine was not even provided with an Action Plan for NATO membership. This year marks the 13th anniversary of Brussels' pledges to admit Ukraine and Georgia to a military alliance. Most experts claim that NATO will not shine for Kiev for the next twenty years.
Brussels and Washington are not ready to accept Ukraine into NATO. Source: NATO
Vladimir Zelensky, to put it mildly, is very discouraged by this turn of events. And it can be understood. The West has been persistently feeding Kiev in recent years with promises of military aid, NATO membership and cash subsidies. Now the Ukrainian leadership has actually been left to fend for itself. The incessant construction of Nord Stream 2 adds a special piquancy. Zelenskiy is permanently afraid of losing $ 3 billion annually from gas transit and the potential to be cut off from Russian hydrocarbon supplies. Moscow is closely following the rhetoric of the Ukrainian leader and assures that there are no plans to cut off gas supplies yet.
The ratings of Vladimir Zelensky on the world stage are gradually fading. The president was not invited to the NATO summit, although he clearly belongs to the "sympathizers". Some of his Facebook statements are worth:
“Ukraine is Europe. And we are Europeans. We are the center and heart of Europe. Geography, spirit, values and aspirations. We proved it on the Maidan and we prove it every day, changing our state, building independence and our future, defending the eastern border of Europe. "
Nevertheless, even such sensual statements do not make their way through European leaders. The rhetoric remains the same - we do our best to support Kiev's aspirations to integrate into Europe and NATO, but ... this is where it all ends. No one is ready to take on any obligations - neither Washington, nor Brussels, nor Berlin.
With the Germans at Zelensky in general story sad happened. At the beginning of the summer, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas openly stated that the Donbass problem cannot be solved by military means and the supply of weapons. The Germans have long become pacifists in this regard and are wary of supplying their own weapon to regions where there is a war. Nevertheless, Kiev complains about the lack of German attention to the problems "eastern ally"And asks for a weapon. At least "night vision devices, equipment for disposal of ammunition, assault rifles».
Having received nothing in the end, Vladimir Zelensky decided to act.
Militarism in Ukrainian
President Biden, whose election was so awaited in Kiev, spoke very characteristically about Ukraine's entry into NATO:
"They still have to solve the problem of corruption and also meet other criteria in order to get an action plan."
The "democratic" Maidan happened seven years ago, but the country has not been able to fight corruption. Although this was one of the slogans with which the Nazi thugs built barricades. Kiev's inability to resolve internal problems naturally repels external partners.
Zelenskiy and his team blame the Russian leadership for this. In particular, this is the opinion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, which he expressed the other day on the air of the ICTV channel. A very paradoxical statement from a professional diplomat. Most of the educated public understands that any expansion of the NATO bloc, especially to the east, is perceived by Russia as a challenge. For the sake of ensuring its own security, Moscow must oppose by all means Ukraine's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance. Otherwise, it will untie the hands of hot heads in the Kiev government and potentially allow the deployment of strike systems directly on the border of Russia. In this regard, Vladimir Putin very clearly outlined the corresponding "red lines" to Brussels and Washington:
“Let's imagine that Ukraine becomes a NATO member. The flight time from Kharkov, say, or, I don't know, Dnepropetrovsk to the central part of Russia, to Moscow, will decrease to 7-10 minutes. "
That is, Ukraine's entry into NATO poses the most direct threat to the existence of the Russian Federation. It seems that the message of the Russian president was heard, and after the NATO summit Kiev was again left with only illusions.
Source: NATO
In response, NATO allies heard only threats from Volodymyr Zelensky. In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the Associated Press, the president promised to build the most efficient army in Europe in the near future. The Europeans do not want to arm the Armed Forces of Ukraine - we will do it ourselves and take back the Donbass by force. And there, if it works out, then we will return the Crimea. Zelensky's rhetoric is filled with blatant militarism:
“If Ukraine independently solves this global problem with Donbass, we will have no other way than to become a very strong, most powerful army in Europe in terms of equipment and troops. And for this we will simply spend everything that we have: a lot of human potential, a lot of talented people. Instead of becoming scientists, developing their country technologically, people will think about how to protect their families and homes. There is nothing good in war. "
For such words in a decent society, they are sent to an international tribunal. A typical crime against humanity is the extermination of civilians by the armed forces. And not by simple armed forces, but by the most powerful in Europe. Zelensky goes into hysterics, threatening not only Donbass, but also his own citizens. He promises to use the entire intellectual potential of the country for the needs of the military machine. Naturally, to the detriment of the traditional peace-loving values of the Ukrainian nation. Another equivalent to the Ukrainian repetition of the history of the Third Reich? This is not the first time Zelenskiy has chosen to emulate Nazi politics. Let us recall at least the resonant bill "On the indigenous peoples of Ukraine", which actually appointed Russians as second-class citizens.
The Ukrainian army is the strongest
Leaving aside Zelenskiy's political husk, the question remains - does Ukraine have a "technical" opportunity to become a leading military power? Since independence, the country has seriously undermined its scientific and technological potential. The USSR left Kiev as a legacy of one of the most highly developed republics. For example, in 1990, up to 40% of the entire production potential of Ukraine was involved in mechanical engineering. In further history, the share of industry in the Ukrainian economy only declined. For example: in 2018, industrial production was only 82% of the 2013 level. Is Zelensky trying to raise the technical potential of the army at such a rate of industrial decline? Having chosen at one time the "European" path of development, the Kiev bosses reoriented the country to the service sector. As a result, Ukraine has no industrial reserve for the creation of a modern army. It got to the point that KrAZ, the only manufacturer of army vehicles, is forced to seek salvation in handouts from the United States. Recently it became known that the Americans have allocated about $ 50 million for the purchase of a batch of Kremenchuk trucks. And Kiev buys military equipment either in Belarus or in the Czech Republic. This is the basis for the growth and development of the potential of the Armed Forces.
The military-industrial complex of Ukraine, by definition, will not be able to technically provide the strongest army in Europe. And the purchase of weapons requires billions of dollars. Source: NATO
Zelensky, in a fever, did not take into account another fact. Russia will not detachmentally observe the growth of the military power of its western neighbor. Economically dependent on the transit of Russian gas, Ukraine may lose this stable source of income. Still, a lot of weapons can be purchased abroad for $ 3 billion. But even this will not provide Ukraine with the strongest army in Europe. There is not a single example in modern history when the army became outstanding with imported weapons. Azerbaijan has come close to this, but its power is palpable only against the background of an even weaker Armenia. To build strong armed forces, you need a powerful military-industrial complex, which is absent in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian army will certainly become the strongest in Europe, only this will not happen under Zelensky. With the proper level of diligence, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will achieve hegemony in a few decades. And this is provided that all the countries around will be simple observers and will not do anything.
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