Rubio Tells Zelensky the U.S. Is Fresh Out of Blank Checks and Sympathy

Media has more intentional blindness over a historic shift in the Proxy War peace talks. Yesterday, Reuters ran a deceptively bland story headlined, “US will abandon Ukraine peace efforts if no progress made soon, Rubio says.” How soon? Days. Rubio just delivered the Administration’s first threat ever to “walk away” from the proxy war.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio occupied Paris, to meet with European and Ukrainian “leaders.” The “leaders” were mostly French PM Emmanuel Macron and the former comedian, accompanied by staff. Regardless, afterward Rubio told reporters the clock was ticking. “We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end.”

And there it was, the inglorious conclusion of Biden’s goofy promise to stick with them until the last Ukrainian. It’s the first time the Administration has formally threatened to pull Kiev’s plug. Rubio concluded by warning, “So we need to determine very quickly now —and I’m talking about a matter of days— whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.”

It isn’t an empty threat.

We told them so. The Ukraine-flag-in-bio, Slava Ukraini! types could have spared their upcoming crushing disappointment by learning about the United States’ history in previous proxy wars with Russia. The pattern is clear and never changes: an extended period of undying support followed by a snap disconnect. For instance, we ended the Vietnam proxy war by bypassing that country’s mulish, maximalist president.

When President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu refused to play ball, Nixon and Kissinger sliced him right out of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. No signature needed.

Consider this timeline of U.S. presidential enthusiasm for the Vietnam war, right up until the day the enthusiasm withered like a glyphosate-sprayed dandelion:

• Eisenhower (1954): “The loss of Indochina would be the loss of Southeast Asia. The United States must help.”
• Kennedy (1961): “We are not going to withdraw… This is a most important struggle.”
• Johnson (1965): “We will not be defeated. We will stand in Vietnam.”
• Nixon (1969): “Let me make one principle of American policy absolutely clear: the United States will not permit the independent existence of South Vietnam to be destroyed by force.”

In other words, we will stand with Vietnam until the polls look bad. Nor can we tell you what day that will be. Call it American Roulette. (Don’t even get me started about Afghanistan.) Ukraine’s defenders have no excuse. It was always just common sense. Proxy wars demand political theater. To make them work, you have to publicly pledge eternal loyalty to the proxy government. But privately, you plan your exit for whenever the war catches political monkeypox.

In 1973, when Vietnam’s time was finally up, Nixon blamed the Vietnamese. He essentially said, “We gave them every chance. They just wouldn’t fight for themselves” (paraphrased from political word salad.) You can see the hapless Ukrainians lining up under the blame balloon. They can’t even see it, hanging right above them.

Still, there might be a flicker of intelligence in there somewhere. Somehow, Rubio’s message penetrated and a whole new Ukrainian vista opened like a blooming rose. The New York Times ran a story yesterday headlined, “Ukraine and U.S. Sign Agreement in Lead-Up to Full Minerals Deal.” Late yesterday —following Rubio’s comments— “Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding” with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Suddenly, the minerals deal is back on the table.

The one-page MOU is light on details but what was left out spoke volumes. There was no mention of weapons, mutual defense, or security guarantees. It focused on reinvestment, reconstruction, and economic “partnership.” Most conspicuously absent was the green sweatshirted thespian— the MOU was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and referenced Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as the main signatory— two top Kiev officials that, thanks to our useless media, we never heard of before.

Zelensky’s name was nowhere to be seen. Now, four years later, we learn there are other members of Ukraine’s government.

With days left on the clock, what options did they have? “Ukraine,” the Times grumbled, “had little choice but to sign some version of the deal.” Bessent said he expected to ink a full deal next week. So.

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