I cheered silently when I read the headline on France 24 about Russia’s Putin saying the Ukraine grain deal won’t be restored until the West meets Moscow’s demands on its agricultural exports. Russia must counter the maniacal strategies with weighty consequences, or the Ukraine bloodbath will continue perpetually. Why should the Russians give an inch after being pushed into the corner? The sooner the public understands this, the sooner we can demand a stop.
Russia set a record for the most grain exports in its history. And the Russians rule supreme when it comes to growing and exporting wheat. The country harvests as much grain as the United States and Canada combined. So, why is everyone in the West so concerned about Ukraine’s grains? The reason is simple: Western oligarchs have a lot tied up in Ukraine’s agriculture, and if they can’t supply the Europeans and other “friendly” consumers, they’ll lose billions. Most people understand by now that the bulk of Ukraine’s agricultural products go to the EU and not to starving folks in Somalia.
The France 24 story by François PICARD sources former U.S. to Azerbaijan Ambassador Matthew Bryza, who claims “Putin is using the gain deal as a political tool.” (Duh! And why not?) It is no coincidence that Bryza is on the Jamestown Foundation think tank board and is Regional Director and Managing Partner at the Ballard Partners international lobbying firm. The firm recently opened a new office in Lagos, Nigeria, to counter Russian and Chinese influence there. Bryza is also on the Board of Turcas, a publicly traded energy company, and co-founder and CEO of IKAR Energy Group. I suggest the Sherlocks among you go deep into the IKAR Institute think tank in Austria to find more important names and companies. Anyhow, so much for unbiased reporting from France 24.
Moving on, a meeting between Russia’s Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Ung is splashed all over Western propaganda channels. The New York Times has it (through classified intel) that Mr. Putin aims to trade nuclear submarines to the North Koreans for some missiles and other ammo to shoot at the Zelensky Nazis (what’s left of them). And even though the story wreaks of inaccuracies, what if Russia buys missiles, drones, or other armaments from North Korea? The United States and its allies have armed the Ukraine fascists to the teeth and are paying worker salaries for the Kyiv junta.
As they say, “All’s fair in love and war.” So, if Putin buys Klingon Battlecruisers with active cloaking, it’s just a good leader protecting his people’s interests. After all, Russian Armata tanks are not rolling up to the Mexico-US border just yet. So it’s just no big deal what other nations discuss unless El Paso or San Diego are threatened.
Finally, there are no signs that the ruling oligarchs in the West will allow peace to come to Ukraine. A recent Foreign Affairs report by former Ambassador to the OSCE Daniel Baer used lingo and more of the same propaganda that got Ukraine into this mess. “Putin Races Against the Clock” is another pep talk for Washington to keep funneling weapons and money and leveraging allies to attack Russia. The fact that Ukraine is losing this conflict badly and that Zelensky has no hope whatsoever of reclaiming territories is set aside by the openly gay American politician. Baer claims that a desperate Russian leader will become “more brutal and sadistic.” The story reads like a roundup of every Neocon Russophobia fantasy mixed with anger from the author that Putin is not gay. No, I am serious.
The current executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education (scary, huh?) has a phobia or two. Excuse me, but “sadistic” has been defined by U.S., British, and EU actions on the killing fields of Ukraine. Who could overlook Putin’s reserve in not obliterating Kyiv, snuffing out Zelensky, or blasting Western dignitaries visiting the comic coke snorter dictator? Sadistic is when a leader presses kids, the wonder, and the elderly into service to attack impenetrable defense. Ukraine has lost almost 500,000 soldiers and probably twice as many wounded. The same people have left the country. It’s utterly destroyed, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest for 2022. And Putin is the sadist for holding the line while American mafia bosses push Ukrainians into the guns, mines, and missiles.
When history is written about Russia’s demilitarization of Ukraine, the actual causes, what transpired, and why Russia’s president was forced to practice “tit-for-tat” strategies will be crystal clear. I only wonder who in the West, if anyone, will be held accountable for the most horrific bloodletting since the Vietnam War.
Phil Butler, is a policy investigator and analyst, a political scientist and expert on Eastern Europe, he’s an author of the recent bestseller “Putin’s Praetorians” and other books. He writes exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.