Putin fails to deflect the eyes of the world from his war with Ukraine

 Alexander Motyl (left) writes that,

"In the past, wars divided Ukrainians and Jews. Today, war has made Ukraine and Israel into natural allies and friends.

And not just because the enemy of my enemy is supposedly my friend. But because both nations face similar existential threats from equally hostile forces — Russia in the Ukrainian case, and the unholy coalition of Hamas, Iran, Syria, and Russia in the Israeli case.
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Both Ukraine and Israel face identical existential threats from terrorist states and organizations. And Russia is central to both wars. It is of course Russia that re-invaded Ukraine and launched an all-out war on Feb. 24, 2022, and it is Russia that maintains good-neighborly relations with Hamas, Iran and Syria. " (Daily News : 16 October 2023) (my emphasis) 

 

CNN : 11 October 2023: YouTube

 As Pjotr Sauer (left) reports,

"Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has long portrayed himself as a friend of Vladimir Putin.
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Putin, too, has over the years cast himself as a loyal ally of the Israeli state, promoting cultural ties and visa-free travel between the two countries.
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But after the worst attack on Israel in decades, the much-touted friendship appears to have vanished.

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Four days after the start of Hamas’s surprise attack, Putin is yet to call Netanyahu, while the Kremlin has not published a message of condolence to the country, a diplomatic gesture of goodwill that Russia routinely sends out to global leaders following deadly incidents on their soil." (The Guardian : 12 October 2023) (my emphasis)

And whilst Putin has yet to send a message of condolence to Israel, Volodomyr Zelensky issued a video message after Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on the 7 October.

"Today the whole world has seen the horrific footage from Israel - footage of terrorists abusing women and men, taking even the elderly hostage without mercy.
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When such a terrorist attack occurs, everyone who values life must stand in solidarity. We in Ukraine are prticularly sensitive to what has happened.
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Let the value of human life and the intolerance of terror, be the principles that will finally unite the whole world." (cf video below)

 Hindustan Times : 8 October 2023 : YouTube

As also reported by Alice Scarsi (right),

"Russia has been accused of helping Hamas terrorists by providing them with tactical knowledge and weapons.

Kyrylo Budanov (left), the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Defence Ministry, argued Tehran and Moscow's involvement in the conflict between Hamas and Israel mirrors their role in the war in Ukraine.
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He also noted how Palestinian militants employed tactics reminiscent of the Ukrainian war during their assault on the weekend, using for example FPV drones against armoured vehicles." (Express : 13 October 2023) (my emphasis)

Against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas, Vishwam Sankaran and Alex Ross report that,

"Russia has lost 127 tanks, 239 armoured personnel vehicles (APVs) and 161 artillery systems in a week, Kyiv has said as Vladimir Putin launches a sustained assault in the east of Ukraine.

Moscow’s forces lost eight tanks, 25 APVs and 33 artillery systems in the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday." (The Independent : 16 October 2023) (my emphasis)

As also reported by David Brennan (right),

"The attempted Russian offensive on the fortified eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka appears to have been a costly failure for Moscow, with the Ukrainian military claiming to have killed thousands of Moscow's troops and destroyed hundreds of pieces of military equipment in several days of intense fighting.

The spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern force grouping—known as the Tavriisk Group—said this weekend that Russian offensive activity around the strategic Donetsk city had eased after last week's failed encirclement effort there." (Newsweek : 16 October 2023) (my emphasis)

Could this be why, as reported by Yohannes Lowe and Sammy Gecsoyler,

"Russia’s foreign minister [Lavrov (left)] is in Beijing ahead of a visit by Vladimir Putin to the Chinese capital and will then go to North Korea." ? (Microsoft Start (Guardian article) : 16 October 2023) (my emphasis)

As reported by Matt Murphy,

"US officials have accused North Korea of supplying vast amounts of military hardware to Russia for use in Ukraine.

Pyongyang has supplied up to 1,000 containers of "equipment and munitions" in "recent weeks", National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said.
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Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia to discuss potential military cooperation." (BBC News : 14 October 2023) (my emphasis)

For all his bluster about Ukraine's counter-offensive 'failing', Putin seems now to be running cap-in-hand to Chinese president Xi Jinping and North Korea's president Kim Jon Un for more help with military supplies.

This will not stem his defeats on the battleground of his war with Ukraine.

Underscoring this failure of Putin,  Katelyn Caralle (left) reports that,

"'Are the wars in Israel and Ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time?' CBS News' Scott Pelley asks Biden in a clip released ahead of the program airing.

'We're the United States of America for God's sake. The most powerful nation in the history – not in the world – in the history of the world, the history of the world,' the president replied.

'We can take care of both of these and maintain our overall international defense,' Biden said. 'We have the capacity to do this and we have an obligation to.'

'We are the essential nation,' he said, adding: 'And if we don't, who does?' " (Mail Online : 15 October 2023) (my emphasis)

No matter how much he tries, Putin will not deflect the eyes of the world from his war with Ukraine.

 

 

 

(to be continued)