Forget the finish line; the horses are back behind the starting gate . . . again.

It’s as though three and a half years of talks never happened . . . as though the leaders of the United States and the EU nations never tried . . . as though nearly a million dead and wounded never even existed.

Because today, of all days — the 34th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chose to drop a metaphorical bomb on the hopes and prayers of the Ukrainian people and their allies for any sort of peace treaty in the foreseeable future.

Speaking in an an almost unprecedented, pre-taped interview that aired today on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Lavrov unashamedly denied that Russia had erred in striking civilian targets in Ukraine; again questioned Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy as president of Ukraine; and blamed Ukraine for blocking the peace process. [RFE/RL, August 24, 2024.]

It is unclear when Lavrov’s interview was taped. But its release on this significant day for the Ukrainian people was surely no coincidence. His remarks included the following:

“The reaction to the Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington indicates that they don’t want peace.” [Id.]

On the subject of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine — which the U.S. and European allies have been frantically working to formulate — Lavrov said that such guarantees should be given by the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the United States, United Kingdom, France, China . . . and Russia. [Id.]

What’s that old joke about sending the fox to guard the henhouse?

But Lavrov wasn’t joking. He was seriously suggesting that Russia — the very country that wants nothing less than to rob Ukraine of its sovereignty — should have an equal voice in guaranteeing its security.

Then he went on to reiterate the same demands that have roadblocked negotiations all along:

“The guarantors would be guaranteeing the security of Ukraine, which must be neutral, which must be nonaligned with any military bloc and which must be non-nuclear.” [Id.]

He again questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy as president; downplayed the likelihood of a summit between Putin and Zelensky due to the existence of “too many” unresolved issues; and accused Ukraine of bringing about Russia’s actions — which he declined to call an “invasion” — by Ukraine’s alleged mistreatment of culturally Russian residents of regions of eastern Ukraine bordering on Russia. [Eric Bazail-Eimil, Politico, August 24, 2025.]

Lavrov further attempted to drive a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies, claiming that Russia and the U.S. are of like minds, and that the EU members’ actions are responsible for the continuation of the conflict:

“We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine. The reaction to [the] Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington indicates that they don’t want peace.” [Id.]

And he said it all with a straight face.

*. *. *

But in Kyiv, President Zelensky was having none of it. Speaking to his people and to the world, he said:

“[Ukraine] will never again accept the humiliation of what the Russians say is a ‘compromise.’ We need a just peace in which our future will be ours to decide. . . . Ukraine is not a victim; it is a fighter.” [RFE/RL, op.cit.]

Happy Anniversary, Ukraine.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/24/25