There really is a Russian operation to interfere in U.S. politics. It turns out that the diabolical Russian duo of “Vovan and Lexus,” who specialize in getting Western politicians to say stupid things on air when they think they are talking to an ally, convinced former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former National Security Council/State Department wild man John Bolton that they were talking with Ukraine’s former President Petro Poroshenko.
Esper confided to the phony “Poroshenko,” as posted on Russia’s Rutube video platform yesterday: “Brave Ukrainian people are doing the dirty work of what we never wanted to do here in the United States, which is why we should continue to support you with everything we can, whether it’s munitions or arms or intelligence.” According to RT’s account, the former Secretary of Defense recommended that Ukraine conduct more strikes on Russian military warehouses and logistics centers, and that Kiev had “a sovereign right to conduct strikes on any targets you see fit,” including within Russia, explaining that an adversary with an off-limits “sanctuary” has an advantage. Esper qualified Ukraine’s sovereign right, cautioning that he assumed Kiev would not do anything that would undermine NATO’s support for Ukraine or that would push the Russians into rallying around Putin.
A week earlier, Bolton, who considers himself to be Presidential material, explained to “Poroshenko” why any hints of negotiation from the West must be squelched: “To me the important thing is to continue to push the Russians militarily—I think it’s a winnable war—and to stop efforts by, whether it’s the French, or the Germans, or whoever it might be, to try negotiating with the Russians.” He cited French President Emmanuel Macron’s repeated call for finding a deal that would be “acceptable” to Russia. Such behavior makes us “vulnerable,” said Bolton.
