Yesterday, appearing via video link at The NY Times' DealBook Summit, hosted by business correspondent Andrew Ross Sorkin, President Zelensky had a few choice words for Elon Musk, who for reasons unknown now fancies himself a geopolitical sharpster.
To the thundering contrary, in early October Mr. Musk unveiled his blinkered, barbarian-oriented liking of Putinesque authoritarianism and his concomitant approval of the Russian dictator's wanton international aggression — which has since been severely denounced by every civilized nation on earth — by tweeting this harebrained idea:
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
- Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
- Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
- Water supply to Crimea assured.
- Ukraine remains neutral.
As the Times drolly notes: "The Kremlin welcomed his proposal." Because the Kremlin had every reason to. Staging re-do elections in annexed regions would not only help to legitimate Putin's vastly illegal territorial thefts, the Ukrainians left to vote would exclude those who've been murdered by Putin's armed forces, as well as those who've been exiled or displaced.
Crimea was also seized illegally, and asking Ukraine to remain neutral in the face of lingering Russian aggression would be asking for the suicidal. Ukraine, a sovereign nation, should obviously decide its own geopolitical future, which by all accounts will be pro-West.
Unsatisfied with the ignorance he had displayed so far, Musk also kicked off one of his famous Twitter polls, asking users who couldn't find Ukraine on a map whether "the will of [its] people" should determine what parts should be swallowed by Russian aggression. (A majority, 59.3%, said yes, no surprise.) Musk's absolute blindness to the inhumanity of his proposals was, accordingly, absolutely astounding.
To all this, President Zelensky had this to say to Musk yesterday: "If you want to understand what Russia has done here, come to Ukraine and you will see this with your own eyes. After that, you will tell us how to end this war, who started and when we can end it." Choice, but reserved. Firm, yet diplomatic. Zelensky has more patience with idiots than I.
In the DealBook interview, the Ukrainian president also said "I don’t think [Putin] will use nuclear weapons. This is my opinion." I'd say the same were I the president of Ukraine. It does clash with my private opinion. I believe at some point Putin will be forced to deploy, at the very least, a radioactive dirty bomb — or several of them. His hardliners are angry that he has yet to use every means in his arsenal — this being the last resort. Ultimately, I believe, Putin will cave.
Zelensky, in the Times' wording, added that "Instead, Western democracies should be most concerned about Putin’s expansionist military ambitions. If his military succeeds in conquering parts of Ukraine, other neighboring democracies could be next."
Here I'm in full agreement. Putin's deployment of radioactivity over Ukraine would almost certainly amount to a one-off, a kind of "There, I've done it, so much for that, dear hardliners." (The "known unknown," however, is the number of casualties resulting from such a strike, which could be enormous.) Still, the far more grievous threat to international peace and security is precisely what President Zelensky observed: Putin's undeterred, expansionist military ambitions.
If he's allowed to resolve the Ukraine crisis unscathed — that is, retain any portions of Ukraine's sovereign territory — then he'll soon be back, with Kyiv as his target. Again. From there, should he live so long, Moldova, Belarus, and perhaps taking on NATO directly: the Baltics. In Putin's delusional mind, such is his destiny.