President Joe Biden signs a guest book during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at Mariinsky Palace during an unannounced visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 20, 2023. Evan Vucci/Pool via REUTERS
WNU Editor: There has been nothing but praise in the Western media on President Biden's trip to Kyiv, and deservedly so .... Joe Biden Made a Surprise Visit to Ukraine as Air Raid Sirens Blared (DNYUZ/Vice). More here .... Zelensky on Biden visit to Ukraine: ‘Historic. Timely. Brave.’ (The Hill), and here .... Biden on surprise visit to Ukraine: "One year later, Kyiv stands" (Axios).
But what is not mentioned in the press is that every Western leader has had to contact the Kremlin that their leader was going to Ukraine at a certain date to make sure that no Russian missiles or air attacks would happen when they are there. President Biden included (link here).
So the big question is .... why is the Kremlin permitting Biden, Macron, Scholz, Johnson, Sunak, Trudeau, and other Western leaders to go to Kyiv. If you watch/listen/read Russian news, you would notice immediately that these visits are always being used to reinforce the Kremlin's narrative that this is a war between NATO and Russia. These visits are also being used by the Kremlin to send a message to the non-Western world that the West is a bloc that may threaten you in the future.
So why did President Biden go?
Some are saying it would have been an embarrassment if he did not go, especially since he is next door in Poland. But I think the big reason is that many in the Pentagon and in the West are worried on the state of the war, and Biden had to not only go to Ukraine to reinforce US support of the war, but to tell Zelensky personally that the situation must change on the ground or he will lose this conflict.
20 comments:
Wry interesting perspective WNU. It almost seems like NATO is being slowly backed into a corner and will soon have to make some big decisions.
"US support of the war, but to tell Zelensky personally that the situation must change on the ground or he will lose this conflict."
The above statement makes zero sense. In the aftermath of the time of the Karkhiv and Kherson offensives, there were reports that the US generals were telling the Ukrainians to hold their horses and wait for more men and material to arrive before launching the next offensive.
But Democrats. Democrats can have their cake and eat it too.
He went because Putin has his own speech tomorrow.
comments here guess rthat he went for this or that reason when in fact what he said makes it clear that comments were all wrong. Biden said America will continue to support Ukraine and continue to send aid. Moscow informed of visit to ensure they did nothing rash to interfere
Periodically during the past sixty years, American presidents have stood up at the Eastern edge of Europe and looked to Russia to say, “We stand with our allies. Our resolve is unshakeable.”
Kennedy said, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall.” Biden, on his surprise President’s Day visit to Kyiv said, “One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine strands. Democracy stands.”
Stirringly, just days ahead of the one year anniversary of Russia’s brutal offensive against Ukraine, Biden walked through the streets of Kyiv, paid his respects to those who had fallen in defense of Ukraine, and said, “Freedom is priceless. It’s worth fighting for, for as long as it takes.”
Another thing, if the Kremlin knew Biden was there, and the air raid sirens were blazing, did Russia launch missiles and drones into Kyiv while the president was there? Or was Adolf Zelensky just projecting fear and a sense of urgency? What a gong show
Symbols matter: a Kennedy or a Reagan at the Berlin Wall, a Churchill with a cigar and a bowler, for that matter a green-clad Zelensky growling, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” Simply by taking the hazardous trip to Kyiv, Biden made a strategic move of cardinal importance.
While the president clearly intended to bolster the confidence of Ukraine, and the commitment of ambivalent Europeans and neo-isolationist Americans, his real audiences lay elsewhere, as his remarks about Western strength indicated. Russia has cycled through a series of theories of victory in Ukraine—that Kyiv’s leaders would flee, that Ukraine’s population would not fight, that its army would be crumpled up by a sudden blitz or by grinding assaults. It has been reduced to one last hope: that Vladimir Putin’s will is stronger than Joe Biden’s. And Biden just said, by deed as well as word, “Oh no it’s not.”
This is a gut punch to Russia’s leader. The Russians received word of the trip, we are informed—and presumably the threat, stated or implied, that they would get a violent and overwhelming response if they attempted to interfere with it. For a leader obsessed with strength, like Putin, that is a blow. His own people will quietly or openly ask, “Why could we not prevent this?” And the answer, unstated, will have to be, “Because we were afraid.”
Kreml8n permission? Lol...that's why times , dates, routes are top secret
Fred Lapides @ 2:52 PM (yahoo article) & 2:56 PN (Atlantic.com article)
https://news.yahoo.com/biden-trip-kyiv-ultimate-humiliation-133842594.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/biden-ukraine/673135/
From the Atlantic:
Biden Just Destroyed Putin’s Last Hope
The president’s visit to Ukraine was a gut punch to the Russian leader.
By Eliot A. Cohen
Both Cohen and Lapides are delusional.
IMO if the Soviets, I mean Russians, win, it will be like how they won against Finland.
BREAKING THE MANNERHEIM LINE: SOVIET STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL ADAPTATION IN THE FINNISH-SOVIET WINTER WAR
- War on the Rocks
Correction the Yahoo piece is really from the Daily Beast and merely rebroadcast from Yahoo.
The piece by David Redhead (or Woodhead) is interesting. It is peak wingnut.
Somehow Joe Biden's visit is a humiliation for Trump. Go figure.
Wnu , There's a huge difference between giving the Kremlin a heads up, and asking for permission.
Lolololololololololo!!!!
kremlin told in secret it was going to happen. No permission was sought. None given. It was a clear signal of our continuing support.
But haters here keep telling us that Joe is over the hill and weak etc etc. Wrong on that too.
I love why stalkers must try to track where I get quotes from. Shows they have nothing on their own to say. If you do not like the material, why not tell us why. That is the mature thing to do.
Joe is not weak; Joe is not strong. Joe has dementia. He is a non-entity. As a nonentity he cannot be weak nor strong.
No permission sought does not prove the journey was dangerous. This is true simply because of MAD.
"must try to track where I get quotes from."
Quotes. 3 to 6 paragraph long quotes. You could be mistaken for McMillan.
Since Putin has spes in all European and US governments, he knows immediately when they will meet and the supstance of the discussions. It makes more sense to let these happen and gather the intel. Some will try and influence discussions in a pro Russian way as a bonus.It's a win win for Putin.
The Chinese certainly knew first because they have better friends.
It is not bad for wishful thinking some times.
Lololololo, hahahahaha!
2:52 PM
2:56 PM Lol Biden inspires no such confidence.
2:52 PM *yawn* blah-blah-blah
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