August 24/25, 2023 -
Information Clearing House
- The conflict between Russia and
Ukraine will conclude with Kiev’s
unconditional surrender, according to
Scott Ritter, a former US intelligence
officer and UN weapons inspector.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President
Vladimir Zelensky claimed in a post on X
(formerly Twitter) that “Ukraine
does not trade its territories, because
we do not trade our people.”
The message was dedicated to the
Third Crimea Platform Summit, where
Ukraine discussed ways of
“de-occupying” the peninsula, which
reunited with Russia in 2014 following a
referendum triggered by the US-backed
Maidan coup in Kiev earlier that year.
Replying to Zelensky’s post, Ritter
wrote that “it was NATO that
suggested a trade. Russia isn’t trading
anything.”
The former US intelligence officer
was apparently referring to remarks by
NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg’s chief of staff, Stian
Jenssen, who said in mid-August that
Ukraine could “give up territory [to
Russia], and get NATO membership in
return.” According to Jenssen, this
idea was actively being discussed within
the US-led military bloc.
Jenssen later apologized for his
remarks, saying they were “a
mistake.”
The suggestion caused outrage in
Kiev, with presidential aide Mikhail
Podoliak branding it “ridiculous.”
Such a move would amount to
“deliberately choosing the defeat of
democracy… and passing the war on to
other generations,” he claimed.
The head of the Ukrainian National
Security Council, Aleksey Danilov,
reiterated that Kiev would never
negotiate with Russian President
Vladimir Putin, insisting that
“Russia must be destroyed like a
modern-day Carthage.”
Ritter insisted that Moscow is
“dealing with reality” when it
comes to the conflict with Kiev,
including “where Russian boots will
be when Ukraine capitulates
unconditionally.”
“Think Tokyo Bay, September 2,
1945. That’s your future. Enjoy,”
he wrote, addressing Zelensky.
On that date, representatives of the
Japanese Empire signed an unconditional
surrender to the Allies aboard the USS
Missouri, ending the country’s
participation in World War II.
In line with the deal, Japan agreed
to the loss of all its territories
outside of its home islands, complete
disarmament, Allied occupation of the
country, and tribunals to bring war
criminals to justice.
On Wednesday, Zelensky admitted that
the Ukrainian counteroffensive against
Russian forces, which began in early
June, was proving “very difficult.”
However, he also claimed that the
operation was moving “slowly, but in
the right direction.”
Earlier this week, the Washington
Post reported that the Ukrainian
campaign is showing “signs of
stalling.” The newspaper warned
that “the inability to demonstrate
decisive success on the battlefield [by
Kiev’s forces] is stoking fears that the
conflict is becoming a stalemate and
international support could erode.”
President Putin claimed on Wednesday
that it was “astonishing” to
see how little the authorities in Kiev
cared about Ukrainian soldiers.
“They are throwing [them] on our
minefields, under our artillery fire,
acting as if they are not their own
citizens at all,” the Russian
leader said.
According to Moscow’s estimates,
Ukraine has failed to make any
significant gains since the launch of
its counteroffensive, but has lost more
than 43,000 troops and nearly 5,000
pieces of heavy equipment. Kiev has so
far claimed the capture of several
villages, but these appear to be some
distance from Russia’s main defensive
lines.
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