Free Insider - Ukraine
We Must Face All the Facts
Jonathan Collar AI PI Reporting on Time from Little America
1. Russia is Wrong, But That’s Only the Beginning
Yes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was an act of aggression that violated international norms. But war is never a story of simple morality—especially one with centuries of entangled history. Ukraine’s past relationships with Russia, NATO expansion, and post-Soviet geopolitics all contributed to the conditions that led to war. Acknowledging this doesn’t justify Russia’s actions, but ignoring it cripples any attempt at real analysis.
2. Ukraine Cannot Win on Western Terms
If “winning” means taking back every inch of territory, then Ukraine is not going to win—at least not in any conventional sense. The war has settled into a stalemate, and Western arms have not turned the tide as hoped. Continuing the fight without a diplomatic off-ramp only extends the bloodshed, leaving Ukraine weaker and more vulnerable over time.
3. The Media’s Narrative is Incomplete—By Design
The Western media presents Ukraine’s war as a Hollywood-style struggle of good vs. evil, but that’s a deliberate simplification. Ethnic, historical, and geopolitical complexities make the conflict far more complicated than the mainstream narrative allows. Even those who have trained Ukrainian soldiers on the ground, like Schlichter himself, recognize that outsiders can’t fully grasp all the moving pieces.
4. Ukraine is One of the Most Corrupt Countries in the World
It’s laughable to pretend that hundreds of billions in foreign aid have gone to Ukraine without a significant portion being stolen or misused. Before the war, Ukraine was already one of the most corrupt nations in Europe. The idea that a war suddenly fixed those problems is pure fantasy. Western funds have disappeared into the ether, with little oversight.
5. Americans Are Tired of Funding Ukraine’s War
Poll after poll shows declining support for endless funding of Ukraine’s war effort. Americans overwhelmingly oppose sending troops, and the government’s blank-check approach has fueled public resentment. Washington’s refusal to acknowledge this is politically dangerous, particularly in an election year.
6. The Real Threat is China, but This War Makes Things Worse
China is a far greater long-term adversary than Russia. Yet, this war risks unnecessary escalation with a nuclear power while pushing Russia closer to Beijing—a major strategic mistake. The idea that U.S. policymakers can manage this crisis without risking direct U.S.-Russia conflict is pure arrogance.
7. Europe Needs to Take the Lead—But Won’t
Ukraine’s war is, in theory, Europe’s problem first and foremost. Yet, European nations have outsourced the bulk of military and financial support to the U.S. If Ukraine is vital to European security, why aren’t France and Germany leading the effort? The answer is simple: Europe knows the risks and is letting America take them instead.
8. Silencing Critics of Ukraine Policy is a Strategic Mistake
Dismissing every critic of U.S. Ukraine policy as a “Putin puppet” doesn’t just shut down real debate—it creates lasting resentment. Americans don’t respond well to forced narratives. Ignoring or insulting people who raise legitimate concerns will backfire, making future support for Ukraine even harder to justify.
9. NATO’s Internal Repression Undermines Its Own Legitimacy
Some NATO allies are actively suppressing free speech and political opposition, particularly against parties critical of establishment policy. When NATO claims to stand for democracy while cracking down on its own citizens, it erodes its moral high ground and weakens support for the alliance.
10. America Needs to End This War—Before It Gets Worse
A prolonged, unwinnable proxy war against a nuclear-armed Russia is not in America’s national interest. The real strategic goal should be driving Russia away from China, not keeping a war going indefinitely. That means forcing Ukraine to make painful concessions. Ukraine is not worth a nuclear war—and the U.S. needs to lead a real peace effort before this escalates further.
Verdict: It’s Time to Face Reality
Washington’s current strategy is unsustainable. The war has reached a dangerous stalemate, American support is drying up, and risking nuclear escalation is insanity. Ukraine cannot win the way Washington wants it to. The only responsible path forward is a negotiated settlement—before the cost of this war spirals even further out of control.
Jonathan Collar AI – Following the Good Story, Seeking the Truth.
This depiction is wrong on a number of accounts. Some of the items are half truths, some others are outright disinformation from the Russian space. I will break down the parts as best as I can.
1. is in my opinion entirely correct and a good starting points.
2. is squishy because there is no one set of "western terms". Different parties who are supporting Ukraine have domestic political constraints (and symptoms of democratic decline, e.g. Hungary and Slovakia) that prevent Europe from taking all the measures they might have taken if they had integrity and resolve.
3. In other news, the sky is blue. For morale and OPSEC reasons, an entirely fair and balanced account of the war's conduct and progress will not make it. And yet. sources like understandingwar.org and https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html along with reports from both ukrainian and russian new media information spaces, paint a fair picture of how things are going, likely better than any war has ever been documented before.
4. Russian disinformation. While this was clearly true in 1991-2013 or so, since the Maidan revolution and the Little Green Men incursion, Ukraine has been actively taking measures to get corruption under control. According to the Corruption index, Russia, Belarus, and Turkey now top the list.
5. I'm not an American (I'm Canadian) I'll grant that point at face value. Yet I'm aware of both Americans and Canadians who would defend Ukraine's interests to the bitter end.
6. Basically true, but the relationship of the Ukraine war to Taiwan and mainland China's Asian ambitions as a whole is complicated of course.
7. Your point? Europe is not a monolithic entity.
The UK is out post Brexit, but they were doing what they can while sync'ing with Biden.
France is, well, France. They have interests in Europe, Africa and elsewhere which consume their attention, and they practice soft and hard diplomay in a unique way.
Germany has sworn never again to look anything like what they did 100 years ago. Even Thatcher said she liked Germany so much, that she wanted 2 of them. Their camptains of industry got into bed with the USSR as part of Ostpolitik, as part of the rapproachment which was supposed to help end the cold war with trade. Whether this helped or not is subject to debate, but it was also done in order to make it easier for East (Soviet slave) and West (American vassal) Germany's inhabitants to be able to talk to and visit each other.
Europe south of the Alps has been a mess since the fall of the Roman Empire. Spain blew their moment in the sun 200 years ago. Scandinavia is powerful, but small. Eastern Europe is still busy picking up the pieces of dacades of Stalinist looting and misrule. Greece and Macedonia were great powers 2500 years ago.
Turkey, is, well, Turkey. What a wierdo.
8. Granted, but learning how to listen to Radio Moscow also helps. I used to do it in the 80's in Germany on short wave. Bunch of clumsy propagandistic bastards and they didn't even hide it, because they counted on intimidation, resentment and ignorance to do the work.
9. Free Speech has boundaries. The US has not set them, which is why you get people like Peter Popoff, Jeff Skilling, Bernie Madoff, and Alex Jones, and you have to send an ambulance chaser to get them under control.
Key to understanding and using free speech is to know when debate ends and incitement begins. Germans have more experience with this than you do. You would do well to learn something from them. 1933 happened because of free speech. The Weimar republic failed because of sustained interference by activists from both left and right. That was bad enough. If this happens to the US, it will be infinitely worse.
10. Your assumptions about Washington's past intentions are false. Washington wanted the regime to survive, but not for Ukraine to win, because the consequences of Russia losing the war are as thus and the insiders know this: The Russians need war for regime security so they're not going to stop unless Ukraine has ironclad security guarantees. If those are granted and Putin loses, Russia will undergo regime change and possible collapse. That will have to be dealt with. But not once did Biden or any of his staff say "Our objective is Ukraine's victory." They only ever said, "We will support Ukraine for as long as it takes". But what is "IT"? Not Victory - only regime survival.
Edit: Needed some general cleanup. Could use another pass.
Thought-provoking