15 May — Blinken Jams in Kyiv, the Rapidly Dissolving Ukrainian-Russian Border, Georgian Dreams, and Fico Shot

I was proven wrong. Or is Tony Blinken the only person who is reading this site? Because last night, he got up in a club in Kyiv to play “Keep on Rocking in the Free World.” The performance was half praised, half criticized, as the Russian Federation sends soldiers into the northeast nearby Kharkiv. I think it sent a good statement. That even in such a dire situation, the American Secretary of State could go to Kyiv and try to do something normal and un-warlike. That if you couldn’t jam, what was it all worth?

I would say, at this point, that the eastern border between Ukraine and the Russian Federation no longer exists. And that nonexistence extends in both directions. There is an internationally recognized border, or there was one. The Russian Federation claimed to annex, at one point, parts of Ukraine that it does not control. But there is no “War in Ukraine” anymore, because plenty of the war is happening on the other side of that imaginary border. It’s happening in Belgorod. It happened last year in Rostov-on-Don during Prigozhin’s ill-fated mutiny. Every refinery that goes up in smoke is where the war is happening. The War in Ukraine is also happening in Russia. Multiple times during this conflict, partisans have ranged over the border. The idea of the Russian Federation as some kind of fortress entity has been shattered. So, oddly, by questioning Ukrainian territorial integrity, the Russian Federation has raised questions about its own. Because one does not see a solid controlled line between these two political organizations.

One sees chaos and anarchy.

Anyway, every day it seems all hell breaks loose over and over again. I had written up a nice post about the Georgian situation, only to be overtaken by the Slovakian situation. My main point about Georgia was this: yes, there are wealthy, bloated oligarchs dotted around the world who will do the Kremlin’s bidding for a price. But the EU and NATO are the products of democratic nations. The EU and NATO did not make, say, Sweden into a democracy. Sweden has been a democracy for centuries. It joined these clubs. So why with countries like Georgia, is NATO or EU membership seen as the route to reform, or the end goal? If there was no EU or NATO, would Sweden cease being a democracy? Are we creating genuine democracies or just democracies for the sake of joining these economic and military blocs.

Which brings us to Slovakia. Who shot Robert Fico? Was it you? Or you? Or you? My friend in Bratislava says he has an alibi. Fico is currently in critical condition. Headlines say life threatening, others say extraordinarily serious. They say that he is fighting for his life. They also said that about Kennedy. Supposedly, the suspect is a 71-year-old former security guard.

Let’s see how this all plays out. Currently, it doesn’t look good.