After Ukraine’s acting president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dug in his heels on withdrawing from the small section of the Donetsk Region (20% and dropping), after the attempted hit on a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and after a targeted and successful hit on over 70 civilians on New Year’s Eve, the latest installment of the Coalition of the Willing Europeans began on Jan. 3 in Kiev. It would be a lot for statesmen to digest. In attendance were, on the level of the national security advisers, were the 15+3: U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; as well as NATO, the European Council and the European Commission. Reports on the session make it appear as if reality had simply passed them by, as the Russian military proceeds methodically to complete its special military operation’s mission, to drive foreign troops out from those regions that voted to join the Russian Federation.
They heard Zelenskyy still pretending that a ceasefire was the order of the day: “The leaders in the coalition are Britain and France. Their military presence is mandatory.... A ceasefire is a signal when the work of the Coalition of the Willing is opened, when the presence will be virtually immediately after the ceasefire.” He said that we are talking about monitoring the ceasefire, supporting the Ukrainian army with means and weapons, technology, intelligence, and training missions. That is, with the ceasefire brings the re-arming. Reports suggest the agenda was how to manage the defeat and to re-arm for another day.
