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The reason Johnson’s statement is so important is he is admitting that war could have been prevented.

At the Institute, we have thoroughly documented all the opportunities to end the war in Ukraine that were rejected or prevented, not by Putin, but Zelensky, Ukrainian neo-Nazis, or Ukraine’s Western backers.

-Kyle Anzalone

In a conversation on the TRIGGERnometry podcast, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained that Ukrainian President Zelensky attempted to make a deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019, but was prevented from doing so by Ukrainian nationalists.

“You got to remember that Zelensky is not an unreasonable guy. He got elected really as a peacenik. [In] 2019, he tried to do a deal with Putin, as far as I can remember, his basic problem was that, you know, the Ukrainian nationalists couldn’t accept the compromise.”

The event in question was documented by Alex Rubinstein and Max Blumenthal:
 

“Back in October 2019, as the war in eastern Ukraine dragged on, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Zolote, a town situated firmly in the ‘gray zone’ of Donbas, where over 14,000 had been killed, mostly on the pro-Russian side. There, the president encountered the hardened veterans of extreme right paramilitary units keeping up the fight against separatists just a few miles away.

Elected on a platform of de-escalation of hostilities with Russia, Zelensky was determined to enforce the so-called Steinmeier Formula conceived by then-German Foreign Minister Walter Steinmeier which called for elections in the Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.

In a face-to-face confrontation with militants from the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion who had launched a campaign to sabotage the peace initiative called ‘No to Capitulation,’ Zelensky encountered a wall of obstinacy.

With appeals for disengagement from the frontlines firmly rejected, Zelensky melted down on camera. ‘I’m the president of this country. I’m 41 years old. I’m not a loser. I came to you and told you: remove the weapons,’ Zelensky implored the fighters.

Once video of the stormy confrontation spread across Ukrainian social media channels, Zelensky became the target of an angry backlash.

Andriy Biletsky, the proudly fascist Azov Battalion leader who once pledged to ‘lead the white races of the world in a final crusade…against Semite-led Untermenschen,’ vowed to bring thousands of fighters to Zolote if Zelensky pressed any further. Meanwhile, a parliamentarian from the party of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko openly fantasized about Zelensky being blown to bits by a militant’s grenade.”

The reason Johnson’s statement is so important is he is admitting that war could have been prevented.

At the Institute, we have thoroughly documented all the opportunities to end the war in Ukraine that were rejected or prevented, not by Putin, but Zelensky, Ukrainian neo-Nazis, or Ukraine’s Western backers.

Be sure to read Ted Snider’s weekly articles, often discussing the sabotaged peace opportunities in Ukraine. And of course, the most thought retelling of events, Scott Horton’s Provoked.

To ensure that we can continue to debunk NATO propaganda, donate to the Institute today. If you make a significant contribution to our ongoing spring fund drive, you can receive a signed copy of Scott’s book.

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