HOW MUCH LOOT HAS JOE BIDEN PUMPED INTO ZELENSKY'S SWISS BANK ACCOUNT? HOW MUCH HAS ZELENSKY PAID HUNTER AND THE 'BIG GUY'?

 

‘Ukraine Belongs to Our European Family’ But Needs to Address Corruption First, Says Brussels

1

Getty Images

OLIVER JJ LANE

9 Nov 202316

4:00

“Enlargement is a vital policy for the European Union”, the Commission’s Von der Leyen says as it announces Ukraine is moving a step closer to becoming a member state.

Ukraine has made progress on fighting corruption but has further to go, the European Union says, as it acknowledged the process towards it becoming a member state will “not be a short path”, but nevertheless the country “belongs to our European family”.

The European Union issued updates on all candidate nations on Wednesday, adopting what it calls the 2023 Enlargement Package, saying it would recommend opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. The development also appears to infer that Ukraine has ‘skipped the queue’ in some regards, as it moves up to more advanced stages of the joining progress ahead of Balkan nations which have been trying to join for many years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the announcement as a “strong and historic step” which would, he said, make the European Union stronger.

Europe’s chief of foreign affairs Josep Borrell repeated the now-oft quoted phrase that Ukraine “belongs” to Europe as the decision was announced, saying that “Ukraine belongs to our European family. This is already a fact.” The Spanish politician congratulated Ukraine on the work already done to overcome previous criticism around areas like corruption, the influence of oligarchs, and minority rights, particularly as this progress had been made in wartime.

But referring to the amount of work yet to be done before Ukraine is a fit country to join the Union, Borrell remarked: “It may not be a short path, but Ukraine will not walk alone. We will continue to pursue it jointly. The EU is and will remain at Ukraine’s side. We will work together towards Ukraine’s future membership of the European Union because Ukraine belongs to the European family.” 

The European Commission’s official report on Ukraine’s progress laid these concerns out in greater detail, making clear that more progress was required. The document advised Ukraine to hire more anti-corruption cops and judges, to actually properly implement the laws and initiatives already launched, and to improve the accountability of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office. 

The Commission wrote: “To ensure the impact and sustainability of anti-corruption efforts, Ukraine should continue building a credible track record of investigations, prosecutions, and final court decisions in high-level corruption cases, including the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets.”

Other areas designated for improvement include the fight against organised crime in Ukraine, which the EU said suffered from “weak” laws and organisations and “widespread corruption” in law enforcement. The Commission noted improvements in the observation of fundamental rights for minorities, but particularly pointed to the rights of ‘national minorities’ — such as Ukraine’s Hungarian-speaking minority — and of people with disabilities as areas which need further work. 

Problems or not, the impetus in Brussels to absorb more of Europe into the European Union is strong if not unstoppable even if, as suggested, the cost of doing so can be considerable. Commenting on the upgrading of the Ukrainian journey to membership, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday: “Enlargement is a vital policy for the European Union. Completing our Union is the call of history, the natural horizon of our Union.

“Completing our Union, also has a strong economic and geopolitical logic. Past enlargements have shown the enormous benefits both for the accession countries and the EU. We all win.”

Those remarks speaking of the “call of history” and a “natural horizon” follow other such remarks by Von der Leyen last year, when she said of Ukraine that: “…they belong to us. They are one of us and we want them in”. 

 

Zelensky goes on Meet the Press, calls on President Trump for help, and begs for money like a crackhead

By Olivia Murray

Did Volodymyr Zelensky see the meme? I think he saw the meme:

(As my colleagues noted, the meme leaves out Ngô Đình Diệm, an American ally in South Vietnam until he wasn’t, at which point he was killed by members of a CIA-backed coup in 1963.)

A few days back, Zelensky went on NBC’s Meet the Press, and it was a routine performance, with the exception of one thing: the Ukrainian leader’s panicked desperation was more palpable than usual, evidenced by two details.

The first is that Zelensky issued an invite to… President Trump, calling on him to visit Ukraine to talk national security and war strategy—it was an invitation that Trump politely declined. From the item:

‘Former President Trump said that about 24 hours, that he can manage it and finish the war,’ Zelenskyy told NBC. ‘For me, what can I say? So he’s very welcome as well. President Biden was here, and he – I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here.

‘So I invite President Trump. If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes; not more. Yes. Not more. Twenty-four minutes to explain President Trump that he can’t manage this war.’

My first thought was, if Trump is so illegitimate and irrelevant, then why is Zelensky calling on him, let alone giving him the time of day? Trump is a private citizen, so what business does he have with matters of war and national security? Doesn’t this seem a bit “unconventional”?

Zelensky for sure saw the meme… and he sees the writing on the wall. He’s trying to forge some inroads with the only man who’s not a warmongering killer, appealing to the rightful leader of the free world, to hopefully sidestep the fate that’s bound to be his if this war drags on, which is becoming increasingly inconvenient for the American politicians sending billions of American tax dollars, as the American public grows increasingly disillusioned and irate with the scheme—seems like it would have behooved Zelensky to read the handbook of his mentors, as he would have learned that something that “drags on too long becomes a drag.”

To add a layer of context, Zelensky has been the celebrated golden child of the entire global left, basically all of Hollywood, the political establishment in control of Congress composed of both Republicans and Democrats, and all of legacy media including fashion magazines for goodness’s sake. He’s been paraded around as a distinguished, competent, and worthy commander receiving endless accolades—if he’s now reaching out to Trump, what does that say for the legitimacy of the leftist cause and movement?

And don’t forget, Zelensky was a player in the impeachment plot against Trump over the phone call—Trump owes him absolutely nothing.

Now below, you’ll see (and feel) perhaps the most embarrassing portion of the interview:

He’s like a frenzied crackhead, jonesing for his next fix, promising to make good on the loan if he can please please pleaseee just have some money now.

Then in typical form, the manipulative politician comes out and he resorts to fear porn: if the American people won’t bend to his demands and send more cash, then he promises we will soon have to sacrifice our own “sons and daughters” for war with Russia, at which point, “the price will be higher” than the couple billion he wants now—so just send the cash and nobody gets hurt.

As Trump would say, “SAD!”

Zelensky: ‘Absolutely Irresponsible’ to Suggest Holding Elections in Ukraine

9

Berk Ozkan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

FRANCES MARTEL

7 Nov 2023131

6:04

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his people in a nightly address on Monday that discussions about the scheduled 2024 presidential election in his country were “absolutely irresponsible” in light of the ongoing Russian invasion of his country.

Zelensky became president after winning the 2019 election as the “pro-Russian” candidate against the establishment, pro-West incumbent Petro Poroshenko. The current president’s approval ratings had declined significantly in 2020 in response to his perceived poor response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic but skyrocketed in response to the Russian “special operation” to oust him that began in February 2021.

Zelensky’s presidential term is scheduled to end in 2024 but, as Ukraine is currently in a state of martial law, it is unconstitutional to hold a presidential race. Zelensky had previously stated that he would be open to holding elections if Western countries paid for them, however, and his top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba had suggested Kyiv was open to a presidential election this year as recently as November 3.

In his address on Monday, Zelensky expressed frustration with those in his country discussing if an election next year is possible – or anything aside from ousting the Russian military from Ukrainian soil.

“Now everyone should think about defending our country. We need to pull ourselves together, avoid unwinding and splitting up into disputes or other priorities,” Zelensky said, according to a translation by the Ukrainian state outlet Ukrinform. “If there is no victory, there will be no country. Our victory is possible. It will come if we all focus on it. Not on politicking or searching for some personal interest. Not on disagreements that will do nothing for the country, defense, and our advancement.”

“Everyone should remember what is most important in Ukraine right now. The enemy is insane. And it is powerful. And it wants to destroy Ukraine, just as it has always wanted to,” the president emphasized.

On the issue of elections, Zelensky explicitly stated, “now is not the time for grand celebrations or other brazen things in the rear, which are unacceptable in times of war.”

“We all understand that now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful way,” he continued.

“I believe that now is not the right time for elections,” he repeated later in his address. “And if we need to put an end to a political dispute and continue to work in unity, there are structures in the state that are capable of putting an end to it and giving society all the necessary answers.”

Zelensky’s strident opposition to a presidential campaign occurring in anticipation of the scheduled 2024 election is a slightly more rigid stance than the president had taken in August, when discussing the possibility of elections in an interview. Then, Zelensky insisted that the true obstacles to holding elections were the need for defense funding and the disbursement of the Ukrainian population across Europe in response to the war. He suggested holding elections so long as he did not have to pay for them.

File/Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at his the ‘Servant of the People’ political party’s headquarters after the parliamentary elections in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 July 2019. ( STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“I told [Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)]: If the United States and Europe give us financial support … I’m sorry, I will not hold elections on credit, I will not take money from weapons and give it to elections either,” Zelensky said at the time. “But if you give me this financial support, if the parliamentarians realize that we need to do this, then let’s quickly change the legislation and, most importantly, let’s take risks together.”

“We need help from Europe here, because Ukrainians today are mostly in the European Union,” he continued. “Polling stations must be opened there so that people can come. 7 million people have to vote. We do not have such infrastructural capacities – we need to provide appropriate opportunities there.”

Zelensky estimated that elections cost about $135 million during peacetime. He nonetheless insisted, however, that he wanted elections to take place regardless of the state of the war: “We need an election in Ukraine next year. I want to see this country have a free and fair election even while it is under assault.”

As recently as a week prior to Zelensky’s statements on Monday, Kuleba, the foreign minister, had insisted the Zelensky administration was “not closing this page” on the possibility of elections.

“We are not closing this page. The president of Ukraine is considering and weighing the different pros and cons,” Kuleba claimed.

File/Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacts in front of a screen displaying exit polls results at his Servant of the People party’s election headquarters in Kiev on July 21, 2019, following a day of polling in the country’s parliamentary election. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Should Ukraine hold a presidential election, the political disarray in the aftermath of the war leaves no clear opponent to Zelensky. Poroshenko, his one-time rival, has vocally supported Zelensky during the war, making for an awkward campaign against Zelensky should he decide to run. Zelensky outlawed 11 left-wing political parties for allegedly maintaining ties to Russia in March 2022, including the largest left-wing opposition party, the Opposition Platform – for Life.

Other banned parties include the Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, the Socialists, and the Union of Left Forces.

Zelensky’s approval rating skyrocketed above 90 percent in response to the Russian invasion in February 2022, but had fallen into the 30s prior to the “special operation.” In early February 2022, a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found 30 percent of Ukrainians wanted Zelensky to run and nearly 80 percent would not vote for him. Zelensky’s erratic coronavirus response – including harsh lockdowns, a shirtless photo shoot, and a bizarre threat to infect himself with coronavirus to “make sure people perceive it less stressfully” – triggered waves of protests against Zelensky.

Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.