Ukraine And US Politics

Because it’s impossible to keep them separate. I mean …

Ukraine "Freaking Out" After McCarthy Ouster, Says It's "Hostage" To Washington Turmoil

"We are freaking out. For us it is a disaster," Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, an MP who chairs the committee on Ukraine’s integration into the EU, told Politico in a report published Wednesday. "We are interested in getting things sorted out so American democracy can function, and so we can restore the bipartisan consensus on supporting their own national interest by supporting Ukraine."

Now Ukraine officials are scrambling in the wake of Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ouster as House speaker in a move widely seen as a direct shot at the Biden admin's 'blank check' approach Ukraine aid.

Forgive me if I don’t feel warm all over, knowing that Ukraine wants to get American democracy “sorted out.” What’s it about when a foreign power is “freaking out” over who’s Speaker of the House? Money? I kinda think so. What was it that Zelensky said when asked what Ukraine is doing with American money? ‘Once it’s given to Ukraine it’s no longer American money.’ That’s from memory. What does the US government know about Ukraine? According to newly leaked docs, we know that Ukraine is wildly corrupt—which is why we don’t audit our money that becomes their money. What do Euros know about Ukraine? Same thing:

POLITICOEurope

@POLITICOEurope

Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker slammed the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU, calling the country massively “corrupt.” His remarks come as the EU prepares for formal negotiations with Ukraine about its future accession.

https://politi.co/3Q2kNDs

6:32 AM · Oct 5, 2023

What do the Ukrainians know about American politicians, or think they know?

Are we at an inflection point yet? Jeffrey Sachs thinks so. In his intro to a lengthy article today he counts the ways:

Beyond the Neocon Debacle and Towards Peace in Ukraine

We are entering the end stage of the 30-year U.S. neoconservative debacle in Ukraine. The neocon plan to surround Russia in the Black Sea region by NATO has failed. ...

Four events have shattered the neocon hopes for NATO enlargement eastward, to Ukraine, Georgia, and onward. The first is straightforward. Ukraine has been devastated on the battlefield, with tragic and appalling losses. Russia is winning the war of attrition, an outcome that was predictable from the start but which the neocons and mainstream media continue to deny.

The second is the collapsing support in Europe for the U.S. neocon strategy. Poland no longer speaks with Ukraine. Hungary has long opposed the neocons. Slovakia has elected an anti-neocon government. E.U. leaders – including Macron, Meloni, Sanchez, Scholz, Sunak, and others – have disapproval ratings far higher than approvals.

The third is the cut in U.S. financial support for Ukraine. The grassroots of the Republican Party, several GOP Presidential candidates, and a growing number of Republican members of Congress, oppose more spending on Ukraine. In the stop-gap bill to keep the government running, Republicans stripped away new financial support for Ukraine. The White House has called for new aid legislation, but this will be an uphill fight.

The fourth, and most urgent from Ukraine’s point of view, is the likelihood of a Russian offensive. Ukraine’s casualties are in the hundreds of thousands, and Ukraine has burned through its artillery, air defenses, tanks, and others heavy weapons. Russia is likely to follow with a massive offensive.

Let’s expand briefly on the last two points. Regarding collapsing GOPer support, I said recently that the House vote and its adoption in the Senate was a major development that will mean that any new bill will be “an uphill struggle” in Sachs’ words. MJT:

The key is this: “The majority of the majority voted against …” Whoever the new Speaker is, that’s a reality they’ll need to deal with. McCarthy defied his party by joining his minority portion of the GOP to Dems on the budget bill, with the plan of a backdoor deal with the Neocons. The new Speaker better not try that one again.

Is there, as Sachs and others are predicting, a Russian offensive in the offing? Ukraine is sounding panicky, and for good reason:

-- GEROMAN -- time will tell

@GeromanAT

When I told you RF is preparing the front lines with FABs - I did not lie... Look who is in full panic mode:

Quote

Andrew Perpetua

@AndrewPerpetua

The reason Ukraine needs more Patriot batteries and the latest, modern F-16. These are the airstrikes, just the reported ones btw, for September. There are 840 markers, many of which represent multiple airstrikes.

5:09 AM · Oct 5, 2023

Voices of the Army

@SmartUACat

1000+ JDAMs a month. And this number is constantly growing.

Ahem-ahem... Should I mention that Russians destroyed all bridges around Kupyansk? Isolating the battlefield. Not saving JDAMs for this purpose.

The increased use of FABs—huge bombs—is a significant development. These munitions are far more powerful than artillery or most battlefield missiles. Russia has a huge supply of them and has modified them for greater range and precision. These will take out most any fortified positions, and Ukraine has no way to intercept them. They are launched from fixed wing aircraft, so this increase signifies Russian confidence that they’re largely eradicated any Ukrainian air defenses along the line of contact.

The big question now is, What will be the effect of all this on US politics going into an election year. You can listen to Jeffrey Sachs expanding on those four points above today at Judge Nap’s Youtube channel: How Much Longer Can Ukraine Last? w/Prof Jeffrey Sachs. He gets into the decline in support of Europe for Ukraine, and then expands on the British imperial mentality. I have to believe the momentum toward a bugout is increasing. The problem is that Russia and China know that there quest for security will not be completed by the Western abandonment of Ukraine. The economic war is still on the table.