Contributed by Joe Montero

Russia’s dominance on the battlefield will determine the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine. The only alternative is a permanent ceasefire that ditches the west’s fantasy and recognises the reality.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy now says he will go to Türkiye and meet Russia’s leader for peace talks. Remember, only days ago he was emphatic that there would be no such meeting. Although put forward in other words, Zelenskyy held that only a Russian surrender is acceptable. This new change of heart comes from a position of weakness and no one of strength. But no-one should be fooled into expecting this will hold.

Massive Ukraine losses on 11 May

Video from ruslan belov

Zelenskyy will continue to pull in the direction demanded by his minders abroad and at home. They still want a Russian surrender and fail to recognise that this is not possible. They persist because the real underlying objective is to prolong the conflict as a method of ongoing destabilisation, and to extract the maximum of resources form their client administration.

Zelenskyy’s major support base had been the United States, and this has now tilted to a small group of European nations. Western corporate media has been there as an essential prop for Zelensky and his administration in Kyiv. An outcome of this alliance has led many westerners to believe the fairy tale that the battle in Ukraine is about Zelenskyy representing good against an evil Putin.

Like it or not, Russia’s military operation into Ukraine was never regarded by the Russians as an invasion to annex its neighbours. To them, this is a matter of national security. Ukraine has always been a pathway to foreign invasion of Russia. The last time this happened was during World War Two. And this caused the death of 30 million Soviet Union citizens.

Last week’s Victory Day celebrations in Russia commemorated the defeat of German Nazism, mainly by the Soviet Union. The importance of this is being played down in the West. In Russia this remains an important part of their history. They paid the highest price, and Russians know that they liberated the world from the Nazi scourge.

Consider the effect of a tightening nuclear military ring around the country. This has been the role of NATO. Add the fact of years of political interference in Ukraine from Western nations, including the encouragement and gave material support to real pro-Nazi forces in Ukraine. Nazis carried out the armed invasion of the parliament in 2014, kicked out the elected government, called elections where only certain people were allowed to stand, and began the ethnic cleansing of Ukraine from the Russian population.

Statue of Nazi leader Stepan Bandera unveiled by Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv

Zelenskyy’s predecessor Petro Poroshenko unveiled a statue of Nazi leader Stepan Bandera and proclaimed him a national hero. His predecessor, Victor Yushchenko had issued stamps with Bandera’s face. These are just 2 of the indicators that show Ukraine does have a genuine Nazi problem. More pointed is the Nazi role among the elite forces in Ukraine’s military. This I headed by several ASOV brigades. The truth is they command the guns and can force Zelenskyy’s hand.

Stamps issued in honour of Stepan Bandera in 2009 by Viktor Yushchenko

Naturally, this is all denied. Is it any wonder then, that Russia is seriously concerned about the Nazification of Ukraine? The populations of Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk voted to become independent and then supported integration with Russia. Other regions in the east and south want the same.

All of this has been and continues to be supported and bankrolled by the United States. Britain, Germany, and France, except that the United States under the presidency of Donald Trump and his backers is now a less than dependable backer of Kyiv. The farce continues because it suits Zelensky’s hard line backers. They hope to still get what they want, and this is Ukraine’s riches and continue the pivot to the east.

As the reality on the battlefield continues to unfold, Kyiv’s losses mount. Russia is not going to surrender. No matter how often Zelensky and his minders demand it. The coming meeting in Türkiye will take place under these conditions of Russian surrender, which is why this is likely to be another failure without a change in attitude. A recognition of reality is a precondition for success.

A genuine and permanent ceasefire is only possible if it meets the needs of both Ukrainians and Russians. Boths sides must willingly lay down arms. The West must stop its intervention. It must accept that the de-Nazification of Ukraine, agree to keep NATO out, support the holding of genuinely free elections for a new president and government in Kyiv, allow the right to self-determination for the ethnic Russian areas, and bring an end to western sanctions on Russia.

The alternative is to continue hostilities, and the end result will be the same, except that more will die for nothing.