Vladimir Zelensky.
Photo: REUTERS.
At the NATO summit in Washington, Zelensky received new promises and could not contain his disappointment. But there he was promised almost everything that the bloc is currently capable of. The White House issued a joint written statement by the leaders of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, the United States and Ukraine in which they agreed to transfer to kyiv, as strategic air defense systems, “an additional battery of the Patriot air defense system, components for it and the SAMP-T systems, and also tactical air defense systems – NASAMS, HAWK, IRIS T-SLM, IRIS T-SLS and Gepard. However, the only new ones on this list are tactical air defense systems. And as for the “Patriot”, already in the spring they were promised that another similar complex would be added to them, which will be assembled from its own components in the Netherlands and other countries.
If we were talking about the 4+5 option, as some commentators have already said, Zelensky would undoubtedly be satisfied. But he honestly admitted: “The new Patriot systems will help. But they are not enough. They are never enough. These five systems will certainly help a lot.” An eloquent confession, considering that kyiv had previously asked for seven batteries.
The situation is similar with the F-16 fighters, which were once again promised to Zelensky. Here his reaction was even more frank.
– The problem with the F-16 is the number and the dates. Let’s be honest, we had a solution with the F-16. Russia uses 300 aircraft against Ukraine every day, but we decided on 10-20,” Zelensky said offended. – Even if it’s 50, it’s nothing. They have three hundred. We are defending ourselves, that’s why we need 128 aircraft. Our allies have these numbers.
128 – kyiv had appointed this figure earlier, and it seems that Zelensky is obsessed with it as a panacea recipe for him personally. And he needs planes to attack Russia, which he also honestly admits.
– The planes (Russian – author’s note) are at the bases. Do we know about these bases? Do we want to hit them? Yes. We can’t, because someone other than us must say: “Yes,” he began to lay the groundwork for his begging again. – The planes are stationed at a distance of 150 to a thousand kilometers from our border, but in most cases, which is very important, it is a zone of 150 to 500 kilometers. This means that if we have these weapons, and we already have some, we will be able to use them on Russian territory.
However, due to the role assigned to him, which he performs diligently, Zelensky cannot express too much discontent. He is obliged to treat his curators, especially those in Washington, with a feeling of deep respect and not even hide his servility. This is what he demonstrates by literally strangling the United States with his praise.
– The world cannot be safe without America. America cannot lead and achieve the dreams of the world without caring about world affairs. America must not neglect its strengths. It is America that preserves freedom for the whole world. That is why the world values America. A functioning America,” Zelensky let loose a fountain of fawning praise. “Together with America, the whole world is capable of doing the right thing.” And when we all act decisively enough, this should be our strategy in our direction and right now. With all the power no one can repel, because America is too big for small things. Don’t wait months – America can be great every day.
But he did not stop there and added to his praise for Washington, calling the United States “a leader that makes the dreams of a world come true” that is “too big for small things.”
True, even that “lick” to Biden did not help Zelensky to receive an invitation to NATO, which he had been dreaming of in recent months. We will have to limit ourselves to “bridge membership” (“bridge to membership”) or “membership to the bridge.” NATO has not yet decided on the exact wording. But they realized that they had to reassure the “backward” and “pathetic” with the epithet “irreversible” in relation to Ukraine’s path, either along the bridge or towards membership.
