Is Putin's 'maskirovka' diplomatic strategy failing?

On Saturday (18 July, 2015), that dyed-in-the-wool Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov,

".....held separate talks Saturday with his Ukraine, US and German counterparts, the Kremlin announced, as fighting spikes in eastern Ukraine." (Agence France Press AFP : 18 July 2015)

 (image left: Lavrov, Kerry, Klimkin, Steinmeier)


What is significant is that, for some reason, the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius (right), was rather conspicuously left out of these 'separate talks'.

Recall that in my last blog entry (Friday, 17 July 2015) I wrote that,

"Yesterday the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) took the first steps towards giving the rebels in eastern Ukraine temporary self-rule. As Dmitry Zaks informs us,

"Ukraine's parliament took the first step Thursday toward granting temporary self-rule to pro-Russian rebels under a change to the constitution the West hopes can end one of Europe's deadliest wars in recent years." (AFP : 17 July, 2015) (my emphasis)"

I also commented that,

"Are we all to naively assume, as Washington and its allies believe that,

"....partial self-rule could satisfy the insurgents and remove any arguments Russia may have for arming and funding their campaign -- support Moscow firmly denies ever giving."? (ibid Dmitry Zaks) (my emphasis)"

And, true to form, Lavrov,

" ...... called on his Ukrainian counterpart to "resolve the questions concerning the constitutional reform project," aimed at offering more autonomy to the separatist regions, which Russia dismissed last week as just a parody of its obligations under the Minsk truce agreement." (ibid AFP) (my emphasis)

Putin's diplomatic trap is to ensnare Poroshenko into 'talking to his rebel-proxies in eastern Ukraine', thus giving not only his rebel-proxies, but also his 'Novorossiya dreams', diplomatic legitimacy. 

Lavrov underlined in his conversation with US Secretary of State, John Kerry,

" .....  Moscow's annoyance that Kiev did not include rebel representatives in its constitutional reform discussions

 

"They can't just walk away from the framework of the (Minsk) obligations, in particular those concerning the direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk," he stressed during his conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry." (ibid AFP) (my emphasis)

Further underlining the 'maskirovka' mentality of Putin and his ilk in the Kremlin, NBC News informs us that,

"Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels accused each other on Saturday of shelling residential areas despite a ceasefire, reporting four civilians and one soldier killed following a week of the deadliest fighting in over a month." (NBC News : 19 July, 2015) (cf also: DW [Deutsche Welle] and BBC News)

 Video of shelling in Donetsk taken 19 July, 2015

Even more ominous, Putin's soldiers and Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine are positioning themselves for a major offensive, according to Kiev-based journalist Thomas Theiner. (cf. Map, left, explained) 

But perhaps what should be morally repugnant to many is the  fact that, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the shooting down of the passenger airline Flight MH17 (right) over eastern Ukraine by Putin's rebel-proxies is still adamently denied by Putin himself.

"While Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to take any responsibility for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, Russian citizens have stepped up in their own way and met the tragedy with an outpouring of love and sorrow in the form of memorial tributes for the MH17 victims and their families." (Inquisitr :  July 22, 2014) (my emphasis)

 

 Russian citizens have been creating memorial tributes in front of Dutch Embassies in honor of the victims of the downed Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. The Woman’s sign reads “PUTIN TERRORIST.”

Also, as reported by BBC News,

"A roll call of those who died in the MH17 air disaster and a procession to the crash site have marked the first anniversary of the tragedy over eastern Ukraine, in which 298 people died." (BBC News: 17 July 2015)

No matter how much money Putin throws at his "disinformation" and propaganda machines viz. RT, Sputnik, and RT Ruptly, the truth always has a way of bubbling to the surface.

Is it therefore any wonder that, notwithstanding his 'constant denial' about Russian soldiers operating in eastern Ukraine, AFP (Agence France Press) informs us that,

"Dozens of Russian soldiers are facing trial for fleeing their unit, fearing deployment to Ukraine, a news site and a lawyer for five of the men said Saturday.

The popular Gazeta.ru website said several dozen soldiers would be prosecuted after fleeing a training ground in southern Russia where they were under pressure to "volunteer" to fight in Ukraine." (AFP : July 11, 2015) (my emphasis) (cf also: DW [Deutsche Welle])

If Putin has absolute control over the 'weaponizing of information' through his TOTAL control over Russian Media, both locally and internationally, he simply cannot control the impact of international sanctions against Russia.

Thus, as reported by Delphine d'Amora (right) of the Moscow Times, 

"Three years ago, President Vladimir Putin promised the Russian people a kind of utopia: salaries would grow by up to 50 percent, average life expectancy would rise to 74 and waiting lists at kindergartens would disappear.

.... the Kremlin's political ambitions have pushed domestic concerns into the shadows.

Russia's regional governments have fallen deeply into debt under the weight of these pledges. And with a drop in aid from the federal budget, which is increasingly tied up in such expensive projects as military rearmament and the integration of Crimea, relief is nowhere in sight."(Moscow Times : Jul. 15 2015) (my emphasis)

Even the forthcoming hosting of the World Cup in Russia has not been immune from the effects of sanctions. As reported by the Associated Press (AP),

"In a country battered by economic problems and Western sanctions, Russian officials aren't boasting of their World Cup's size and extravagance. With cost-cutting in vogue, they prefer to brag about cheap stadiums." (Moscow Times : Jul. 13 2015) (my emphasis)

Meanwhile,

"US company Frontera to build the gas terminal which will help Ukraine gain energy independence

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has revealed US investors are planning to build a LNG-terminal in Ukraine's southern region as the country aims to gain energy independence within five years." (UT : Jul. 17, 2015) (my emphasis)

 

Is it therefore any wonder that that Soviet dyed-in-the-wool Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has recently yet again tried to come up with all sorts of 'diplomatic and interpretive 'maskirovka' ploys' to try and emasculate the Minsk2 proposals, proposals that can rightly be regarded as Putin's Minsk2 proposals?

As I have stated above,

" ... true to form, Lavrov,

" ...... called on his Ukrainian counterpart to "resolve the questions concerning the constitutional reform project," aimed at offering more autonomy to the separatist regions, which Russia dismissed last week as just a parody of its obligations under the Minsk truce agreement." (ibid AFP) (my emphasis)"

Putin now has to time his budding offensive towards Mariupol with caution, lest his 'Novorossiya house of cards' comes tumbling down. 

Maybe, just maybe, it is finally dawning upon him that his 'weaponization of disinformation' is a very fickle weapon indeed. 

No matter how much money Putin throws at his 'disinformation weapons' of RT, Sputnik, and RT Ruptly in particular, the old adage still holds true that:

You can fool some of the people all of the time

All of the people some of the time

But you cannot fool all of the people ALL of the time

(to be continued)