McCain’s Legacy in Ukraine – More Weapons, More Death

Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean John McCain is done killing people he hated.  Since McCain was a hate-filled troll whose life was spent dodging responsibility for his actions it follows that he worked to his dying breath to cover up his crimes and the crimes of his compatriots.

And the conflict in Ukraine is one of those crimes.  Over the weekend Donestk People’s Republic leader Alexander Zakharchenko was assassinated in Donestk.  Want to get an idea of just how insanely biased U.S. reporting on this is?  How far we’ve fallen as a people thanks to John McCain’s virulent hatred for all things Russian?

Take a look at this snapshot after doing a simple search for ‘Zakharchenko death” on Bing:

A quick search of who is “Stopfake.org,” the top link gets you almost no information as to who owns the site.  But, one step further reveals this is a Ukrainian site.  Now, how does a small Ukrainian site make it to the top of Bing’s search crawl?  In fact, look at all of those results.  They are all small outfits with zero news credentials.

This would be like seeing me, Moon of Alabama and The Saker at the top of a news search about the operation to retake Idlib.  It defies all logic.

So, the Information War is continuing in full.  Got it.  It’s obvious the ground is being prepped for a major escalation of the stalemate between Ukraine and the Donbass.  Because it is necessary for NATO to retain its relevance in the face of Trump’s open questioning its mission.

This is why U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine and former head of, you guessed it the John McCain Institute, Kurt Volker told the British rag The Guardian over the weekend that the U.S. was ‘absolutely’ prepared to send more weapons to Ukraine for its defense.

Volker’s appointment last year was a coup for McCain. It signaled that Ukraine was not going to be settled by Trump as Volker would stall all talks and ensure the flow of arms a beleaguered Ukrainian Armed Forces.

An outstanding article at Strategic Culture Foundation by Peter Korzun outlines what’s going on in Congress in support of Volker’s statements this weekend.

Ukraine has officially requested US air-defense systems. According to Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, the Ukrainian military wants to purchase at least three air-defense systems. The cost of the deal is expected to exceed $2 billion, or about $750 million apiece. The system in question was not specified, but it’s generally believed to be the Patriot.

Volker’s statement was made at a time of rising tensions in the Sea of Azov, which is legally shared by Ukraine and Russia. It is connected to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait. The rhetoric has heated up and ships have been placed under arrest as this territorial dispute turns the area into a flashpoint. Russia has slammed the US for backing Ukraine’s violations of international law in the area. According to a 2003 treaty, the Sea of Azov is a jointly controlled territory that both countries are allowed to use freely.

Now, whether that request will be granted is another story, but things are moving in a dangerous direction in the Sea of Azov.  Ukrainian President and U.S. puppet Petro Poroshenko is urging the legislature to end the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russia.

This is the treaty which establishes the borders between Ukraine and Russia and it’s repudiation by Ukraine is a direct consequence of Ukraine’s seizing a Crimean fishing vessel earlier this year.  The Treaty establishes the joint use of the Sea of Azov and the U.S./Ukraine are looking for legal means by which to challenge Russia over use of it.

They are hopping mad about the Kerch Strait Bridge which establishes a landlink between the Russian mainland and Crimea.  The situation in the Sea of Azov has deteriorated as Russia’s coast guard has effectively bottled up Ukraine’s navy, such as it is.

And it should come as no surprise that Volker talked at length about the state of Ukraine’s navy.  More from his announcement via The Guardian:

“We can have a conversation with Ukraine like we would with any other country about what do they need,” Volker said, according to the Guardian.

“I think that there’s going to be some discussion about naval capability because as you know their navy was basically taken by Russia. And so they need to rebuild a navy and they have very limited air capability as well. I think we’ll have to look at air defense,” he added.

While the EU has ended accession talks with Ukraine NATO continues to worm its way into the country.  It’s still an ‘aspirant nation’ and the clear signal here is that Russia’s aggression versus Ukraine is proof of a continued need for NATO’s existence.

Volker is nothing if not a good soldier for the McCain wing of U.S. foreign policy.

And that’s where this is headed, conflict, McCain-style.  He wanted a war with Russia and his minions and legacy are all aligned to create that conflict to maintain that course.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin understands the situation very well.  And he has been playing this war of attrition with the U.S. very well for years.  Zakharchenko’s assassination was meant to provoke Russian hardliners in the Duma to outrage and strengthen their opposition to Putin’s passivity.

If Putin wanted to retake the Donbass he would have by now.  In fact, he has urged the breakaway republics to not ask for reunification with Russia for purely geopolitical reasons.

It would provoke the kind of response from the U.S. and Europe that would end any chance for peace and would invite even more isolation from Europe.  By keeping the conflict frozen, unfortunately, people keep dying, which fuels McCain’s legacy, Ukraine is drained further nearing failed state status but the worst is avoided.

Putin continues to play for time while the U.S. continues to find ways to create conflict.  But, as Rotislav Ischenko pointed out recently, if Ukraine abrogates the Friendship Treaty with Russia it opens the door for Putin to then do what he’s been unwilling to do to this point, invite the LPR and DPR into Russia and claim the Sea of Azov as Russian territorial waters.

This would force Germany and France to denounce Russia.  It would end the growing rapprochement between Germany and Russia begun a few weeks ago and undermine French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a new strategic relationship with Russia (and Turkey).

In my latest article for Strategic Culture I talk about Macron’s offer to Russia.  And the question is:

So which path does this offer by Macron represent? The one that leads to European independence on foreign and energy policy out from under the umbrella of NATO and the U.S. and into an agreement with Russia and Turkey, as Macron said.

Or is it simply a stalking horse for further EU integration after Trump is removed from office and the original path paved by Obama re-established but this time with Russia neutered having betrayed its allies, China and Iran?

I’m betting Putin isn’t that stupid.

John McCain however was.  And people continue to die because of his congenital and emotional defects.

---

To support more work like this and get access to exclusive commentary, stock picks and analysis tailored to your needs join my more than 160 Patrons on Patreon and see if I have what it takes to help you navigate a world going slowly mad.