Why does Volodymyr Zelensky so easily reject the requests of EU leaders?
Author: Nematullo Mirsaidov, journalist (Tajikistan)
During their most recent visit to Kyiv, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, asked the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to allow a special commission to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline from the Belarusian border to Slovakia. They received a refusal.
EU leaders wanted to resolve the issue of oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary so that those countries would not block the European Union’s decision to grant Ukraine a $90 billion loan.
It gives the impression that both Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa depend on Zelensky. It cannot be ruled out that Zelensky has significant compromising material on them and believes that Ursula and António, together with Kaja Kallas, will, in any case, push the decision through the European Parliament, and the money will be allocated.
For Zelensky, it seems, his ambitions are important: he intends to ensure that both Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico are punished for their unfriendly attitude toward him and toward Ukraine, and that Russia, as an enemy, is deprived of one of its main sources of income.
But what about Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa?
Do they really have no leverage to influence Zelensky? Can the leaders of such a large intergovernmental union simply swallow this bitter pill? And what about the prestige of the European Union?
It would have been enough for them to say that Zelensky risks losing their support. In that case, the President of Ukraine might have become more willing to engage in dialogue.
Apparently, the reason they cannot set conditions for Zelensky lies in several factors:
1 - Their ratings in the EU are now much lower than Zelensky’s rating, whom they themselves have turned into a kind of icon in the European Parliament, elevating him to the status of a man saving Europe.
2 - Zelensky is currently supported by the leaders of three leading European countries, two of which are not only the main sources of EU funding but are also countries without which the European Union is difficult to imagine.
3 - The corruption system allegedly created by Zelensky, in which senior EU officials are said to participate.
4 - Ukraine’s military capabilities, which could potentially get out of control in the event of a conflict with Europe.
5 - An unprecedented hatred and hostility toward Russia, for the sake of which they are ready to tolerate almost anything.
It cannot be ruled out that Zelensky possesses compromising material in the form of kickbacks allegedly received by senior EU officials, primarily the trio of EU leaders — Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, and Kaja Kallas.
Today, no one denies that Ukraine’s army is the most battle-ready in Europe. Not only does it significantly outnumber the armies of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain — not to mention countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark — but it also possesses an arsenal of the most modern types of weapons that no other army in Europe has.
Will this army in the future pose a threat to Europe itself if peace with Russia is achieved? What will happen if Ukraine’s relations with its closest neighbors — Hungary and Slovakia — become even more strained?
It would not hurt Europeans to think about whether Ukraine might eventually become a headache for the European continent.
