The Best Way To ‘Stand With Ukraine’ Is To Push For Compromise

Victory is unlikely for either Ukraine or Russia, and the current path toward endless war will only bring further destruction to both.

Zelenskyy vilifies Vance prior to Democratic tour of battleground state



Prior to touring an American battleground state with active Democratic candidates for federal office as well as a Harris campaign surrogate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cast doubt on President Donald Trump's ability to make good on his promise of peace in Ukraine and characterized Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), as a "radical."

Zelenskyy went so far as to insinuate that if Vance were vice president and maintained his current views on how peace might be brokered, he "should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war."

Evidently prickled by Zelenskyy's comments, Trump — allegedly targeted for assassination on Sept. 15 by a Ukraine war obsessive — said at a rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Monday that "Zelenskyy is the greatest salesman in history. Every time he comes into the country, he walks away with $60 billion. Billion! ... He wants them [the Democrats] to win this election so badly, but I would do it differently. I will work out peace."

In a New Yorker interview released Sunday, Zelenskyy discussed his plan for bringing Russia's war against Ukraine to an end.

According to Zelenskyy, "the victory plan is a plan that swiftly strengthens Ukraine. A strong Ukraine will force Putin to the negotiating table."

'Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war.'

This plan largely hinges on America's authorization of Ukraine's use of Western long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia — a move Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated would effectively trigger a shooting war with NATO.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said at a press conference earlier this month in Kyiv that he emphasized to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy the need to "remove all the obstacles and limitations with the use of British equipment, American equipment in the territory of Russia against military targets."

Blinken, who announced while in Kyiv over $700 million more in U.S. assistance for Ukraine, signaled possible support for the use of those weapons the Biden administration has up until now blocked for fear of escalation — American supersonic tactical ballistic missiles, which have a range of up to 190 miles, and British-made Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of roughly 155 miles.

Zelenskyy said Friday, "We do have long-range weapons. But let's just say not the amount we need," reported CNN. "Neither the U.S. nor the United Kingdom gave us permission to use these weapons on the territory of Russia."

The Ukrainian president reportedly expressed that with some convincing this week, he might ultimately secure the authorization.

Putin said that an easing of the restrictions on such weapons "would mean that NATO countries, the U.S., European countries are at war with Russia," a nation with over 5,000 nuclear warheads.

By strengthening Ukraine during the months of October, November, and December, Zelenskyy told the New Yorker, Putin will "realize an important fact: that if he is not ready to end this war in a way that is fair and just, and instead wishes to continue to try to destroy us, then a strengthened Ukraine will not let him do so."

When pressed about President Donald Trump's stated desire to promptly stop the war, Zelenskyy suggested that "Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how."

During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump said, "I want the war to stop. I want to save lives."

In response to the question of whether it was in America's best interest for Ukraine to win the war outright, Trump said it was imperative "to get this war finished," noting it would never have begun had he been president.

At the first mention of Sen. JD Vance, Zelenskyy said in his New Yorker interview, "He is too radical."

Zelenskyy appeared to be referring to Vance's suggestion on "The Shawn Ryan Show" podcast that a peaceful resolution to the conflict might require Ukraine to concede to Putin Crimea and eastern territories presently under Russian occupation.

'His message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice.'

"What it probably looks like is the current line of demarcation between Russia and Ukraine — that becomes like a demilitarized zone," said Vance.

"Ukraine retains its independent sovereignty, Russia gets the guarantee of neutrality from Ukraine — it doesn't join NATO, it doesn't join some of these allied institutions," said Trump's running mate. "That is what the deal is ultimately going to look something like."

Zelenskyy said, "His message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice. This brings us back to the question of the cost and who shoulders it. The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine's expense is unacceptable. But I do not consider this concept of his a plan in any formal sense."

"This would be an awful idea, if a person were actually going to carry it out, to make Ukraine shoulder the costs of stopping the war by giving up its territories," continued the Ukrainian president. "But there's certainly no way this could ever happen."

With just over 40 days until the American election, the foreign leader added that the rise of people with ideas such as those expressed by Vance are for Ukraine "dangerous signals," underscoring that whichever president or vice president dares suggest that ending the war "hinges on cementing the status quo, with Ukraine simply giving up its land ... should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war."

This is hardly the first time Zelenskyy has criticized the Marine veteran.

In a February CNN interview, the Ukrainian president said, "I'm not sure [Vance] understands what's going on here, and we don't need any rhetoric from people who are not deeply in the war."

Zelenskyy is expected to meet with President Joe Biden later this week.

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FACT CHECK: Post Claims American-Made Missile Hit The Kyiv Children’s Hospital

A post shared on X claims that an American-made air defense missile hit a Kyiv children’s hospital. pic.twitter.com/Kqn1gKdzE8 — Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) July 8, 2024 Verdict: Misleading Experts and observers have said the missile is likely Russian. The Ukrainian government said a Russian cruise missile hit the hospital. Fact Check: A missile hit a Kyiv […]

Biden admin lifts ban on arming Ukrainian brigade associated with neo-Nazis since its inception



Despite President Joe Biden's sense that white supremacy is the "most dangerous terrorist threat," his administration is lifting the ban on arming a Ukrainian brigade associated with neo-Nazism since its inception whose current members now reject accusations of extremism.

In June 2015, the U.S. Congress unanimously approved an amendment to the Pentagon budget prohibiting American funds under the Pentagon Appropriations Act from being used to provide arms, training, or other assistance to Ukraine's 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade, then called the Azov Battalion.

Former Michigan Rep. John Conyers (D) told his fellow lawmakers that the "neo-Nazi Ukrainian militia" group founded by Ukrainian politician Andriy Biletsky had been characterized by Foreign Policy as "openly neo-Nazi" and "fascist."

Biletsky, who headed the neo-Nazi groups Social-National Assembly and Patriots of Ukraine, was less than subtle about the nature of his variety of national socialism, having reportedly: criticized "Negro-love" and the "blackening" of Ukraine; reminisced about Adolf Hitler as a military leader; denied the Holocaust ever happened; defended paramilitary Nazi collaborators in his college thesis; and adopted for his militia a symbol closely resembling the Nazi Wolfsangel.

'These groups run counter to American values, and once the fighting ends, they pose a significant threat to the Ukrainian Government and the Ukrainian people.'

Years after his release from prison and months after the Russian invasion in 2022, Biletsky said, "We don't identify ourselves with the Nazi ideology."

"Numerous other news organizations, including the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Associated Press have corroborated the dominance of white supremacist and anti-Semitic views within the group," said Conyers.

"These groups run counter to American values, and once the fighting ends, they pose a significant threat to the Ukrainian Government and the Ukrainian people," continued the Democrat. "As we have seen many times, most notably within the Mujahedin in Afghanistan, these groups will not lay down their arms once the conflict is over. They will turn their arms against their own people in order to enforce their hateful views."

The same year Azov was slapped with an American arms ban, it was absorbed into the Ukrainian National Guard by which time its political and military wings had formally separated.

Although the Pentagon successfully lobbied the House Defense Appropriations Committee to drop the amendment from the following year's defense budget, the amendment returned to appropriations bills in the years since.

The U.S. State Department apparently also prohibited the provision of the Azov Brigade with training or American weapons.

That is all set to change if it has not already.

After years of urging and the publication of Azov commander Denys Prokopenko's demands to American officials in the pages of Ukrainska Pravda, the Biden State Department confirmed to the Washington Post Monday that the Biden administration has cleared the Azov Brigade to receive American weapons.

The Post highlighted that the timing of the announcement comes just as "Kyiv starts the summer fighting season."

"After thorough review, Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade passed Leahy vetting as carried out by the U.S. Department of State," said the State Department.

The "Leahy law," named after former Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), concerns two laws prohibiting the U.S. government from using taxpayer dollars to assist foreign militants "where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights (GVHR). One statutory provision applies to the State Department and the other applies to the Department of Defense."

In the case of the Azov Brigade, the Biden administration maintains there is no such evidence of GVHR, contrary to what Russia has alleged on various occasions. Russia's Supreme Court declared the Azov Brigade a terrorist organization in 2022.

'This is a new page in the history of our unit.'

The State Department did not inform the Post whether the ban had been lifted and if weapons had already reached Azov militants, which apparently now have Jewish-Ukrainian soldiers among their ranks.

The Azov Brigade said in a statement, "We are grateful to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Command of the National Guard of Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States of America, and everyone who contributed to successfully passing vetting."

"Eligibility for US assistance will not only increase Azov's combat effectiveness, but, most importantly, will help save the lives and health of the brigade's personnel," continued the statement. "This is a new page in the history of our unit. Azov is becoming more professional and more effective in defending Ukraine against the invaders."

The Associated Press reported that current members of the brigade reject the suggestion that they're extremists or linked to "far-right movements."

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Whatever U.S. Elites Are Defending In Ukraine, It Isn’t Democracy

The real problem with holding presidential elections in Ukraine right now is that Ukrainians might vote to end the war.