Both Putin and Trump are now like 'cats on a hot tin roof'

The late Harold Wilson once remarked that, "A week is a long time in politics". For both Putin and Trump this may, indeed, have seemed like a " ... long week in politics".

As reported by Kenneth Rapoza,

"Ukraine finally gets a win against Russia.

State-owned gas company, Naftogaz, was awarded $2.5 billion in a lengthy, ugly legal battle with Russian gas behemoth Gazprom. The Stockholm Arbitral Tribunal ruled Wednesday on a years old dispute regarding natural gas transit fees in favor of the Ukrainians.  Gazprom said they will appeal the ruling." (Forbes : March 1, 2018) (my emphasis)

Spitting nails at this result, Putin immediately refused to deliver more gas to Ukraine.

As reported by the BBC,

"Ukraine has told all schools and higher education institutions to close in an effort to save gas, after its Russian supplier refused to deliver more fuel.

 ...
Gazprom made the announcement after a Stockholm court ruled against it at the end of a long-running legal battle. (BBC : 2 March, 2018)

Adding to Putin's anger Tyler Rogoway (left) reports that,

"...the U.S. State Department cleared Ukraine to purchase FGM-148 Javelin advanced anti-tank missiles.  

According to Defense News the $47M deal includes 210 Javelin missiles, 37 command launch units (CLU) and two spares, as well as training, logistics and support. This would be the first time the United States has agreed to provide advanced lethal weaponry to Ukraine since the conflict began [in 2014]. (The Drive : March 1, 2018) (my emphasis)

 

But there is more to come.

It now transpires that Putin's 'Kerch Bridge' is beginning to sink!

As reported by Paradox,

"Just a week ago in the article “Kerch bridge is another step towards the collapse made” I wrote why glad to establish railway spans on the Kerch bridge. And the main reason is called the total weight of railway construction in 17 400 tons, which will put additional pressure on the supports that will entail is them sagging and subsequent problems.

And here, it hasn’t even been six months, and, again, only a week and the first signal of problems on the mountain-the bridge has already begun." (The Mice Times of Asia : 15.02.2018) (my emphasis)

(Full Igor Korsakov video)

As early as January of this year Halya Coynash (left) reported that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has called construction of a bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea a “historic mission.” He should pay better attention to history. This mission is doomed to failure, and not only because of sanctions. Experts warn that even if the bridge now under construction can be finished, its chances of standing for any length of time are small.

... in December 2016, Yury Medovar from Russia’s Academy of Sciences said that the [Kerch] bridge is being built without a proper design, since nobody wants to take responsibility for it. The bridge cannot be built, he said, and God help us if it is, since it can’t last." (The Atlantic Council : January 10, 2018) (my emphasis)

Trying to avert the eyes of the Russian public from the sinking of the Kerch Bridge, even before it is fully completed, Putin tried to flex his 'nuclear muscles' before the West.

All, however, to no avail.

Putin's bluster about his new nuclear arsenal in his Presidential pre-election speech before the Russian public was pure Russian 'maskirovka'.

As Rob Dannenberg (left) explains,

" 'Maskirovka' is a key element in the current Russian doctrine of hybrid warfare as articulated in the so-called Gerasimov Doctrine. This doctrine calls for the integration of information operations, cyber proxies, overt economic influence, and clandestine influence agents to support the military objective" (The Cipher : November 8, 2017) (my emphasis)

Unlike Putin's 'maskirovka' bluster, as reported by UNIAN,

"...compared to early 2014, Ukraine’s armed forces have improved considerably. First of all, the Ukrainian Army is now a 250,000-strong force against a modest 157,000 troops back in 2014.
.....
At the same time, at the beginning of Russian aggression, only some 6,000 military—right about a size of a single brigade—were in fully combat-ready and resolute to execute the political leadership’s orders. While no drills were held at brigade or regimental levels in 2013, the White Book of Ukraine’s ministry of defense logged 20 brigade-level exercises in 2016, while ground forces conducted 26 exercises at the brigade level in 2017." (UNIAN : 28 February, 2018) (my emphasis)

Added to which, they now have Javelin anti-tank missile systems at their disposal.

If Putin was  having a 'bad political week', so too was Trump.

Trump's White House is now unravelling at a fast pace.

 And, like Putin, Trump is trying to avert the eyes of the American public from the near 'meltdown' of his White House administration towards his call for a 'Trade War', a call that is causing serious consternation amongst countries worldwide.

Both Putin and Trump are now like 'cats on a hot tin roof'

(to be continued)