First “as long as it takes” Then “as long as is necessary” And Now “until you are victorious”- UK Official Says; And Upends Essential Optic To Retain Support For Ukraine. Another US$22 Billion?
First Was “as long as it takes” Then “as long as is necessary” And Now “until you are victorious”
Is The Definition Of Victorious For A Politician The Same As The Definition Of Victorious For A Taxpayer Whose Funds They Are Spending?
United Kingdom Official’s Description Of Changes To Kyiv Are Unhelpful To Narrative That Additional Money Is Required… More Traffic, Re-Opened Casinos, Nightclubs, Strip Clubs; And Live Lobsters And Fresh Oysters From France In Supermarkets Don’t Reflect A Dire Lifestyle. And It’s Not Only In Kyiv.
Politicians Continue To Write Checks For Funds Their Taxpayers Must Borrow To Pay.
Another US$22 Billion From Whose Taxpayers? Is United Kingdom Supporting More Patriot Batteries For Ukraine? President Zelensky Wants ASAP Twenty For “Coalition Of Patriots”- Cost US$1.1 Billion Each. For Comparison, United States Army Has Fifty.
During his 5 June 2023 visit to the city of Kyiv to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019- ), James Cleverly Secretary of State of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (2022- ) had two moments:
First, he reframed a now ubiquitous phrase.
“In a video posted to Mr Zelensky’s Facebook page, Mr Cleverly is heard saying “When we made the commitment publicly that we will continue backing you and your country until you are victorious in your self-defence, we meant it. When we said that we would do more and go further, we meant it.””
“As Long As It Takes” from Joseph Biden, 46th President of the United States (2021- )
“As Long As Is Necessary” from Olaf Scholz, 35th Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (2021- )
“Until You Are Victorious” from James Cleverly Secretary of State of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (2022- )
Second, he created further distance between what the government of Ukraine needs taxpayers in countries providing financial support to the government of Ukraine to hear and see and the realities on-the-ground.
In a video, Mr. Cleverly speaks of his 25 November 2022 visit to Ukraine when it was “Cold and it was dark. But this time I can see there’s more life in the city. The traffic is heavier, which normally is a bad sign in a city. But I think for me it demonstrates what I mean to be true. And that is that the Ukrainian people are not going to allow themselves to be broken by this. The sunshine and the leaves and the flowers shouldn’t distract us from the fact that there is still very much work to be done.”
Today in the Ukraine cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and southern port city of Odesa among others, restaurants and supermarkets offer live lobsters and oysters (sometimes four types) imported twice-weekly from France; nightclubs, strip clubs, and casinos have returned- with some casinos open twenty-four hours; and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra cellular device was available at retail stores in Ukraine three days before available in the United States. For an increasing number of residents, daily lifestyles which existed prior to 24 February 2022 have returned. The more normalized, stable, becomes Ukraine, the less urgency will be felt by governments- and particularly their respective taxpayers as represented by the assemblies, legislatures, and parliaments, to provide commercial, economic, financial, humanitarian, military, and political support.
Patriot Cost
The Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates one Patriot System battery costs approximately US$1.1 billion: US$400 million for the system, US$690 million for the missiles (the cost of a single missile is approximately US $4.1 million).
LINK TO COMPLETE ANALYSIS IN PDF FORMAT
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