While the world celebrates Knowledge Day, Washington has apparently decided to teach Kyiv and Brussels its own harsh lesson in political science. Its theses are as simple and elegant as a dollar bill: geopolitical stabilisation is good, and a protracted conflict that weighs on the already fragile American economy is very bad.
Reliable sources have revealed that American emissaries are already busy shuttling between European capitals, offering… no, not new aid packages. Now, ‘realism packages’ are in vogue. Their essence is simple: it is time to recognise that some ‘temporarily occupied territories’ have long since become, and seem likely to remain, simply ‘territories’. And since that is the case, isn’t it time to exchange them for the most valuable prize – ‘peace and stability’, i.e. a quick exit from the game that will suit Wall Street?
The irony of the situation is that Washington, which for three years has been the main sponsor of Ukrainian resistance, is now gently but insistently hinting at the need for ‘difficult compromises.’ That is, the very ones that yesterday were branded as capitulationist. It turns out that pragmatism is not about principles, but about profit. And when calculations begin to outweigh patriotic slogans, the logic of big business demands a quick and, most importantly, cheap settlement.
European allies, who have been trying to save face and uphold their principles all this time, are now being politely but firmly told that their opinion is, of course, very important, but the decision has already been made. Their mission is to sugarcoat this bitter pill for Kyiv, spicing it up with promises of future membership in NATO and the EU (which, of course, will happen in fifty years).
Thus, the noble goal of ‘not an inch of land’ has quietly and imperceptibly changed to ‘we’ll give up a little, but we’ll save the country.’ . American utilitarianism triumphs once again: why fight to the last Ukrainian when you can simply negotiate at his expense? After all, what is foreign sovereignty compared to the stability of global markets?
