Guest Post by Scott Ritter
Kiev was offered a peace deal long ago, but chose war instead, egged on by its Western backers. Now its fate is sealed
Scott Ritter is a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and author of ‘Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika: Arms Control and the End of the Soviet Union.’ He served in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, in General Schwarzkopf’s staff during the Gulf War, and from 1991-1998 as a UN weapons inspector.
Vladimir Zelensky attends a ceremony marking Ukraine’s Independence Day in Kiev © Handout / UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP
September 2 marked the 78th anniversary of the World War Two surrender ceremony onboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. This moment formalized Japan’s unconditional capitulation to the United States, and its allies, and marked the end of the conflict. From the Japanese perspective, it had been ongoing since the Marco Polo bridge incident of July 7, 1937, which started the Sino-Japanese War.
There was no negotiation, only a simple surrender ceremony in which Japanese officials signed documents, without conditions.
Because that is what defeat looks like.
History is meant to be studied in a manner that seeks to draw out lessons from the past that might have relevance in the present. As George Santayana, the American philosopher, noted, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The Ukrainian government in Kiev would do well to reflect on both the historical precedent set by Japan’s unconditional surrender, and Santayana’s advice, when considering its current conflict with Russia.
First and foremost, Ukraine must reflect honestly about the causes of this conflict, and which side bears the burden of responsibility for the fighting. ‘Denazification’ is a term that the Russian government has used in describing one of its stated goals and objectives. President Vladimir Putin has made numerous references to the odious legacy of Stepan Bandera, the notorious mass murderer and associate of Nazi Germany who is feted by modern-day Ukrainian nationalists as a hero and all but a founding father of their nation.
That present-day Ukraine would see fit to elevate a man such as Bandera to such a level speaks volumes about the rotten foundation of Kiev’s cause, and the dearth of moral fiber in the nation today. The role played by the modern-day adherents of the Nazi collaborator’s hateful nationalist ideology in promulgating the key events that led to the initiation of the military operation by Russia can neither be ignored nor minimized. It was the Banderists, with their long relationship with the CIA and other foreign intelligence services hostile to Moscow, who used violence to oust the former president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, from office in February 2014.
From the act of illicit politicized violence came the mainstreaming of the forces of ethnic and cultural genocide, manifested in the form of the present-day Banderists, who initiated acts of violence and oppression in eastern Ukraine. This, in turn, triggered the Russian response in Crimea and the actions of the citizens of Donbass, who organized to resist the rampage of the Bandera-affiliated Ukrainian nationalists. The Minsk Accords, and the subsequent betrayal by Kiev and its Western partners of the potential path for peace that these represented, followed.
Ukraine cannot disassociate itself from the role played by the modern-day Banderists in shaping the present reality. In this, Kiev mirrors the militarists of Imperial Japan, whose blind allegiance to the precepts of Bushido, the traditional ‘way of the warrior’ dating back to the Samurai of 17th century Japan, helped push the country into global conflict. Part of Japan’s obligations upon surrender was to purge its society of the influence of the militarists, and to enact a constitution that deplatformed them by making wars of aggression – and the military forces needed to wage them – unconstitutional.
Banderism, in all its manifestations, must be eradicated from Ukrainian society in the same manner that Bushido-inspired militarism was removed from Japan, to include the creation of a new constitution that enshrines this purge as law. Any failure to do so only allows the cancer of Banderism to survive, festering inside the defeated body of post-conflict Ukraine until some future time when it can metastasize once again to bring harm.
This is precisely the message that was being sent by Putin when, during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum this past July, he showed a video where the crimes of the Banderists during the Second World War were put on public display. “How can you not fight it?” Putin said. “And if this is not neo-Nazism in its current manifestation, then what is it?” he asked. “We have every right,” the Russian president declared, “to believe that the task of the denazification of Ukraine set by us is one of the key ones.”
As the Western establishment media begins to come to grips with the scope and scale of Ukraine’s eventual military defeat (and, by extension, the reality of a decisive Russian military victory), their political overseers in the US, NATO, and the European Union struggle to define what the endgame will be. Having articulated the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as an existential struggle where the very survival of NATO is on the line, these Western politicians now have the task of shaping public perception in a manner that mitigates any meaningful, sustained political blowback from constituents who have been deceived into tolerating the transfer of billions of dollars from their respective national treasuries, and billions more dollars’ worth of weapons from their respective arsenals, into a lost and disgraced cause.
A key aspect of this perception management is the notion of a negotiated settlement, a process which implies that Ukraine has a voice as to the timing and nature of conflict termination. The fact is, however, that Kiev lost this voice when it walked away from a peace deal brokered between its negotiators and their Russian counterparts last spring, at the behest of its NATO masters as communicated through then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The decision to prolong the conflict was predicated on the provision to Kiev of tens of billions of dollars in military equipment and assistance. The authorities duly staged a mass mobilization, meaning that Ukrainian troops vastly outnumbered their Russian counterparts.
Kiev’s new NATO-trained and equipped force achieved impressive territorial gains during a fall offensive. The Russian reaction was to stabilize the front and carry out a partial mobilization of its reserves to accumulate enough manpower to accomplish the mission assigned from the outset of the operation – denazification and demilitarization. Denazification is a political problem. Demilitarization is not. In the case of Ukraine, it means to effectively destroy Ukraine’s ability to wage armed conflict on a meaningful scale against Russia. This objective also presumably entails the need to remove all NATO military infrastructure, inclusive of equipment and material, from Ukraine.
Russia has been undertaking the successful demilitarization of Ukraine’s armed forces since the initiation of partial mobilization. The equipment Ukraine is provided by the West is similarly being destroyed by Russia at a rate that makes replacement unsustainable. Meanwhile, Russia’s own defense industry has kicked into full gear, supplying a range of modern weapons and ammunition that is more than sufficient.
The harsh reality is that neither Ukraine nor its Western allies can sustain the operational losses in manpower and equipment that the conflict with Russia is inflicting. Russia, on the other hand, is not only able to absorb its losses, but increase its strength over time, given the large number of volunteers that are being recruited into the military and the high rate of armament production. At some point in the not-so-distant future, the balance of power between Russia and Ukraine in the theater of operations will reach a point in which Kiev is unable to maintain adequate coverage along the line of contact, allowing gaps to open up in the defensive line which Russia, able to employ fresh reserves, will exploit. This will lead to the collapse of cohesion among Ukrainian troops, more than likely resulting in a precipitous withdrawal to more defensive positions that could be established west of the Dnieper River.
Ukraine, through its actions in 2014, lost Crimea. Ukraine, and through its choices in 2022, lost the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson. And if Kiev persists in extending this conflict until it is physically unable to defend itself, it runs the risk of losing even more territory, including Odessa and Kharkov.
Russia did not enter the conflict with the intent of seizing Ukrainian territory. But in March 2022, Kiev rejected a draft peace agreement (which it had preliminarily approved at first), and this decision to eschew peace in favor of war led to Russia absorbing Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson.
As one of its conditions to even begin negotiating for peace with Moscow, Kiev demanded the return of all former Ukrainian territories currently under Russian control – including Crimea. To achieve such an outcome, however, Ukraine would have to be able to compel compliance by defeating Russia militarily and/or politically. As things stand, this is an impossibility.
What Ukraine and its Western partners do not yet seem to have come to grips with is the fact that Russia’s leadership is in no mood for negotiations for negotiations’ sake. Putin has listed its goals and objectives when it comes to the conflict – denazification, demilitarization, and no NATO membership for Ukraine.
This is the reality of the present situation. Russia is working to achieve its stated goals and objectives. As things stand, there is little Ukraine or its partners in the US, NATO, and the EU (the so-called ‘collective West’) can do to prevent it from accomplishing these aims. The timeline is not calendar-driven, but rather determined by results. The longer Kiev – and its Western partners – drag out this conflict, the greater the harm that will accrue for Ukraine.
It is time for Ukraine and its Western partners to move to the path of peace and reconstruction. But this can only happen when Ukraine surrenders and accepts reality.
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News yesterday stated that Depleted – U shells will be sent.
I recall that Russia said the use of depleted uranium could be considered a nuclear attack.
With good reason, I guess, since I understand that DU munitions contaminate the ground for decades.
This is an interesting article posted on Moon Of Alabama the other day about Ukraine.
Sort of long but informative.
https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/bound-to-lose
Good read, Thanks for the link.
Joe Biden: Noone fucks with a Biden.
Putin: Hold my beer.
US Plan to Make Ukraine Into Europe’s “Big Israel”
https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/us-plan-to-make-ukraine-into-europes-big-israel/
.
A Dire Warning: The US Plan To Make Ukraine Into Europe’s ‘Big Israel’
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/dire-warning-against-us-plan-turn-ukraine-europes-big-israel
Oh now is the time. Not last year, or last spring but now. Is there a clock somewhere that was set and the timer gone off for ending the ‘war’??
It really annoys the hell outta me when these dumbass writers spew all this filler and then state that NOW is the time to end the ‘event’. Really!! Like the evil asswipes are just going to throw up their hands and call a time out and agree to end all the aggressions. Like the faggot zelensjy is just going to stop the gravy train and sacks of cash because he has enough.
Unless these vile asswipes in DC are stopped, in a verb sense, then the war will continue until everything is destroyed on both sides of the pond. For evil to be stopped it takes men of strength, and the evil must be destroyed, completely or it will return.
Anon,
I upvoted you for the basic truth of your comment, but disagree with characterizing Ritter as a dumbass writer. He’s one of a few, including Col. MacGregor and Ray McGovern, who have been telling us about the truth of the insane fucking mess in Ukraine.
I have no issues with truth but I am tired of these writers who think that eternal examination of the issues, until the new shiny comes along, is any kind of solution. We’ve heard ad nauseum every conceivable angle of the wheres, whys and whatnots of what we already know to be true.
Why is he a dumbass writer? Because hes just going along with the general crowd of opposers writing with filler and not a lot else, spinning it as something ‘new’. When will these writers start advocating solutions instead of more of the same but shuffled word salad articles. Its time to stop, is not a solution, its a premise for more articles about the same things.
Thats what annoys me. Talk is cheap. Maybe I’d give more consideration to them when they start stating things that could put some skin in the game. Maybe like quit participating in any govt edicts and demands. Quit funding the enemy by with holding your tax moneys, giving people real world actionable measures instead of platitudes, like This needs to stop.
Completely agree with you.
Saw this article earlier.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-sacks-defense-minister-biggest-shake-wars-start
Fires this guy then allows for conscripting diseased individuals to be thrown against the Russians.
See list:
Yet people like Romney and Graham think its great because they are destroying Russian equipment. And obviously most of the country agrees with this sickness. I don’t.
How morally corrupt can this country go?
Polish volunteer Slawomir Wysocki traveled to Ukraine
Polish volunteer Slawomir Wysocki traveled to Ukraine, returned home and in an interview for the media told what is really happening with the counter-offensive, which is so publicized by the Ukrainian authorities.
💬 “The human losses of the Ukrainian side are huge. Western equipment is burning like matches. Things are much worse than is commonly imagined. I counted the graves in Lviv. In the old part of the cemetery there are about 100 graves, in the new part there are more than 600.
https://futuredefensevisions.blogspot.com/2023/09/polish-volunteer-slawomir-wysocki.html
Seems as though the neocon, and the US-led NATO forces have only two specialties left: Starting other people’s wars followed later by “perception management”. It may have worked on boobus Americanus and our European cucks, but the whole rest of the world isn’t buying it anymore. I’d love to hear some commentary from Sun Tzu or von Clausewitz.
Without American dollars and equipment, the war would be over. stop the supply and watch. I think the actions of NATO and the U.S. are satanic.
Yeah Sure,
I agree…but dollars are not American (just fiat counterfeited fake digits- unbacked currency not real money) created by the Rothschild owned Banksters.
America is a long captured player through the DC City State and part of the unholy trinity
AKA The Whore of Babylon
NATHAN ROTHSCHILD: “WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE UKRAINE”
A worthy deep dive discussion…worth every single minute…this is pure gold if you want to get the historical BIG PICTURE and how important Ukraine really is to the enemy of the people of the Captured U.S. and the entire world.
What should it profit a man that he gain the world and lose his soul.
I’m with you buddy…now lets inhale the FUTURE (for our children and grandchildren) and exhale the PAST below…so we can expose the enemies of our’s and their souls!
THE 24-STEP PILGRIMS SOCIETY CORPORATIST IMPERIAL FEDERATION STRATEGY TO RETURN AMERICA TO BRITISH RULE
Lillian Scot Troy (Feb. 17, 24, 1912): (A GREAT AMERICAN LADY!)
Republished by Hon. Dr. Lt. Commander Jacob Thorkelson, MN, House of Representatives, p. 5168, Congressional Record, 76th Congress, 3rd Session, Appendix, Vol. 86, Part 17, Aug. 06, 1940, to Sep. 27, 1940 (pp. 4801-5932). GPO, Aug. 21, 1940. By Anonymous Patriots, June 3, 2020. Republishing is encouraged.
SPREAD THE TRUTH: Hon. Dr. Lt. Commander Thorkelson (Aug. 21, 1940): The following is what a few very ambitious but traitorous Americans in high positions could tell us if they would, and to which policies they have either pledged their wealth, their brains, or their influence. Many of these men are under pay from a fund [The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace] which has given none of its “peace” money to prevent war between Italy and Turkey, or any other nations or peoples at war; a fund which under a false name, is only being used, and only will be used to assist to the utmost the destruction of American independence, and the slow or fast betraying of America’s nationhood into the ready hands of the only genuine enemies she has ever had.
As far as can be ascertained, the following are the guidance rules laid down for the accomplishment of this secret society which we can make no mistake in calling the “Benedict Arnold Peace Society.”
1. Power of the President of the United States to be increased so as to gradually diminish the powers of Congress.
2. Supreme Court of the United States to be revised so as to embrace only judges agreeable to absorption by Great Britain, and uniformly hostile to the United States Senate.
3. Precedents must be established by said Court against the United States Senate in rulings, decisions, etc., (specially prepared).
4. Strong campaign must be waged in the several States and Territories against Congressmen and Senators showing hostility to Great Britain. If unsuccessful in defeating them, they must be continually watched until discovered in some overt act, mainly personal, and under threat of exposure forced to resign.
5. When the success of the arbitration treaties is assured a few unimportant disputes between the United States and Great Britain may arise, in which the preference must be given to the United States. These apparent victories must be widely advertised in order to create confidence in the propitiousness of arbitration with Great Britain. While the scope of the treaties must be of considerable latitude, care must be taken not to in any way bring such questions as to the fortification or navigation of the Panama Canal, or the Monroe Doctrine, into dispute until the situation is under firm control.
6. As soon as compatible with conditions, the arbitration treaties must be widened into an offensive and defensive alliance.
7. On accomplishment of same, British and American naval officers must be mutually exchanged, but care must be taken that this suggestion is made by an American.
8. Quietly and unobtrusively, American soldiers must be sent to Egypt and India; British soldiers may then be quartered in the United States.
9. English royalty, preferably the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, must be sent to Canada, from whence they must make frequent trips to New York. But great care must be taken not to enter Washington if there is a demonstration against them, ox [sic] until they have practically “held court” in New York.
10. The wives and daughters of men controlling great wealth and influence in America must be given preference at these “courts.” They must be selected carefully from every State and Territory in the United States. Thus a new “society,” through royal favor, must quietly and expeditiously be created.
11. Honors must be conferred on the husbands of women thus given preference in the social circles of America, and a rank or position determined by judiciously distributed decorations.
12. Honor must be conferred on all American officers favoring “peace.”
13. The women of men showing hostility to “peace” must be socially ostracized.
14. When a strong phalanx of influential people in favor of “peace” has been created, and the exchange of British and American naval officers accomplished, and as many as possible of the United States troops transported to India, the King and Queen of England may then visit Washington.
15. Should any demonstration of hostilities to their Majesties occur, the Hindu troops and the British may, in the absence of the American soldiers, quell any disturbances.
16. Men whose wealth prevents their being influenced by money must have honors and position and possibly a title dangled before their wives’ eyes.
17. When newspapers cannot be bought or leased, new publications must be started.
18. Educators must receive special favors in flattering newspaper notices; and wide publicity must not be given to Independence Day celebrations; people persisting in demonstrations must be “cut” and held up to ridicule. Any demonstrations with fireworks must be strongly opposed and discouraged on the ground of protection to life and property.
19. An elaborate celebration must be arranged to take place in the United States in 1915, to commemorate 100 years of peace between Great Britain and America, by which time the object and aim of “peace” will be at the apex of consummation.
20. Education of the masses must be discouraged, in order to create harmony with the desires of the wealthy and the several trusts, who will see in such a suggestion a strong tendency to reduce wages from their now unreasonable heights to the basis of wages paid in Great Britain; also, the suggestion that the ignorant cannot organize so formidably as the educated masses will be widely appreciated as dissension and suspicion of their own leaders can be more easily advanced.
21. A popular feeling against Irish immigration may be aroused in the United States by giving wide publicity to all individual cases of rejection of immigrants for reasons of acute poverty, insanity or criminality, or disease. The 24-step Imperial British Pilgrims Society Strategy to Return America to British Rule
22. Arbitration, offensive or defensive alliances, and finally peace must be brought about as quickly as possible. For the latter, armed compulsion may be necessary, and it is recommended that the Indian and British troops be altogether confined to the east of America, leaving the protection of the west to the Japanese troops, 80,000 of which are already scattered throughout the Sandwich Islands, Mexico, British Columbia, and California. Reciprocity with Canada can be passed almost unanimously through the American Congress, and then opposed bitterly in Canada on one ground only—that of annexation by the United States. Simultaneously with the rejection of reciprocity by the Canadian people, a member of the British royal family, preferably the Duke of Connaught, must take up his residence in Canada.
23. With the assistance of some interested and powerful trust, such as the Meat Trust, strained relations may be brought about between Germany and the United States; in such event, and with a defensive and offensive alliance with Great Britain, a casus belli [an act or situation provoking or justifying war] of England would be more easily turned into account by a simultaneous attack on Germany. Great Britain’s diplomatic relations with Germany must remain intact until the consummation of the alliances with the United States.
24. It is suggested to embrace France in the arbitration treaties, for the moment, as suspicion must not be created during the initial efforts.
MOUR: https://aim4truth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1912-01-1.pdf
CLICK ON TO ENLARGE – THE SPAWN OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE ENSLAVED US ALL…WHETHER WE REALIZE IT OR NOT:
The Ukraine war is a money theft, and laundering operation, disguised as a war….. Biden, the MIC, and Zelenski are getting very, very rich, and you are being stuck with the bill. A half million Ukrainians have been basically murdered by these criminals enrichening themselves….