Putin's desperation to cling onto power is now on display for all to see.

The G20 summit in Delhi has, in the report of Kevin Liptak (left),

" On Saturday, as the summit was still underway, the leaders agreed to the joint declaration acknowledging the situation in Ukraine while not papering over the group’s major divides.

“All states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition,” the declaration read, without explicitly singling out Russia for its invasion. The document also stated opposition to the use of nuclear weapons and highlighted the economic effects of the war.

In a reflection of the deep fractures among the G20 nations, the statement acknowledged “there were different views and assessments of the situation.” " (CNN : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Sky News : 9 September 2023 : YouTube

Ukraine, as reported by Paul Adams (left),

"Ukraine is clearly disappointed at the G20’s wording on the war.

The foreign ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, said the G20 had “nothing to be proud of", while thanking “those who tried to include strong wording in the text".

And in a post on Facebook, he quoted the language of the declaration, complete with a teacher’s corrections in red.

Obviously, these included references to Russia - conspicuously absent from the text agreed in Delhi - and replacement of the neutral term “war in Ukraine” with the rather more pointed “war against Ukraine". (BBC News : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

And as the G20 Delhi Summit came to the conclusion to NOT mention 'Russia' [read: Putin] in its joint declaration about Putin's war against Ukraine, Laurence Peter (right) reports that,

"Kyiv was attacked by Russian drones early on Sunday and debris fell in several districts, Ukrainian officials say, but no casualties were reported.

At least 10 explosions were heard in the capital and air raid sirens signalled that residents should take shelter. Later the all-clear sounded.

Kyiv Military Administration chief Serhiy Popko said debris had sparked a fire in a residential building, but it had been extinguished.

Drones have also hit Kyiv previously." (BBC News : 10 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Metro : 10 September 2023

And we now have, as reported by Maia Snow, the ludicrous pronouncement of Putin on Russian TV that,

"A delusional Vladimir Putin has claimed he was 'hoodwinked' into the invasion of Ukraine by the West. In a broadcast on Russian state TV, Putin claimed that a secret plan by his enemies to destroy Russia's economy and 'technological sovreignty' meant he had no choice but to invade. (Express : 10 September 2023) (my emphasis)

 Againt the backdrop of this ludicrous attempt by Putin to blame the West for his invasion of Ukraine, Alice Scarsi reports that,

"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky argued the counteroffensive would advance faster if his soldiers were provided by the West with powerful weapons in a quicker fashion and more sanctions were issued against Russia.

Appearing at the 18th Yalta European Strategy meeting "The Future is Decided in Ukraine", the head of state acknowledged the war in his country was "slowing down".
...
"When some partners say, 'So what about the counteroffensive, when will the next step be?' My answer is that today our steps are probably faster than new sanctions packages." (Express News : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Putin may have some comfort because of the G20 not explicitly singling out Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in their joint declaration, but this comfort was soon overshadowed by the reporting of Nam Hyun-woo (left) that,

"South Korea will provide an aid package totaling $2.3 billion for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Ukraine ― $300 million offered through international organizations next year and $2 billion in mid-term, low-interest loans from 2025, President Yoon Suk Yeol promised during a speech at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in New Delhi, India, Sunday" (The Korean Times : 10 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Aurora Bosotti,

"The US could hand Ukraine game-changing weapons on a platter should Washington DC go ahead with the deployment of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), a former US General said.

Reports emerged this week from anonymous US officials suggesting the Biden Administration is considering sending ATACMS to Kyiv in its next security package.

While the move has yet to be confirmed former commanding officer of United States Army Europe Ben Hodges noted it would deliver a serious blow to Russia's effort to maintain control of all occupied territory." (Express : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

 

CRUX : YouTube : July 2023

As Ukraine's President Zelensky has recently argued,

"...  the counteroffensive would advance faster if his soldiers were provided by the West with powerful weapons in a quicker fashion." (ibid Alice Scarsi)

And as further reported by Alice Scarsi (left),

"The headquarters in the occupied city of Polohy, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, of Vladimir Putin's de facto political party have been destroyed, according to Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov.

The Ukrainian official claimed Russians had been "burned out" of the building hosting the United Russia political party HQs.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Fedorov had already reported rumours the party headquarters had been hit during the "hellish pseudo-elections" taking place this weekend across four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russian troops." (Express : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Which rather throws a damper on the totally absurd 'phoney' elections that Putin is attempting to hold in Ukraine's occupied territories as a means of justifying his invasions of Ukraine and Crimea. 

One can only begin to image the spitting fuming of Putin on hearing the news that the headquarters organising his "hellish pseudo-elections" in Zaphorizia had been destroyed.

Such news can only serve to further cement his growing delusional beliefs that he was 'hoodwinked' into the invasion of Ukraine by the West.

Which, once again, raises the issue of the current state of Putin's health.

As reported by Oli Smith,

"Viktor Trukhin (left), 59, has been arrested after Russia's top intelligence agency, the FSB, detained him under mysterious circumstances.

Mr Trukhin served as the director of the St. Petersburg Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums for the past eleven years and reportedly knew all of Vladimir Putin's "health secrets", The Sun reports.

This comes amid ongoing speculation surrounding the health of the Russian leader." (Express : 9 September 2023) (my emphasis)

Putin's desperation to cling onto power is now on display for all to see.

And it is this desperation that again raises the spectre of  his twitchy finger above that red button that will uneash a nuclear bomb in Ukraine.

 

 

 

(to be continued)