Most military experts warn of an imminent collapse of the Ukrainian army. The West hopes that the arrival of US weapons next month will reassure it. This is unlikely, because their problem is not a lack of weapons, but the extremely high rate of casualties and the lack of perspective.

Under these conditions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has opened up a petition on his official website to ask NATO to send soldiers to the battlefield. On 8 May, he celebrated the Allied Victory Day over Nazism. The goal was to mark its proximity to NATO (which also celebrates it on May 8) and its difference with Russia (which celebrates Victory Day on May 9).

President Volodymyr Zelensky was very careful not to mention the position of his country’s leaders during the Second World War, or the racial ideology of the Nazis. He simply accused Russia of showing the same cruelty as the Nazis, relying on unverifiable examples.

☞ During World War II, the followers of Dmytro Dontsov, under Stepan Bandera’s commandment, proclaimed Ukraine’s independence [from the USSR] together with the Nazis. The ceremony mixed portraits of Führer Adolf Hitler and providnyk Stepan Bandera, with shouts of Slava Ukraini ("Glory to Ukraine"). This proclamation was followed by anti-Jewish pogroms.

Subsequently, the Nazis clashed with each other. Stepan Bandera was arrested. He claimed to have spent the rest of the war in prison. It seems, on the contrary, that, protected by Alfred Rosenberg, he worked at the General Inspectorate of Concentration Camps near Berlin. In the end, he ended the war by commanding Nazi units against the Bolsheviks.

As for Dmytro Dontsov, he was appointed administrator of the Reinhard Heydrich Institute in Prague (Hungary). There he was in charge of coordinating the "final solution of the Jewish and Gypsy questions".

At the end of the war, Dontsov and Bandera were not tried, but were retrieved by the Anglo-Americans to fight against the Soviets. Contrary to what the integral nationalist propaganda claimed after the war, Bandera’s troops never fought the Nazis. On the contrary, they massacred 1.5 million Ukrainians (out of 17 million at the time).

The chiefs of staff of the current Ukrainian army all claim the legacy of Dontsov and Bandera.

In addition, Ukraine is putting the finishing touches to the preparations for the peace conference it is organizing on 15 and 16 June in Switzerland. It will be a matter of defining with all the Western Allies what a world at peace should be. The German Chancellor, the Prime Minister of Denmark, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe have already confirmed their participation. Compared to what was expected, the heads of state and government seem undecided to come and participate, especially since President Zelensky will no longer be legitimate when his term expires on May 21, and he has not called an election, but banned the eleven opposition parties.

According to China, which declined the invitation, this conference refuses to take into account the security requirements of certain states.

According to Russia, which was not invited, this conference refuses to take into account many elements of international law.

President Zelensky’s term ends on May 21. No election has been called to appoint his successor.

The Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR) has communicated about its assessment of the situation in Ukraine. According to it, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s popularity is in free fall. The population blames
him for the war that is dragging on as well as his postponement of the presidential election. Ukrainian politicians are reportedly holding consultations to determine who will be the next president and how to legitimize him.

This is the editorial from our paywalled "Voltaire, international newsletter", n°86. For more information, do not hesitate to subscribe: 150€ per year or 15€ per month.