As RedState reported on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volydymy Zelensky went on a tirade attacking NATO, accusing the alliance of weakness of aiding Russia with its decisions.
That came in response to the ongoing NATO summit in Lithuania where member nations signaled they are not going to set a timeline on Ukraine joining the alliance.
(See: Zelensky Rages Out and Trashes NATO, Accuses the Alliance of Aiding Russia)
“It’s unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership. While at the same time vague wording about “conditions” is added even for inviting Ukraine. It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance.”
“This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine’s membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror. Uncertainty is weakness.”
As I explained in my previous write-up, Zelensky’s demands are simply not realistic. If Ukraine were to be admitted into NATO while in an active shooting war with Russia, every NATO nation would suddenly be drawn into open warfare due to Article 5 (which is the commitment to the mutual defense of member states).
Somehow surprisingly, the White House itself is now brushing back Zelensky.
U.S. blasts 'ungrateful' Zelensky after Kyiv slammed 'absurd' delay to NATO membership https://t.co/95FDuob3HH
— Logan Ratick (@Logan_Ratick) July 12, 2023
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a thinly-veiled warning to Kyiv one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went on a social media tirade over what he called an ‘absurd’ delay in offering his country a pathway to full NATO membership.
‘The United States of America has stepped up to provide an enormous amount of capacity to help ensure that Ukraine’s brave soldiers have the ammunition, air defense, the infantry, fighting vehicles, the mine clearing equipment and so much else to be able to effectively defend against Russia’s onslaught and to take territory back as well.
‘I think the American people do deserve a degree of gratitude from the United States government for their willingness to step up and from the rest of the world as well.’
In a thinly-veiled swipe at Zelensky’s criticism of his Western allies, Sullivan said some of the charges leveled against the U.S. were ‘entirely unfounded and unjustified.’
Sullivan is ultimately correct. Zelensky’s desperation is understandable, but that doesn’t change the reality on the ground. The Ukrainian counter-offensive has not gone as planned, with little territory regained and no sign that the Russians are ready to give up the fight. NATO can not allow itself to enter into a hot war with Russia, and to admit Ukraine at this point would guarantee that.
I will say that Zelensky’s anger is somewhat justified even if it’s unrealistic. For the last year and a half, Washington has used Ukraine as a messaging prop domestically and within the international order. Biden has continually declared the fight there a fight for “democracy” itself. All the while, the White House has done nothing to try to broker peace but has actively sought to push Ukraine further into the conflict as a way to weaken Russia. Given that, you can imagine how Zelensky feels having been brought to the door only to find it locked from the inside.
With all this said, do I think the Biden administration is on the precipice of re-evaluating its stance toward Ukraine and how we aid them in their war? I sincerely doubt that’s going to happen. Doing so would represent a massive walk-back by the president from his past, soaring proclamations. I don’t see Biden and his handlers wanting to lose face like that before the 2024 election.
Further, only $46 billion of the over $100 billion appropriated by Congress has been spent. That means there’s still a ton of cash that now must legally be spent toward the war effort in Ukraine. That will easily buy Biden enough time to get through the election.
