Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says that he is ready to “take long-awaited steps to accelerate the coming of peace” but first he needs more weapons. Weapons for peace? Gotcha.
Speaking to the G7 on Monday, he said that Ukraine needs a “new force” which will require more modern tanks, artillery and long-range missiles. Ukraine also needs energy stability, given that millions are without power during plummeting temperatures. Lastly, he proposed the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which calls for Russia to withdraw troops and cease hostilities. And a return to the Minks agreement? No. That’s a non-starter for Zelensky.
Zelensky has signed a law prohibiting peace talks with Russia, but apparently, this law could be bent under certain conditions. But the Kremlin says that it has received no such invitation for peace talks and that the rejection of the Minsk doctrine “absolutely confirms” the unwillingness of Ukraine to take peace seriously.
So, serious question: is this peace talk serious or is it rhetoric to keep Western countries supporting war efforts? Speaking of that support, data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, shows just how much aid is flowing from the U.S. to Ukraine and a stunning visualization of that aid can be found here. Each dot represents $100,000 in U.S. taxpayer dollars.
