Note:   Because I am being critical by NO means am I in support of Putin and his barbarity…..so please think and read before you accuse.

We have all seen the images of twisted melted equipment….the dead bodies…..the horrific tales of those fleeing the encroaching forces……we have heard the pleas and the accusations by Ukrainian dignitaries……and in all this not one major news outlet has taken a look at the leader of the nation……short of his TV comedic offerings…..

This is a horrific war and we as consumers of the news need to look deeper and stop all the adoration and fawning.

But first a little background from my friend Pete……

https://beetleypete.com/2022/04/07/ukraine-the-historical-timeline/

To begin with the neo-Nazis in Ukraine…..and how Zelensky snuggled up to them….

Back in October 2019, as the war in eastern Ukraine dragged on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Zolote, a town situated firmly in the “gray zone” of Donbas, where over 14,000 had been killed, mostly on the pro-Russian side. There, the president encountered the hardened veterans of extreme right paramilitary units keeping up the fight against separatists just a few miles away.

Elected on a platform of de-escalation of hostilities with Russia, Zelensky was determined to enforce the so-called Steinmeier Formula conceived by then-German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier which called for elections in the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. 

In a face-to-face confrontation with militants from the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion who had launched a campaign to sabotage the peace initiative called “No to Capitulation,” Zelensky encountered a wall of obstinacy. 

How Zelensky Made Peace With Neo-Nazis

Moving forward I recently wrote about the man, Zelensky, trying to show what I am on about……

Our Man Zelensky

Okay I admit it….I am antiwar…..war creates upheavals that could take decades to right…..

Zelensky began his consolidation with opposition parties and the medias…..

Ukraine plans to ban 11 political parties with ties to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a video released via Telegram on Sunday.

Driving the news: “Any activity of politicians aimed at splitting or collaborating will not succeed,” Zelensky said.

• The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine decided to ban the activity of Opposition Party — For Life, Shariy Party, Nashi, Opposition Bloc, Left Opposition, Union of Left Forces, State, Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialist Party of Ukraine, Socialists Party and Volodymyr Saldo Bloc, Zelensky said.

(axios.com)

Is there some reason that neo-Nazi parties like Svoboda not on this list?

Then he, Zelensky,  moved onto the Ukrainian media…..

bodaUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked his emergency powers under martial law to suppress several opposition political parties and implement a “unified information policy.”

…

Zelensky’s information policy involves “combining all national TV channels, the program content of which consists mainly of information and/or information-analytical programs, [into] a single information platform of strategic communication” to be called “United News.”

Zelensky said the measure was necessary to combat Russian misinformation and “tell the truth about the war.”

(theweek.com)

That is how propaganda becomes the ‘truth’ as Zelensky sees it.

So far there are more questions than answers about the man of the hour….a man thrust into the international stage by PR orchestrated campaign.

That aside…..Ukraine is being spun as this light of democracy in a volatile region of the world….but is it the dream the media and DC are selling?

I have my doubts and after reading Zelensky’s comments about the after days of this conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that post-war Ukraine will be like a “big Israel” and won’t be “liberal” like Europe.

“Ukraine will definitely not be what we wanted it to be from the beginning. It is impossible. Absolutely liberal, European — it will not be like that. It [Ukraine] will definitely come from the strength of every house, every building, every person,” Zelensky said. “We will become a ‘big Israel’ with its own face.”

The Ukrainian leader said he expects society to be highly militarized. “We will not be surprised if we have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in cinemas, supermarkets, and people with weapons. I am confident that the question of security will be the issue number one for the next 10 years. I am sure of it,” he added,” he said.

Zelensky insisted that such measures wouldn’t threaten democracy and wouldn’t turn Ukraine into an authoritarian state. “An authoritarian state would lose to Russia. People know what they are fighting for,” he said

However, since the war started, Zelensky has prohibited military-age males from leaving Ukraine, banned 11 opposition political parties, and nationalized the media. Hawks in the US often tout Ukraine as a “liberal democracy” worth defending, and President Biden has framed the conflict in Russia as a battle between “autocracy” and “democracy.”

(antiwar.com)

Like Israel?

You mean the suppression of minorities?  Or maybe the constant warfare with their neighbors?  What part of Israel is enviable?  Socially it sucks!

Because you have an election does not a democracy make.

Ukraine’s track record of protecting democracy and civil liberties is not much better than its performance on corruption. In Freedom House’s 2022 report, Ukraine is listed in the “partly free” category, with a score of 61 out of a possible 100. Other countries in that category include such bastions of liberal democracy as Rodrigo Duterte’s Philippines (55), Serbia (62), Hungary (59), and Singapore (47). Interestingly, Hungary—which has been a target of vitriolic criticism among progressives in the West because of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s conservative social policy—ranks eight points higher than Ukraine, which is the recipient of uncritical praise from the same Western ideological factions.

Even before the war erupted, there were ugly examples of authoritarianism in Ukraine’s political governance. Just months after the 2014 Maidan revolution, there were efforts to smother domestic critics, which accelerated as years passed. Ukrainian officials also harassed political dissidents, adopted censorship measures, and barred foreign journalists whom they regarded as critics of the Ukrainian government and its policies. Such offensive actions were criticized by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other independent observers. The neo‐​Nazi Azov Battalion was an integral part of President Petro Poroshenko’s military and security apparatus, and it has retained that role during Zelensky’s presidency.

(theamericanconservative.com)

Then there is what a GOP candidate has to say about Zelensky and Ukraine.

“Remember, as Zelensky is a hero now, Osama bin Laden was once considered a hero,” Fenton said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-sen-candidate-bruce-fenton-compares-volodymyr-zelensky-to-osama-bin-laden

NO I do not agree with that last statement…..but there needs to be more vetting of Zelensky by the media which failing its consumers by not doing so.

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