Putin is now, dangerously, at 'panic stations'

As reported by the New Zealand Herald (AP article),

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has ditched his annual marathon news conference following a series of battlefield setbacks in Ukraine — a tacit acknowledgment the Russian leader’s war has gone badly wrong.
...
But this year, with his troops on the back foot in Ukraine, it could be impossible to avoid uncomfortable questions about the Russian military’s blunders even at a highly choreographed event. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday Putin wouldn’t hold the news conference this month, without explaining why." (NZHerald : 13 December 2022) (my emphasis)

And as Putin ditched his annual marathon news conference, PBS (AP) reports that,

"Dozens of countries and international organizations threw their weight and more than 1 billion euros (dollars) in aid pledges behind an urgent new push Tuesday to keep Ukraine powered, fed, warm and moving amid the onset of winter.
...
An international donor conference in Paris quickly racked up substantial promises of financial and in-kind support, a defiant response to sustained Russian aerial bombardments that have plunged millions of Ukrainian civilians into the deepening cold and dark by targeting critical infrastructure." (PBS News : 13 December 2022) (my emphasis) (cf also: NBC : 13 December 2022)

NBC : 13 December 2022 : YouTube

 

Furthermore, as reported by Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann (left),

"The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine that could be announced as soon as this week, according to two US officials and a senior administration official.
...
Once the plans are finalized, the Patriots are expected to ship quickly in the coming days and Ukrainians will be trained to use them at a US Army base in Grafenwoehr, Germany, officials said. " (CNN : 13 December 2022) (my emphasis)

 

They further report that,

 

" Last month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that the US is “very focused” on providing air defense systems to Ukraine.

“We’re now very focused on air defense systems and not just us, many other countries,” Blinken told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour." (ibid Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann) (my emphasis)

 

 

(CNN : 13 December 2022)

 
Could this urgent plan to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine be, in part, due to the fear that Putin is now so cornered that the use of a 'nuclear' strike is now viewed by himself as his only option to prevent the defeat of his army in Ukraine?

 

As Russian Commander,  Alexander Khodakovsky (left), stated on Russian TV,

"We realize that our resources, of course, have their limits. And the next spiral of escalation can only be one ... NUCLEAR ... And we don't have the resources to defeat the NATO bloc with conventional means ... but we have Nuclear weapons for that ..." (video below: CNN : 13 December 2022)

 

On the economic front, Huileng Tan (left) (Business Insider) reports that,

 

"Russia's central bank just issued a warning about 'new economic shocks,' and it shows the new $60/barrel cap on oil is working

• The price cap on Russian crude and EU's oil embargo present "new economic shocks," the Bank of Russia said.
• They could "significantly reduce" Russia's economic activity in the coming months, per the bank.
• Russia is mulling options to counter the price cap, including banning oil sales to some countries.

Despite the Kremlin's general skepticism over the West's myriad economic sanctions, analysts at the country's [Russia's] central bank foresee "new economic shocks," thanks to a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil and the European Union's ban of the country's crude." (MSN News :  13 December 2022) (my emphasis)

 

Putin is now, dangerously, at 'panic stations'.

 

(to be continued)