Has Putin painted himself into a corner?

Putin must be 'spitting nails' now that his attempt to completely undermine the fragile Ukrainian economy has floundered on the rocks of his constant 'lying' about there being no 'Russian soldiers' fighting in eastern Ukraine.(cf: Dmitry Zaks:AFP)

Deutsche Welle (DW) reports that,

"IMF chief Christine Lagarde (right) has reassured Ukraine that funds can still be made available even if the country fails to repay its private creditors. She ruled out resorting to national reserves to avoid defaulting" (DW : 13.06.2015) (my emphasis)

And if this were not enough, US Ambassador Samantha Power (left), has stated that,

"America is clear-eyed when it comes to seeing the truth about Russia's destabilizing" actions in Ukraine, she said, adding that U.S. support for Ukrainians is "unwavering."

If Russia "continues to violate the rules upon which international peace and security" stands," Power said, then the United States will "raise the costs on Russia" and "rally other countries to do the same." ( Don Melvin and Ashley Fantz: CNN: June 11, 2015) (my emphasis)

 Further wrong-footing Putin politically,

"In line with the Minsk blueprint, President Petro Poroshenko (right) announced Kiev would go ahead with local elections in Ukraine on Oct. 25 in a step intended to result in stronger powers being delegated to the regions." 

Adding that,

"Unfortunately, I am not ready to name a date for voting there (i.e. the eastern Ukraine territory held by Putin's Russian soldiers and his proxies). But I am sure that as soon as Moscow and the (separatist) fighters stop torpedoing them we will very quickly find mutual understanding, begin a political dialogue with the legally elected representatives ...", he said in a speech in Mariupol. (Richard Balmforth : Reuters : Thu Jun 11, 2015) (my emphasis)

And now, as reported by Jennifer Steinhauer and David M. Herszenhorn,

"Mr. Putin in recent days has repeatedly blamed the Ukrainian government for continuing cease-fire violations, while calling on the United States and its European allies to pressure Kiev to fully put the peace accord in place.

That has set the stage for a pitched debate between lawmakers and the White House that could well undermine Mr. Obama’s repeated assertion that the United States sees no military solution to the conflict in Ukraine.” (New York Times : June 11, 2015)

Putin's only response to Lagarde, Power, Poroshenko and US lawmakers, is to escalate his Russian soldiers and proxies breaking of the Minsk2 'ceasefire'. 

Therefore is it any wonder that yesterday (Saturday 13 June 2015), 

"The Ukrainian military says six of its soldiers have been killed and 14 wounded in the past 24 hours in the separatist east of the country despite the current ceasefire.

The situation is particularly tense around the airport near the city of Donetsk, which is controlled by the rebels, the military spokesman Andriy Lysenko (left) said.

“The enemy threw tanks, armoured personnel carriers and heavy artillery into battle. We emphasise that rebels are also firing at residential areas,” he said.

The casualties were the result of landmine explosions and shelling by the pro-Russia separatists, he added." (The Guardian : Saturday 13 June 2015) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Reuters)

At the same time, Christian Borys reports that,

"Russia’s repeated attempts to convince the international community and its own citizens that there are no Russian troops, or weapons in Ukraine have grown tiresome and farcical, especially when compared against the meticulously researched mountain of evidence to the contrary.

Shortly after Ukrainian troops captured two Russian Spetsnaz soldiers, a Ukrainian special forces unit of the Dnipro-1 Battalion shot down a $6 million Russian Forpost drone near Avdeevka in Eastern Ukraine. The Russian government was quick to distance itself from the soldiers, and even went so far as to parade their families in front of the media to deny their active status. However, the drone that was shot down that day is not something the Russian government can deny owning and operating." (Bellingcat : June 13, 2015) (my emphasis)

As Paul Niland  (left) comments,

"Russia is impotent. It cannot move any further than the territory it currently controls, as was demonstrated last week when Russian forces advanced alongside the few locals they have fighting for them on the town of Mariinka. The assault was instantly condemned and there were immediate comments from the right people about “increasing costs” to Russia." (KyivPost : June 13, 2015) (my emphasis)

Added to which, Adrian Croft reports that,

"[Vice-Admiral James Foggo (right), deputy commander of U.S. naval forces Europe] is leading a 49-ship international fleet in an exercise in the Baltic Sea involving 17 NATO allies or partner nations with 61 aircraft and 5,600 personnel."

Furthermore, Admiral Foggo stated that,

"We are here with 49 ships right now and we are operating in areas all over the Baltic Sea," he said.

"I frequently operate in the Black Sea with destroyers from the Sixth Fleet, so no, they are not no-go areas, and we will continue to operate in both places." (Reuters : Fri Jun 12, 2015) (my emphasis)
 
 Putin's 'muscle flexing' against NATO does not quite seem to be having the effect that he expected.


(to be continued)