Good Time to Force Russia to Accept Ukraine’s Peace Terms

After 50 months of observing with trepidation a “neighborhood” war launched by Russia against Ukraine, European nations are finally feeling realistically anxious though not because they could become collateral damage for Moscow. Consequently, they have asked Ukraine to pause its highly successful drone attacks against Russian oil refineries.

The logical question is why?

Apparently, the purse strings that stretch from Ukraine to Russia then to Iran, Israel and the Persian Gulf and finally across Europe are causing real pain as consumers in those countries and are forced to pay a lot more for gasoline and other petroleum-based products than they did earlier this year.

According to Presidential Office Head Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s foreign allies have asked Kyiv to pause its attacks as the US-Israeli war in Iran drives up fuel prices worldwide, he said in an interview published April 4 by Bloomberg.

Oil prices have skyrocketed amid the escalating war in Iran, which is in its sixth week. Energy facilities in the Middle East have been targeted throughout the conflict, while Iran has also shut down the Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply transits.

Budanov told Bloomberg that Ukraine has received requests from its allies to stop its regular campaign of strikes on enemy oil refineries in Russia due to the price surge.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine’s allies, who have been very supportive of Ukraine in its time of great need, have urged him to scale back attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure amid the ongoing global fuel crisis – but that they would only end if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine’s first.

Aggressor Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since start of the war in February 2022. In the ensuing months, Ukraine’s military-industrial complex has developed enviable skills in building its own brand of deadly drones. Its efforts have hit Russian bulls’ eyes enough to cause significant pain to anyone buying Russian and Persian petroleum products.

Zelenskyy told journalists in a WhatsApp voice message that, by launching attacks on Russia’s energy system, Ukraine was only responding in kind.

Zelenskyy’s comments come amid a string of long-range Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy sector, including the key oil export terminal at the port of Ust-Luga outside St. Petersburg.

“We have received messages from some of our partners asking about how our responses against Russia’s oil sector – the energy sector – can be reduced,” Zelenskyy said in the voice message. “If Russia is ready not to strike Ukraine's energy, then we’ll respond by not attacking theirs.”

So why Ukraine should listen to cries of “stop” and show mercy to its enemy’s energy lifeline? It seems to me that this could be the useful mechanism that could solve two problems. Yes, given the right circumstances, Kyiv could consider retargeting its drones to hit other Russian targets rather than its oil refineries. But that should be only half of Ukraine’s demand.

In return for such a favorable accommodation, Kyiv should insist that all countries that are suffering the pain of high gasoline prices and other petroleum-based products must put their collective heels on Russia’s throat and demand that it immediately and forever not only stop attacking Ukrainian cities and killing innocent civilians but also pack up and leave Ukraine with appropriate NATO security guarantees.

If not, what has Ukraine got to lose? In the past week Russia has continued to strike its favorite targets of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Chornobyl, and other towns along with commuter trains, leaving death and destruction in its wake.

No matter how you slice and dice the wasteful Witkof-Kushner negotiations, a cessation of hostilities on Ukraine’s terms would be a win for Ukraine and Europe.

 How Much More Blood must Ukrainians Shed before Trump Realizes that Putin only Wants to Kill Ukrainians

Every new day in Moscow’s war against Ukraine brings new waves of Russian drones and missiles hitting Ukrainian cities, apartment buildings, energy infrastructure, supermarkets, schools, churches, buses and trains, killing innocent men, women and children.

President Donald J. Trump, just like he has done with Iran and other hot spots, claims to believe the Russian war versus Ukraine coming to an end. The picture on the ground and in the air is markedly different.  As he pushes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept all of Russian fuhrer Putin’s unacceptable, damaging demands, Putin is launching daytime and nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities. It’s noteworthy to point out that Trump’s pressure on Zelenskyy does not compare with the silence Putin is feeling from the American president.

According to Ukrainian news sources, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other cities with ballistic missiles and drones early Thursday morning, April 16, resulting in deaths and dozens of injuries.

More than 700 drones and missiles were launched in multiple waves at cities across the country, killing at least 18 people in what local officials described as the deadliest attack in months.

The State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported on Telegram:

“Kyiv: 4 dead, including a child, 21 injured as a result of Russian shelling. Destruction recorded in Podil, Obolon, Shevchenkivskyi and Desnyanskyi districts.”

The number of casualties has been rising throughout the day, reaching seven dead and 64 injured.

At 2:36 AM Kyiv Post correspondents in various areas of the capital heard loud explosions as Russia launched the first wave of ballistic missiles.

Eleven-year-old Maksym Veremchuk never woke up from his nightly sleep. He was in his bed when he was killed during a Russian strike on Kyiv on April 16.

Maksym's father, Ihor, said the family did not hear the air-raid warning.

"The missile hit, and it killed my son in that room. My other son, who was sleeping by the window, is alive. But he was sleeping a little further away. We hadn't even heard the air-raid warning when it all happened. We didn't have time to react and run out," Ihor said.

Nearby hotels and residential buildings also sustained heavy damage. Elsewhere, a one-story house was destroyed, and two people, including a child, were rescued.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said four people had died in the capital, while seven people were killed in Odesa and two in the southeastern city of Dnipro, where Russian attacks set residential buildings ablaze.

Zelenskyy said in the wake of the overnight strikes that Putin is a “truly global threat.”

Appearing in the Netherlands to receive the International Four Freedoms Award, Zelenskyy said: “Today, this is definitely not unprecedented. Putin knows exactly what he's doing. Exactly. And who he resembles.

"And he's rightly compared to Nazis, he has the same expansionist ambitions, he wants to decide the fate of nations.”

He went on: “Russia has carried its war ideas as far as Syria and Africa. This is a truly global threat."

The latest strikes left cities and towns in Ukraine’s southeast without power, including Mykolayiv and Kherson.

Russian troops have been carrying out missile and drone strikes on a number of regions of Ukraine for the second day in a row. In addition to Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv were under fire.

In Dnipropetrovsk four people were killed and 34 injured in Russian strikes.

Oleksandra Hanzha, head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram said: “Fires broke out at several locations in Dnipro as a result of a large-scale missile and drone attack yesterday evening and overnight… Sadly, two people have been killed and 30 injured."

Earlier, buildings of two universities were damaged in a Russian attack on Dnipro on the night April 14-15 – academic and accommodation buildings of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology and Dnipro Polytechnic.

Trump had to be probed by a RFE/RL reporter Alex Raufoglu, before he said the attack was “terrible.”

Asked whether the war had the potential to drag on for years, Trump said he believed a deal could still be reached.

“Well, possibly, but I think a deal could be reached – possibly,” he said. “It would be foolish not to. I mean, if we’re close to a deal to end it, yes, I would do that. But we’re close to a deal.”

Do Trump’s haphazard words mean they’re close to a deal? Have Ukraine’s demands been satisfied? Zelenskyy cannot sign the accord if all of his demands haven’t been met. No two ways about that.

UCCA Condemns Vice-President Vance Remarks, Demands Reversal of US Retreat from Ukraine

The following statement was issued by the UCCA on April 16, 2026.

The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), representing over 2 million Americans of Ukrainian descent, strongly condemns Vice-President JD Vance’s recent remarks at a Turning Point USA event, where he declared that halting US funding for Ukraine is among the “proudest” actions he has taken since entering government.  

At a time when Ukraine continues to defend its people, its sovereignty, and the fundamental principles of democracy against russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion, such a statement is not merely misguided—it is a moral failure. To take pride in withdrawing critical support from a nation under relentless attack is to turn one’s back on victims of war, embolden an aggressor, and erode the moral authority of the United States on the global stage.

This rhetoric reflects an alarming and unacceptable alignment with narratives that benefit russia’s genocidal regime. It signals to the world that this administration is willing to abandon those fighting for freedom and democracy while effectively rewarding violence, repression, and territorial conquest. Such a posture is not neutrality— it is a green light for continued atrocities.

The UCCA calls on Vice President Vance to immediately retract and apologize for these indefensible remarks and demands that the Trump Administration reverse this dangerous and short-sighted policy without delay. A December 2025 survey by the Reagan Institute makes clear that a decisive majority of Americans support continued assistance to Ukraine and recognize russia as an existential threat to the United States. Disregarding this reality is not only politically irresponsible—it is a direct affront to the will of the American people and a failure of leadership at a moment of global consequence. The United States must restore and expand its support for Ukraine, reaffirm its unwavering commitment to defending democracy, and categorically reject any position that enables or legitimizes russia’s ongoing genocidal war.

There can be no ambiguity in the face of such aggression. Standing with Ukraine is not only a moral obligation – it is the US’ national security interests. The consequences of failure will be measured in innocent lives lost, authoritarian regimes emboldened, and the unraveling of the democratic world order.

The UCCA will continue to advocate relentlessly for policies that uphold justice, accountability, and unwavering support for Ukraine in its fight for survival and freedom. 

Vance Tickles Putin with Talk of Ending US Support for Ukraine 

Only Vladimir Putin and his Russian junta of cutthroats would be pleased by any reduction of US help for Ukraine.

According to Ukrainian and other news media, Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday, April 14, that ending US funding for Ukraine’s war effort was a “key achievement” of the current administration. The Grand Old Party is not so grand with the vice-president supporting an end to Washington’s support for Ukraine as well as his public baseless jousting with the Pope. Ending US support for Ukraine opens the door for Russia to sweep across Europe up to the Atlantic.

The vice president told a Turning Point USA rally in Georgia on Tuesday that he still backed the decision to end nearly all new weapons deliveries for Kyiv, leaving Europe to pay for vital aid instead. Fortunately, Europe is aware of its historic mission and is standing up to the plate.

"I still believe that, obviously, and it's one of the things I'm proudest that we've done in this administration is we've told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore,” he said.

Referencing a clash with a Ukrainian American over his push to withdraw funding for Ukraine, Vance offensively and jingoistically  added: “Being an American means caring about Americans first, and that’s the perspective we should be taking in his immigration policy.”

“We have told Europe that if you want to buy weapons, you can, but the United States is not buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore,” Vance said.

He added that the US is “out of that business,” describing the decision as “a very good thing.”

According to Vance, the Ukrainian American told him: “You need to support my country.”

“I said, ‘Sir, with all due respect, if you’re an American, your country is the United States of America, not a place that you immigrated from,’” Vance said.

The vice-president failed to show an understanding of what it means to be a Ukrainian American (no hyphen). For generations, Ukrainians who emigrated to America from Ukraine planted their roots here that grew into tall trees that paid tribute to their heritage while, for instance, dying in numerous wars for America.

US policy toward Ukraine shifted after Trump’ return with his administration moving to scale back military and financial assistance to Kyiv. Washington halted new aid packages and signaled it would no longer play a leading role in supplying weapons to Ukraine, urging European allies to take on greater responsibility for supporting Kyiv.

The change marked a significant departure from previous US policy under Joe Biden, whose administration had provided tens of billions of dollars in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The current administration of President Trump has shown a perverted idea of its global responsibility, publicly shedding its historical mission of defending America from foreign enemies, absolving historical guilt, standing up to Russian threats and aggression, defending the captive nations of Russian enslavement, and aiding those peoples to regain their independence, statehood and freedom.

This abandonment and  betrayal by Trump, Vance and other GOP insiders will certainly not be forgotten on Election Day by American voters with ties to the captive nations.

Russia Shatters Easter Truce Accord as Moscow Perpetuates Bombing of Civilian Targets

So much for Russian promises.

After Russia’s fuhrer Vladimir Putin reluctantly agreed to an Easter ceasefire, Russia has violated the announced truce more than 400 times since it took effect at 4:00 p.m. local time, Ukraine's General Staff said April 11.

"After 16:00, 469 ceasefire violations were recorded," the General Staff said in a statement. The alleged violations include 22 enemy assault actions, 153 instances of shelling, 19 kamikaze drone strikes, and 275 FPV drone strikes.

According to the General Staff cited by Ukrainian news media, 101 combat clashes were also recorded along the front lines since the start of the day.

The hours leading up to the Christian holy day resembled a run-of-mill day, when Russia maintained its day and nightly bombing of civilian targets across Ukraine. Every targeted city and building resulted in civilian deaths. 

This Russian lie on a religious holy day as it perpetuates its airborne strikes against Ukrainian town is one of the key reasons why Kyiv officials demand strict security guarantees.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the Kremlin's latest announcement by reiterating Ukraine's position.

"Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for mirror steps. We proposed a ceasefire for the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly," Zelenskyy said.

In his nightly address on April 11, Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is prepared to extend the ceasefire but warned that any violations by Russia would be met with a proportional response.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country was proposing that ⁠strikes should not resume after Easter, and he drew a parallel with the two-week ceasefire in the conflict between ⁠the United States, Israel and Iran.

“We believe that a ceasefire is the right strategy to advance diplomatic efforts – whether we are talking about the Middle East or Russian aggression against Ukraine,” he said.

The violations again demonstrated that Russia can’t live up to its promises. The ceasefire was set to run from 4 p.m. April 11 through the end of April 12.

In the southern city of Odesa, a man and a woman were killed in a large-scale Russian attack on the night of 10-11 April, according to local authorities. The woman was 38 years old and the man was 32. A 69-year-old woman has been injured and is currently in hospital.

One person has been killed and one injured in a Russian attack on the Lubny district in Poltava Oblast. A shop and a café have been damaged, according to Vitalii Diakivnych, Head of Poltava Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram. Diakivnych said that the Russians had attacked the Lubny district. 

Russian drone and artillery strikes also killed at least three civilians and wounded several others across the Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk regions on Saturday morning, April 11, local officials reported.

In the Kherson region, a 73-year-old woman was killed in the village of Fedorivka when a “Molniya” type drone struck the settlement around 9:30 AM. Earlier that morning, the body of a 50-year-old man was discovered in Kherson’s Korabelny district, a victim of overnight shelling.

The morning also saw targeted attacks on civilian transport in Kherson. A 24-year-old nurse was hospitalized with a concussion and blast injuries after a drone hit a public bus at 7:20 AM. Shortly after, a 61-year-old man was wounded when another drone targeted his car.

In Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region, a 67-year-old truck driver was killed on the spot when Russian FPV drones struck two transport vehicles. Regional Military Administration Head Oleksandr Hanzha confirmed the attack, which also caused a fire that destroyed the vehicles.

The escalation in strikes on Saturday morning followed a massive overnight drone offensive that killed two people in Odesa and wounded 17 in Sumy. In total, the Ukrainian Air Force reported 160 drones launched across the country overnight.

This is more evidence that Russia is not interested in peace in Ukraine and evacuating its cutthroats. This also raises the troubling question about America’s loyalties. It is apparent that Ukraine does not enjoy Washington’s favor. Ukrainian American voters won’t forget this on Election Day.

Russia Says No Easter Truce

 Russia Rejects Easter Truce while Intensifying Attacks against Ukraine and Killing Ukrainians

Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s suggestion a couple of weeks ago regarding an Easter ceasefire, Russia’s fuhrer Vladimir Putin rejected this humanitarian gesture for the sake of his campaign of aggression and terror against Ukraine.

Actually, the frequency of Russian bombardment of Ukrainian civilian targets such as apartment buildings, schools, train stations, supermarkets and energy stations.

The Russians’ intention was to conquer Ukrainians with cold while now the goal of Putin’s cutthroats is to demoralize Ukrainians, who have stood fast in their commitment to withstanding Russia’s unending waves of infantry assaults and airborne attacks or defeating Russia once and for all.

In the weeks leading up to Easter this year, Russia’s airborne attacks with drones and missiles have intensified. They’ve launched waves of drones across Ukraine numbering at times some 1,000 units. Russia has also launched daytime attacks against homes, trains and other civilian resources.

Russia’s terror campaign against Ukrainian civilians killed at least 16 people and injured 86 over the last day, despite Kyiv’s pleas for an Easter ceasefire.

In one of the worst attacks, a Russian drone targeted a market in southern town of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, killing at least five people and injuring 19 on the morning of April 4, Ukraine's Prosecutor General reported.

At around the same time, Russian forces hit a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, injuring five people, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported. Kharkiv, located a few kilometers from the Russian border, suffered bombing raids over three days in a row.

Overnight, Russian strikes on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured a five-month-old baby, a six-year-old boy, and a 41-year-old woman as fires blazed through neighborhoods, reported Oleksandr Hanzha, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast governor.

Another Russian drone tore through an apartment in Sumy during a mass nighttime attack. In total, 13 people are known to have been injured, including a 15-year-old girl, reported the Sumy City Council.

The day before, Russian aerial attach hit Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, killed six people and injured 10, hitting homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

Russian forces attacked 11 districts in Kharkiv Oblast, including Kharkiv city, with glide bombs and drones on April 3 and April 4, killing four people and injuring 11, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast on April 3 killed one person and injured 25 others, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

The attacks come as Ukrainian Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants prepare to celebrate Easter on April 5. This is a relatively new development as all Christian denominations have aligned themselves with the western, Gregorian calendar in order to spiritually distance the nation from Moscow.

Last month saw some of the heaviest aerial campaigns from Russia, with 6,500 drone attacks and nearly 8,000 glide bombs dropped — a wartime record, according to Ukrainian news media. Russians have also intensified their attacks in western Ukraine, which is situated on the border with Poland, which is concerning because some of the enemy drones have crossed into NATO airspace.

In the meantime, President Donald Trump is continuing his dangerous, naive, misguided campaign of pressuring President Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s demands for surrendering Ukrainian territory, in this case Donbas, for peace. Trump is flouting his participation in the wasteful negotiations not realizing in inherent danger to Ukraine and Ukrainians of Putin’s demands. 

Zelenskyy is also insisting on Western, that is American, security guarantees in case in the future Moscow reignites its never ending war against Ukraine. Certainly, the war in Iran is confusing the theaters of war. As odd as it sounds, war is spreading its deadly tentacles from Ukraine to Iran and the Middle East, actively guided by the evil duo of Russia and Iran as it wrecks havoc in many war rooms. While there is a connection among all the players, Ukraine should not be left out in the cold. If it is, not only will Ukraine be re-subjugated in Russia’s prison of nations but the threat against eastern and western Europe (the Atlantic region) will increase exponentially. Not to mention that Russia will bolster its global military position along with that of its new best friend Iran.

Ukrainian Ambassador at UN: Russians, Pack up and Leave Ukraine

Analyzing and even ridiculing Russia’s cock-and-bull elaborations about its global policies, superiority and concerns, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Dr. Andrii Melnyk, dissected Moscow’s fabrications by pointing out in his inimitable sardonic style every lie, falsehood and exaggeration uttered by a Kremlin official.

Russia’s fabrications and manipulations threaten peace, stability and security in an already unstable world.

The Ukrainian diplomat cautioned that listening to Moscow’s untruths would leave the casual and gullible listener with the impression that Ukraine invaded “poor Russia” and not the other way around.

Replying scathingly in the General Assembly of the United Nations on March 23 in the language of the Russian invader and oppressor, Melnyk snapped “Just stop whining and lying and get out of Ukraine.”

Russia is shedding blood and spreading mayhem on two fronts – Ukraine and Iran. It is actively engaged in combat operations in Ukraine that kill innocent civilians and passively in Iran by providing the regime in Teheran with a range of weapons. The irony of the situation is that Russia is using its and Iran’s drones and missiles to also destroy towns and homes in Ukraine while pretending to be a friend and ally of the so-called Gulf States.

Melnyk categorically rejected Russia’s impression of benevolence: “It is Russia that is not just the principal ally of Iran, but the main accomplice and co-perpetrator of unlawful attacks against civilian infrastructure of the Gulf States.

“Russia has long portrayed itself as a ‘big friend’ of the Global South opposing the ‘vicious’ West.

“But this narrative collapses under the weight of the real actions of Moscow helping Iran to ruin oil and gas production facilities in the region.

“Russia does not care about the Global South. It has actually betrayed it.

“The Kremlin is not just providing Tehran with intelligence support, including satellite imagery and other crucial data that facilitate targeting of US military assets across the Middle East.”

Melnyk said Russia is not merely providing Iran with intelligence support, including satellite imagery, but there is enough evidence demonstrating that Russia is transferring modernized shahed drones to Iran. “The  same shahed drones that Tehran was sending to Moscow since 2022 to murder Ukrainian civilians are now produced in Russia and sent back both to destroy oil and gas infrastructure as the backbone of the economy in the Gulf states, and to kill American soldiers. This is an unprecedented escalation in the region that may cost countless lives,” he said.

Melnyk believes that the global community must treat seriously the danger that this Moscow-Tehran axis of evil is presenting to international security. Russian drones will help Iran wage this war for a very long time, destabilizing not only the region but the whole global economy.

Ukraine is doing its share to weaken the military potential of this “unholy alliance” despite facing brutal aggression on the part of Russia. Melnyk noted that the Ukrainian military is striking production facilities thus exercising its right of self-defense.

“So, providing Ukraine with the means for deep strikes and helping ramp up our domestic production of long-range missiles will support collective efforts to bring peace to the Middle East,” he added.

Ironically, Melnyk continued, Russia is the primary beneficiary of this new wave of instability in the Middle East.

He elaborated:

“First, it automatically diverts global attention away from its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

“Second, the massive deployment of air defense systems is already creating shortages on the international market.

“And third — and most critically — rising oil and gas prices are generating extraordinary windfall revenues for Russia.

“Estimates suggest that in March alone, Russia may earn an additional $10 billion from energy exports.

“That is why we call upon our allies to impose additional sanctions on Russian oil and gas to deprive Moscow of these profits that fuel not only its war against Ukraine but also undermine global security and claim lives, including those of American servicemen.”

The Ukrainian official appealed to the international community not to allow Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine to be overshadowed by other regional and global conflagrations, pointing out that Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s malign imperialistic goals are intertwined.

Melnyk listed the up-to-date tally of Moscow’s destruction and carnage in Ukraine:

“There shall be no illusion: this Russian war of annihilation against Ukrainian statehood continues with relentless brutality.

“This winter was the deadliest for the civilian population since February 2022.

“Over the last three months, Russia launched nearly 19,000 strike drones, more than 14,600 guided bombs and around 800 missiles.

“Russia sought to plunge Ukraine into total blackout, to fully destroy critical infrastructure, and to break the resistance of our people.

“But even though the suffering of civilians and the level of devastation are huge, Russia has failed to achieve this perfidious goal.

“According to recent polls, Ukrainians do not even consider giving up.” – Nor should they.

Despite Moscow’s demands that Ukraine surrender Donbas to Russia that is endorsed by Washington inasmuch as Ukraine is losing the war, citing military statistics, Melnyk showed the opposite trend.

“Russian troops, the self-proclaimed second army in the world, have needed three and a half years to occupy 9,300 square kilometers, an area three times the size of Rhode Island.

“Putin’s allegedly inexorable march to 'victory' has been proceeding more slowly than a turtle’s pace.

“At the current speed, it would take 183 years to occupy the whole territory of Ukraine. I repeat, Russia will need 183 years.

“It doesn’t really sound like a successful blitzkrieg for Moscow, does it?”

Melnyk said in recent months Ukrainian troops have broken the dynamics of war and begun to push Russian forces back in localized counterattacks. “In February alone, the Ukrainian army liberated a territory the combined size of Queens and Brooklyn in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. So, from the military point of view, Russia is not winning the war. And it is an obvious fact,” he noted.

Another reason why Putin is failing in Ukraine, Melnyk continued, is because of the deteriorating economic situation in Russia. Putin stated as much by acknowledging last week the grave state of Russia’s economy.

“Zero growth, zero reserves, increasing budget deficit and many other factors make it more and more difficult for Russia to finance the war against Ukraine and pay the salary to its soldiers,” Melnyk said. “Thus, we appeal to the United States to reintroduce sanctions against Russian energy resources as soon as possible and tighten the screws on Moscow. We also call upon other member states who used to be the biggest buyers of Russian oil, gas and diesel to stop exporting them and stop filling Kremlin’s war chest and bankrolling its aggression.”

Sadly, the only Russian accomplishment in the war is in the inhuman pain and suffering that it is inflicting on Ukraine and Ukrainians.

“Every day, civilians are murdered both in areas near the front lines and deep within Ukraine as a result of daily drone and missile attacks. We have just heard the shocking figures of the number of victims during the briefing of USG DiCarlo (Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo). I will not repeat them, they still echo in our ears.

“Russia is destroying critical infrastructure, targeting power and heat generation facilities, destroying water supply systems, and demolishing hospitals, schools, residential buildings, and businesses.

“Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians are being illegally held by Russia in inhumane conditions subjected to systematic torture. They must be released without any conditions.

“Tens of thousands of Ukrainian children have been abducted, deported, or forcibly transferred. They must return home immediately.”

Ukraine is committed to peace, Melnyk insisted, but if compelled, Ukrainians will fight for their freedom and existence as they have been doing since the latest iteration of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014.

But Melnyk appropriately told the global community that Ukrainians have actually been fighting their existential war against Russian cutthroats for far longer.

“Before I wrap up, allow me to address one final point.

“At our previous meeting, the representative of Russia once again recycled a familiar narrative about an alleged historical “unity” between Ukrainians and Russians.

“He even muttered something about Kyivan Rus under his breath that we — Ukrainians — had sold for thirty pieces of silver.

“Let me set the historical record straight once and for all.

“In the beginning of the 12th century, Kyiv was the capital of the largest and one of the most powerful states in medieval Europe.

“In those times, the area of present-day Moscow was nothing more than a swamp where only frogs were croaking.

“It was in 1147 that a tiny settlement on the edge of the known political world was first mentioned that later would develop into Moscow.

“It was under the powerful reign of the Grand Princes of Kyiv that Moscow was founded.

“It was Andriy Boholubsky, the ruler of Vladimir-Suzdal, today’s Russia, whose troops plundered Kyiv in 1169, murdered its citizens and looted the city’s treasures with a ferocity reminiscent of the barbarian sackings of ancient Rome.

“So, let us be honest: it was Moscow that betrayed Kyiv.

“It is Moscow that continues the same brutal policy to this day, bombing Kyiv, destroying our golden-domed churches, raping and killing civilians.

“Ukrainians do not need your distorted historical lessons about imagined “unity”.

“It’s like the egg lecturing the chicken.

“As the cradle of Ukrainian statehood, Kyiv has stood firm for more than a thousand years and it will stand for a thousand more.

“It will flourish, it will remain unconquered, Russia will fail to subjugate it.”

Melnyk concluded his address in the same manner that he began it – in the language of the Russian invader and oppressor, Melnyk insisted:  “So, let me address you again in your own language that serves as a reminder of Russian colonial legacy: ‘Закончен бал, потухли свечи. Бери шинель, иди домой.’

The party is over – the candles are out. Take your trenchcoats and get out of Ukraine.”

Fortunately, most of the free world, members of NATO and, especially the former captive nations, support Ukraine’s position on all of these points. They believe that if Ukraine falls, Europe up to the Atlantic Ocean will eventually succumb to Russia’s enhanced pressure because it’s more than Moscow, which is half of the unholy alliance that includes Iran. Ukraine will suffer, Israel will suffer and Europe will suffer.

It is unfortunate that President Donald J. Trump refuses to believe this endgame. He dangerously believes his führer-friend Vladimir Putin. He refuses to only take Ukraine’s side but rather addresses both sides equally. Trump cannot risk playing both sides against the middle. His self-proclaimed deal-making skills aren’t that deep. He is endangering the United States and its allies. He is also endangering his political career because Ukrainian American voters will not forget this betrayal.