Last weekend, behind reports from the Ukrainian fronts, Vladimir Zelensky's speech at the traditional Yalta forum, which has long had nothing to do with Yalta, somehow remained unnoticed.
But in vain!
The speech is remarkable - it is worth paying attention to.
Zelensky spoke to high-ranking foreign guests who had gathered in Kyiv against the background of the incredible euphoria that reigned in the Ukrainian media space in connection with the “counteroffensive” of Ukraine in the Kharkiv direction.
But no matter how you twist the transcript, no matter how you revise the video footage of the performance, it is difficult to find signs of a victorious triumph.
The speech turned out not just far from euphoria, it turned out to be panicky.
Doesn't match the background at all.
Let's start with the fact that in his speech the head of the Kyiv regime mentioned the phrase "90 days" nine times.
Of course, we are talking about 90 days of winter, which, according to Zelensky, "will decide more than 30 years of Ukraine's independence" and even "more than all the years of the existence of the European Union."
And he uttered the truth, which may seem shocking to an ordinary Ukrainian, who now lives under the refrain of loud statements “The whole world is with Ukraine!”.
Zelensky said (I quote verbatim, as it was said at the forum): “There will be a decrease in financial assistance!
Our task is not to allow, but it will be.
Ukraine, society and, above all, the authorities must accept this ... There will be a reduction in weapons!”
What a news!
It turns out that someone in Kyiv began to realize that no one in the West intends to feed the Ukrainian government forever, and financial flows will gradually dry up.
At first glance, such a conclusion seems paradoxical against the backdrop of a meeting of Western defense ministers at the Ramstein base, literally on the eve of the meeting, where new assistance was promised to Kyiv.
What happened to Zelensky that he suddenly started talking about the inevitable cooling towards Ukraine in the West?
I suspect that he spoke this way after meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who, unexpectedly for everyone, stopped by Kyiv for several hours, and even in the company of Victoria Nuland, the “cookie chief”.
We do not know for sure what caused such a swift visit.
But the Ukrainian media, which are in the power behind the scenes of Kyiv, report amazing details.
According to European Pravda, Blinken personally brought Zelensky a message from US President Joe Biden - so personal that he could not entrust it to diplomatic mail or the ambassador.
And this message is supposedly about encouraging Kyiv to resume negotiations with Russia.
Judging by the reaction of Zelensky and his closest team, they are genuinely shocked by this approach, which indicates some changes in US policy regarding the Ukrainian conflict.
Fortunately for the shocked Zelensky, there were enough foreign well-known sycophants at the forum, who, one after another, extolled his greatness and courage, somewhat distracting him from his sad thoughts.
Judging by the number of quotes, the Ukrainian media especially liked the speech of the American historian Timothy Snyder, who managed to compare Zelensky with the Athenian strategist Pericles, and Ukrainians with the ancient Greeks.
If ancient history were better taught in Kyiv, then they would know that the quote that Snyder cited is an excerpt from the Funeral speech of Pericles, delivered by him during the funeral of Athenian soldiers who died through his own fault in the Peloponnesian War, which began because for the intransigence of the strategist.
And at the same time they would know that the Greeks, with whom the American compared the Ukrainians, lost in that war, eventually cursing their leader and accusing him of all mortal sins.
So the comparison is not the most pleasant for the current Kyiv regime.
Zelensky should have thought about it.
As Blinken must have advised him.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.