West Will Not Arm Ukraine With Lethal Weapons

So the West will not arm Ukraine with lethal weapons, and I personally think this is a bad investment for security in the region. Don't worry, contemporary Ukraine and its friends will find a way to arm itself. The West has been anally hesitant on helping Ukraine to defend itself against a clearly aggressive neighbour called the Russian Federation, which I would much rather label as Moscovia, a failed state. The current behaviour of Putin and his entourage of the Kremlin is based on pseudologia fantastica or simply a bunch of lies which has been the basis of Russia for the last three centuries.

While many Western nations sit on the sidelines and wonder what is going on in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and get their information form Moscow sources, fed through Moscow's proxies, there are a number of nations that are standing up to Moscovia in different manners.

While the West continues to state it will not arm Ukraine with lethal weapons, the East, namely Japan, has stated in short "that we should be silent about arming Ukraine". In short it is no one's business but Ukraine and its supports to know.

https://twitter.com/OWawryshyn/status/585115548457009152

This is the first and only intelligent comment I have heard from any foreign nation that has openly stated that is supporting Ukraine in its efforts to ward off an aggressive Russia hell-bent on truly destroying the Ukrainian state, as it has been for the last three two four centuries.

A Sick Approach to Self Annihilation

I have plenty of times stated that Vladimir Putin and his philosophical scum-lord Alexander Dugin are individuals with "genocidal tendencies", and that being said let's not forget either Dugin's statement below and who Putin holds as his heroes. In case you haven't seen some of the statements of Dugin, take a look at this:

https://twitter.com/2111015/status/579064383952826369

Dugin's is not made up, and he has stated this on more than one occasion. He is simply an animal and I will quote a well known animal behaviourist at this time, because, just having re-read one of his seminal works forty years later, I understood one very clear statement in the concluding chapters of Konrad Lorenz's book King Solomon's Ring where he stated the following:

Wordsworth is right: there is only one being in possession of weapons which do not grow on his body and of whose working plan, therefore, the instincts of his species know nothing and in the usage of which he has no correspondingly adequate inhibition. That being is man. With unarrested growth his weapons increase in monstrousness, multiplying horribly within a few decades. But innate impulses and inhibitions, like bodily structures, need time for their development, time on a scale in which geologists and astronomers are accustomed to calculate, and not historians. We did not receive our weapons from nature. We made them ourselves, of our own free will. Which is going to be easier for us in the future, the production of the weapons or the engendering of the feeling of responsibility that should go along with them, the inhibitions without which our race must perish by virtue of its own creations?

This being the case it does not surprise me that that former adviser to Vladimir Putin would state:

https://twitter.com/UmlandAndreas/status/585343259280539648

While the barbarians of Muscovia have no innate desire to be compassionate to their so called "little brothers" in Ukraine, I think this will lead to their own downfall. The Grand Duchy of Muscovia has had grumblings from Siberia and has been successful any form of a national uprising in those geographic territories; though with the price of crude at what it is and with sanctions on Iran potentially being lifted this could cause crude to tumble even lower. In turn, this would give Putin and his criminal regime another good kick in the testicles, for an economy based on $110 plus crude price.

I've been aware of the frailty of the Russian Federation for over ten years now, much of this is now being echoed by simple union leader, Polish President and Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa - that democracy will not come to Russia under it's current borders, In hearing his statements I understand that the discussions I had with fellow journalist/analysts in Kyiv many years ago was not for nought! It became clear to us , in speaking with a journalist friend's cousin, who works for Russia's border services, somewhere near Blagoveschensk or Chita, nowhere close to the Grand Duchy of Moscovia. Here, my friend's cousin stated, that there where many near-border settlements comprised of nearly completely of Chinese nationals involved mainly in questionable trans-border trade. That was back in 2005 and he claimed that the number of Chinese entering those regions far surpassed the number that were going back to China.

The Baltics, Diasporacentric and Expats

While many EU countries have been sitting pretty and being flip-floppers regarding there support of Ukraine for a number of different Eco-political reasons; the Baltic countries, well aware of the psychosis of Muscovy have stepped up to the bat with out a question. The presidents of Lithuanian and Estonia respectively, Dalia Grybauskaitė and Toomas Hendrik Ilves have been extremely vocal in their support of Ukraine in their Twiterplomacy, but they are not the only ones in the region.

Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014), member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute of World Policy, has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. Though I know of at least one other of his compatriots living in Ukraine who at time can be extremely vitriolic towards Muscovia and I have a great deal of respect for him for his comments:

https://twitter.com/andersostlund/status/581771614775324672

While Anders lives and works in Kyiv, there are plenty of others who are of the diaspora ilk who have been contributing to Ukraine's cause. Some are personally know to me and I even provided Mark MacKinnon of the Globe and Mail whom I met years ago, with many of these contacts for this great piece on how Canada's diaspora has been contributing to the cause in Ukraine.


https://twitter.com/erlhel/status/574954384553025537

The Ukrainian community in Canada is one thing, but that same community must understand that Prime Minister Harper is on the cusp of an election and most of what he has been pandering are but red flags for the bulls during the upcoming general elections in Canada. The Ukrainian diaspora community should be taking the current government's actions with a grain of salt.

It is all very nice to send all kinds of non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but sorry, I think they can help themselves in that field at an extremely lesser cost in fact! This has been proven by the countless crowd-sourcing campaigns that are ongoing both in many Ukrainian diaspora communities and in conjunction with the crowd-sourcing community in Ukraine that has provided a great deal of support for Ukraine of a non-lethal type; however, it is time to change our train of thought.

Criminal Dismemberment of the Military Industrial Complex

Much of the bullshit that is going on right now in the eastern most regions of Ukraine and in other parts is due to the breakdown of international law. The Budapest Memorandum failed! Not a single nation that supported and signed that agreement on December 5, 1994 seemed to give a shit when "little green men" found their way into Crimea for its annexation! Most normal nations and people were saying: "What The Fuck!". However, not the signatory countries!

While the Budapest Memorandum stripped Ukraine of its nuclear arsenal, we saw a rapid decline in military spending in Ukraine. It is no secret that when Viktor Yanukovych came to power, he not only usurped constitutional power, he very quickly destroyed Ukraine's military and in fact may have formed Ukroboronprom, the Ukraine Defense Industry, on December 9, 2010 with a goal of centralization of the military industrial complex. In short, this centralization, may have been used for gaining great profits by Yanukovych and his cronies, while disassembling military personnel - there may have been an increase of exports with him and his criminal elite skimming as much off the top as possible.

However, it is not secret that Ukraine Defense Industry has a number of technologies that some have been requesting the West to provide to Ukraine. Nevertheless, has anyone ever considered the Skif ? This seems to be a comparison of the USA produced Javelin! Armaments are not my speciality; however, it may be time for innovative investors to start arming Ukraine in a silent manner as suggested by Ambassador Shigeki Sumi. Maybe this is just one of Ukraine's technology that needs a push forward in order that Ukraine can defend itself.

While, these heavy weapons may exist, there could be a possibility in light arms!

Kalashnikov has become a brand name of terrorists there is no reason why products of the company Fort in Ukraine, which supplies light arms could not be invested in. As a state owned company it may not be possible, but if the state changes its direction this may be possible, only time will tell. It seems that the company already produces its Fort 401 under licence from Israel.

Yes, while Ukraine has been kind of fallen to playing second fiddle as an arms exporter, maybe it is time that those interested in this terrible business, start, like Ukraine's diaspora in arming Ukraine so it can defend itself from the scum which I call Moscovia!



Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant

The commentary of this was first published on the WPawlowsky.com site.

A Call Out to President Poroshenko – Your Inaugural Address

Image: CNN


Dear Mr. President Poroshenko,

As a Canadian of Ukrainian heritage and someone who has dedicated at least all of my adult life to Ukrainian issues including working on democracy development during my nearly ten years living in Ukraine, I would like to congratulate you on your election on May 25, 2013 and upon your inaugural address which you made on June 7, 2014. I wish you Godspeed in trying to accomplish all that must be accomplished during the very difficult times for our nation.

Yes, I have claimed Ukraine as “our” nation because true Ukrainians wherever they may be hold Ukraine in their hearts and minds. While still under the yoke of Soviet oppression many Ukrainians beyond its borders carried our flag when no one had an inkling of the significance of the azure blue and yellow of our country's flag. Things have changed greatly in nearly a quarter of century though it is due time that Ukraine takes its place amongst civilized and dignified nations.

I would now like to comment on your inaugural address. Not as some highly paid analyst, but as someone who looks at things in a slightly different way. Anyone who has read my commentary in the past clearly know where my loyalties lie.

No Modern Ukrainian Nation Without Bloodshed

While the world in the past held up Ukraine as a poster-child of democracy just a little more than nine-years ago after the Orange (R)evolution, I somehow understood very quickly that I was completely justified in refering that period in 1994 as a period of evolution and not revolution. In 2011 I was asked to write an OP-ED for a Ukrainian e-publication, due to some tecnical difficulties I ended up having to self-publish my opinion piece, entitled “Bigger Sticks and Carrots, for Some in Ukraine”. In that piece I clearly put forth the following:

“While I do not condone violent uprising in Ukraine as a way of bringing about the needed changes, it is a prospect that seems to become increasingly realistic if the current authoritarian trends continue to be exerted further and further. People are now being pushed and jostled a little harder than Kuchma dared to push! The decisively anti-national, and socio-economically erosive policies are in fact, riling people in Ukraine to the point that I have not once on various Ukrainian fora seen it being asserted that peaceful means of resistance are no longer considered to be a viable option.”

Apparently, my writing had sparked some discussion and one individual mentioned that sometime before my statements above, former Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada Dr. Yuri Shcherbak speaking to a Toronto audienced stated that “he believed the situation in Ukraine will not be changed without violence.”

Mr. President Poroshenko, unfortunately, my statements somehow became prophetic. There were many heros in Ukraine's past – though these contemporary heroes, Ukraine's Heavenly Hundred was just the beginning, unfortunately. Since then through criminal means have been used to try to destablize Ukraine and more innocent lives were lost. It was very appropriate that you had a moment of silence for these heroes. There have been others who have become innocent victims of these criminal/terrorists with extremely modern and foreign weaponry clearly pointing out who is santctioning their criminality. Those responsible have to be brought to full international accountability for their terroristic means of trying to destabilize Ukraine.

Fig Leaf and Bandit

Mr. President Poroshenko, I appreciate that you want to get down to business in creatng peace and stability and Ukriane's territorial integrity! Without these, conducting business in even its simplest forms is not even possible. You for certain understand the importance of stability for distribution networks, and even as a person going about their day-to-day business. Due to the criminal annexation of Crimea I have friends in Canada who's busineses have suffered a great deal as well as the possibility of Canadian-Ukrainian business projects. Not certain, but could a class action international lawsuit be launched against the perpetrators of this act?

The simple business operations have been denied to the people of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts – and I hear about this daily not only from distant contacts living in those regions, but also from a friend and neighbour who's wife is from Luhansk and still has family members there. I have another acqaintance now living here who's brother was involved ATO in those regions and who was seriously injured, and from thousands of kilometres away he has to comfort his mother. Though this even raises a more core issue? Why did these people leave Ukraine?

I wholeheartedly support that you don't need to be carrying out discussions with criminals and are trying to reach out to the common person in those regions – I believe that due to the media access and choice of media which they have been exposed to they are very suspect of you as President, though nevertheless there are probably thousands of individuals who wanted to vote last week though feared for their lives. Clearly a frank dialogue must be restablished with the people of this doubting region, but also with all of Ukraine.

Regarding mercenaries they should be allowed to ruturn home, though it sould be made official who was financing them and what they cost. If it is criminal Yanukovych, then it is Putin's responsibility to use his due influence on him and recall those soldiers of fortune being paid no doubt with funds which Yanukovych stole from the Ukrainian people, Putin for the first time in his life do the right thing. Extradite Yanukovych to Ukraine to face trial for his criminality or face the wrath of those he treated like second class citizens, much in the way the pakhan treats his underlings. Remember criminals like him have their own system of justice, so before any of that crap happens it should be also a priority for Ukraine to ensure all the funds he stole are repatriated, because his time of being pakhan are over and those funds will be absorbed by the pakhan of the Russian Federation.

Mr. President Poroshenko, I think that those in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that doubt just what a criminal Yanukovch ever was and still is. Find a public relations means to show these individuals just what an opulent pig he was. Clearly, the media they were watching in their regions wasn't lettting them see what a Nero he was. There was no violin for him in his collesium – his Rome burnt in a different way... as he fled to his puppetmaster, his cronies attempted to destry the evidence of just what a scum he was. His vassals of 17 years have to know the truth! Set up travel tours of Mezhyhirya at a reduced rate for those individuals so they can see the opulence with their own eyes. Let the see where their pensions went! I want them all to be free! Even those in Hughesivka – who want to speak Welsh?

Trust no one – Particularly your enemies

Mr. President Poroshenko, it is all very easy to say in retrospect that we should have done this over that! One of those matters was the Budapest Memorandum. Back in the years before that I had many discussions on Ukraine's nuclear arsenal – in my heart I told friends that I didn't believe that it would be respected. Particularly with a signatory like Russia that has been lying for the last half millenia of its existence. The friends I debated this the most about were some of the early heros of our country, even before Ukraine introduced the Hryvnia as its national currency!

“But freedom is not given once and forever. One must always struggle for it,” as you stated in your innaugural adress Mr. President is very to the point. I spoke on such a them to many while living in Ukraine with my deceased friend Ilko Kucheriv. In short, a greater part of democracy happens between ballot boxes. This was clearly demonstrated in the last six months in Ukraine. I just hope that peace comes to Ukraine and that we never again experience such violence preceding the vote, as demonstrated by the terrorists in the east of the country. Politicians have to be held accountable and have no right to be above the law. This is not part of a democracy!

Now to the military side of things! There are plenty of theories of how the military became nothing more than a piece of paper! I don't have time to get into it Mr. President, though I would like to commend those individuals who have used social media in order to crowdsource the funds needed for very short term needs of the Ukrainian army. There are a few individuals should be at least given a thank you, though it is time that the funds needed for Ukraine's military needs be raised by the state in order to meet its needs.

Regarding true hardware and techonologies! We have some unique manufacturers and now we must ensure they find local and international markets. In this stage of reorientation of the military industrial complex should be carefully evaluated. In addition, with a the type of friend Ukraine has as a neighbour, it is time for Ukraine to re-arm itself in such a way that such wanton use of terror never happen in Ukraine again.

On last matter, it is time that Ukraine's law enforcement agencies be reformed to meet the standards of Ukraine's western neighbours.

The Rule of Law for a New Ukraine

Mr. President Poroshenko, in your inaugural address you state, “It's time to build a new big country. Modern, high-tech, tenable, competitive country.” This is not a new idea, and I'm quite certain I heard such talk in the early 1990s, before Ukraine had a new constitution and before the hryvnia was introduced in the autumn of 1996 as Ukraine's national currency. However, why hasn't Ukraine developed as such over all these years? It is actually we could all enumerate a list as long as your forearm, but in fact it is a lot simpler than that. It's a very simple phrase and principle known as The Rule of Law. Many of Ukraine's problems can be solved by adhering to this simple princple.

Ukraine has plenty of good legislation on the books though it must be implemented equally and fairly for all citizens of Ukraine as well as to its visitors, and business persons. In order to do there there are many reforms which will be necessary and one of these is to reduce the ratio of police to population ratio and to ensure that those individuals are to there to police are there for the right reasons. This will involve the appropriate screening and training of what will be a new and professional police force. These law enforcement officials must be paid at a level which would put them in a position that would not require them to even have the slightest desire to ask for a bribe of anyone for any reason. In fact doing so would become extremely costly, with fines, relief of duty without pay and possible incarceration. They will have to be examplary individuals who will set an example for the rest of society. Now let's return to the police to population ratio. I examined this at the beginning of this year in my piece Europe’s Sado-masochistic Approach Towards Ukraine and having done a bit of research I found that “Ukraine has about 644 at a minimum and other sources say that it is closer to 800 police officers to 100,000 population. In Canada that number stands at closer to 202 per 100,000” and most of Europe's police to population ratios range from 200 to 350 per 100,000 population, though there some anomalies in some countries. A goal should be set to reduce the police to population ratio by fifty percent in the next five years while at the same time improving the qualifications of the officers. The omni-presence of police officers is not good for tourism, particularly when they can't communicate with tourists and being a positive image of their city and more greatly of all of Ukraine.

You Mr. President Poroshenko, from your own experience know and understand the benefit speaking English affords you. Would you not say that it would be good for police officers to be able to speak more than just Ukrainian or Russian? A half-hearted effort was made in a PR effort to teach officers foreign languages prior to the Euro-2012, this should be a part of continuous improvement of all officers, particularly of those who are in cities considered to be tourist destinations.

When, The Rule of Law – becomes a priority for law enforcement, the judicial system and the population as a whole the changes necessary to “build a new big country” will be much more achievable. In doing so there will be foreign individuals and companies who will be encouraged to invest in the people of Ukraine, its most important resource in order to develop different niches within Ukraine's economy. The road map to doing business in Ukraine should be clear without any surprishing hair pin turns in the road as often is the case. Disputes between investors and the beneficiaries of such investments bust be dealt with fairly, which has often not been the case since Ukraine has become independent. I hope you Mr. President and the team that you assemble will work fastidiously in this area. It will play an important role in Ukraine's future and its contemporary history.

A World Culture of Ukraine

You are completely correct in stating, “Nobody will protect us until we learn to defend ourselves.” Mr. President Poroshenko, well said in a military sense. Though those in people in Ukrainian society who are most vulnerable must also be protected by well targeted social policy and the rule of law. However, as grantor of Ukraine's constitution are you prepared to carry this over to cultural matters as well?

This is an area that will eventually need major reforms, though at this point it is not a priority, though it can be done by all consciencious Ukrainians simply as a matter of choice and the creation of a market demand. It must be given serious consideration if we are to develop a national cultural industry. This would include Ukrainian content laws which promote local musicians. This is something I have been dealing with for the last fifteen years in a number of different ways for Ukraine, but the same komsomol organizations let the garbage prosper at the cost of new talent. Music and culture can be a very vialble industry. Right now in Ukraine it is nothing, because of no structured policy and a lack of vision.

I will give you an example, in Canada because of Federal legislation and the competition created by it, I can hear about twenty contemporary bands who travel internationally, many that have not penetrated Ukraine yet, but who will in time. Sweden is another country who's cultural industry policy is well developed in exporting its cultural products abroad.

Ukrainian culture needs a policy. Not conceived by political hacks and musicians in favour of one group or another but composed of professionals who want to lift Ukraine culturally to a different level! It isn't what you think or what the average individual things about it. There has to be a systemic approach to culture, and this means cooperation and shared risk on projects, without the egos that so many seem to have.

This crisis has shown us a physical crisis – which I'm certain not all will ever understand, though the few times below have to be followed trough on in the cultural industry in Ukraine if it is to become a great country we would all like to see it become.
1) The last years of neglience of many aspects of Ukainian life has left us with a lot of third and fourth class artist making money for nothing!
2) We must eliminate the Soviet style of People's artist which has been simply another corrupt means of civil servants of lining their pockets, let the market decide on who is an artist, writer, performer or whatever other type of designations are given in the arts.
3) Copyright and intellectual property rights have to be respected in both contemporary arts as well as more traditional art forms.
Ukraine is a country full of uncut diamonds, they have to be show respect and given the opportunity to show their brilliance. Through the wise implementation of proper and progressive policies in this area, in concurrence with sticking to The Rule of Law, the progress that will be made in the very short period will give all Ukrainians regardless of where they live to be extremely proud to be Ukraine.

May God bless you and the people of Ukraine Mr. President Poroshenko in the challenges you face.

Sources: President Petro Poroshenko's Innaugural Address



Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant
The commentary of this was first published on the wpawlowsky.com site.

Second in Command – to whom?

Without a doubt many will probably agree that Ukraine's democracy is extremely fragile, and while the world observes the young nation and its apparent political persecution of the opposition by the current regime there is plenty more going on in the country. Many events slip under the radar of most, though an event which transpired last week, while not as resonant as the absurd trials of former Ministry of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, there is an event and how it is being handled and why it ever even happened that deserves some reflection.

On the evening of September 7, 2011 Volodymyr Mozharovsky after work returned home to his residence at 26b Dehtyarivska Street in Kyiv, like he had countless times before. This building is not a simple apartment building. It serves as the residence for senior and higher ranking officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Like any other evening, he used his magnetic key to enter the building. A short time later he was found in a pool of his own blood on the landing between the second and third floors by another officer who had entered shortly after General Mozharovsky, Deputy Minister of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense entered the building.

The General suffered an open head wound, has a concussion and is expected to remain in hospital for up to two weeks according to reports.

Now just imagine if General Sir John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton of the UK, Admiral Michael Mullen of the United States or General Walter J. Natynczyk of Canada were bopped over the head by unknown assailants. What would the reaction to such an incident be by their respective ministries or departments? You would imagine that there would be a full investigation and the law enforcement officials would be on top of such an incident, if it were ever allowed to happen in the first place? Would you not?

Clearly Ukraine operates under some very different rules of conduct, and those who have been following my commentary are probably becoming aware of this if they were not already aware of it.

But what did Ukraine experience? Not much. The current Minister of Defense Mykhaylo Yezhel held a press conference where the typical double-speak was employed, though to this day nothing in terms of the attack on General Mozharovsky has been published on the Ministry of Defense news portal. As one of the commentators of the event, a military reservist, who brought my attention to this matter, reserve Colonel Viktor Tymoshenko, reported in UNIAN, Yezhel did very little except in the words of Tymoshenko: “We found out that the state of mind of the first person of the nation responsible for military affairs was to save his own backside.”

It seems that the most important thing that Yezhel said was, “There were no working documents in his satchel.”

Tymoshenko goes on further to question the same things that anyone else would question, particularly anyone with some degree of professionalism. Why on earth has nothing been publicly undertaken?

The answer is very simple. The level of professionalism that exists at all levels of Ukrainian government at this time is laughable. Those in positions of power are a bunch of kids playing in a sandbox, and to add they are bandits with no understanding between “right and wrong”.

As Tymoshenko states in his report in UNIAN, the army as a political institution is losing its' voice. So who controls the Ukrainian army now? Is it the people who they are supposed to serve or the bandits that who have come into power? If they are for the people, those in control as well as all who have taken an oath to serving the country should get to the bottom of this incident as quickly as possible.

If the army is really serving the interests of the nation, then why do his fellow officers and individual soldiers allow such as this to happen. Clearly, if one has a general who may be carrying “secrets in the interest of the nation” then such an individual should be appointed the appropriate security.

Once again, Ukraine, or at least its officials show that they are nothing but two-bit crooks trying to run a nation, a nation and people that are not just geographically located in Europe.