“Political wrestling”: aid to Ukraine is being announced for PR purposes

According to him, a significant part of the statements and decisions that Western politicians make in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war are so-called "pseudo-events" — those that are carried out not for the sake of the end result, but for the sake of attention to the figure or the fact of the event itself.

Landsbergis compares pseudo-events to wrestling, a popular entertainment genre in the United States where actors pretend to be having a real, spectacular fight, although in reality they are simply acting out a battle according to a pre-written script.

For me, watching politics in recent years is like watching professional wrestling. The recent statements that "Trump is finally fed up with Putin" are a perfect example of this.

Gabrielius Landsbergis.

Lithuanian politician

Landsbergis illustrates this with typical reports in the Western press that this or that country will provide Ukraine with $300 million in aid, while Russia's defense budget is approaching $300 billion.

It's as if we sacrificed a phantom weapon to wage a very real war. But the headlines are nice. (...) Remember the "coalition of the willing" and their "devastating sanctions"? Taurus missiles? I'm starting to doubt that they even exist. And remember Biden's loud statement: Ukraine will finally receive ATACMS? The headlines were wild. A few days later we learned: only eleven missiles were delivered.

According to Landsbergis, all this pseudo-aid to Ukraine is needed to please the electorate and keep its attention on itself. But the real master class is shown by Donald Trump, who manages to keep attention on himself by constantly changing the agenda.

Who is the villain this week — Zelensky or Putin? Who will get hit next — Canada or Brazil?

The former minister emphasizes that Putin specifically does not really care what role he is attributed to in this show, as long as he continues to pursue his goal of destroying Ukraine. In this context, Landsbergis recalls the latest episode, when the Pentagon stopped 40 missiles for the Petriot air defense system halfway to Ukraine, and then, with a lordly shoulder, promised to resume supplies and transfer as many as 10 missiles. The former Lithuanian Foreign Minister believes that such "support" for Ukraine by Western governments only pleases Putin.

In past wars, governments had to rally their populations to convince them why it was important. Today, some of the messaging seems to be aimed at avoiding real mobilization. Instead of geopolitical strategy, we get entertainment, but the real world doesn't stop.