Putin and Trump's accelerating power-meltdown.

The sheer and utter desperation of Putin as he loses his war with Ukraine is best illustrated by,

"South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Tuesday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on returning South Africans lured into fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine, his office said." (Jacaranda fm: 11 February 2026) (my emphasis)

 Furthermore,

"The daughter of South African former president Jacob Zuma is among several accused of recruiting men to join Russian mercenaries in the Ukraine war." (ibid Jacaranda fm)

Let us recall that in 2016, just two years before Putin's illegal invasion of, and annexation of, Ukraine's Crimea

"Meanwhile, one of Putin's closest allies in Africa, President Zuma (right: with Putin) of South Africa, who signed a controversial and secretive deal with Putin  for Russia's Rosatom to build nuclear reactors in South Africa, has been found guilty of breaking the South African constitution to embelish his private estate at Nkandla to the tune of £13 million stolen from state coffers. This theft elicited from him a public apology but, like Putin the 'kleptocrat', he simply ignored demands for his resignation.(blog entry: 3 April 2016) 

And we now learn that,

"Kenya on Tuesday condemned as "unacceptable" recruiters luring Kenyans to Russia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to send them to Ukraine's front lines as "cannon fodder".
… 
[Kenyan] Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi (right) announced he would travel to Moscow for talks aimed at "conclusively resolving the matter and identifying sustainable solutions". (France 24:  10 February 2026) (my emphasis)

This follows on the heels  of,

"Japan is set to join the NATO-led program to fund the purchase of weapons from the U.S. to support Ukraine, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Feb. 10, citing unnamed NATO officials. 
… 
Signed by the U.S. and NATO in July, the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) agreement lays out a mechanism for NATO member states and partners to purchase high-priority equipment for Ukraine." (Kyiv Independent: 10 February 2026) (my emphasis)

Added to which, as David Hambling (right) reports, 

"The Russian invasion force is in disarray following the deactivation of its Starlink satellite communications. Meanwhile Ukrainians are rushing to get their terminals whitelisted to maintain the service." (Forbes: 6 February 2026) (my emphasis)

 

France 24 English: 6 February 2026: YouTube 

These developments are occuring as Putin "manically" continues raining bombs upon the people of Ukraine.

 

BBC News: 7 February 2026: YouTube 

As reported by Claire Keenan (left),

"A Russian strike has killed at least four people, including three young children, in a town west of Kharkiv, a Ukrainian official says.
…
A 35-year-old pregnant woman and another woman, 76, were injured in the strike on Bohodukhiv, Synegubov said" (BBC News: 11 February 2026) (my emphasis) 

Whilst Putin constantly and simply ignores Trump's "self-serving" calls about "ceasefires" in Ukraine between Putin and Zelensky, Christopher Miller (right) reported that,

"Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the US is urging Ukraine and Russia to end their war before the start of summer, reflecting growing pressure in Washington for a negotiated settlement as midterm elections approach." (Financial times: 7 February 2026) (my emphasis)

Christopher Miller went on to report that,

"Zelenskyy hinted that Trump’s political considerations [of the impending November mid-term elections in the US] were shaping his administration’s approach to peace talks.

“Elections are definitely more important for them. Let’s not be naive,” he said. “They say that they want to do everything by June . . . so that the war ends. And they want a clear schedule.”

More significantly,

"For the first time, the Ukrainian leader also shed light on parallel bilateral talks between the US and Russia, which Kyiv was not part of. He said his intelligence officials briefed him on discussions in which Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian special envoy, was promoting development and co-operation deals worth as much as $12tn." (ibid  Christopher Miller)

It is therefore no wonder that, as Konstantin Samoilov (left) reports,

"In modern Russia, culture needs permission to be distributed. 

It means this. They don't have to ban movies, books, or songs. They just make it impossible to show. No scandal ... Just one simple solution, "Doesn't meet States narrative".

Today I will show you how 'traditional values' became Russia's smartest censorship machine." (cf. video below: Inside Russia:  10 February 2026) (my emphasis)

 

Inside Russia:  10 February 2026 

Trump's desperation to stave off being impeached by trying to divert the eyes of Americans away from the Epstein files that threatens his total power-meltdown in the US, mirrrors Putin's desperation to not only cling to life, but to also try and stave off his power-meltdown in Russia. 

  

 (to be continued)

Trump's imminent removal from office signals Putin's total removal from Ukraine.

As the sword of Damocles accelerates its descent upon the head of the Russian economy, and a frantic  and 'demented' Putin continues his genocidally directed onslaught against the citizens of Ukraine, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Trump's 'glove puppets', are frantically trying to force the surrender of Ukraine to Putin's obsessive "Novorossiya" dreams that are crumbling on the battlefields in Ukraine.   

As Eliana Silver (right) reports, 

"Russia launched over 100 drones and one missile at Ukraine overnight, a day after US President Donald Trump announced Moscow had agreed to a week-long pause in attacks on the capital and other cities.

• Russian strikes on Ukrainian power infrastructure in recent days have cut power and heating to millions during freezing temperatures.
•  The US is calling on Ukraine to give up the Donbas region, its industrial heartland made up of Luhansk and Donetsk.
•  Putin has repeatedly demanded that Kyiv make painful territorial concessions to end the war, but Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine would not hand over the Donbas in exchange for peace." (Daily Mail: 1 February 2026) (my emphasis)

But as Ukraine Today (left) reports,

"Right now the most powerful blow to the USSR for the war; Putin has signed a death warrant for his own people.

Russia has been engulfed by an icy darkness. Retribution has been set in motion.

Russia has felt the true cost of a bloody war" (Ukraine Today : YouTube: 27 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

Ukraine Today : YouTube: 27 January 2026

And as Olga Ivshina (left) reported on 30 December 2025,

"Over the past 10 months, Russian losses in the war with Ukraine have been growing faster than any time since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, BBC analysis suggests.

As peace efforts intensified in 2025 under pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration, 40% more obituaries of soldiers were published in Russian sources compared with the previous year." (BBC News: 30 December 2025) (my emphasis)

As Putin frantically scrambles around in his bunker, shouting 'unhinged' directives at a 'siloviki' that is rapidly fracturing into a "fight amongst thieves", emerging from the shadows onto the international political scene is the fallout from the "Epstein files" in the US.

We now learn that former paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, met on many occassions with Putin, to the extent that, as Michael D. Carroll  (left) reports,

"Epstein files show Putin's Russian spy links as emails detail 'world's largest honey-trap' "

"The [Epstein] documents reveal young Russians numbered among the
women Epstein supplied for sex to wealthy and influential men across the globe.

However, the enormous cache of materials has suggested a darker Russian tie: that Epstein could have functioned as a long-standing agent operating for Moscow

 Amongst the documents are 1,056 files referencing Vladimir Putin and over 9,000 mentioning Moscow.

The materials suggest Epstein secured audiences with the Russian president – even following the American financier's 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution. (Express: 2 February 2026) (my emphasis)

 

The Sun: 2 February 2026: YouTube

These files give an added validity to the "Steele Dossier" released in 2017, which details the "kompromat" that Putin ammased on Trump before his first presidential race in 2018, and which underscores the hold that Putin has had over Trump ever since then. 

 

 Times News: 3 February 2026: YouTube

More recently, what has also panicked Putin was, as previously reported by Lauran O'Toole (left) on 21 January 2026,

"Democrats are launching a new effort to impeach Donald Trump as they claim the president is "mentally unwell." Insisting the US president is "putting all of our lives at risk"  Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, Representative for Arizona’s Third Congressional District, issued a scathing attack on X." (Express: 21 January 2026) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as a Kaito reporter (right) reports,

"Trump's latest legal and political crisis is sending shockwaves across the globe. World leaders are reacting, and the international fallout is escalating." (Kaito : 2 February 2026: YouTube) (my emphasis) 

 

Kaito : 2 February 2026: YouTube  

It is against this backdrop that in his bunker Putin, like Hitler in his bunker (Wikipedia) in early 1945 when Nazi Germany was on the verge of total military collapse, now also stares into the face of the total defeat of the Russian army in Ukraine in 2026.

The imminent removal of Trump from the White House totally collapses Putin relying on Trump staying in power for him to retain his hold over Ukraine's Donbass region and Ukraine's Crimea.

Trump's imminent removal from office signals Putin's total removal from Ukraine.

UPDATE: 5 February 2026: GMT 10:16 

Just announced, Putin has received a huge economic blow from a stalwart friend, India's Narendra Modi.

As Konstantin Samoilov (right) has just reported,

"India just made a deal with America. It stops buying Russian oil completely in exchange for America lowering the trade tarrifs.

This is huge, as India is the largest buyer of Russian oil. This is mega bad for Russian economy." (Konstantin Samoilov: Inside Russia:  February 2026: YouTube) (my emphasis)

 

Inside Russia:  February 2026: YouTube

To further add to Putin's woes, Laura Gozzi (left) reported that,

"Elon Musk's efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks have delivered real results", a Ukrainian official said.
… 
"Looks like the steps we took to stop [Putin's] unauthorised use of Starlink by Russia have worked," Musk wrote on X. "Let us know if more needs to be done." (BBC News: (2 February 2026) (my emphasis)

 

 

 Excerpt from "TVP [Polish] World" : 2 February 2026 : YouTube

 

The noose around Putin's neck is tightening.

 

From: Ukraine Today (6 February 2026) 

 

 

Ukraine Today : 6 February 2026 : YouTube 

 

  

 (to be continued)

2026 is gearing up for the imminent fall of Putin.

As the dust begins to setttle on the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Dearbail Jordan and Patrick Jackson (left) report that,

"The first three-way peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the US have ended in Abu Dhabi with no apparent breakthrough, as fighting rages. 
… 
The two-day talks ended after waves of Russian air strikes targeted Ukraine's badly damaged energy infrastructure, killing one person and injuring 35 others, Ukrainian officials said." (BBC News: 24 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

BBC News: 24 January 2026 

 

The intensive bombing by Putin of Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the hope to cow the people of Ukraine, and force Zelensky to 'unconditionally surrender to his 'demented' "Novorossiya" demand is, as Zelensky told the audience at Davos,
 
"Too often in Europe something else is more urgent than justice. 
 
 Europe loves to discuss the future but it avoids taking action today, action that defines what kind of future we will have. 

... 

Righ now those countries [in Europe] are making money for Putin [by buying Putin's oil and gas]  and that means Russia continues to push its sick agenda" ( Crux: 23 January 2026) (my emphasis) 

 

Excerpt : Crux: 23 January 2026 : YouTube

 

And as The Sun reports,

"Behind closed doors, optimism appeared to grow. 

“We are very close to a meeting between Putin and Zelensky,” one US source said. 
… 
Despite the positive tone, deep divisions remain – particularly over territory in eastern Ukraine.
… 
Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not surrender, warning it could become a launchpad for future Russian assaults. (The Sun: 26 January 2026) (my emphasis)

CRUX and CNN-News18: 23 January 2026: YouTube

As Zelensky has, on countless occasions, warned the world that Putin has absolutely no intention of stopping then war in Ukraine, primarily to ensure his own survival, Putin now faces his worst nighmare.

As  Konstantin Samoilov (left) reports, the most significant news is that,

"Russia's Shadow Fleet of oil tankers is been hit hard, as I speak. Looks like this time the West means business. 

This is a new development because before none of the western politicians were so public about actions like that.

It signals a willingness to do enforcement .... to enforce actions on the high seas, not only on the territories of different countries, but in the international waters.

And this is a meaningful escalation in  practical risk for Shadow Fleet operators." (Inside Russia: 24 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

Inside Russia: 24 January 2026: YouTube 

 

The Sun: 25 January 2026: YouTube

Putin cannot stop the imminent collapse of the Russian oil economy.  

As Macronomy explains,

"If you stop pulling oil, serious problems occur.

This is a structural failure!

The [Russian] oil industry is beginning to creak, and the risk is collapse within the next twelve months.

If sanctions contiue, and there is no Ukraine agreement, then the pressure will keep rising."(Macronomy: 26 January 2026: YouTube) (my emphasis)

 

 Macronomy: 26 January 2026: YouTube

Putin, as Trump would say, "Simply has no cards." 

2026 is gearing up for the imminent fall of Putin. 

  

 (to be continued)

Putin is disguising his fear of his imminent downfall

Putin and his 'siloviki' are popping the champange corks in the Kremlin as Trump threatens to invade, and annex, Greenland.

Andrew Weisman (right) outlines the international political and legal implications of Trump's threat to invade Greenland.

More significantly, he outlines that Trump's threatening
invasion of Greenland mirrors Putin's invasion of, and subsequent war with, Ukraine, which is playing directly into the hands of Putin.

In an interview with Nicolle Wallace (left), Weismann states that, 

"I'd like everyone to think about the message to Russia. Russia has engaged in an unprovoked attack on Ukraine. The Congress heretofore has viewed that ... to defend Ukraine in the face of Russia.

But this is sending a message that what Russia is doing is what America is going to do, and what China could do with Taiwan. 

This "might makes right" view of the world, where you blow off the United Nations Charter, you blow off the sense of the Rule of Law internally, domestically, and internally, is what leads to 'global chaos' in a world that's not civilized at peace.'" (ms.now: 17 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

ms.now: 17 January 2026 (deadline-white-house) and ms.now : 17 January 2026 (11th-hour)

And against this backdrop, as reported by Dan Peleschuk (left),

" Two people were killed and dozens more wounded in a mass Russian drone attack across Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday, as U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators hashed out a post-war plan in the latest round of peace talks." (Reuters: 18 January 2026) (my emphasis) 

And as reported by Bryony Gooch,Shweta Sharma and Maryam Zakir-Hussain (right), 

"Ukraine's peace negotiators arrived in the United States on Saturday for talks on details of a proposed agreement to end the four-year war with Russia, the head of the Ukrainian president's office said.
… 
During the talks, Zelensky said his team would seek clarity from the US on the Russian stance towards diplomatic efforts to end the war. Moscow has refused to budge on its maximalist demands for a peace deal. " (The Independent on MSN: 18 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

The Independent on MSN: 18 January 2026

Furthermore, as reported by Russell Myers (left),

"King Charles has reiterated the United Kingdom's commitment to Ukraine, telling the nation "we stand with you" amid the deadly ongoing Russian invasion. The monarch also spoke of his hopes for a lasting peace that safeguards its "security, sovereignty and prosperity". (The Mirror:  16 January 2026) (my emphasis) 

And whilst Putin and his 'siloviki' may be toasting Trump's threat to invade and annex Greenland, in the face of Greenlanders demonstrating against his potential actions, 

 

Guardian News: 17 January 2026: YouTube

Ivan Diakonov reports that,

"The Russian economy has found itself in its worst state since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine due to a steep decline in oil revenues and the depletion of reserves. Despite claims by US President Donald Trump about Russia's supposed "advantage" in the war, economists are predicting a banking crisis and a recession in Moscow as early as next year." (Yahoo Finance: 23 December 2025) (my emphasis)

And we now learn from Catherine Mackinlay (left) and Will Stewart (right) that,

"Vladimir Putin has suffered a massive blow after Ukrainian drones attacked his top-secret super-weapon testing hub, denting possible hopes of Russia launching its 'unstoppable' Oreshnik missiles. Specialist military site Militarnyi revealed that "Ukrainian drones attacked the 4th State Central Inter-Service Test Range Kapustin Yar in Astrakhan Region."
… 
One Russian aim in a new blitzkrieg on Ukraine could be a "genocidal" campaign to destroy the country's nuclear power plant substations in a bid to force people to surrender. Electricity transmission substations ensure the operation of the atomic power plants." (Daily Express on MSN: 18 January 2026) (my emphasis)

Putin's celebration of Trump threatening to invade and annex Greenland is a celebration that disguises his fear of his imminent downfall. 

 

 Redconomy: 16 January 2026: YouTube

  

 (to be continued)

Will Putin now arm an Oreshnik missile with a nuclear warhead to head off defeat in Ukraine?

In my last blog entry (4 January 2026) I wrote that,

"But it was Medvedev’s final message that sent shockwaves globally. Arguing that diplomacy has failed and international law is ignored, he claimed that only maximum military strength — including nuclear weapons — can protect a nation from foreign intervention. His closing words, “Long live nuclear weapons,” are now being interpreted as a veiled warning to the United States and its allies." (Times of India: 4 January 2026) (my emphasis)" (blog-entry 4 January 2026)

No longer is Mevedev's threat of nuclear armageddon a 'veiled warning to the United States and its allies".

By bombing Ukraine with the 'nuclear capable' Oreshnik missiles,
Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Osborn (right) report that,

"President Vladimir Putin's launch of an Oreshnik hypersonic missile appears aimed at intimidating Ukraine and sending a signal of Russian military might to Europe and the United States at a crucial juncture in talks to end the war.
... 

"It does appear that at this point Russia is using Oreshnik for signaling purposes, so the destruction is not necessarily the goal," Pavel Podvig (left), director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project, told Reuters when asked if the use of dummy warheads would diminish the capacity of Moscow's action to intimidate Ukraine and its allies." (Reuters: 9 January 2026) (my emphasis)

The argument of Pavel Podvig that Putin is simply bombing Ukrainian civilians with the 'nuclear capable' Oreshnik missile for 'signalling' purposes simply holds no water.

  

 The Sun : 10 January 2026: YouTube

As  Nicolas Drummond (left) explains in the video above,

"If they are on their last legs, desperate people do desperate things (i.e. Putin).
… 
It's very much designed to intimidate, to force Europe to accept Russia's conditions for peace in Ukraine. (i.e. total surender)
… 
I think it's a strategy that will backfire.
… 
If a missile did land in Poland, Poland would regard that as a direct attack its own sovereign territory and would respond very robustly to that.
… 
Russia as lost out to avoid sanctions busting trade thanks to Venezuela um Maduro being taken out, and China's lost access to oil. So Russia is being pushed into a corner by that." (The Sun : 10 January 2026: YouTube)

And backfire it did. 

Already, as Kateryna Tyshchenko reports,

"The UN Security Council is set to convene an emergency meeting on 12 January at Ukraine's request to address Russian attacks, particularly the use of the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile.
… 
The meeting will address Russia's flagrant breaches of the UN Charter. We urge Security Council members to demonstrate unity of purpose by demanding an end to the aggression, protection of civilians, and unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty." (Ukrayinska Pravda on Yahoo News: 10 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 Furthermore, recall that, as Ivanna Kostina and Tetyana Oliynyk (right) reported,

"Members of the Coalition of the Willing, together with Ukraine and the US, have signed a joint declaration on security guarantees aimed at achieving a stable and lasting peace in Ukraine.
… 
Participants at a meeting in Paris on 6 January reaffirmed their commitment to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the United Nations Charter. They welcomed the progress made so far, including through discussions between American, Ukrainian, European and other international partners." (Ukrayinska Pravda: 6 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

Coalition of the Willing 

To the initial meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, Russia's standard respose was,

"Russia's Foreign Ministry has said that the Coalition of the Willing declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine is far removed from a peaceful settlement, and that Russia will view Western troops deployed in Ukraine as "legitimate military targets".

Members of the Coalition of the Willing signed a declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine on 6 January in Paris. According to Zakharova, the "document is extremely far from a peaceful settlement". (Khrystyna Bondarieva (left): Ukrayinska Pravda on Yahoo News: 8 January 2026) (my emphasis) 

However Putin and his Kremlin cohorts were completely taken by surprise by the military and financial commitments to Ukraine of the 'Coalition of the Willing', without the participation of the US.

As Mustafa Yildirim reports,

" ... Early this morning (10 January 2026), Central European Time, intelligence sources detected what they described as a co-ordinated series of announcements from European capitals that had clearly been synchronized to the minute. 

• At 0:900 Brussels time, the German Defence Ministry released a statement. 
• At 09:03, the French Ministry of Armed Forces followed.
• At 09:07 the Polish Ministry of National Defence.
• At 09:12 the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence.

What we know at this hour is that European leaders have announced a comprehensive military support package for Ukraine valued at over eighteen billion euros, structured specifically to operate independently of United States approval or participation" (Mustafa Yildirim: 10 January 2026: YouTube)

Mustafa Yildirim: 10 January 2026: YouTube 

 

These announcements of financial and increased military support for Ukraine follow Putin's continuous bombarment of Ukraine civilians with missiles and drones, which has also drawn the ire of  church leaders.

As Maira Butt (right) reported, 

"Church leaders have branded President Vladimir Putin the ‘Anti-Christ’ after the Russian leader said his war with Ukraine was part of a “holy mission”.

Putin called Russian soldiers “warriors” who were acting “as if at the Lord's behest” in a speech marking Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday.

“Trying to do this with power and violence, which is not about love, not about Christian values is more like the Anti-Christ in the Christian world,” the Rector at the Paris of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God in central London told The Independent." (The Independent on MSN: 9 January 2026) (my emphasis)

 

The Independent on MSN: 9 January 2026 

As the Russian economy continues to fall into the abyss of complete collapse, and the people of Russia revolt against the continuing economic decline that is impoverishing them, how far into the economic abyss will Putin descend before he arms an Oreshnik missile heading for Ukraine with a nuclear warhead?

  

 (to be continued)