Day 621
The worst winter in history
„Habe dutzende Kerzen gekauft. Wir stellen uns auf den schlimmsten Winter jemals ein“ - Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba
Recent publications on behalf of — or with abundant quotations from — Ukraine’s senior military and political leaders, appearing mainly in the foreign press, including Dmytro’s ominous chit chat with Die Welt, focusing on a prolonged war, are hardly accidental12. They are clear evidence of months of procrastination that should lead to a necessary, long-overdue serious and honest conversation between Ukraine’s leaders and ordinary citizens about the prospects and costs of war — a polemic that should have started at least a year ago, if not earlier.
Our state-funded patriotic messaging machines, e.g. TV-Marathon and Telegram bot farms, have instead promoted 24/7 the illusion of the possibility of a quick military victory over Russia, widening the gap between expectations and reality. The issue of agreeing to a ceasefire (peace) with Russia is not at the core (psychological center of gravity) of this problem, although some blue-ticked shitposters on X might think so. It’s about fairness in sharing the burden of war between those in power and everyone else. In the context of a protracted, exhausting and bloody war, this question — about the fair distribution of the military burden — comes to the fore, the same question we mentioned on Day 5253, the one that Z has found enormously difficult to address (for what should be obvious reasons, re Shapovalov).
Which brings me back to what Z said on Saturday:
We must all get together and work with our partners to address Russian air superiority and receive air defense systems, in order for our guys to go on the offensive. That’s what we should be thinking about, and only about that. We should be not thinking about where we will be tomorrow, but where we are today4.
The “and only about that” part of his answer is annoying. I would argue that we should be thinking about tomorrow today, as well as about people in the rear who are living as if nothing has happened, public officials who have enriched themselves, et cetera. Also, no one likes being told what to think about, in the first place. It’s almost as bad as saying, “Putin is a fucking terrorist.”
Z might address the nation to explain that there will be no quick military victory in this war, just blood, toil, tears and sweat for the foreseeable future5.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight (Time Magazine, October 30, 2023)
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief on the breakthrough he needs to beat Russia. General Valery Zaluzhny admits the war is at a stalemate (November 1, 2023)
