Putin doing something drastic in Ukraine has dangerously increased.

As Abraham Lincoln once said, 

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” (Goodreads : Quotes) 

As reported by The Moscow Times (from AFP),

 "Kremlin-installed authorities were already claiming victory Tuesday in annexation votes in Ukrainian regions under Russian control, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories.

[Putin's] spokesman Dmitry Peskov meanwhile said the votes would have "radical" legal implications and that the so-called referendums "will also have consequences for security," referring to Moscow's threats to use nuclear weapons to defend its territory." (The Moscow Times (from AFP): 27 September 2022) (my emphasis)  

Putin, it would seem, really believes that he can, "fool all  of the people [viz. the whole international community] all of the time." by declaring that,

"Saving people in the territories where this referendum is taking place... is the focus of the attention of our entire society and of the entire country," Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier during a televised meeting with officials. (ibid The Moscow Times).

And then came the 'mantra' threat from his 'glove puppet', Dmitri Medvedev, shaking his puny fists whilst declaring that,

"I want to remind you — the deaf who hear only themselves: Russia has the right to use nuclear weapons if necessary," former leader Dmitry Medvedev warned Tuesday on social media." (ibid The Moscow Times)

Putin's belief that he can fool the whole of the international community with his blatant attempt at a landgrab in Ukraine is not fooling anyone.

In the words of Fergal Mythen (left), the Irish Ambassador to the UN, speaking at the UN Security Council Meeting on the 27 September 2022,

"These referenda will never deter us from supporting the people of Ukraine. Might does not make right.

These referenda are a cynical ploy to not only further undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also trying to reset an unjustified war. This is a blatant landgrab to redefine areas of Ukraine as a part of Russia" (Lawrence O' Donnell: MSNBC: 28 September 2022) (my emphasis)

The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield (left), is even more explicit about the ramifications of Putin's "sham" elections in the warzone of Ukraine.

Also at the UN Security Council Meeting on the 27 September 2022, she explained to Lawrence O'Donnell that,

"We had 14 members of the Security Council today say to Russia loudly and clearly, that what they're doing in Ukraine is unacceptable.... We will never accept it.... We will give the Ukrainians everything they need to defend themselves .... We will hold them [Russia] accountable for what they are doing in Ukraine ..." (ibid  Lawrence O' Donnell) (my emphasis)

And if Putin thought that the return of his old chum, Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi, to the benches of the Italian government, will swing the Italian government behind him, he was in for a sore surprise.

As reported by Crispian Balmer,

"Nationalist leader Giorgia Meloni (left), set to become Italy's next prime minister, has pledged her full support for Kyiv after receiving congratulations from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for her election victory.
...
Meloni replied swiftly. "Dear (Zelenskiy), you know that you can count on our loyal support for the cause of freedom of Ukrainian people. Stay strong and keep your faith steadfast!" she wrote in English on Twitter." (Reuters : 28 September 2022) (my emphasis)

This contrasts strongly with, as Crispian Balmer writes,

"Underscoring the depth of those ties [between Putin and Berlusconi] , Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi said last week that Putin had been "pushed" into invading Ukraine and had wanted to put "decent people" in charge of Kyiv. (ibid Crispian Balmer) (my emphasis)

And during the running of the "sham" elections in Donetsk and Luhansk, and to the south Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Aljazeera reported that,

"Sudden and unexplained gas leaks detected in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines from Russia to Germany have prompted investigations by European countries into the cause amid fear of possible sabotage." (Aljazeera : 27 September 2022) (my emphasis)

 

Since the discovery of these explosions that have rendered these pipelines from Russia to Germany inoperable, Dan Sabbagh (left) reports that,

"The incidents took place close to – but just outside – the 12-mile territorial waters of Denmark’s Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, the kind of calibration that might be expected from a state actor mindful of the country’s Nato membership." (The Guardian : 27 September 2022) (my emphasis)

DW : YouTube : 27 September 2022

Kate Duffy (left) reports that,

"German lawmakers break Europe's silence on suspected Nord Stream pipeline saboteur to point the finger at Russia" (MSN (from: Markets Insider) : 28 September 2022) (my emphasis)

She goes on to report that,

"Two senior German lawmakers have pointed the finger at Russia over suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines. 

Roderich Kiesewetter, a government spokesman for crisis prevention, said in a tweet late Tuesday that the attack was an act of sabotage by Russia to deter and threaten Europe.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chairwoman of the Bundestag's defense committee, also named Russia in comments on the suspected attacks to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) news network." (ibid Kate Duffy) (my emphasis) 

If it is the case that Putin is responsible for the crippling of Nord Stream1 and Nord Stream2, we can only assume that this is a direct economic attack by Russia on the EU.

If attacking the economy of the EU is not the case, then the paranoid behaviour of Putin doing something even more drastic in Ukraine has dangerously increased. 

  

 (to be continued)