Seeking new allies: Ukraine in new reality

The war in Ukraine has created a geopolitical paradox where 500-million-strong, high-tech Europe under NATO’s umbrella no longer expects protection from its 335-million-strong ally, the United States, against aggressive 140-million Russia. And Article 5 of the Washington Declaration. 

Surprisingly, Europeans have discovered a simple truth: it is the 30-million-strong Ukraine, currently holding a worthy defense against the aggressor with minimal partner support, that can truly protect them from Russia. What if efforts are united and this support is increased? And later, help Ukraine overcome its internal challenges?

Ukrainians, who first took the blow of the arrogant evil empire, aimed for the same result but followed a different path. We also long hoped for U.S. President Joe Biden, who sympathized deeply with Ukraine and promised to deliver weapons any day to help defeat Russia.

But the weapons of victory never arrived, because it turned out America feared our victory, it could trigger the disintegration of nuclear Russia with unpredictable consequences. Meanwhile, America planned to trade with Russia... So, everything circles back to business and money. And what does NATO and the infamous Article 5 have to do with this?

We still cannot forgive Grandpa Joe for such duplicity. Although he certainly had his own truth and arguments (including those just mentioned) to justify his vague stance, which allowed this war to escalate to catastrophic proportions. But these emotions and so-called arguments mostly stem from the policy imposed by Ukraine’s current state leaders, that someone is obliged to protect us, provide billion-dollar grants, and supply better and better weapons and military equipment. Meanwhile, the country could have been left unprepared for defense.

Even after four years of war, no one has managed to organize proper weapon and reinforcement supplies to the frontline. The Defense Forces number about 1 million servicemen, but only 200,000 soldiers participate in combat operations. Yet the backbone of these forces is made up of heroic titans. They hold the defense not thanks to, but despite the top leadership of the army and the country.

Since the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the country’s president, practically does not understand military affairs (nor civilian ones), he chooses staff who are just as clueless, people who understand even less about anything outside of skimming off the state budget.

General Zaluzhnyi ended up in this hierarchy of state management entirely by chance, the worst kind of selection. Meanwhile, the servile General Syrskyi, who relentlessly undermines the army with constant reshuffling of brigade and battalion commanders in search of the most obedient and loyal, fits right into place.

Finally, Grandpa Joe stepped down from the helm of his mighty ship, and a deceived Ukraine said goodbye to its dreams of victory. It was left with serious doubts: would it be possible to stop Russia and keep independence? It quickly became clear that without even the weak but friendly support of the American grandpa, we were left alone not with one, but with two enemies. One was on the battlefield, and the other was in the government offices of Ukraine’s Bermuda Triangle — our unprofessional but greedy and arrogant team of domestic “effective managers” from the Presidential Office, Parliament, and Cabinet.

Seemingly chosen by the worst criteria, these people have Ukrainian citizenship but also hold passports of their historical homelands, where their bank accounts reside, evidently growing exponentially in recent years. These “managers” want to profit more from our sacred war than to restore order in the country and stop the invasion of hostile hordes. At least the scandals over the loss of billions on arms, equipment, and food procurement for the army, which have accompanied our information space throughout the war, clearly prove this.

Still, Ukraine lives on and resists the external enemy with all its might, who desperately wants to bring Ukraine back into the imperial stable. President Zelenskyy urges foreign partners to continue pressuring Russia, hoping at least not to lose, if not to win, and at least to stop the fighting.

Surprisingly, Ukrainians first need to put pressure on their own president and Supreme Commander-in-Chief to remove from power all those he once thoughtlessly allowed near the reins. He should appoint responsible and patriotic Ukrainian generals who have proven their effectiveness in battle to lead the resistance forces, with whose help we managed to endure these difficult war years.

The best option is to admit the mistake and return General Zaluzhnyi, who needs no time to get up to speed operationally, to lead the resistance forces and grant him the appropriate authority, with the Supreme Commander promising not to interfere in military affairs or personnel policy. Only then could we hope for a rapid change in the situation within a few months.

Do you think Zelenskyy is capable of such an honest and noble step? I doubt it. If only civil society, united with the patriotic command, would pressure him… But so far, civil society is only able to organize fundraising and purchase critical equipment for the army. Yes, that’s important for defense, but it turns out not enough for victory.

In this deadlock, the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war and Ukraine’s fate will now largely depend not on the U.S. but on Europe’s main leaders. European political leaders seem to have understood the unacceptable nature of repeating the 1938 Munich betrayal, when the leaders of England and France tried to buy peace from Hitler at the cost of sacrificing Czechoslovakia.

In the end, they received both shame and war. It seems the current leaders of France, Great Britain, and Germany remember this historical lesson. But so far, they are acting very slowly, hoping for renewed support from the new U.S. president, Donald Trump, who might come to his senses. Maybe he will. But neither Ukraine nor the EU should count on his decisive support.

Of course, Europe cannot help on the scale the U.S. under Joe Biden did (and for which we harshly criticized him). Maybe later, when Europe develops its own military-industrial complex. But we have already started building ours with the help of active and conscious Western industrialists. And — there is no evil without good! — This is our chance in a few months or years to bring our military-industrial potential to the top global standards. This could become the foundation for the rise of the entire Ukrainian industry in future peaceful times.

An alliance of high-tech Europe and Ukraine’s battle-hardened innovative army could be a viable and powerful bloc capable of guaranteeing peace on the continent and quickly cooling overheated egos, not only in Russia. The logic of geopolitical development is heading exactly in this direction, if we don’t get in our own way. Isn’t that so?

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About the author. Viktor Moroz, Ukrainian publicist and commentator.

The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.