WOULD THE PUPPET PRESIDENT ZELENSKY ... STEP FORWARD?

 The following is posted to inform readers about what is going on, and why some forces are itching for a global war against Russia, to the detriment of all, save the ultra rich.

About 30% of the Ukrainian peoples, apparently, voted for Zelensky for President, in the first round of voting.  Not exactly a landslide.  Naturally, he received more votes in the following rounds, after some candidates were eliminated.  This initial 30% of votes, was certainly underwhelming, to say the least.

By Mykhailo Minakov on November 2, 2021

For the full story follow the link shown below.

"Volodymyr Zelensky enjoyed unusual popularity for more than two years. But the general optimism about the direction Ukraine was heading—the uplift Zelensky had brought to Ukrainians in 2019—had already evaporated by 2020: from polls showing 52 percent of Ukrainians optimistic and 18 percent pessimistic in September 2019, the mood shifted to 23 percent optimistic and 60 percent pessimistic in March 2020, and since then pessimism has prevailed. In July 2020, the number of those who did not trust Zelensky exceeded the number of those who still believed in him (51 percent versus 43 percent). Despite these sobering poll figures, however, Zelensky has personally remained the politician with more support by far than anyone else: in August 2021 his support from likely voters was well over 30 percent, while his closest contender for a future presidency, Petro Poroshenko, was supported by just 13 percent."

 "Grapes of Wrath
The October 2021 polls delivered a shock to the presidential team. According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Zelensky’s approval rating as president dropped from 33.3 percent in September to 24.7 percent in October, separated from Poroshenko’s approval rating by fewer than ten percentage points. The Razumkov Center’s poll demonstrates that Volodymyr Zelensky overtook Petro Poroshenko and now has the biggest “anti-rating” among Ukrainian politicians. What has happened to the once beloved leader?"

"My answer: at the midpoint of his presidency, Zelensky himself has destroyed his image as an alternative politician. Here is what he did."

"First, Zelensky and his team started promoting the idea that he was “like any other businessperson in Ukraine.” This statement was repeated by everyone on the presidential team in response to the revelations of Zelensky’s offshore holdings, suddenly exposed in the Pandora Papers."

"The disclosures contained in the Pandora Papers shook many societies around the globe this fall. The leaked documents were analyzed by a consortium of journalists, who found “financial secrets of 35 current and former world leaders, more than 330 politicians and public officials in 91 countries and territories, and a global lineup of fugitives, con artists and murderers.” To the surprise of the general public, Volodymyr Zelensky’s name appeared on the list of offshore company holders. The documents are testament that Zelensky and his partners (now the heads of security agencies and part of the executive branch of government) owned offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and Belize. These companies were used to “defend his business in Ukraine,” the president explained. Prior to the 2019 election campaign, Zelensky had turned over control of his shares to his current chief aide and head of the country’s Security Service, but Zelensky’s family continues “receiving money from the offshore [business operations].”"

"In truth, the fact of Zelensky’s offshore holdings was known and debated during the presidential campaign in 2019. Now, however, the media campaign in defense of the president is promoting the idea that offshore holdings are indeed a mirky business, yet everyone does it. And these words were heard by Ukrainian voters as “Volodymyr Zelensky is just like any other businessman, he is not an alternative.”"

"The second hit to Zelensky’s image was similarly engineered by the president and his entourage themselves. They did it by sacking Dmytro Razumkov from his position of speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

In 2019 Razumkov was one of the key figures who brought Zelensky and the Servant of the People party to power. The young spin doctor soon became the official leader of the party, number one on the party’s electoral list, and then the Rada’s speaker."use

 "Zelensky’s political image long remained indestructible from the outside. But the two almost suicidal actions of the presidential team—the clumsy justification of the president’s offshore business holdings revealed in the Pandora Papers and the ouster of Razumkov—came together at a time of energy-related hardships for Ukrainians and a new wave of COVID-19. Together, these internal and external factors launched the processes of destruction of President Zelensky’s image—and potentially of his popular legitimacy."  https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/just-all-others-end-zelensky-alternative 

 There were a number of attempts for peace talks, in a number of places, including Turkey, however, none succeeded.  The final straw that broke the Camel's back was, when "Following the 2022 Ukrainian eastern counteroffensive, Russia renewed calls for peace talks." Unfortunately, Ukrainian leaders refused to reopen dialogue, claiming that the Russian government was not truly committed to peace and was simply stalling for time while its forces regrouped.^" Emphasis added.  They accused Russia of doing what the West has done with 'Minsk Accord I and II, as admitted by Angela Merkel, in a published interview.  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/12/22/ffci-d22.html  This link provides a host of valuable insight to the goals of the western nations; they wanted, apparently, war with Russia from the start.

"Peace talks and the stability of international borders were further discussed in the Ukrainian parliament during the week of 9 May. Following the 2022 Ukrainian eastern counteroffensive, Russia renewed calls for peace talks. Ukrainian leaders refused to reopen dialogue, claiming that the Russian government was not truly committed to peace and was simply stalling for time while its forces regrouped.^"

For the full story, follow this link.  https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5810027767773113063/5343055109325091709

First, the West through characters like Boris Johnson, for example, scuttled any hope of resolving this conflict peacefully.  Shortly after Johnson visited Zelensky, Ukraine changed course and refused to restart the talks.  Boris Johnson appears to be hell-bent to continue this conflict.  https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/boris-johnson-stop-worrying-about-putin-and-focus-entirely-on-ukraine/

Second, different nations were able to offload their antique weapons, by giving these to the Ukraine for future payments, and now had justification to replace these old weapons with state-of-the-art equipment.  Life is good, it is a win, win situation, they seem to say, and everybody makes tons of money.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russia%E2%80%93Ukraine_peace_negotiations 

"Commentary: Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem

By Josh Cohen, Commentary

"As Ukraine’s struggle against Russia and its proxies continues, Kiev must also contend with a growing problem behind the front lines: far-right vigilantes who are willing to use intimidation and even violence to advance their agendas, and who often do so with the tacit approval of law enforcement agencies."

"Many of the National Militia’s members come from the Azov movement, one of the 30-odd privately-funded “volunteer battalions” that, in the early days of the war, helped the regular army to defend Ukrainian territory against Russia’s separatist proxies. Although Azov uses Nazi-era symbolism and recruits neo-Nazis into its ranks, a recent article in Foreign Affairs downplayed any risks the group might pose, pointing out that, like other volunteer militias, Azov has been “reined in” through its integration into Ukraine’s armed forces. While it’s true that private militias no longer rule the battlefront, it’s the home front that Kiev needs to worry about now."

"According to Freedom House’s Ukraine project director Matthew Schaaf, “numerous organized radical right-wing groups exist in Ukraine, and while the volunteer battalions may have been officially integrated into state structures, some of them have since spun off political and non-profit structures to implement their vision.” Schaaf noted that “an increase in patriotic discourse supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia has coincided with an apparent increase in both public hate speech, sometimes by public officials and magnified by the media, as well as violence towards vulnerable groups such as the LGBT community,” an observation that is supported by a recent Council of Europe study." Emphasis added.

"In recent months, Ukraine has experienced a wave of unchecked vigilantism. Institute Respublica, a local pro-democracy NGO, reported that activists are frequently harassed by vigilantes when holding legal meetings or rallies related to politically-controversial positions , such as the promotion of LGBT rights or opposition to the war. Azov and other militias have attacked anti-fascist demonstrations, city council meetings, media outlets, art exhibitions, foreign students and Roma. Progressive activists describe a new climate of fear that they say has been intensifying ever since last year’s near-fatal stabbing of anti-war activist Stas Serhiyenko, which is believed to have been perpetrated by an extremist group named C14 (the name refers to a 14-word slogan popular among white supremacists). Brutal attacks this month on International Women’s Day marches in several Ukrainian cities prompted an unusually forceful statement from Amnesty International, which warned that “the Ukrainian state is rapidly losing its monopoly on violence.” For the full story follow this link.  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary/commentary-ukraines-neo-nazi-problem-idUKKBN1GV2TY

 

"Joe Biden's 2020 Ukrainian nightmare: A closed probe is ..." https://www.congress.gov/116/meeting/house/110331/documents/HMKP-116-JU00-20191211-SD067.pdf

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azLKK0xTOFI , video showing Biden bragging on how he got the prosecutor fired.  The prosecutor was investigating the company at which Hunter Biden was a director.

 

Luke Harding, Elena Loginova and Aubrey Belford

Sun 3 Oct 2021 12.30 EDT - The Guardian

"Revealed: ‘anti-oligarch’ Ukrainian president’s offshore connections"

 https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/oct/03/revealed-anti-oligarch-ukrainian-president-offshore-connections-volodymyr-zelenskiy

 What else is hidden? Your guess is as good as mine.  All we really know is that billions of dollars were given to Ukraine, plus military equipment, with little or no accountability.  The current U.S. Congress promised to look into this matter.  Apparently, some of the donated military equipment was found on the black market.  See above.  It is quite possible that proceeds from questionable dealings, are well-hidden (catch me if you can).  It is said, Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, if not the most.

Apparently, Zelensky is not the hero he pretends to be, according to Naftali Bennett, ex-Prime Minister of Israel.  In fact, according to Bennett, Zelensky was hiding in a bunker, and his bravery video was filmed, after Bennett assured him that Putin told him that he won't kill Zelensky.  Bennett so informed Zelensky, by telephone, after meeting Putin.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/putin-promised-not-kill-zelenskyy-090415543.html