By Rachel Oswald
Concerned about the potential (click here) for a change in U.S. leadership after the next presidential election, a visiting delegation of Eastern European lawmakers this week called on the Biden administration and Congress to move this year to bring Ukraine into NATO.
Ahead of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius this summer, a faction of member states, led by the Baltic countries and Poland, is campaigning for the gathering to be used to begin the official process of admitting Ukraine to the Western military alliance.
“This is it. This is the year when all stars are aligning,” said Žygimantas Pavilionis, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, at a Wednesday roundtable with journalists in Washington. “We have bipartisan unity on freedom, democracy, and victory of Ukrainians, on our values. We have huge strategic unity of Europeans, who recognized American leadership. So let’s do it like we did it in times of [Ronald] Reagan.”...
24 February 2022 was a much different President Zelenskyy. At the time President Zelenskyy was freely elected by the people of Ukraine, he pledged never to join NATO. He believed it was a stance that would hurt the economies involved. Zelenskyy saw Ukraine as a neutral country willing to engage in economic trade with both the EU and Russia's economic coalition venture.
Then over time and the continued invasion into Ukraine by Russia created the clear understanding of genocide. When a foreign power kills children it is a clear statement that the future belongs to hate and there will be no future for Ukrainians.
I am confident President Zelenskyy was completely resigned to be a neutral power until it became obvious the Russian Federation was going to destroy ever inch of Ukraine and the people that live there. Ukrainians live in Ukraine, not Russians. The destruction was exactly the type carried out by Putin in Syria. It bacame obvious over time there was going to be no peace, but, only killing for the sake of killing.
Isobel Koshiw, Jon Henley, and Julian Borger
Ukraine’s president, (click here) Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Ukraine will not become a Nato member, in a significant concession on a day when Kyiv was pounded by Russian shells and missiles and the invading force tightened its grip on the capital.
At least five people were killed in the latest artillery barrage on Kyiv, prompting its city hall to impose a 35-hour curfew from Tuesday night amid further signs that the focus of the Russian campaign has shifted to the destruction of residential areas and civilian infrastructure.
Zelenskiy made his remarks about Nato while addressing leaders from the new Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led initiative bringing together 10 north Atlantic countries to create a capability for responding rapidly to crises.
“It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of Nato; we understand this,” the Ukrainian president said. “For years we heard about the apparently open door, but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.”...
As time marched on and the Free World came to the aid of Ukraine it became more and more obvious there was never going to be a peace between Putin and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (click here) has signed a decree formally stating that Ukraine will refuse to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while still leaving open the prospect of talks with Russia under a different president.
The decree, signed on Tuesday (4 October), officially formalises Zelensky’s comments on Friday (30 September) that Ukraine is ready for dialogue “but with another president of Russia”.
Reacting to the decree, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue to carry out its “special military operation” for as long as Zelensky blocks negotiations. Peskov added that “We [Russia] will either wait for the current president [Zelensky] to change his position or wait for the next president to change his position in the interests of the Ukrainian people.”
The decree is a response to Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts on 30 September, none of which are actually under full control of Russian forces. Indeed, the Kremlin has since said that it will “consult with local communities” to finalise where the borders of these “annexed” regions lie, despite the annexation having already been ratified by the Russian parliament....
The Free World took the genocide seriously. They opened their borders to refugees of all ages and gender. But, how was this genocide going to resolve without land called Ukraine? Putin obviously was never going to accept the people of Ukraine having the sovereign right to citizenship of their country. As far as he was concerned there were Ukrainians and only the right of Russia to the land.
I think the reality of Ukraine has shattered any understand and hope this would end with mutual agreement to stop the war. The Free World was morally invested and replied to the requests of President Zelenskyy as only it could and that was to affirm the lives of Ukrainians are important and they have right to a citizenship on the land known as Ukraine.
President Putin brought this war and it's current status on himself. Tens of thousands have died on both sides of the conflict. The Free World did not instigate this genocide in order to confront Russia. The Free World has been completely defensive in all it's support to end the genocide.
Ukraine is welcome into NATO to assure the continued existence of Ukraine and it's people. There is a future for the children of Ukraine. They are allowed to exist.
