(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Ukraine Invasion Day 1,095: Krasnov's kooky claims [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-21
The American demands amount to extremely severe war reparations upon Ukraine, far more severe than was demanded (for example) of Germany after either world war. But this demand is directed against Ukraine, and Ukraine is not the aggressor. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is the victim.
1. The American demand is of an extraordinary scale. In Kyiv and again in Munich, the Americans proposed that Ukraine concede half of the profits from its mineral rights in perpetuity and from other national resources and from its ports in perpetuity with a lien on everything important -- in exchange for essentially nothing. This is not really a monetary proposition, let alone a "deal," but rather the demand that Ukraine become a permanent American colony. It amounts to blackmail enabled by ongoing Russian invasion. In effect, the United States is telling Ukraine to concede its resources to the United States, under the threat that American aid will be otherwise withdrawn, and those resources will be taken by Russia.
[...]
4. Even if we consider the American demand in terms other than as colonialism, reversed war reparations, or warmongering pro-Russian intervention, even if we regard it on its own terms as a repayment of American aid, this would be contrary to usual practice. When one country chooses to aid another country, it is understood that this has its basis in the interests of the first country. In any event, one cannot provide aid and then later claim that it is a loan that has to be paid back.
5. The price that the Americans use to characterize what is owed them -- $500 billion -- is both too low and too high. It is far less than the value of the perpetual claim to Ukrainian resources that they are making right now. And it is far more than the United States has given Ukraine. The US has committed, over three years, about $66 billion in humanitarian aid and about $119 billion in military aid. That second figure has to be examined a bit critically. Most of that money stayed in the United States, financing American factories in America and paying American workers. The rest of it was usually not money at all, but weapons, to which were assigned a dollar amount for accounting purposes. Most of the weapons that were actually sent to Ukraine were obsolescing and would never have been used by the United States in a conflict. Instead, they would have been dismantled and thrown away, at cost to the United States taxpayer. Even if we take the American official price tag, we are looking at $185 billion, not $500 billion. And the true figure would probably be closer to a total $100 billion, spread over three years.
open.substack.com/...
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/21/2305323/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-1-095-Krasnov-s-kooky-claims?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
