Putin is now dangerously treading water save himself.

The last few days has seen disturbing escalations in Putin's war with Ukraine.

Lukashenko (left), president of Belarus, has brought NATO dangerously close to war with Russia.

As reported by Elena Salvoni (right),

"Poland has ramped up troop deployment on its eastern border and notified NATO after claiming two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace today, pushing tensions between Warsaw and its Moscow-allied neighbour to boiling point.

 Polish authorities announced they were going to increase their military presence along the border and that they had summoned Belarus' top diplomat in Warsaw in protest.

It comes amid heightened anxieties in Poland over mercenaries from the Russia-linked Wagner group arriving in Belarus following their short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in June." (MSN (from Daily Mail article) : 1 August 2023) (my emphasis) (cf also: Vanessa Gera : Washington post : 1 August 2023, Tim McNulty : Express : 1 August 2023,  Piotr Skolimowski : Bloomberg : 1 August 2023)

9 News Australia : 2 August 2023 : YouTube

 And as Lukashenko (read: Putin) brings NATO dangerously close to war with Russia, CNN reports that,

"Dozens of countries are set to gather in Saudi Arabia this weekend for Ukraine peace talks. Russia won't be there but plans to monitor the event. CNN's John Vause speaks with Matthew Schmidt, an associate professor at the University of New Haven." (CNN : 3 August 2023) (my emphasis)

CNN : 3 August 2023

  Added to which, as reported by John Varga (left),

"Ukraine's army could be on the verge of splitting Putin's army in two, according to a former British General.
...
The Russian defence ministry’s chief spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, said on Wednesday Ukraine had launched a "massive" attack south of the settlement of Orikhiv and that fierce battles were raging." (Express : 29 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Not only has Ukraine's counter-offensive accelerated to the point where even Russian occupied Crimea is now in the sights of the Ukrainian army but, as reported by Tom Watling (right),

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the “war is returning to Russia” after a third drone strike in a week hit Moscow.
...
[Zelensky] ... did say the destruction was “inevitable, natural and fair” given the invasion. Sunday’s attacks, which hit one building less than five miles from the Kremlin and temporarily caused Moscow to shut down its airspace, reflected a pattern of more frequent and deeper cross-border strikes the Kyiv government has launched since starting a counteroffensive against Russian forces in June. (Express : 31 July 2023) (my emphasis)

CNN : 1 August 2023 : YouTube

The impact of Ukraine's strikes in the heart of Moscow has led staunch Putin ally, Pyotr Tolstoy (left), the deputy chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, to proclaim on Russian TV that,

"If Russia loses the war in Ukraine it will “cease to exist”, a state media guest has said in a startling claim. This comes as President Zelensky’s forces undertake their counteroffensive in a bid to reclaim the territory taken from them.

Pyotr Tolstoy, the deputy chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, said during the broadcast: “Right now, we're in a situation where either we win in this war, or we cease to exist as a people and a nation.”" (Max Parry : Express :31 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Underlining Pyotr Tolstoy's claim, Jacob Paul (right) reports that,

"A military enlistment building in St Petersburg has been targeted in a sabotage attempt, marking the latest effort in a string of assaults on properties in Russian-controlled territory.

An unknown woman reportedly attempted to set fire to the building on Angliyskaya Naberezhnaya street on August 1." (Express : 2 August 2023) (my emphasis)

This is one of many such sabotage attempts that have occurred around Russia.

Warthog Defense :  2 August 2023 : YouTube

One can only begin to imagine the near "total" confusion in Putin's mind, including those of his staunchest "siloviki".

As Paul Withers reports,

"Vladimir Putin and Russia have been warned by a top Ukrainian official that a rebellion from furious Russians marching towards Moscow is "not too far off".

The warning comes just over a month after raging Wagner Group mercenaries abandoned fighting in Ukraine and turned on Putin's regime." (Express : 2 August 2023) (my emphasis)

 As Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky (left) recently stated,

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that Russia's attacks on port infrastructure showed Moscow was intent on creating a "global catastrophe," with a crisis in food markets, prices and supplies.

"For the Russian state, this is not just a battle against our freedom and against our country," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

"Moscow is waging a battle for a global catastrophe. In their madness, they need world food markets to collapse, they need a price crisis, they need disruptions in supplies." (Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar : Reuters : 2 August 2023) (my emphasis)

Putin is now dangerously treading water to save himself.

 

(to be continued)