Has the Ship Sailed in Ukraine?

Conversation with Vlad

A few days ago, I met Vlad, a Russian-American man who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years. We had a stimulating conversation in a sauna at my local health club. Because the tenor of our discussion began with his honest evaluation of the Trump (T) administration vis-à-vis Russia and Putin and what's occurring in Ukraine, I thought my time would be well spent chatting with him for a handful of minutes.  

Vlad wonders why T has recently ruffled the feathers of many European leaders with his stance on Ukraine and demanded that Europeans pay more of their fair share with NATO contributions. Still, he hasn't ruffled Putin's feathers. Do the majority of Americans realize what this means? Putin is a dictator, despot, and evil man; why would T cozy up to such a man? Remember the adage: "Don't pay attention to what someone says, but rather to what someone does."

I say, "Who is the puppet, and who is the puppeteer?"

Vlad states, "If you look at some social media about T and his administration, there's a lot of anger and fighting on both sides of Americans. It's like cats and dogs fighting: Each person thinks they're right, and they don't necessarily listen to the other side of the political spectrum." Sometimes, a critique from the opposing side will garner a response such as, "Well, if you don't like it here, you can leave."

Putin must be defeated.

I believe that online arguments by both sides of the political spectrum should objectively examine the current state of our country. Are we a plutocracy (wealthy class) or an oligarchy (ruled by a few)? We may be fighting against the wrong group of people. Still, we're too busy trying to prove our beliefs and opinions to realize this (all the while, the .1% of Americans laugh at this scenario and don't see any reason to change this political dynamic.)

Vlad finds it intriguing that during his campaign, T said he only wanted to be a dictator for one day. He continues, "First, isn't it interesting that T is so familiar with strong male leaders worldwide? He admires Xi, Vladimir, and Orbán, so what's that all about? Isn't it interesting that he'd only do it for one day? Perhaps it was a Freudian slip that he mentioned being a dictator in office for one day. What kind of American President would even consider wanting to be a dictator for one day? America, I know you're unhappy about the price of eggs so you willingly vote for this person? Is he your savior? What's happened to critical thinking skills in this country?

While sweat poured down our bodies, Vlad mentioned his interest in geopolitics, especially with how Moscow is busily interfering with some European democracies. He thinks Moscow wants to rid the USA of Europe, perhaps by weakening NATO, so it's only one big boy in the European playground. One example, late last year, German journalists revealed emails and text messages between a Russian intelligence officer and an adviser to an AfD member of the Bundestag to advance the party's attempts to stop Germany's shipment of battle tanks to Ukraine. The officer and adviser have denied involvement. Should we take this regime at face value?

I agree with his assessment -- Americans need to realize the amount of organized disinformation promoted by the Russian government to continue to drive a wedge into democratic principles in the USA and Europe. When an American reads online or social media information about a controversial topic being discussed, it's helpful sometimes to consider that the Russians or even the Chinese may be behind this, trying to interfere with our functioning of democracy. This interference may involve elections, critical policy discussions, or trying to weaken our judicial/legislative branches in favor of a powerful executive branch. (Despite how our Framers had intended to have checks and balances between our three branches of government.)

I suspect that Russia thought invading Ukraine would be like walking through a park with no resistance whatsoever. Because he was able to annex Crimea during the Obama administration without a struggle, Putin may have felt emboldened to grab the entire Ukrainian country, claiming that Ukraine has always been part of Russia.

Vlad knows that Putin doesn't want Ukraine to become part of NATO and the North American Treaty Organization to be so close to Moscow. Besides, Putin said that NATO is the aggressor and Russia is peace-loving. Should we believe him?

We both agree that on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United States voted with Russia, North Korea, Iran, and 14 other authoritarian Moscow-friendly countries against a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for the return of Ukrainian territory. Since the Cold Water, how often did this occur when the United States voted on a UN resolution with Russia and only a small group of other nations?

It's hard for me to accept that T followed up a news conference by ludicrously suggesting to reporters that Ukraine had started the war by refusing to cede territory to Russia. Calling President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine a "dictator." Is that a projection? Is he calling someone a name that would best describe him? T also said that Zelensky only has a four percent approval rate when it's actually above 50%. Can it indeed be that T isn't telling the truth? DON'T BELIEVE HIM!

I wonder what the 49% of Americans who voted for T feel about this? We've been supplying Ukraine with military and other aid for the last few years, and T is claiming Ukraine started the war. What kind of alternate universe are we living in here in the States?

Vlad thinks that Russia is suffering from all the sanctions against them as a result of invading Ukraine. They never realized how fierce the Ukrainians would be at protecting their land. Now, the war could be considered a stalemate as hundreds of thousands of troops are being killed in this war. Now comes T into the picture, and he wants to cut a deal to end the war. Is it because he wants peace? Is it because he wants to strengthen NATO? Is it because he owes Putin a favor? Or he wants to make a deal?

Putin and Trump are buddies.

If T gets his wish, part of Ukraine will be sacrificed for the peace settlement. T will get credit for ending the war (and he can brag that's something Biden never could accomplish), and he may get a cut of the precious minerals in Ukraine as a payout. Who says that T isn't a great businessman? Or a great mafia boss?

He recently read in the Times that most of Ukraine's rare earth mineral reserves are in regions currently under Russian occupation. According to Forbes, about 70 percent of Ukraine's estimated $14.8 trillion in critical mineral resources are concentrated in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Luhansk. Russia currently controls a significant portion of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. T may not understand geopolitics, but remember, his favorite color is green. I imagine Putin making a toast with his generals and saying, "I couldn't do it any better myself."

Vlad says, "Every time Putin's hands are involved in something nefarious in the world, without hesitation, he claims he's not involved. I've never once heard that madman admits to one mistake that he's made. Is that one characteristic of a despot?"

I'm reminded of 1956 when Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union bragged about defeating America: "We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the US. We will destroy you from within." With the GOP in Congress not at all pushing back at the T administration during his administration's first 30 days, it sure seems like Khrushchev was prescient. I'd say, "Those who do not learn from the experience of history are doomed to repeat it." 

It's unbelievable that the T administration is hell-bent on eliminating the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) on the main thing wrong with the federal bureaucracy. Anyone suspected of being hired due to DEI will be removed from office, regardless of their resume and work performance. The administration is focused on merit-based hiring instead. However, their focus applies primarily applies to the federal bureaucracy. Are they too close to the forest to notice the trees? If they espouse merit-based only, how come Musk appears to have been appointed the czar of removing waste in Washington? How has T nominated several heads of key departments that many experts say are not qualified to lead their particular departments? So much for merit-based appointments. Sorry, Vlad, I got off-topic.

I wonder if God has a terrific sense of humor, or perhaps he placed too many resources in the largest country on earth. He's blessed Russia with a plethora of natural resources, such as oil and natural gas, even though it's been ruled over the years by dictators and strong-armed men. These resources have helped Putin fund the war despite many economic sanctions against them. One would think that strict economic sanctions would do the trick, but instead, Putin makes his people suffer for his geopolitical miscalculation. God may have a sense of humor, but someone in the East doesn't have a soul.

Vlad ends the conversation by saying, "The US is exceptional – exceptionally ordinary, exceptionally ill-informed, and exceptionally nationalistic. No wonder Trump got elected."

I think it's time to leave the sauna, take a cool shower, and become refreshed again – at least momentarily. But the question remains, "Has the Ship Sailed in Ukraine?"