Translating from the UNIAN:
"The "Chihuahua" is not an underdog. How Ukraine "beat the cards" of Trump
Andrey Popov, journalist, 06.06.25
The impressive - literally - Operation Spiderweb was no less shocking for the White House than for the Kremlin. For two reasons. Firstly, it is a clear example of the fact that spending $175 billion on the giant air defense system "Golden Dome" is useless in modern conditions, when a small FPV drone from a truck is capable of damaging any, even the most important, facility.
The Americans in the administration were not so much happy for the success of the Ukrainians as they sympathized with the Russians, extrapolating such an attack onto themselves. Simply put, Ukraine showed that the old approaches are ineffective, and it is on them that the US dominance in the world is based.
Secondly, Trump personally perceives Ukrainian attacks on the Russian Federation, against a "more powerful country", as provocations, while Russian strikes on Ukraine are a manifestation of "greatness". Trump himself bombs the Houthis in the same way. And although the Yemenis are certainly not our friends, there is a direct parallel - few people criticize the US "right" to bomb them with whatever they want. Because they are "big", and Yemen is "small" and, in principle, is not capable of defeating the Americans.
The latest insider information in the media, where Ukraine is compared to a "Chihuahua" and the Russian Federation to a "big dog", clearly demonstrates such parallels. In fact, the "friendship" of Trump, Putin and Xi is based on this perception of "greatness" - that there are "big" countries that have the right to everything, and all the rest that must be obedient to the hegemons.
There is direct competition between their states for zones of influence, so there are enough problems in relations between them, but on a personal level - they are like-minded. And Ukraine is a kind of "underdog" in their perception, which dared to challenge this worldview and showed that with asymmetric actions it is capable of not only taking a blow from one of the "big ones", but also hitting the most painful places, so that convulsions occur throughout this "big carcass".
Ukraine has shown that it has "cards", in Trump's own terminology. Moreover, all attempts to put pressure on Kyiv to "end the war in 24 hours" (of course, at the expense of Ukrainian concessions) have yielded nothing. On the contrary, Ukraine and Zelensky personally, whom Trump has not been able to stand since his first term (because he refused to provide dirt on Biden's son, which, according to Trump, is why the last election was "stolen" from him) have become popular in Europe again under this pressure.
Ukraine has become the "core" of the new EU defense strategy. And Brussels and European countries have already begun to make their demands on Trump. And Japan and Asian countries have begun to resist and even respond to "customs wars." Israel and Iran have dared to resist Trump's "agreements" and so on - the list will be long.
That is, a "cascade effect" has started - everyone has decided that they can, like the Ukrainians, ignore the demands of the White House, which has resulted in Ukraine achieving a more or less acceptable, although not very effective, agreement on an investment fund instead of an openly colonial agreement on subsoil resources. This simply irritates the current US government like crazy. And that is why they did not resist much when Putin, in a conversation with Trump, asked for permission to "strike revenge" on Ukraine.
The famous post of the American president almost directly says that "you have the right to bomb Ukraine in response if you make concessions on Iran." Yes, for some reason the White House still believes that Iran is dependent on the Kremlin, and not the other way around. And that Putin can set some conditions for the ayatollah. Although in reality everything is just the opposite.
By the way, the fact that Trump is tying Ukraine and Iran into one "deal" is no longer news. In fact, this is precisely why both "tracks" are being conducted by the US President's special envoy for the Middle East, Witkoff. Where is Ukraine, and where is the Middle East? But if this is one deal, then everything is logical. One big deal that fell apart because of Ukraine's refusal to capitulate on the Kremlin's terms... The Ukrainians have ruined all of Trump's ambitious plans for "greatness" and have become that small (in his opinion) pebble on the path over which he stumbled and may now fall. There are problems with India and there is no "deal" with China. Everything has gone to hell.
And Trump is grasping at Putin's influence as if it were a "straw" that should keep him afloat under the pressure of external and internal problems. And it is at this moment of vulnerability that the Ukrainians hit the Russians where it hurts most - the "nuclear triad", which again ruins the White House's plans. What the hell is going on...
They are striking at the "big" Russian Federation and don't even ask permission! What "impudence" from a "Chihuahua". It is not for nothing that American media outlets one after another presented as a sensation that the Ukrainians did not coordinate the strikes on the Russian Federation with the White House. And also as an excuse to Putin that "it wasn't us - it was them themselves, and we continue to be friends".
This also broke the Kremlin's "map" a little, because the whole "myth" of the so-called "SVO" for the "deep-dwellers" is built around the idea that they are fighting "with all of NATO", and Ukraine "does not exist", "has already been defeated", "is a puppet of the West". And now it turns out that Ukraine itself is fighting and conducting powerful operations, to which the Kremlin has nothing to respond with, because they are already using everything they can. There were attempts to show Ukraine as a "British puppet" or "French", but the Russian audience did not accept this.
But let's get back to the US. To show his displeasure, US Defense Secretary Hegseth not only refused to chair a meeting of the Rammstein group (not the one that plays rock, but the one that provides weapons to Ukraine), but skipped the event altogether. And this despite the fact that he was right next door in Europe that day. Then it became known that Hegseth took the anti-missile detonators for American needs, which were specially purchased for Ukraine during Biden's time and specially adapted to combat the "Shaheds". And this against the backdrop of the announced "revenge strike".
However, these decisions were made even before Operation Spider Web - it was "punishment" for previous Ukrainian "antics" in defending their own national interests. Nevertheless, following the strikes on Russian planes, Trump personally criticized Zelensky again.
But such a policy did not lead to any successes in cooperation with the Kremlin, but to the formation of the image of the American administration as "weak". After all, it did not side with the victors, who on that day in the media were the Ukrainians. Trump would have been respected much more if he had supported the strike and shown that this was a punishment for the Kremlin, which the Americans have long been hinting at.
Or better yet, he would have introduced the promised sanctions as punishment for possible "revenge strikes" against Ukraine. But no - Trump essentially "allowed" Putin to do whatever he pleases. Thus demonstrating that he is dependent on the Kremlin and relies on it in his failed "deals".
Who wants to be on the side of a "weak" administration that is unable to reach a single "agreement" from a position of strength or even gather the necessary votes for the "BIG BILL" that MAGA Republicans are already openly criticizing? Indeed, if Ukrainians can resist Trump's pressure, then why can't Americans themselves? Because, as the American president himself has already proven, in all cases when he encounters real resistance, he begins to back down. This has also been proven by China and the EU in the tariff negotiations.
If the president is "weak", then you can put pressure on him to get what you want. And now Elon Musk, who practically lived with Trump immediately after the elections, is starting a media campaign to put pressure on his "patron". It has already gone so far that Musk is even conducting a survey to create a separate party of "Trumpists" against Trump.
The political summer in the US will definitely be hot, because the election campaign for the 2026 by-elections to Congress has already begun. And now all groups in the Republican Party are offering their ideas for improving the rating, if Trump's plans are failing one after another. The same Senator Graham with his "sanctions act" against the Russian Federation is conducting his campaign as a defender of Ukraine and Euro-Atlantic solidarity, coordinating activities with the EU and Secretary of State Rubio. And this is quite advantageous for us.
The fact that the MAGA team is demoralized is evident, in particular, from the example of the aforementioned Witkoff as an apologist for betting on Putin in all problematic areas. He has practically disappeared from the media "radar". Why did this realtor, who tried to decide the fate of other nations on the principle of "buy and sell", suddenly go quiet? Because he has no successes. And this gives an advantage in the apparatus struggle to the Rubio-Kellogg team, who, on the contrary, have become very active, and who are now cooperating with the same Graham and others dissatisfied with the current course of the Republicans...
As a result, we see how Ukraine not only gets "cards", but also changes the political reality as a whole simply by not giving in. But the underestimation of us by the Americans led to their erroneous expectations and plans, where the key role was given to Putin, whose "cards" turned out to be much weaker than Trump and his pro-Russian advisers expected. Now we and the whole world are waiting for a change in the course of the American administration.
And there are two options - to completely distance himself and show himself as a "loser", or to unite with the Europeans and Ukrainians and receive the "laurels" of the leader of the democratic world, who made a powerful "comeback". Rubio, apparently, is already preparing for this moment, which looks closer. Of course, if some new "black swan" does not happen, which will change all the alignments. Now the main indicator for a change of course is the recognition of the failure of the "Iranian deal" and the agreements with the Kremlin on Ukraine.
We hold the line and wait for changes, not forgetting that every blow to the Russian Federation and its income will bring these changes closer."
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