Zelenskyy addresses UK Parliament. Johnson’s hypocrisy is breathtaking
There’s no doubt that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a brave man, staying in Ukraine to face down assassination attempts. But considering the appalling toll on his people, isn’t it questionable that he seems to have no time for peace, and in fact seems to want to drag the UK into war with Russia? And what about the hypocrisy of Boris Johnson, who has done everything he can to support rich Russians in the UK?
Am I wrong to find it really disturbing that the president of an invaded country gave an address to the UK Parliament and didn’t seem interested in peace at all?
I have to admit I’m having to take my information from the BBC’s report of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech – and it could, therefore, be skewed to accommodate propaganda requirements.
The report says Mr Zelenskyy called for Russia to be named a “terrorist state” and for allies to “make sure our skies are safe” – a tactful request for nations like the UK to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine that would drag them into the conflict, potentially to face a Russian nuclear missile attack.
He told MPs: “We will not surrender, we will not lose, we will go to the end.” Disturbingly, this implies that he’s refusing even to consider the possibility of a negotiated peace.
To make matters worse, Mr Zelenskyy then had to put up with the UK’s prime minister, who has done everything possible to protect Russians with money in this country, and who has done everything he could to prevent Ukrainian refugees (who don’t have money) from gaining entry to the UK, pontificating about the pathetic non-help he is offering.
Johnson said Mr Zelenskyy had “moved the hearts of everybody” watching, and pledged to “press on with tightening the economic vice” around Russian President Vladimir Putin, even though his Economic Crime Bill, said to be intended to do just that, in fact offers Russian oligarchs (especially those who donate cash to the Conservative Party?) a way to avoid any penalties at all.
Most embarrassing of all, it seems Johnson then tried to imitate late US President John F Kennedy’s famous speech about Berlin, by saying, “I think today, one of the proudest boasts in the free world is, ‘Ya Ukrainets’ – ‘I am a Ukrainian’.”
Breathtaking hypocrisy – as This Writer predicted on Twitter before the event:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the House of Commons this evening. I wonder how he will feel, knowing this nation's prime minister pays lip-service to helping Ukraine while actually doing everything he can for his Russian donors? #PoliticsLive
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) March 8, 2022
Considering the huge – and indefinite – effects of this war, is it wrong that this whole episode made This Writer’s flesh crawl?
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At last! Somebody is saying what I have been thinking!
Are we so blind and so servile to Tory ideology that we have failed to see how the leadership of Ukraine is refusing to contemplate some kind of negotiated settlement that would end the awful suffering we see all day on all TV programmes and ALL newspapers in Britain?
You would think that Zelensky, and others, would be looking in all directions for some kind of deal with Russia to put an end to the death and destruction. Exploring all options to stop it.
Maybe become a neutral country!? Maybe let the mainly-Russian provinces of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk break away and rejoin Russia?
Maybe join NATO but on a particular basis that would allow SOME NATO troops onto Ukrainian soil but not enough to pose a direct threat to Russia? Or to join NATO but with the agreement of NATO that pre-existing , perennial conflicts would not automatically trigger full NATO involvement in warfare?
Maybe invent a kind of probationary NATO membership, a period in which the conflict is assessed before NATO allows full membership?
I have just thought up some of these ideas while sipping a cup of tea! There is a world of ideas and settlement proposals that could be considered rather than allow this horror to drag on.
After all, the current NATO leadership is , quite rightly, wary of doing too much and precipitating a Third World War.
The Ukrainian leadership almost seems to welcome one!
You are not wrong Mike. Zelensky has been moving ever closer to the neo Nazi elements to save his own position and life. The neo Nazis in Ukraine have been terrorising not only Russian speaking peoples in Donbass, but also in Western Ukraine itself. They have openly threatened to kill and imprison anyone caught saying bad things about themselves, the Azov Battalion, Svoboda et al or saying anything that might be perceived as pro Russian. They informed openly on camera, that if Zelensky sought peace with Putin, he would be considered a traitor and traitors are shot. I saw the video and whoever was taking the footage was interpreting – it was terrifying.
Also meant to say be careful, anyone questioning the merits of Putin rescuing the Russian speaking Donbass civilians being murdered are being verbally abused. The abuse is even worse than that dished out by vicious Brexiteers against Remainers and you need people onside. I know you have the courage of your convictions, I wouldn’t donate to you if I didn’t know this, but you must bear it in mind when you blog, no matter if what you are saying is the truth.
Stay safe.
Of course I haven’t said anything about Putin rescuing the eastern Ukrainian regions, so I don’t think I’ve had criticism.
My solution would be for the people in those regions to hold a referendum on whether they should remain in Ukraine or become independent.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy knows Putin will not accept peace unless it means total Russian takeover of Ukraine. However, here in the west we do not have detailed knowledge of Ukranian internal politics and do not forget Zelenskyv is attempting to get the west to do more to help Ukraine.
However that vile little fascist dictator duck johnson is doing everything he can to prevent Ukrainian refugee women, children and men from entering his so-called pristine little england! The hyprocisy and arrogance of little fascist dictator duck johnson is appalling!
We do know Putin is a despicable bully who will not want to ‘lose face’ by accepting any peace arrangement so for the present it is an impasse and as usual it is women and children dying because of men’s intransigence!
I don’t let your misandrist remarks go through but your final point here, I think, is fair: women and children dying because of men’s intransigence.
That said, look at Liz Truss.