Putin and Trump will soon come to fear Europe.

The German elections are over, and the dust has begun to settle. Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats had their worst ever result, with 16.4%. (BBC News: 24 February 2025) (my emphasis)

  

BBC News: 24 February 2025

The conservative CDU/CSU alliance won the German election with 28.6% of the vote (ibid BBC News)

And with this change-over of power in Germany from the SDP to the CDU, also come a change in the relationship with US President Trump.

In the words of the new incoming Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz (left),

"In a televised roundtable later Sunday evening, Merz also criticized US “intervention” in the German election campaign in recent days. “The interventions from Washington were no less dramatic and drastic and ultimately outrageous than the interventions we have seen from Moscow,” he said. “We are under such massive pressure from two sides that my top priority is to create unity in Europe.”

 He continued, “My absolute priority will be to
strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.” (Sophie Tanno and Helen Regan (right): CNN:  24 February 2025) (my emphasis)  

 

CNN:  24 February 2025

Elon Musk, that "Privileged Apartheid Reared South African", and now US President Trump's right-hand man,  intervened in the German elections by openly displaying his support for the Neo-Nazi AfD German party. 

Jabed Ahmed and Namita Singh: The Independent on MSN: 24 February 2025

And as reported by  Katya Adler,

"Declaring the US indifferent to this continent's fate, Friedrich Merz questioned the future of Nato and demanded Europe boost its own defences. Quickly.
...
I would never have thought that I would have to say something like this in a TV show but, after Donald Trump's remarks last week... it is clear that this government does not care much about the fate of Europe," Friedrich Merz said during a post-election debate on Sunday.
….
Significantly, the forthcoming chancellor put Donald Trump's America on a par with Russia - widely viewed here as a security threat to Europe more broadly. " (BBC News: 24 February 2025) (my emphasis)

For Zelensky, the more positive stance of  Friedrich Merz towards Ukraine in its war with Russia presents welcome relief from the vaccilations of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz towards supplying Ukraine with lethal weaponry with which to defend itself against Putin's onslaught..

And today, Zelensky welcomed foreign leaders for  a summit to mark the third anniversary of Ukraine war.

As reported by Gráinne Ní Aodha,

"Ireland’s premier will attend a meeting of world leaders organised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Ukraine.

The online meeting is being held on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid fragile relations between the US and Europe after Donald Trump launched an extraordinary verbal attack on Mr Zelensky last week." (The Standard on Yahoo News: 24 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

The Standard on Yahoo News: 24 February 2025

Underscoring the rift developing between US President Trump and Europe,  Jon King reports that,

"The governor of New York has taken a swipe at Donald Trump after he declared himself a "king".
...
Mr Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to claim victory with the statement: "LONG LIVE THE KING!"
…
Ms Hochul said in response: "New York hasn't laboured under a King in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now." (Daily Express on MSN: 20 February 2025) (my emphasis)

The autocratic leanings of US President Trump has now reached the stage of wishing to overturn the democratic Constitution of the US.

 Putin and his 'siloviki' are practically jumping for joy, but with one cautious eye on the re-awakening of the European giant.

Storm clouds are gathering.

Putin and Trump will soon come to fear Europe.

                                                                                

        

 

(to be continued)

"Is Tump's embrace of Putin about 'peace' or 'about crude' economics."

A new form of facism is rising from the ashes of the old.

Just as,

"Kaiser William II and Adolf Hitler both have tried to exploit opportunities to bring to reality their dreams of a Ukrainian colony which would serve as "breadbasket" for a greater German Reich." (Joachim Joesten: Foreign Affairs: 1 January 1943) (my emphasis),

Olena Harmash (left) reports that,

"Trump has said he wants Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earth minerals as a form of payment for financially supporting the country's war efforts against Russia." (Reuters: 12 Februart 2025) (my emphasis) 

 

The Independent on MSN: 19 February 2025

As  Tom Watling reports,

 

"The Kremlin jumped on the comments, saying it demonstrated the US is no longer willing to provide free aid to Kyiv, before adding, what it was against Mr Trump giving any help to Ukraine whatsoever." (The Independent on MSN: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis) 

 

Tom Watling goes further on to report that,

 

"It is not surprising that Mr Trump appears keen on benefiting from this, especially as China remains a key player in the mining of minerals such as titanium." (ibid Tom Watling)

 

Underscoring the Trump approach to end Putin's war against Ukraine, Matthew Lee and Dasha Litvinova (left) report that,

"Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties, the two countries’ top diplomats said after talks that reflected an extraordinary about-face in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump.

In an interview with The Associated Press after the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two sides agreed broadly to pursue three goals:

• to restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, 
• to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and 
• to explore closer relations and economic cooperation." (AP: 18 February 2025) (my emphasis)

And in the shadow of that Riyadh meeting between US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio (left),
and that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Segei Lavrov (right), watching and listening stand the AI oligarchs of the US, wrapped up in the flimsy veil of "Unconditional Free Speech", that is now serving to spread the propaganda of Trump and Putin  about 'ending Putin's war in Ukraine'  to the four corners of the earth. 

 

As Liv McMahon (left) reports,

"Meta has announced plans to build a 50,000km (31,000 mile) sub-sea cable across the world.

The tech giant said Project Waterworth - connecting the US, India, South Africa, Brazil and other regions - will be the world's longest underwater cable project when completed.
…
And he said connecting the US with major, contested markets in the Southern hemisphere could be viewed as "bolstering US economic and infrastructural power abroad". (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

Meta's announcement of this global undersea cable, potentialy Trump and Putin's propaganda tool, comes on the heels of,

 

"US Vice President JD Vance on Friday met with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Vance lectured European leaders about free speech and said there was no place for “firewalls” against right-wing parties." (France 24 : 14 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

France 24 English: 18 February 2025: YouTube

  

And, of course, we have Trump releasing from prison the convicted criminal rioters , who stormed the US Congress in Washington in 2020, and whom Trump refers to as 'hostages', when Trump lost his election against Biden.

 

Trump released these convicted criminals a day after been sworn in as the US President on 20 January, 2024.

 

As Mike Wendling (right) reported,

"Until Monday, even some of Donald Trump's team did not seem to believe he would release all of those arrested after riots at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
…
He issued a handful of commutations and a blanket pardon that effectively freed all the rioters and erased the work of the largest criminal investigation in US history." (BBC News: 21 January 2025) (my emphasis)

 

 

BBC News: 21 January 2025

 

Let us not forget that on the morning of 9th November 1923, 

 

"... Hitler ordered the seizure of the Munich city council as hostages.
…
Ludendorff cried out, "Wir marschieren!" ('We will march!'). Röhm's force together with Hitler's (a total of approximately 2000 men) marched out.
….
On the spur of the moment, Ludendorff led them to the Bavarian Defence Ministry. 

 

However, at the Odeonsplatz in front of the Feldherrnhalle, they met a force of 130 soldiers blocking the way under the command of State Police Senior Lieutenant Michael von Godin.

 

The two groups exchanged fire, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Nazis, four police officers, and one bystander." (Wikipedia) (my emphasis)

And from the Hitler Archive,

" ... a simple NSDAP swastika flag of the 5th SA Sturm used during Hitler's putsch in Munich on 9 november 1923, it became a sacred object of the party after the police shot on the group of men who marched towards the Feldherrnhalle. Heinrich" (Hitler Archive) (my emphasis)

 

Mark Felton Productions: 2019: YouTube

Hitler eyed Ukraine as, "serving as the "breadbasket" for a greater German Reich" , whilst Trump eyes Ukraine, "to supply the United States with rare earth minerals, (especially as China remains a key player in the mining of minerals such as titanium)".

 

Then we have US vice president Vance meeting with Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, whilst also lecturing European leaders about free speech and saying that, " ... there was no place for [UK and EU] “firewalls” against right-wing parties".

 

The question that now arises :-

 

"Is Tump's embrace of Putin about 'peace' or 'about crude' economics." 

 

 

Nicole Wallace: MSNBC: 19 February 2025

 

UPDATE: 19 February: 16:16 GMT

Hafsa Khalil has just reported that,

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to criticism of Kyiv by Donald Trump, by saying his US counterpart is "living in a disinformation space" created by Russia." (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

(BBC News: 19 February 2025)

To which Trump immediately replied.

"Donald Trump launches a fresh attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a "dictator" and saying he has done a "terrible job" (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, and rather dangerously, Trump also stated that,

"Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left," US President Donald Trump says in a post on Truth Social.

Labelling Zelensky "a dictator", Trump writes: "I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died."

Trump says in the meantime, the US is "successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia" (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Not only is Trump COMPLETELY handing over Ukraine to Putin, he is completely turning his back on he UK, Europe, and the rest of the world supporters of Ukraine, and COMPLETELY embracing Russia.
 

"Trump has also taken a swipe at Europe, saying the war in Ukraine is "far more important to Europe than it is to us".

"We have a big, beautiful ocean as a separation," he says." (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

The speed with which Trump has politically abandoned Ukraine, and with it the UK, the EU, and the rest of the world by removing USAID to many countries, indicates the rapidity with which the new fascism is spreading throughout Trump's administration.

 

As US Senator Bernie Sanders has also said,

"Trump and his American oligarchs are now openly aligning themselves with Putin and his Russian oligarchs," Sanders writes in a post on X.

"This Putin-Trump alliance means abandoning our allies, supporting authoritarianism and undermining our democratic traditions." (BBC News: 19 February 2025) (my emphasis)

                                                                                

        

 

(to be continued)

The fallout from the proposed Riyahd meeting (Feb.2025) has just begun.

And so the Trump and Putin entourages head for Riyahd, capital of the Prince of Saudia Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (remember Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi), and close friend of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to privately decide on  the resolution of Putin's war with Ukraine, entirely in favour of Putin's “Greater Novorossiya” dreams.

As reported by My News,

"The trip follows last week’s telephone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Trump said they “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”. (My News: 17 February 2025) (my emphasis)

As was to be expected,

"BBC reported, citing a government source, that neither Ukraine is invited to the talks nor Kyiv is planning to send officials." (Firstpost: 16 February 2025) (my emphasis)

even though,

"This comes even as US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, earlier claimed that Kyiv would be involved in the negotiations." (ibid Firstpost)

And as reported by Dmytro Basmat (left),

"Ukraine will "never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia" regarding the outcome of peace negotiation without Ukraine's participation, President Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News in an interview published Feb. 16.
...
"We have this place at the table at the very beginning, and we are the first who are at this table because the war is in Ukraine," Zelensky added, noting that Ukrainians would never accept a peace deal that was negotiated on their behalf." (The Kyiv Independent: 17 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

My News: 17 February 2025

Consequently, and as reported by Jamie Bullen (left), the EU and Great Britain have responded to the proposed Riyahd meeting by,

"European leaders will today meet in Paris for emergency talks over the Russia-Ukraine war as Keir Starmer indicates British soldiers could be sent to enforce any peace deal to resolve the war.

The summit in the French capital comes as U.S. and Russia officials hold their own negotiations to end the conflict in Saudi Arabia as Donald Trump declared he will soon meet Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his nation must be involved in any talks to end the war and urged Europe to unite around Ukraine." (Mail Online: 17 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Echoing the call for European unity behind Ukraine,

"Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski (right) wrote on X on Saturday that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk would be at the Paris meeting and added that “we need to show our strength and unity”. (Firstpost: 15 February 2025) (my emphasis)

And in the backdrop to this proposed meeting between Trump and Putin in Riyadh, Ian Aikman recently reported that,

"A Russian drone has hit the protective shelter over Chernobyl's damaged nuclear reactor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The overnight strike at the site of the world's worst nuclear accident caused a fire that has since been extinguished, he added.
...
Russia has denied any claims it attacked Chernobyl, stating its military does not strike Ukrainian nuclear infrastructure and "any claims that this was the case do not correspond to reality". (BBC News: 14 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

BBC News: 14 February 2025

Let us not forget that, as reported by Edward Szekeres (left),

"US President Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,” as he called for the war-torn country to share its natural resources in exchange for US assistance." (CNN: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

And let us also be reminded that in 1938, Neville Chamberlain met Hitler PRIVATELY on 3 ocassions, and

"... [at] Munich, Chamberlain got an international agreement that Hitler should have the Sudetenland in exchange for Germany making no further demands for land in Europe. Chamberlain said it was ‘Peace for our time’. Hitler said he had ‘No more territorial demands to make in Europe. " (The National Archives (Gov.UK)) (my emphasis)

 

Humanity's Archives : 6 years ago : YouTube

Soon after we had the start of WW2.

Let us also bear in mind that,

"Keir Starmer indicates British soldiers could be sent to enforce any peace deal to resolve the war." (ibid Jamie Bullen)

 As I wrote in my last blog entry, 

"Together, the UK and Europe are sleeping economic and political giants that Trump and his cohorts have awakened.

That first flush of power that Trump and his 'cabal of US AI oligarchs' believe they can simply impose upon the UK and Europe, together with imposing it upon the rest of the world, will soon begin to wane." (blog entry: 13 February 2025)

The fallout from the proposed Riyahd meeting has just begun.

UPDATE: 17 February 2025: 10:30 GMT

 Sweden not ruling out peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (left) says.

"Sweden could also bolster Ukraine's post-war peacekeeping mission, its foreign minister tells the country's public broadcaster.

Maria Malmer Stenergard's comments come after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK was "ready and willing" to contribute to security guarantees in Kyiv, which could include putting its own own troops on the ground.

"We must now first negotiate a just and sustainable peace that respects international law, that respects Ukraine and that first and foremost ensures Russia can't just pull back, build new strength and attack Ukraine or another country in just a few years' time," Stenergard tells Sveriges Radio." (BBC News: 17 February 2025) (my emphasis)

                                                                                

        

 

(to be continued)

Putin and his 'siloviki' are toasting each other with glasses of vodka

The political 'hand grenade' that Trump threw at the Foreign secrataries of the EU, UK, and, more particularly, Ukraine, continues to reverberate around the world.

Using the 'mantra' of "peace ... peace ...", US president Donald Trump and Putin had a PRIVATE telephone conversation about the war in Ukraine

No doubt, this coversation followed a pattern similar to their meeting in Helsinki in 2018.

As Hannah Golden then reported of their PRIVATE Helsinki tête-à-tête in 2018,

"The meeting between Trump and Putin, which included translators, but no other aides or staffers, went overtime. The Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus added that after the 90-minute mark, the two were supposed to be joined by staffers, but had not." (Elite Daily: 16 July 2018) (my emphasis)

Recall that in 1938, Neville Chamberlain met Hitler PRIVATELY on 3 ocassions, and

"... [at] Munich, Chamberlain got an international agreement that Hitler should have the Sudetenland in exchange for Germany making no further demands for land in Europe. Chamberlain said it was ‘Peace for our time’. Hitler said he had ‘No more territorial demands to make in Europe. " (The National Archives (Gov.UK)) (my emphasis)

 

Humanity's Archives : 6 years ago : YouTube

Fast foreward to 2024 and Trump, similarly, pronounced after his call with Putin that,

"US President Donald Trump has said he had a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. (Bernd Debusmann Jr., Mike Wendling, and James Waterhouse: BBC News: 13 February 2025) (my emphasis)

                                      

CBS News: 12 February 2025: YouTube

Furthermore,

"In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he and the Russian president had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately".
…
Trump also told reporters at the White House that it was unlikely Ukraine would return to its pre-2014 borders but, in response to a question from the BBC, he said "some of that land will come back". (ibid: Bernd Debusmann Jr., Mike Wendling, and James Waterhouse)

 Reinforcing Trump's pronouncements that :-

• Ukraine returning to original borders before Russian invasion was ‘unrealistic,, and
•  NATO membership for Ukraine was also unrealistic,

former contributor for Fox TV News and current U.S. Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, re-stated Trump's pronouncements at his press conference following his call with Putin.

PBS News: 12 February 2025

Presciently, regarding the latest calls between Trump and Putin,  Emma Burrows (left) reported that,

"Putin is closer than ever to achieving his objectives in the battle-weary country, with little incentive to come to the negotiating table, no matter how much U.S. President Donald Trump might cajole or threaten him, according to Russian and Western experts interviewed by The Associated Press.

Both are signaling discussions on Ukraine -– by phone or in person -– using flattery and threats." (AP: 8 February 2025) (my emphasis)

No-one expected Trump to propose handing over to Putin Ukraine territory that is illegally occupied by Putin's armed forces.

Surely Putin must be pinching himself to feel whether he's dreaming or not.

As Adrian A. Basora (left) and Aleksandr Fisher (right) wrote in 2014,

" Putin and his surrogates have made it clear that the Kremlin’s goal is once again to establish its dominance over the lands once called Novorossiya
. Furthermore, it is clear that Putin hopes to push his control well beyond this region’s historic boundaries to include other contiguous provinces with large Russian-speaking populations." (Foreign Policy Research Institute: 2 May 2014) (my emphasis)

To-day, in 2025, it is precisely Trump's revealed "peace" formula for ending Putin's war in Ukraine that has is further whetting Putin's appetite of territorial expansion beyond Ukraine, causing deep concern amongst UK and European politicians.

Putin and his 'siloviki' are now toasting each other with glasses of vodka, thanks to Trump.

UPDATE: 14 February 2025: 07:39 GMT 

The political chasm between the EU and Trump, following Trump's "Ukraine capitulation-plan" to Putin, is fast emerging.

As reported by BBC News,

"French President Emmanuel Macron warns that a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine that was in effect a capitulation to Russia would be "bad news for everyone", including the United States.

Macron tells the Financial Times, external that only Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky could negotiate on behalf of his country.
...
Macron also tells its European partners they need to "muscle up" on defence and the economy." (BBC News: 14 February 2025) (my emphasis) 

Trump and his current cabal of  'US AI oligarchs', believing as they do that they can upend the UK and Europes' political history by simply applying a rather crude economic 'quid-pro-quo' approach to politics, devoid of any moral framework, are beginning to have a rude 'political' awakening. 

Together, the UK and Europe are sleeping economic and political giants that Trump and his cohorts have awakened.

That first flush of power that Trump and his 'cabal of US AI oligarchs' believe they can simply impose upon the UK and Europe, together with imposing it upon the rest of the world, will soon begin to wane.

As the old saying goes, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."     

                                                                                

        

 

(to be continued)

Putin is now running around like a political 'headless chicken'.

In my last blog entry I wrote that,

The question is :-

"Will Trump fall for Putin's feeble 'bluster' about his defeating Ukraine?" (blog entry: 9 February 2025)

And true to form, Arpan Rai (left) and Alexander Butler (right) report that,

"A senior Russian official has said that all of president Vladimir Putin's conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine can end.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it would not be possible to reach a US-brokered peace deal if Mr Trump undermines Mr Putin’s fundamental aims.
…
He suggested the non-negotiables for Mr Putin include:-

• Ukraine abandoning hopes of joining Nato and 
• its withdrawal of troops from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in September 2022. All four regions remain partially unoccupied. (The Independent on MSN: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Let us recall  that in 2014, in an article entitled "Putin’s “Greater Novorossiya” – The Dismemberment of Ukraine", Adrian A. Basora (left) and Aleksandr Fisher (right) wrote that,

"On April 17, Vladimir Putin introduced a 
dangerously expansive new concept into the Ukraine crisis. During his four-hour question and answer session on Russian TV that day he [Putin] pointedly mentioned “Novorossiya” – a large swath of territory conquered by Imperial Russia during the 18th century from a declining Ottoman Empire. This historic Novorossiya covered roughly a third of what is now Ukraine (including Crimea).


Subsequent comments and actions by Putin and his surrogates have made it clear that the Kremlin’s goal is once again to establish its dominance over the lands once called Novorossiya
. Furthermore, it is clear that Putin hopes to push his control well beyond this region’s historic boundaries to include other contiguous provinces with large Russian-speaking populations." (Foreign Policy Research Institute: 2 May 2014) (my emphasis)

That was in 2014, when Putin illegally invaded and occupied Ukraine's Crimea, and started to foment a war in Ukraine's Donbas between Ukrainians' and Ukrainian Russians'.

Fast foreward to 2024, and with almost a million Russian war casualties in his current war with Ukraine, Putin is still obsessed with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya", the so-called initial [2014] aims of Putin as recently stated by Sergei Ryabkov. 

Putin's "obsession" about recreating Novorossiya has now morphed into "non-negotiables" in any 'peace deal' Trump may propose to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump himself is obsessed with the idea that Ukraine gives its rare earth minerals to the US as payment for war aid.

 

The Independent on MSN: 11 February 2025

Furthermore, tacitly supporting Putin's  obsession with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya", Trump has suggested that,

"... Ukraine could be Russian in the future - a statement that will set alarm bells ringing in Kyiv amid discussions over potential peace talks.

"They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday," Trump told Fox News in an interview aired last night." (Sky News: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

As also reported by Edward Szekeres (left),

"US President Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,” as he called for the war-torn country to share its natural resources in exchange for US assistance." (CNN: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis) 

Bear in mind, as reported by Yahoo,

"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. Vice President JD Vance (right) may meet during the Munich Security Conference later this week, the Presidential Office confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 9.

The news comes amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a quick resolution of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine that nears its three-year mark." (Yahoo: 10 February 2025) (my emphasis)

What, then, exactly, will Vance have to discuss with Zelensky when Trump has already stated that, "Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,”", thus tacitly supporting Putin's  obsession with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya" ?

Apart from parroting Trump, very little indeed.

We now also learn from Max Parry and Will Stewart that,

"NATO has scrambled Western warplanes after Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The defensive alliance deployed F-16 and F-35 multi-role fighters on NATO’s eastern flank in the wake of the Kremlin's latest act of aggression.
…
The brutal onslaught came after Donald Trump once more insisted he was talking to the Russian leader and was seeking an end to the war." (Express: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

This onslaught by a 'panicked' Putin against Ukraine comes against the backdrop of Russia's dire economic state.

As Rebecca Robinson reports,

"Russia's only allies are finally turning on [Russia] in the wake of economic sanctions from the West, a leaked government report revealed.

The bombshell report was presented at a strategy session led by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and gives a grim insight into the state of the economy.
…
The Financial Times reports that its analysis admitted that increasingly stringent sanctions are "driving a wedge" between Russia and some of its "nearest trade partners."

This is something that Vladimir Putin has been accused of hiding as he continues to paint a more positive picture of the war in Ukraine's economic impact" (Express: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

 Joe Blogs: 9 February 2025: YouTube

And piling the pressure on Putin's head, we now learn from John Varga (left) that,

"Splits in Russia's army are deepening, as commanders increasingly refuse to carry out "suicidal" attacks - Ukrainian partisans have told the Express.
…
However, reports are emerging that an increasing number of senior officers are starting to defy orders as they become disillusioned with the tactics of the Russian military command." (Express: 10 February 2025) (my emphasis)

 

USS Pentagonal: 10 February 2025: YouTube

Putin is now running around like a political 'headless chicken'.

                                                                                

        

 

(to be continued)