You have to start from afar.
In fact, if we judge not by words, but by the actual state of affairs - in dry words and no less dry numbers - which is being recorded right now on the tablets, so to speak, history, then it is easy to understand that there is now no greater enemy of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian statehood than the current Ukrainian government.
And there is no better propagandist on the territory of the European Union for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under construction than she, this very Ukrainian political power, is somehow amazing, at least in this respect, magical.
Yes, to be honest, and in almost all other "relationships" - it's just beyond the boundaries of our current research with you.
For example, let us ask ourselves a question, what, in fact, should such an average German, say, politician think, looking at the wonderful picture of the call to the American embassy in Kiev of the Ukrainian Minister of Health Maxim Stepanov, already described by the lively pens of the European media?
Which a little earlier and only foolishly did not rule out the possibility of purchasing a vaccine against COVID-19 in Russia - with all possible reservations, of course, and if it is approved by WHO.
And a little later, after a visit "by a tough invitation" to the American embassy, the minister "changed his mind a little" and said that the issue would not be discussed, because, in his words, the Russian vaccine did not pass, you see, "the necessary clinical trials ".
And I don’t know if I was the only one who remembered at that moment a quote from the unforgettable Soviet "White Sun of the Desert", which I think both Russian cosmonauts and future Ukrainian politicians watched with pleasure.
Well, about "he has grenades of the wrong system" (c), remember, probably, more?
However, the explanation here is extremely simple: the same embassy made it clear through the media to the entire world community that, in general, no one really asked the Ukrainian Minister of Health about his opinion.
He was simply given the necessary instructions and given clear directions.
And that's all.
And they did not even consider it necessary to hide such a malicious outrage not only over Ukrainian sovereignty from anyone, but also just over common sense.
Sorry, but this must be quoted so that our reader would also appreciate all this extraordinary beauty and even some piquancy of the situation: “Ukraine will not buy the Russian vaccine against COVID-19, which has not passed clinical safety trials,” - officially and in plain text, and by no means as some even bashful "recommendation", the official statement of the embassy says following the meeting of the US Charge d'Affaires in Ukraine Christina Queen with Mr. Stepanov.
Sorry - the curtain.
But it’s true: with such and such a Ukrainian power, what is the point of every little thing like the life of tens and tens of thousands of Ukrainians, excuse me, to somehow discuss?
We have a democratic discipline.
And the command "Jump!"
- if it came from the American embassy in Kiev - any Ukrainian minister has the right to ask only one question: "Excuse me, dear ones, did you not hear how high it is?"
What is called - oil painting.
Talking to such a Ukrainian government is not just "not respecting yourself", it's like talking to a dog barking from behind a fence.
And it's not even a matter of self-respect.
And in pure pragmatics: if you want to decide something, and not just "bark", then you should not talk with the dog, with its owner.
And what do you think, how should any sane German politician react, looking at all this unthinkable beauty?
Yes, he must react pragmatically.
And emotionless.
Because at such a moment he should not think about the cost of living of the average Ukrainian: after all, every Ukrainian is the master of his own destiny.
And in general, this - about the value of a Ukrainian's life - is a purely theoretical task for a German.
And since COVID-19 is a common, and not a purely Ukrainian problem, the cost of living of a German, a German politician will be much more worried about.
And somehow, you see, it would be stupid to accuse him of this.
Therefore, the German politician will be more concerned about the realization of a simple, mathematically verified fact, crystal-clear in its hopeless clarity: if the Ukrainian authorities are ready to let their citizens die from COVID-19 at the first shout of the American ambassador in Kiev, tomorrow it is just as easy in the same the American embassy will similarly invite some other Ukrainian minister.
Which will be given the task, again, let's say, to cut off the supply of "undemocratic" Russian gas to Europe through that very famous "Ukrainian pipe".
And if this happens, how do you think another Ukrainian minister will act in exactly the same situation?
Yes, you don't even need to think - he will do exactly the same.
He will take, as they say, under the visor and execute the directive.
And that is precisely why European politicians will never invest their European money in a rusting Ukrainian GTS, in need of capital reconstruction, as the Ukrainian leadership for some reason dreams of.
And they will do everything, in spite of all the American sanctions, so that one way or another, if not by washing, then by rolling, in spite of any shouts from Washington and humiliation emanating from there, but still finish the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
This is not even a question of money, but banal of the continent's energy security, and the Germans are well aware of this.
Because the Ukrainian GTS is already just a "foreign pipe" for them.
Not Russian, not even Ukrainian, but just a stranger.
In a sense, just like everything significant on Ukrainian territory, which is under strict control, so to speak, of a "third party".
On which politicians, officials and business of continental Europe, by definition, simply have fewer and fewer opportunities to influence.
And it, this “Ukrainian pipe”, can at any time and even without a clear explanation of the reasons, with one click of his fingers, any middle-class American official can “turn off”: there are a million reasons, and it is enough that they will be purely “political”.
And that is precisely why Europe insists that Nord Stream 2 is an "exclusively commercial project", which, by the way, is quite true.
And it cannot be turned off by those very "political methods."
And precisely for this reason, not much, to put it mildly, the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who loves the Russian Federation, who just seemed to be carrying fierce Russophobic nonsense about the “Navalny incident”, declares extremely harshly: “I proceed from the fact that“ Northern stream - 2 "will be completed.
The question is when.
We make decisions about our energy policy and energy supply here in Europe ”(interview to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland media group).
Agree - the picture is very bright.
And of course, maybe these events are not so directly connected.
But all the same, thanks to Ukraine for once again reminding not only Russia, but Europe as well, how “sovereign” it is.
And therefore, how much and in what way can you trust her in these truly troubling times.
And if until the end of the construction of Nord Stream 2 the “Ukrainian route” will continue to remain “basic”, including from the point of view of the energy security of the continent, then from the point of view of Europe itself it is not even a “time bomb”.
This is a barrel with dynamite and an already ignited fuse: the European-American economic and trade confrontation in the very near future promises to be hot.
And it is somehow quite naive not to take this into account in the prioritization of plans for the future.
Just a wonderful illustration with this Russian vaccine came out: mind you, in matters of life and death, the Americans did not even think to offer Ukraine any, albeit distant, alternative.
They just banned it, that's all.
Well, who told you that they were going to provide Europe with an alternative to "Russian gas"?
Especially if the task is set differently and there is no other goal than to “turn the valve on” at the right time.
And you - live, guess how soon it will come, this very "moment".
It doesn't matter here whether we are talking about the Russian vaccine or about Russian gas: for our common "American partners" with the Europeans, everyone understands this perfectly well, and both have long been a means, not a goal.
There is only one goal: Make America Great Again.
And neither the great Russia, which interests us, nor the overly prosperous Europe - these plans are by no means included.
Well, Ukraine - Ukraine really has absolutely nothing to do with it here ...
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.