Silicon Bites #104 - Zelenskyy Failed to "be Cautious" When Entering the Bear Pit of the Oval Office

Edition No104 | 01-03-2025 - After watching the car crash presser in the Oval Office, it’s easier to think this was a disaster for Zelenskyy and personally for Ukraine. But this may not be the case – that’s the theme we’ll unpack in this episode. But before we do, it’s worth remembering that when you combine last week’s tirade of abuse by Trump and Co of Zelenskyy and Ukraine with what’s happened yesterday, it’s potentially extremely distressful and re-traumatizing for Ukrainians. The treatment of that country and its people by the US administration amount of victim blaming and abuse. We must remember, as Zelenskyy said, this is not a game of cards, but a terrifying reality where many Ukrainians are at daily risk of being killed, and all will know friends and family who are servicing, or lost in combat, missing or tortured, raped, abducted. Things are moving fast, and after this has been recorded much could change. But it seems that in a move of extraordinary petulance, Trump is threatening to pause all aid to Ukraine, including assistance to rebuild its shattered energy grid. Such a reaction would lead to deaths, avoidable death. It would be a murderous set of decisions. But if Trump is prepared to burn bridges after one confrontation, it does suggest that his turnaround in support of Ukraine had extremely shallow roots. And indeed, as the press event descended into vitriolic chaos, Trump and Vance instantly reverted to spewing Kremlin talking points. Weaponized narratives that are utterly false, demeaning and triggering for any Ukrainian who is facing Russian violence. Having said that – and I will break down further what seemed to be a premeditated ambush by Vance, we must examine Zelenskyy’s performance. Most of the comments are sympathetic of his position, and the fact he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Of course, in an ideal world, due consideration would be given to his status as a war leader and the immense stress he is under. But this was not a normal situation. He willingly pushed himself into the bear pit of the oval office and the baying mob of reporters, some sympathetic to Ukraine and some clearly not.. ----------SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISERA project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's front-line towns.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------LINKS:https://snyder.substack.com/p/five-failures-in-the-oval-office?r=253dhm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------