Zelensky’s attendance has more of a practical meaning than just reinforcing historically revisionist narratives about World War II since his discussions with the American, British, French, and German leaders will decide the coming escalations and the new peace process that might follow them by the end of summer.
A lot of media attention has been focused on the 80th D-Day anniversary considering its emotive significance and the participation of several international leaders at the event. Zelensky’s attendance alongside Biden and several of his Western European counterparts appears out of place since Ukraine had nothing to do with this operation. The only reason that he was invited was to advance NATO’s historically revisionist narrative about World War II and engage in a proxy war powwow.
To explain, the first refers to the false claim that the Western Allies were chiefly responsible for the Nazis’ defeat, not the Soviet Union. That twisted version of the truth has always been around but began to be fiercely propagated after 2014 and especially following the start of Russia’s special operation in 2022. This narrative was popularized in parallel with the one portraying the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, whose real importance was clarified here, as forging a Soviet-Nazi Alliance that made World War II possible.
It accordingly became unacceptable among the Western elite and opinionmakers to acknowledge the USSR’s role in defeating the Nazis. Since facts about the post-war order can’t be erased, however, they’ve instead taken to manipulating the events leading up to it in order to spin the tale that the First Ukrainian Front which played a leading role in the Battle for Berlin was a semi-independent force. To that end, they overlook that it was named as such for geographic reasons and instead claim that it was for ethnic ones.
Some Ukrainians’ collaboration with the Nazis is either ignored or dishonestly explained as “a misguided form of anti-Soviet resistance”, which combines with the preceding claim about the First Ukrainian Front to craft an entirely new narrative. In the average Western mind nowadays, Ukrainians were victims of the Soviets before World War II and then of the Nazis during it; semi-independent victors in that war; and then once again victims of the Soviets after it like the rest of Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).
The metanarrative that’s formed through the abovementioned means is to equate the USSR with Nazi Germany in terms of moral responsibility for starting World War II and then comparing the first’s prolonged military presence in CEE after the war with the Nazis’ brief but highly genocidal occupation. It’s upon this basis that Russia wasn’t invited to attend the 80th D-Day anniversary but Zelensky was since the latter’s participation reinforces these views in the Western imagination.
Having explained the historically revisionist reasons behind Zelensky’s invitation to Thursday’s event, it’s now time to segue into its practical importance with respect to the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine. He’s powwowing with the American, British, French, and German leaders precisely at the moment that those four are “escalating to de-escalate” as was argued here with a view towards coercing Russia into freezing the conflict on comparatively better terms for the West and Ukraine.
Hellbound and Down 