Putin has nowhere to go except to use any means to vanquish Ukraine

The desperation of Putin's war machine in Ukraine is evidenced by the facts that,

• As reported by Zakharchenko Yuliia, "The Russian army shelled Kyiv with strategic air-to-ground cruise missiles X101 launched from the Caspian Sea. ... The X-101 (pronounced Ha-101) is a strategic air-to-ground cruise missile using radar mitigation technology. " (Fakti : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)
• Antony Ashkenaz reports that, " Russia has warned that it is prepared to obliterate commercial space systems that are being used to aid Ukraine, in a veiled threat to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. .....[IF] Putin were to attack SpaceX satellites, it would signal a sharp escalation of tension between Russia and the US, as no country has ever carried out a missile strike against an enemy satellite. (Express : 30 October 2022) (my emphasis) 
• Will Stewart and Sam Elliott-Gibbs report that, "A senior Putin military expert has threatened both Britain and America with full-scale nuclear strikes amid Russian claims that Ukraine is poised to release a “dirty bomb”. Colonel Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Russia ’s National Defence magazine, told state TV that Vladimir Putin should launch Topol-M attacks on military targets in the two Western countries.(Mirror : 25 October 2022) (my emphasis)
  
• Michael Curzon and Matthew Dooley report that, "The chief of the paramilitary Wagner Group has let slip that Russia is recruiting “convicts suffering from serious diseases”. Britain’s Ministry of Defence today pointed to comments shared by Yevgeny Prigozhin, “apparently admitting allegations that his private military company… had altered its standards and was recruiting Russian convicts suffering from serious diseases including HIV and Hepatitis C”." (Express : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Sky News : 30 October 2022 : YouTube

These developments are further compounded by the fact, as reported by Pavel Polityuk and Michelle Nichols (left), that,

"The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine are pressing ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact that has allowed the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets.
...
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, halted its role in the Black Sea deal on Saturday for an "indefinite term" because it could said it could not "guarantee safety of civilian ships" travelling under the pact after an attack on its Black Sea fleet." (Reuters :30 October 2022) (my emphasis)

As Sarah Fortinsky (right) also reports,

"Putin is using "food as a weapon of war," says USAID head Samantha Power.
...
The head of the United States Agency for International Development urged Russia to continue its participation in the United Nations-brokered Black Sea grain deal, writing that “the world cannot afford for Putin to continue to use food as a weapon of war.” (CNN : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Already there is appearing a line-up of Putin's possible replacement being touted in the Kremlin. These are :-

• Dmitri Medvedev, now Head of Putin's Security Council
• Sergey Kiriyenko, who oversaw Putin's recent illegal annexation of Ukraine teritories
• Nokolai Patrushev, Head of the Security Council (FSB)
• Dmitry Patrushev, son of Nikolai and Agriculture Minister
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, Chief of the Wagner Mercenary Group.
  

Newsweek : 25 October 2022

Chloe Mayer (left) speculates that,

"A restaurant magnate dubbed "Putin's Chef" is setting up his own military to fight alongside Russia's army in Ukraine—but experts say the organization could "pose a threat to Putin's rule."
...
"Prigozhin (right) continues to accrue power and is setting up a military structure parallel to the Russian Armed Forces, which may come to pose a threat to Putin's rule—at least within the information space," ISW analysts wrote." (Newsweek : 25 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Prigozhin, however, when viewed against the political heavyweights of Putin's 'siloviki' and former comrades, stands a rather slim chance of replacing Putin.

What the west cannot expect is that a replacement from this motley crew of possible succesors will roll back Putin's delusional beliefs that precipitated :-

• his illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, 
• his first war with Ukraine in the Donbas in 2014, 
• and his current war with Ukraine in 2022.

Neither Putin, nor his prospective successor, has anywhere else to go except to annihilate, by any means available to them, the country of Ukraine.

 

 

(to be continued)

Putin is now resorting to shouting like Goebbels the Nazi about 'dirty nuclear bombs'

In his article, "How liars create the ‘illusion of truth’", Tom Stafford wrote,

" “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels (left). Among psychologists something like this is known as the "illusion of truth" effect." (BBC Future : 26th October 2016 ) (my emphasis)

Stafford goes on to warn us that,

"We live in a world where the facts matter, and should matter. If you repeat things without bothering to check if they are true, you are helping to make a world where lies and truth are easier to confuse." (ibid Tom Stafford)

Putin, his Generals, and that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, are
now using Goebbels's tactic of constantly pushing the lie that Ukraine's president Zelensky is about to release a 'dirty nuclear bomb' on the people of Ukraine. (video: ITV News : 26 October 2022, Aljazeera : 25 October 2022, Sky News : 24 October 2022)

As I also wrote in my previous blog entry (23 October 2022),

"Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material." (Jonathan Landay and Pavel Polityuk :Reuters : 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

The fact that Putin is orchestrating such a concerted effort to set the scene for his use of a 'dirty nuclear bomb' has not gone unnoticed in the West.

Shannon Vavra (left) reports that,

" Russia is now taking its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a dirty bomb in Ukraine as an act of provocation to some of Moscow’s closest partners in India and China, in an apparent attempt to shore up support. But the presentation has fallen flat.
...
India’s warning about the dirty bomb claims echoed western allies’ rejection of Russia’s allegations, which Shoigu began shopping around to leaders over the weekend without providing any evidence. The United States, U.K., and France issued a rare joint statement following Shoigu’s campaign, labeling his claims as “transparently false allegations.” (Daily Beast : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Mark Reynolds has also reported that,

" Russia's 'transparently false allegations' that Ukraine is preparing to fire a dirty bomb within its own territory is being seen as a double-bluff by Vladimir Putin to allow his military to use such a device.

Britain, the United States and France have jointly rejected Moscow’s contentions – with Volodymyr Zelensky angrily accusing the Kremlin of nuclear blackmail and a ‘false flag’ ploy. The Ukrainian President said Russia’s mention of a dirty bomb – where conventional explosives are laced with radioactive material – meant Putin could well be preparing such an illegal attack." (Express: 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

US President Biden underscored Putin's 'nuclear bomb' threat during a meeting with his defence officials yesterday (26 October 2022)

CBS News : 26 October 2022

Added to putin's constant headaches about his failing army in Ukraine, Charlie Bradley (left) reports that,

"An economist from Russia, Vladislav Inozemtsev (right), believes that Putin's mobilisation will contribute to Moscow's financial downfall in the future. Writing for The Insider, he said that the “financial effects of mobilisation—in the medium-term—will be significantly greater than the consequences of…the war in Ukraine."

Mr Inozemtsev added: “The Russian economy is going to die by winter, I wrote in early March. Now I think I was right. The mobilisation announced on September 21 was a milestone that really divided Russian history into ‘before’ and ‘after’—an event that began the final countdown of Putin’s era." (Express : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

And as Putin's economy continues along its downward spiral Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, is calling for the equivalent of a 'Marshall Plan'  to rebuild Ukraine after Putin's forces are all pushed back to Russia by Zelensky's army, including from Ukraine's Crimea.

As reported by  Reuters,

"“My message to the Ukrainians is: ‘Not only do we stand by your side, but we will continue to support Ukraine economically, politically and also militarily,” Steinmeier told reporters on his arrival by train in Kyiv.
...
Steinmeier’s arrival in Kyiv coincided with a conference in Berlin on what its hosts say must be a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild Ukraine, comparing the challenge to the U.S. funding of Europe’s reconstruction after World War Two. (Euronews : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

 

DW : 25 October 2022 : YouTube

But perhaps Putin's biggest headache lies in the fact that, as reported by Tim McNulty,

"Russian conscripts have filmed a makeshift prison below an army base where they say soldiers who refused orders are being held in squalor and filth.

The spokesman for the conscript moans about the threat of being sent to "the meat grinder," and describes Ukraine as the "slaughterhouse" as he points out the filth the unit is forced to live in." (Express : 27 October 2022) (my emphasis)

And as reported by Michael Drummond (left),

"The governor of Russia's Belgorod region announced on Monday that an explosive device damaged the railway near the village of Novozybkovo.
...
The damage to Russian logistics has been a key factor in supporting Ukraine's counteroffensives.
...
The latest attack on the railways Moscow uses to send supplies to Ukraine - this time apparently from inside Russia - will only add to the difficulties." (Sky News : 27 October 2022) (my emphasis)

It is therefore no wonder that Putin has now resorted to shouting like Goebbels about an alleged Ukrainian 'nuclear dirty bomb'.

 

(to be continued)

Putin desperate for a US Republican victory in November

True to form, General Sergei Surovikin (left), who was "nicknamed General Armageddon" for his ruthlessness in Syria, is now adopting his Syrian tactic of bombing Ukraine's infrastructure in his attempt to demoralise the people of Ukraine.

As revealed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky,

"Russia has launched a "new massive strike" targeting Ukraine's

energy grid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said the attacks were on a "very wide" scale, hitting Ukraine's regions in the west, centre,south and east.

Almost a third of Ukraine's power stations and other energy-generating facilities have been destroyed in a wave of air strikes since.." (Henri Astier & Yaroslav Lukov : BBC News  : 23 October 2022) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by Bartosz Brzezinski

"Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that Russia launched a “massive missile attack” at 7 a.m. local time, targeting “critical infrastructure in different regions of the country.” The air force said it had managed to shoot down 18 cruise missiles launched by Russian troops.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (right) urged foreign capitals to boost Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, tweeting: “There should not be a minute of delay in capitals deciding on air defense systems for Ukraine.”" (Politico : 22 October 2022) (my emphasis)

As reported by Hyder Abbasi (left),

"Russian-installed authorities in the occupied city of Kherson on Saturday urged residents to leave immediately in the face of a looming counteroffensive by Ukraine’s armed forces that aimed to recapture the southern city.

“Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city,” a statement on the Russian administration’s Telegram channel said Saturday." (NBC News : 22 October 2022) (my emphasis)

What is very disconcerting, as Ukrainian forces are on the verge of re-taking Kherson, is the danger of Russian forces blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam which not only will flood Kherson but, more dangerously, deprive the nuclear plant at Zaphorizia of cooling water.

NBC News and Sky News (YouTube) : 22 October 2022

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's call for there, ".. not be a minute of delay in capitals deciding on air defense systems for Ukraine" now rings critical for Ukraine to defend itself against this rain of Iranian "UAV doodlebugs" against the infrastructure of Ukraine.

Specifically, Dmytro Kuleba was directing his call to Israel.

As reported by DPA and Jonathan Lis,

"Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz (left) said on Wednesday that Israel has no intention of providing Ukraine with weapons to help it in its war with Russia.
....
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that Israel has no intention of providing Ukraine with weapons to help it in its war with Russia. Gantz did, however, add that Israel has offered Kiev help in developing a smart warning system against aerial threats. Gantz's comments on the heels of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's statement that his country will officially ask Israel for air defense systems." (Haaretz : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Added to which, as reported by Aaron Blake (right),

"In a new interview, though, [Kevin] McCarthy is singing a significantly different tune. He says that if Republicans win back Congress, we shouldn’t take for granted that the United States will send further military aid to Ukraine.

“I think people are going to be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy (left) told Punchbowl News." (The Washington Post : 18 October 2022) (my emphasis) 

It is not only Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz and US member of Congress Kevin McCarthy who are distancing themselves from supporting Ukraine in its war with Putin.

As reported by Alessandra Scotto di Santolo,

"Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, 86, is a long-time friend of Putin and in a first leaked audio file released on Tuesday, he revealed to parliamentarians from his Forza Italia party that he was back in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin and had exchanged "sweet letters" and gifts.
...
Mr Berlusconi also repeated an assertion that Putin had bowed to internal pressure and only invaded Ukraine to set up a new government "of decent people with common sense". (Express : 20 October 2022) (my emphasis)

However, the incoming Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni (left),

".... threw down the gauntlet to her right-wing coalition partners on Wednesday, saying her new government would be pro-NATO and fully a part of Europe.

In a sharply worded declaration, she said any party [read : Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party], that disagreed with her foreign policy line should not join the government, which is set to take office next week.

"Italy with us in government will never be the weak link in the West," she said.

Ms Meloni has staunchly defended Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February, and has supported Western sanctions against Moscow." (ibid Alessandra Scotto di Santolo)

The upcoming US elections in November will be critical for Ukraine.

Putin is wishing for a Republican victory, and a slowdown of US arm shipments to Ukraine that will prevent the complete collapse of his army in Ukraine.

URGENT STOP PRESS!! 24 Oct 2022

Jonathan Landay and Pavel Polityuk report that,
...
"Russia fired missiles and drones into the Ukrainian-held southern town of Mykolaiv, destroying an apartment block, and said the war was trending towards "uncontrolled escalation" in a flurry of telephone calls to Western defence ministers.
...
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the "rapidly deteriorating situation" in phone calls with British, French and Turkish counterparts, the ministry said.

He also spoke by phone with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the second time in three days. The Pentagon said Austin told Shoigu he "rejected any pretext for Russian escalation."

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material." (Reuters : 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Reuters : 24 October 2022 : CBS News : 24 October 2022

As I wrote in my blog entry (2 August 2015),

"In April of 2015 Putin threatened to use 'nuclear' weapons if anyone should try to reclaim Ukrainian Crimea.

As John Hall reported on 2 April 2015,

"Vladimir Putin is planning to exploit the threat of nuclear war to force Nato out of countries bordering Russia, it has been claimed.

A secret meeting between intelligence figures in Moscow and Washington reportedly revealed Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region." (MailOnline : 2 April, 2015) (my emphasis)

This is now coming true in the case of eastern Ukraine. As Taku Dzimwasha (right), International Business Times journalist, informs us,

"Pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine building 'dirty' bomb with help of Russian scientists" published on August 1 that pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine are "building a dirty bomb" with the assistance of Russian nuclear scientists, according to a Ukrainian security service report seen by The Times." (UNIAN : 01.08.2015) (my emphasis)

Taku Dzimwasha further reports that,

"When the accusations were put to an unnamed DPR official, he initially denied that the factory stored radioactive waste, but eventually admitted to its existence, The Times reported.

"Everyone knows that there is a small repository with [radioactive] waste," he said. "But the story that we signed an agreement with Russia is fake."

Russia's state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom denied that its staff had travelled to Donetsk and challenged the idea that radioactive material was being stored in the area.

However, a spokesman did acknowledge that there were private companies and individuals in Russia capable of removing the material from the bunker, IBTimes wrote." (ibid UNIAN) (my emphasis) (Blog Entry 2 August 2015)

It is interesting to note that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is now confirming that in 2015, pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine were "building a dirty bomb" with the assistance of Russian nuclear scientists. 

IS THIS THE NUCLEAR BOMB THAT PUTIN WILL NOW UNLEASH ON THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE???

 

(to be continued)

Putin preparing to use a nuclear bomb may now turn out to be true.

Deborah Haynes, Mark Stone and James Matthews report that,
...
"Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is on a hastily-arranged visit to Washington to talk with his counterpart and White House officials about "shared security concerns" including Ukraine and Russia, a source and an official said. (Sky News : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Critically, they continue,

"The secretive, last-minute nature of the trip and a comment by a second defence minister, James Heappey - who said the conversations that Mr Wallace would be having on Tuesday were "beyond belief" - suggested particularly sensitive and serious issues would be discussed." (ibid Deborah Haynes, Mark Stone and James Matthews)

This sudden rush by the UK's Minister of Defence to Washington follows on from reports that Putin's new military 'top dog', General Sergei Surovikin (right), who was "nicknamed General Armageddon" for his ruthlessness in Syria, 

"... says the situation in the southern city of Kherson is "difficult" and residents are to be evacuated.

General Sergei Surovikin said Ukrainian troops using Himars rockets were hitting the city's infrastructure and housing. He spoke on Russian state TV.

"The Russian army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population" of Kherson, he said.

His rare admission of big problems was echoed by a top local official.  (Laurence Peter (left): BBC News : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis) 

The critical question is, "Why is Putin's General "Armageddon" evacuating the whole city of Kherson?"

Having 'carpet-bombed' Allepo in Syria, is this 'evacuation' of Kherson a military prelude to similarly carpet-bombing Kherson?

Guardian News : Drone Footage of Allepo devastation: YouTube: 2 years ago

Furthermore, as reported by Sean Meleady,

"There are increasing fears that the Russian President could be about to detonate a nuclear weapon in a show of strength.

It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace cancelled giving evidence to MPs at short notice to head to the US capital to talk to his American counterparts for crisis talks. US President Joe Biden has claimed that the world is closer to nuclear war today than it has been at any point since The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962." (Express : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Let us also remind ourselves of South African born and raised into late teenage-hood during the 'apartheid' era, Elon Musk,  after his recent 'chit-chat' with Putin.

Musk 'warned' about Putin using a nuclear bomb if Ukraine's Crimea was ever attempted to be re-taken from Putin's Russia by Ukraine's army.

He is now also pushing the long dead Minsk2 protocols, of which Merkel and Putin were the central authors, as a way to appease Putin and thus end his war with Ukraine.

 Hindustan Times : 18 October 2022

 Andriy Zagorodnyuk (left) is correct in arguing that,

"With his armies in retreat and his invasion of Ukraine rapidly unraveling, Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently resorted to nuclear saber-rattling. This has caused widespread international alarm and is fueling mounting calls for Ukraine to reach a compromise with the Kremlin (cf. Elon Musk) in order to avert World War III.

The current rush to appease Moscow is deeply unnerving and reflects a shortsighted failure to appreciate the appalling security implications of bowing down to Russian intimidation. Giving in to Putin’s nuclear blackmail would not end the war in Ukraine. What it would do is set a disastrous precedent that makes a future nuclear war far more likely while encouraging dozens of countries to acquire nuclear arsenals of their own. (The Atlantic : 18 Otober 2022) (my emphasis)

We now learn from John Varga (right) that,

"Vladimir Putin is facing a serious Chechen crisis, after army refuseniks and Kadyrov loyalists engaged in a major armed confrontation over the weekend. The fighting has raised fears that the Islamic republic may be sliding back into civil war and bloody strife, that afflicted the country for a large part of the 1990s." (Express : 18 October 2022) (my emphasis)

With

• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on a hastily-arranged visit to Washington
• General Sergei Surovikin asserting that the Russian army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population" of Kherson
• Chechen army refuseniks and Kadyrov loyalists engaged in a major armed confrontation over the weekend and, above all,
•  Putin's armies in retreat and his invasion of Ukraine rapidly unraveling,

Putin has nowhere to turn to.

What may previously have been viewed as Putin 'bluffing' about using a nuclear bomb in his war with Ukraine may actually turn out to be true. 

 

 STOP PRESS!!

 (8:29 PM GMT+1) Mark Trevelyan (left) reports that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was introducing martial law in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow claimed last month as its own territory but is struggling to defend from Ukrainian advances.

In televised remarks to members of his Security Council, Putin boosted the security powers of all Russia's regional governors and ordered the creation of a special coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to step up the faltering war effort." (Reuters : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Brendan Cole : Newsweek : 19 October 2022

Mark Trevelyan goes on to further report that,

"He [Putin] said the "entire system of state administration", not only the specialised security agencies, must be geared to supporting what Russia calls its "special military operation"."

Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews; the suspension of civil law, civil rights, and habeas corpus; and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunal (court-martial). (Wikipedia)

In effect, Putin is placing Russia on a war footing.

(to be continued)

Putin is being knocked out of the ring by the army of Ukraine.

Like Elon Musk, 

• who grew up in South Africa during the fascist 'apartheid' years,
• and whose father's wealth, the very bedrock of the the privileged life of a white South African that he lived well into his teenage years, was gained from his father's contracts with the then fascist apartheid South African regime ,
• should now spew out Putin's and Angela Merkel's Minks2 protocols of 2015 as the basis for ending Putin's war with Ukraine. (blog entry 4 October 2022),

we now have Angela Merkel,

• who, since three months old, grew up in the countryside of Communist East Germany just 90 km north of East Berlin,
• 
   who, in 1968, joined the Free German Youth (FDJ), the official communist youth movement sponsored by the ruling Marxist–Leninist Socialist Unity Party of East Germany.
• and who, at the Academy of Sciences of East Germany, became a member of its FDJ secretariat and, according to her former science colleagues, openly propagated Marxism when she was the secretary for "Agitation and Propaganda"
• and who said, "Life in the GDR was sometimes almost comfortable in a certain way, because there were some things one simply couldn't influence." (Wikipedia)

once again claiming, as reported by Reuters and Jack Newman that,

"Angela Merkel has said she has no regrets about her decision to wed Germany to Russian energy. " 

'In this respect I do not regret decisions at all, rather, I believe that it was right from the perspective of the time,' she said, adding that cheap Russian gas had allowed Germany to push ahead with phasing out nuclear and coal.???? (Mail Online : 13 October 2022) (my emphasis)

• Is it a coincidence that the Minsk2 protocols, of which Merkel and Putin were central authors, is now also being pushed by Elon Musk as a way to end Putin's war with Ukraine?
•  Is it a coincidence that, as reported by NV,
  
   "The Kremlin has said it might consider conducting peace talks with Ukraine through   mediators, Russian state-owned news agency TASS quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry representative, Alexey Polishchuk, as saying on Oct. 9.
  
   According to Polishchuk, Moscow is ready to accept intermediary services at peace talks on the terms that “Kyiv has already rejected.” (New Voice of Ukraine : 9 October 2022) (my emphasis)
•  Is it also a coincidence that, as reported by Brady Knox
  
  "Elon Musk's SpaceX said it can no longer pay for Starlink in Ukraine, which has become a critical satellite service apparatus as the country fights to fend off a Russian invasion, in a request to the Pentagon to take over funding the endeavor.
  
  To continue operations, the company asked for tens of millions in subsidies from the Pentagon monthly, according to a letter obtained by CNN. (Washington Examiner : 13 October 2022) (my emphasis)
  

 

Merkel, Musk, and Putin are now trying to resuscitate Putin's and Angela Merkel's Minks2 protocols of 2015, that gives Putin full control over the Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donbas, and Crimea

 

But the Ukrainian army continues with its successful and relentless push to rid the territory of Ukraine of Putin's army, aided by the principled stand of the vast majority of the members of the UN and the military support of the US, the UK, the EU, NATO, Australia, and Japan, amongst many others.

 

 

Mail Online : 13 October 2022 (most watched videos)

 

As reported by James Franey (left),

 

"Ukraine yesterday brushed off Putin’s latest strikes on its cities by seizing back five key villages in territory Russia has just annexed.  

Kyiv has vowed to retake the entire region of Kherson by the end of the year after launching its counter-offensive in August." (Mail Online : 13 October 2022) (my emphasis)

 

It is now interesting to now note that Macron has been shamed into now 'considering' helping Ukraine protect itself from Putin's 'doodlebug blitzkrieg' over Ukraine.

 

As reported by Chris Pleasance (right),

 

"Macron, speaking as NATO defence ministers were set to gather to discuss military aid to Ukraine, said France is considering sending air defence units capable of taking down Russian missiles, as well as more artillery." (Mail Online : 13 Octiber 2022) (my emphasis)

 

But still trying to appease Putin, and protect French investments in Putin's Russia, Macron then went on to pronounce that,

 

"Mr Macron also called on Putin to resume peace negotiations with Kyiv.

'Today, first of all, Vladimir Putin must stop this war, respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and come back to the table for talks,' Mr Macron told broadcaster France 2." (ibid Chris Pleasance)

 

 

Macron, it would seem, is rather desperate to follow in the footsteps of Angela Merkel and present himself as the 'political leader' of the EU!

 

Is Macron really unaware of the fact that,

 

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday signed a decree formally announcing the "impossible" prospect of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

 

Yahoo : 13 October 2022

The Ukrainian President still left the door open for negotiations with Russia, but that will not be conducted with Putin as its President." ? (Mint e-paper : 4 October 2022) (my emphasis)
 

Now Putin is trying to seduce Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by turning Turkey into the gas hub for Europe at the expense of Merkel's Nord Stream2 German gas hub.

 

As reported by Suzan Fraser and Dasha Litvinova,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday doubled down on his proposal to turn Turkey into a gas hub for Europe after deliveries to Germany through the Baltic Sea's Nord Stream pipeline were halted.

Putin floated the idea of exporting more gas through the Turk Stream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Turkey as he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kazakhstan." (AP News : 13 October 2022) (my emphasis)

 

France 24: YouTube : 13 October 2022 

 

Will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan be seduced by this offer of Putin?

 

Indeed, unlike the desperate attempts of Macron to paint himself as the 'mediator' between Russia and Ukraine, has President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not already filled this critical position of 'mediator' with Putin, especially given the central role that Turkey has played in resuming grain exports from Ukraine?

Notwithstanding Merkel and Musk trying to resuscitate Putin's and Angela Merkel's Minks2 protocols of 2015, or Putin trying to 'seduce' President Recep Tayyip Erdogan onto his side, Putin's army has nowhere to run to prevent being defeated by the army of Ukraine.

Putin is not simply helpless against the ropes.

Putin is being knocked out of the ring by the army of Ukraine.

 (to be continued)