"Is Putin now staring his downfall in the face?"

On this New Year's Eve of 2022 it is interesting that, as reported by Catherine Belton,

"When Vladimir Putin visited Minsk last week to discuss deepening cooperation, a sarcastic joke by his host, Belarusian
President Alexander Lukashenko, seemed to ring all too true.

 “The two of us are co-aggressors, the most harmful and toxic people on this planet. We have only one dispute: Who is the bigger one? That’s all,” Lukashenko said." (Washington Post : 30 December 2022) (my emphasis)

Catherine Belton (right) further reports that,

"Putin “feels the loss of his friends,” said one Russian state official with close ties to diplomatic circles, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “Lukashenko is the only one he can pay a serious visit to. All the rest see him only when necessary.” (ibid Catherine Belton)

And as reported by Amy Landsey (left),

"Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip to Belarus last week, where he discussed closer military cooperation with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
...
Kyiv said the Kremlin was guilty of “desperate and persistent efforts to involve Belarus in its aggressive war against Ukraine”. " (Sky News AU : 28 December 2022 ) (my emphasis)

 

Amy Landsey : Sky News AU : 28 December 2022

These desperate efforts by Putin to rope in Lukashenko's army to fight alongside his Russian soldiers in Ukraine are compounded by the fact that Putin is now having to resort to further bribing Russians to go and fight in Ukraine.

As reported by MSN (Aljazeera article),

Russian authorities have announced that soldiers and state employees deployed to fight in Ukraine will be exempt from income tax, Moscow’s latest effort to encourage support for a military campaign against Kyiv that has suffered multiple setbacks and defeats. (MSN (AlJazeera) : 31 December 2022) (my emphasis)

 

Besides his 'tax exemption' bribe,

 

"Earlier this week, it was announced that Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine can have their sperm frozen for free in cryobanks.

News the Russian state will fund sperm freezing for its armed forces follows reports in October that demand for sperm freezing had increased after Putin announced a partial mobilisation to funnel more troops to support Moscow’s war." (ibid MSN (Aljazeera article) )

 

These "tax exemption" and "sperm freezing" bribes of Putin reveal, as reported by Alessandra Scotto di Santolo and Emma Crabtree that,

 

"Soldiers in Belarus are gathering in hundreds to fight alongside Ukraine against Putin's aggression.
...
Ukrainian intelligence has suggested that Russia does not have the soldiers to launch an attack from Belarus.
...
Ukrainska Pravda has reported that the head of the country's State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said on Wednesday that it could not launch a "repeated offensive" from Belarus." (Express : 30 December 2022) (my emphasis)

 

And on Russia's economic front, it is being reported that,

 

"Russia’s currency hit an eight-month low Thursday, adding to sharp declines in December as global oil prices fell, and Western sanctions targeted Russia’s energy sector.

The ruble hovered below 72 to the dollar, down 18% from the start of the month, and its weakest level since late April." (Clare Sebastian (left) : CNN Business : 29 December 2022) (my emphasis)

 

Clare Sebastian further reports that,

 

"But with the price of oil, Russia’s biggest export, down by about a third from its June peak, and an EU embargo on seaborne oil, and Western price cap mechanisms now in place, Russia’s oil export revenues are likely to fall. This means less foreign currency to prop up the ruble." (ibid Clare Sebastian) (my emphasis)

 

 

 

Jenni Reid : MSN (CNBC) : 28 December 2022 

 

More significantly, as reported by Firstpost,

 

"Ship insurers have announced the cancellation of war risk coverage across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus from January. The move comes after an exit of reinsurers from the region as they faced heavy losses due to the ongoing war.
... 

The withdrawal of reinsurances will mean that ship owners or charterers would not be able to secure insurance in the new year which could lead to soaring prices of goods and some shipping firms may even decide to avoid the regions or to sail without insurance." (Firstpost : 30 December 2022) (my emphasis)

It is not only Putin's declining income from declining oils sales that is panicking his Kremlin economic advisors. 

As reported by DW News,

"European natural gas prices have fallen to levels last recorded before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. Warmer weather helps the EU to preserve its reserves." (DW : 29 December 2022 : YouTube)

"Is Putin now staring his downfall in the face?"

 

A Happy New Year to all my readers.

(to be continued)