#Scam with Ukraine?

Manic and delusional, Ukraine's comedian-president, Vladimir Zelensky, never stops demanding more from the West. Now he wants $750 billion to 'rebuild' Ukraine. Is he joking and can we trust him?

Ever hear of Ostap Bender? Played by actor Andrei Mironov (photo above) in the 1976 Soviet screen version of the satirical novel, “Twelve Chairs”, Bender is a lovable criminal and con artist; (the book was written in 1928, followed by a sequel in 1931).

Born in the predominantly Russian-Jewish city of Odessa on the Black Sea, now a part of Ukraine, the fictional Ostap Bender lived in the 1920s. He is a legendary scammer. Exceptionally charming, witty and debonair, he can deceive anyone. In fact, his victims are often unaware that they’ve been duped, until it’s too late.

Fast forward to 2022 — Ukraine is ruled by the charismatic, slick and manic Vladimir Zelensky, a man widely known for his love of cocaine. Zelensky certainly has a sinister side. He has squashed democracy and freedom in Ukraine by outlawing opposition parties and sending the secret police (SBU) to hunt down anyone who questions his rule. Nevertheless, in the spirit of Ostap Bender, Zelensky successfully promotes himself internationally as a champion of Ukrainian ‘freedom and democracy’.

In the Information Age, when in theory the truth should be easy to learn and discern, Zelensky is somehow able to deceive most of his countrymen, as well as the world. Today, thanks to Zelensky’s efforts, we are witnessing one of the most spectacular frauds in history — the transfer of vast amounts of wealth and weapons from the West to Ukraine’s oligarchs. The dazzling Ostap Bender wasn’t half as talented.

NATO countries are pouring tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons and financial aid into Ukraine’s black hole. There is zero accountability and auditing. And now Zelensky demands $750 billion to rebuild Ukraine. Sure, why not? Like Ostap Bender, Zelensky is lovable; let’s give him everything he wants!

As with Bender’s hapless victims, most Americans and Europeans, as well as Ukrainians, are unable to realize they’re being scammed by Zelensky and his inner circle (some of whom are fellow comedy actors). These sneaky charlatans have carefully crafted a narrative of themselves as superheroes fighting the invading ‘Asian hordes’ and ‘orcs’, as they call the Russians in racist terms.

Zelensky cleverly exploits the most basic and primitive of human emotions, such as rage and fear, impairing one’s ability to think rationally and logically, rendering people unable to discern fact from fiction.

Well, maybe it’s not surprising that so many have been duped. Zelensky and his gang employ an army of international PR experts and spin doctors, as well as political strategists and Washington DC lobbyists. Ukraine’s propaganda efforts have earned praise from NATO. One commander told the Washington Post, “The [Ukrainians] are excellent in stratcom — media, info ops, and psy-ops.”

For me personally, most alarming is watching my otherwise intelligent and savvy Ukrainian friends be hypnotized by the charlatan leader. In fact, before February, most of them were well aware that Zelensky is a fraud. But now, for some mysterious reason, they blindly support Ukraine’s top con man.

Perhaps it’s due to the fact that Zelensky is a master actor who knows what ‘buttons’ to press to motivate his audience. In the novel “Twelve Chairs”, at one point we see Ostap Bender engage several citizens with anti-Soviet beliefs, pulling the wool over their eyes by saying that “The West will help us” against the Moscow authorities.

Be certain — Zelensky knows about Ostap Bender and he’s reading from that very same script. Zelensky also promises “The West will help us”. But unlike Ostap Bender he actually delivers! And in a huge way.

Now, as I’ve written before, the West sees Ukraine as a ‘pawn’ in its proxy war against Russia. But while NATO thinks Zelensky is its bitch, the Ukrainian hustler is two steps ahead, exploiting NATO’s own greed and ambition.

In some sense we’re witnessing a mutual scam. After losing lucrative markets in the Middle East, NATO’s military-industrial complex must feed on new war contracts. As a lawless and failed state, Ukraine is the perfect candidate for NATO.

Each morning, I monitor U.S., British, Ukrainian and Russian media. I’m surprised by the frequent videos on certain Telegram channels showing how the Russians have ‘acquired’ many NATO weapons, often in perfect condition.

How is this possible? I have a thought about this.

In March 2019, I visited Kiev while Zelensky was campaigning for president. I was surprised that many Ukrainians thought Zelensky was a Kremlin agent. I’m not saying that Zelensky was or is a Kremlin agent. I’m simply saying it was widely perceived that he is a Russian asset. Could that be true?

Are we witnessing history’s greatest intelligence coup? Could Zelensky secretly be working for the Kremlin? I don’t know, but I won’t be surprised if that’s the truth. Like the sociopath Ostap Bender, Zelensky is capable of anything and could be working for both sides.

Nearly each day, Zelensky publishes videos calling for the Ukrainian people to resist and fight the “invaders”, which produces no results, except more senseless death and destruction. If Zelensky truly cared about the Ukrainian people, then he’d negotiate peace with Moscow. But more war means billions of dollars continue to flow to Zelensky and his oligarchs.

Under Zelensky’s duplicitous leadership, NATO has been sucked into a conflict that it can’t win. And Zelensky certainly knows that Russia can’t be defeated on its strategic western border. Meanwhile, he demands more NATO weapons and money, which disappear into Ukraine’s black hole.

In fact, so many weapons are flooding into Ukraine that the defense capabilities of individual member states have been depleted and face security risks. In mid July, Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, one of the top five U.S. military-industrial groups, warned that America’s weapons stockpiles aren’t sufficient to service a long war with Russia.

It’s time for Americans and Europeans to wake up — NATO’s support for Ukraine is a national security threat for the West. And Russia benefits enormously from Zelensky’s ‘heroic’ leadership. The longer the war goes on, the weaker the West becomes due to the raging global energy crisis and economic upheaval. Dragging out this war is a key Kremlin tactic. (See my previous article for more on this).

So why is Zelensky (either deliberately or inadvertently) helping Moscow to achieve its goals? Is he really so stupid and incompetent? Like Ostap Bender, Zelensky is a dazzling comic genius and sociopath who simply enjoys scamming people, especially when billions of dollars are pouring into his pockets.

“Stand with Ukraine”? Or “Scam with Ukraine”? Perhaps that should be the new mantra and hashtag.

#scamwithukraine