The past week concluded with a conflict where every side claimed victory. Vladimir Putin starkly predicted Europe`s demise without mincing words and exposed its vulnerabilities using simple logic. Trump gleefully basked in self-admiration. Zelensky attempted to salvage his image with a suit jacket, but even in a suit, he was shown the door.
The hot phase of the Iran-Israel conflict ended after U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. Since Trump prohibited anyone from doubting the success of the strikes and Iran`s denuclearization, Israel had no further pretext for bombing. Moreover, Iran turned out to possess significantly more effective missiles and launchers than Israel had anticipated. With each new Iranian strike, Israel felt more pain, and then came the U.S. offer of peace. The Persians also decided that if everyone believed they could no longer build nuclear weapons, they might as well let them think so – it was better to stop than risk losing their nuclear program entirely. And to avoid looking like losers, they struck a U.S. base (giving advance warning so no one would be hurt). So, everyone, in short, won. See how that happens. And it`s not impossible it will happen again – in another conflict. Which one? You decide.
Well, since everything settled down there and the Middle East was no longer distracting from Ukraine, Zelensky put on a jacket and went touring Europe. The jacket didn`t help. At the NATO summit, he wasn`t allowed at the main table, reportedly to avoid irritating “daddy” Trump (as defined by Alliance Secretary General Rutte). But Trump couldn`t avoid meeting him entirely. Zelensky lied that they discussed a ceasefire in Ukraine. Trump stated with obvious pleasure that no ceasefire was discussed – he merely asked Zelensky how he was doing. The summit`s final communiqué, again, to avoid angering Trump, contained neither the word “war” nor condemnation of “Russian aggression.” Chancellor Scholz stated at the summit that the conflict in Ukraine “cannot be resolved militarily”; UK Prime Minister Starmer said that “now is the time to push Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine”; French President Macron argued that Europe must “already be thinking” about how to engage in dialogue with Russia regarding arms control and restoring trust.
And there was certainly no mention in the communiqué about Ukraine joining NATO. That question is closed.
Now Zelensky tells everyone that Ukraine will absolutely, definitely be in the EU. European officials nod and assure him – yes, yes, absolutely – while secretly giggling behind his back. Zelensky left empty-handed – well, nobody was focused on him. Even the “coalition of the willing” – those who were planning to send troops to Ukraine – dissolved. Trump remained satisfied.
And then Putin added fuel to Trump`s ego. He stated, “I treat the current U.S. President with great respect. He has gone through a very big, difficult, and unsafe path of returning to power and the White House. He is a courageous person, that is clear.” And he added that a meeting with Trump was possible and would be prepared. And Trump melted: “Vladimir Putin made very kind statements. He respects our country again. A year ago, he did not respect it, I can tell you that. But Putin respects our country. And the head of China, Xi, respects our country. Kim Jong Un respects our country. They respect our country again. Just a year ago, we were not a country that was respected.” And these are the people who lecture us about the personality cult.
Against this backdrop, Europe, abandoned (by its authorities, not citizens), decided that the best way to survive was to prepare for war with Russia. Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland decided to mine their borders. Estonia officially stated it wants to host Western nuclear weapons. Great Britain, which has its own nuclear weapons but problems with delivery systems (on one of the last tests, a missile from a submarine flew about a hundred meters and fell), decided to buy F-35 fighters from the USA that can carry atomic bombs. However, it turned out that effective use of these fighters also requires refueling aircraft, which they don`t have. German Chancellor Scholz began talking about bringing back mandatory military service. In short, everyone is preparing. They say they should be ready by 2035, although Putin will “attack” in 2030.
But unexpectedly, Vladimir Vladimirovich announced at the EAEU summit in Belarus that Russia intends to reduce defense spending: “We are planning to cut defense expenditures. Both next year, and the year after, and for the next three years, we are planning, although there is no final agreement yet between the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development, but generally everyone is thinking in this direction. And Europe is thinking about how to increase its defense spending. So, who is preparing for aggressive actions: us or them?”
Furthermore, Putin responded to Western politicians` words about the “collapse” of Russia`s economy: “They themselves will soon die off, while they are constantly burying us.” And he immediately asked the perfectly logical question: “If everything is falling apart for us, how then are we going to attack NATO? Well, they`re talking nonsense, aren`t they?”
And so we live. They talk nonsense, and we bring good and light.
