Is fear beginning to consume Putin?

To what lengths will a person go to fly in the face of the factual evidence about the recent Moscow concert hall attack?

Step forward Putin, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Head of Russia's FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov.

As reported by Paul Kirby,

"[Putin] acknowledged during a televised meeting on Monday: "We know the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists... we want to know who ordered it."

He argued that many questions remained unanswered, repeating an unfounded claim that the attackers had tried to flee south to Ukraine." (BBC News: 27 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Al Jazeera : 27 March 2024 : YouTube

And Patruschev, "when he was asked whether IS or Ukraine was behind the attack: "Of course, Ukraine."" (ibid Paul Kirby)

Bortnikov went even further, arguing that, "We believe the action was prepared both by the radical Islamists themselves and, obviously, facilitated by Western special services. Ukraine's special services themselves have a direct connection to this."" (ibid Paul Kirby)

As reported by Dominique Vidalon (et al),

"President Emmanuel Macron (left) said on Monday that the gunmen who killed 137 people in a concert hall outside Moscow were part of an Islamic State branch that was behind foiled attempts to attack France over the past few months.
This explains why the French government on Sunday increased the country's security alert to its highest level.." (Reuters : 25 March 2024) (my emphasis)

 Could this 'flying in the face of' the truth about the recent Moscow concert hall attack by Putin and members of his 'siloviki' have anything to do with the fact, as reported by Mia Jankowicz (right), that,

"Citing a person with knowledge of the situation, the outlet reported that Putin was in a meeting where officials agreed that Ukraine had no connection to the attack.

Even so, Putin was committed to the idea that it would help mobilize support for the war there, the person reportedly said.

Putin loyalists have continued to advance the theory without presenting any evidence." (Business Insider : 27 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Let us also recall Putin's recent threat of 'nuclear war' immediately after the sham presidential elections which he won with 88% of the votes cast.

The Independent : 18 March 2024 : YouTube

And whilst having shaken his 'nuclear' fist once again against the world, David Averre (left) reports that,

"Russia will shoot down any F-16 fighter jets that Western countries supply to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin declared today, before mocking the Czech Republic for being 'scared' of a Russian invasion he says will never come.  
...
'We have no aggressive intentions towards these states [NATO countries Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs] ,' Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.
,,,
But Putin quickly contradicted himself, adding that any F-16 flying in Ukraine would be 'legitimate targets', even if they are based in NATO countries.

'Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.' (Mail Online : 28 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Times and the Sunday Times : 28 March 2024 : YouTube

According to Simon Tisdall (left),

"If Putin is incapable of telling, or at least of accepting, the difference between reality and make-believe, it’s because he himself squats atop an edifice of lies.
...
With Putin, it’s always all about him, about his own insecurity, his need for absolute power, his delusions of revived Russian imperial grandeur. It’s never about other people, let alone “the people”.
...
Putin has remade the Russian state in his own image: brutal, incompetent, ignorant, distrustful, delusional and isolated. It is fundamentally weak, as is he. Incrementally, as one calamity succeeds another, his grip slips, his authority weakens and fear of him dissipates." (The Guardian : 25 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Underscoring Putin's fear about his authority being weakened, Illia Novikov reports that, 

"Russia fired drones and missiles overnight at southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, authorities said, injuring more than a dozen people as the Kremlin’s forces persevered with attritional attacks designed to wear down Ukrainian defenses....

The regular bombardment of Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces during the war has recently gained momentum, with missile barrages of the capital Kyiv and strikes on energy facilities across the country. The attacks also aim to weaken Ukrainian morale and act as retribution for Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian soil." (The Independent on Microsoft Start: 28 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Independent on Microsoft Start: 28 March 2024

Are Putin's accellerated bombings of Ukraine, and his increasingly contradictory statements, a sign that he is now so far removed from reality that 'fear' is beginning to consume him.?

 

(to be continued)

Threats of 'nuclear' war is all that Putin now has against Ukraine.

The dust having setlled on the "sham" presidential elections in Russia, and Putin's 'organised' celebrations of his re-crowning as the Czar of Russia now but a distant memory in the minds of those who were 'encouraged' to attend those celebrations, let us remind ourselves what Putin  promised in his war with Ukraine.

As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria,

"After the win, Putin told reporters that Russia must make its army stronger.
...
 After the win, Putin told reporters that Russia must make its army stronger and that the ‘noon against Putin’ protests had no effect.

The Russian president added that he would do everything he could to solve the tasks of what he termed Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. (Pulse : 18 March 2024) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 19 March 2024 : Youtube

As Putin exhorts in his victory statement to the crowd in Moscow in the video above,

"... So together we will go forward and see it's actions not words is what makes us really stronger ..." (my emphasis)

And true to his word, as reported by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy (left),

"Russia launched the largest wave of missiles and Iranian-supplied drones against Ukrainian cities since the start of the war two years ago, the White House said Friday.
...
"Mr. Putin is not waiting,'' Kirby said. ''He's not sitting on his hands. He's making lethal use of every single minute available to him. While our own Congress refuses to act, he's not wavering." (USA Today : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis)

USA Today on Microsoft Start : 22 March 2024

However, as reported by Yuliia Dysa and Marek Strzelecki,

"Ukraine's energy grid is receiving urgent assistance from Poland, Romania and Slovakia after a wave of Russian air strikes that damaged energy facilities and left more than 1 million people without power, national grid operator Ukrenergo said.

Polish transmission grid operator PSE is helping its Ukrainian counterpart by supplying 300 megawatts (MW) of power between 0600GMT and 1100GMT, PSE said on Friday." (Reuters : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Added to which, Pavel Polityuk (right) reports that,

"Ukraine hopes to sign a deal in June to buy two nuclear reactors from Bulgaria as it seeks to compensate for the loss of its vast Russian-occupied six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant, the head of nuclear firm Energoatom told Reuters.
...
"I [Petro Kotin, the head of nuclear firm Energoatom] set (the) task before our construction organisation and Khmelnytskyi station to have it ready to be installed by June," he said, referring to the first of the two reactors which would be ready for installation straight away." (Reuters : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Ukraine's energy grid is withstanding Putin's near manic bombardment against it.

Underscoring Putin ramping up his war against Ukraine, Al Jazeera reports that,

“We are in a state of war. Yes, it started out as a special military operation, but as soon as this group was formed, when the collective West became a participant in this on the side of Ukraine, it became a war for us,” Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov (left) told Arguments and Facts, a weekly newspaper based in the country." (Al Jazeera : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis)

 

Putin has now placed the Russian economy onto a FULL 'war footing'!

As reported by Darya Korsunskaya, Alexander Marrow and Mark Trevelyan,

"The cost of the war is straining the state budget, where a third of spending is now going on defence, and has forced the government to drain almost 6.5 trillion roubles in the past two years from its rainy-day savings pot, the National Welfare Fund." (Reuters : 14 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Addded to which, Alessandra Scotto di Santolo (left) reports that,

"The EU is poised to grant Ukraine access to a substantial financial reserve worth £235 billion. This war chest, comprised of frozen Russian sovereign assets, is set to be made available to Ukraine as early as July, pending the enactment of new legislation by the bloc." (Express : 19 March 2024) (my emphasis)

This access by Ukraine's President Zelensky of Putin's £235 billion reserves is no doubt making him apoplectic with rage.

And, as Kateryna Hodunova (right) reports,

"Berlin has pledged 300 million euros ($325 million) to a Czech-led initiative to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of artillery shells, Bloomberg reported on March 21, citing people familiar with the decision.

Czech President Petr Pavel said in February at the Munich Conference that Prague had found 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside Europe that could be sent to Ukraine within weeks if the necessary funds were allocated to the initiative." (Bloomberg : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Which really raises the question : "Is Putin's accellerated onslaught against Ukraine an expression of his desperation to cling onto power?"

As Charlie Bradley (left) reports,

"Vladimir Putin is "desperately clinging on to power" as he does not trust his successor if he leaves, it has been claimed.

The war in Ukraine has seen thousands of Russian troops killed and the country's economy threatened by Western sanctions.
...
Russia expert Mark Galeotti says Putin's current situation shares similarities with the final stages of the Soviet Union before its collapse in the early 1990s." (Express : 22 March 2024) (my emphasis) 

Times Radio : 22 March 2024 : YouTube

Putin knows that his days are numbered as Russian paramilitary groups crossed into Russia and are now fighting government troops there.

As reported by Jaroslav Lukiv,

"Three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups say they have crossed into Russia and are now fighting government troops there.

The Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and Siberian Battalion (SB) posted videos purportedly showing their fighters in Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions.

The FRL and an exiled Russian politician claimed two villages were now in control of "liberation forces"." (BBC News : 12 March 2024) (my emphasis)

As Putin is ramping up his bombardment of Ukraine, so are Ukraines' allies ramping up their support of Zelensky and the army of Ukraine.

Putin and his 'siloviki' have nowehere else to go except to continue to threaten a 'nuclear catastrophe' against the world.

 

(to be continued)

Putin's fear of his demise continues to grow.

 In my last blog entry (12 March 2024) I wrote that,

"Added  to which, Russian wives demonstrating daily for the return of their conscipted husbands from Ukraine may yet prove to be Putin's Achilles heel." (blog entry 12 March 2024)

As now reported by Alexander Butler, Tom Watling, and Alisha Rahaman Sarkar,

"Massive demonstrations are expected across Russia today as critics of Vladimir Putin head to the polls in a show of defiance against his regime.
...
“We want this dark time to end. We want a clear, normal future,” the campaign’s website says. “But we, citizens of our country, with our pain and our hope, are not noticeable either to the authorities or to each other.” (The Independent : 17 March 2024) (my emphasis)

As further reported by Tom Watling,

"A fortnight after his death, [Navalny's] wife Yulia Navalnaya then endorsed the campaign as well. It has become what Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta called “Navalny’s political testament”. (The Independent : 17 March 2024) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 6 March 2024

 Underlining the call of Yulia Navalnaya, and as reported by Jessica Baker, Juliana Cruz Lima, and Will Stewart,

"POLLING stations across Russia have been hit by a wave of fire and paint attacks on the first day of Vladimir Putin's sham election.

Several Russians have reportedly been detained for vandalism after pouring dye into ballot boxes and throwing petrol bombs at booths.
A woman allegedly threw a petrol bomb near a polling station" (The Sun : 15 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Sun : 15 March 2024

Adding to ongoing protests in Russia during this 'sham' election, NHK News in Japan report that,

"More than 55 members of the United Nations have condemned Russia for holding a presidential elections in Ukrainian regions that it has unilaterally declared to have annexed.
...
It read, "We condemn in the strongest terms the Russian Federation's illegitimate attempts to organize Russian presidential elections in temporarily occupied areas within the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine."

It also said: "Holding elections in another UN member state's territory without its consent is in manifest disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Such elections have no validity under international law." (NHK News : 16 March 2024) (my emphasis)

NHK News : 16 March 2024

Putin may imprison and arrest those within Russia who are demonstrating against his 'sham' presidential elections, but he has to take heed of 55 countries condemning his illegal 'election' activity in Ukraine. 

Just as Putin has to take heed of the fact that 55 countries at the UN have condemned his 'sham' election taking place on Ukraine's territory, Business Standard report that,

"Ukraine launched a new massive wave of drone attacks Sunday as Russians cast ballots on the final day of a presidential vote set to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule for another six years.
...
The Russian Defence Ministry reported downing 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, including four in the Moscow region.
...
The attacks on the Yaroslavl region, which is located about 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border, were some of the farthest launched by Ukraine so far." (Business Standard : 17 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by The Telegraph,

"Crimean bridge closed and Moscow flights grounded by mass Ukrainian drone attack

Ukraine launched a massive wave of drone strikes overnight that forced the Crimean Bridge to close and grounded flights from Moscow.

Car traffic was suspended over the bridge connecting Crimea with mainland Russia for half an hour, Russian authorities announced, without explaining why.

Three airports in Moscow were forced to impose flight restrictions after five Ukrainian drones were shot down near the Russian capital, Russia’s state aviation watchdog reported." (The  Telegraph : 17 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Added to which,

"Ukraine will receive its first €4.5 billion tranche under the Ukraine Facility programme next week.

Source: European Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn (left), European Pravda reports

Details: "Very glad to pave the way for next week’s first disbursement of funds under the Ukraine Facility programme," Johannes wrote on Twitter (X) announcing the signing of the decision." (Ukrainska Pravda : 15 March 2024) (my emphasis)

At the same time, Le Monde (with AFP) reports that,

"French President Emmanuel Macron (right) said in an interview published on the evening of Saturday, March 16, that Western ground operations in Ukraine might be necessary "at some point". 

Last month, Macron refused to rule out putting troops on the ground in Ukraine, which prompted a stern response from Berlin and other European partners." (Le Monde : 16 March 2024) (my emphasis)

And, as reported by Geir Moulson and Vanessa Gera,

"Germany, France and Poland (left: Macron, Scholz, and Tusk) vowed on Friday to procure more weapons for Kyiv and step up production of military equipment along with partners in Ukraine, promising that Ukraine can rely on the trio of European powers as it tries to overcome a shortage of military resources.
...
“He [President Zelensky] knows that he can rely on us, and we are renewing this signal for support for Kyiv from here today,” he [Scholz] said after the meeting. “But a crystal-clear signal also goes to Moscow — the Russian president should know that we won’t let up in our support for Ukraine." (Irish News : 15 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Putin and his 'siloviki' know that the end of their Mafia-like criminal reign is in sight.

No amount of 'sham' elections can detract from the fact that Putin is simply re-crowning himself the 'Mafia Don of a criminal political enterprise'.

The Russian people are slowly awakening from their slumber throughout Putin's war with Ukraine.

And so Putin's fear of his demise continues to grow.

UPDATE 1: 18 March 2024 : 03.49am

As was to be expected, Putin was ostensibly re-elected president of Russia with a margin of 88% of the vote.

Having incarcerated ALL his legitimate opponents, and killed his main opponent, Navalny, who was in prison on trumped up charges, Putin then declared that together with his 'siloviki', he will continue on his current path of  war against Ukraine.

 Global News : 18 March 2024 : YouTube

ABC News (Australia) : 18 March 2024 : YouTube

BBC News : 17 March 2024 : YouTube

Chillingly, as reported by Jeremiah Hassel (left), 

"In a chilling comment following his election victory on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that a "full-scale World War III" is "possible" should any Western troops enter Ukraine.

A reporter at a press conference the president held asked about French President Emmanuel Macron's recent comments suggesting troops might be sent to Ukraine to aid the country in its war effort.

Putin responded: "I think anything is possible in today’s world and it’s clear to everyone that this would be one step from a full-scale World War III." (Daily Mirror : 17 March 2024 : 21.59pm) (my emphasis)

UPDATE 2: 18 March 2024 : 06.23am

Putin's threat of 'nuclear' war may seem like 'sabre rattling'.

However, the reality of a 'nuclear' war should not be taken lightly.

As Charlie Bradley (right) reports,

"A NATO nuclear attack on Russia has been simulated in an alarming video, showing missiles   striking cities across Russia as Vladimir Putin is warned that 45 million people would be "vapourised."

Putin has discussed the threat of nuclear war on a number of occasions since his troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
...
Jake Broe, a former Nuclear & Missile Operations Officer in the US Air Force, has warned that Russia would be obliterated in a nuclear conflict.
...
Posting on X, he said: "If Russia uses a nuclear weapon against a NATO country, then this is what will happen to Russia in response." (Express : 15 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Modern Muscle : August 2023 : YouTube

 

(to be continued)

Demonstrating Russian wives could yet be Putin's Achilles heel.

In my blog post of 23 February 2015, I reported that,

Merkel and the Pope

"Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the fight against poverty during a private audience on Saturday. (Daniela Petroff : AP : February 22, 2015) (my emphasis)

Since this was a 'private audience', we shall never know what was said between them. Was Merkel simply 'filling him in' on what the current German strategy towards events in Ukraine is, or was she summoned by the Pope." (blog post 23 February 2015)

And in my blog post of 15 June 2022 I reported that,

"Yet we now also learn about the Pope supporting Putin's initial arguments about NATO as the catalyst that caused him to start his second war with Ukraine.

As reported by Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli

"He [the Pope] has conspicuously avoided condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin as the aggressor. He has criticized the West’s sanctions and defense spending. And in an interview published this month by an Italian newspaper, Francis appeared to echo a Kremlin talking point, describing the “barking of NATO at Russia’s door” as one of the triggers for Putin’s wrath." (Washington Post : 20 May 2022) (my emphasis)

And as we learn of the Pope, "describing the “barking of NATO at Russia’s door” as one of the triggers for Putin’s wrath.", MSN News (The Guardian) " (blog post 15 June 2022)

Should we therefore be surpised that, as reported by Daniel McLaughlin (left),

"Pope Francis has been criticised in Ukraine and by some of its allies for suggesting it should have “the courage of the white flag” and seek negotiations to end its war with Russia’s invasion force.

“I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag and negotiates,” the pope said in interview with Swiss media last month that was published in part over the weekend." (The Irish Times : 10 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Guardian : 11 March 2024 : YouTube

Since Putin invaded, and illegally annexed, Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, Jesuit Pope Francis has always been an apologist for Putin. 

That Putin's other apologist since 2014, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left with Putin), rushed to the side of Pope Francis to "privately discuss" Ukraine with him AFTER Putin's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea also speaks volumes for the current vaccilation of Germany's Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to supply Ukraine with much needed Taurus missiles.

 And it now transpires that,

"[Angela Merkel's former Defence Minister, and current] EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is facing a new legal challenge after the European Parliament secretly voted in favour of opening proceedings against the EU executive over funds approved for Hungary last December.

The Strasbourg's legal affairs committee voted on Monday to take the Commission to court after it unblocked €10.2 billion frozen EU funds for Viktor Orban in December.

The move came ahead of the December EU summit which aimed at approving a news aid package for Ukraine which was being vetoed by the Hungarian Prime Minister." (Alessandra Scotto di Santolo (right):Express : 12 March 2024) (my emphasis)

With the Pope asking Zelensky to "raise the white flag" and fully capitulate to Putin, and Ursula von der Leyen pouring billions of Euros into the pocket of Victor Orban, Putin's staunch supporter and mouthpiece in the EU, Zelensky should now ask himself, "With 'friends' like the Pope, Angela Merkel, Olaf Scholz, and Ursula von der Leyen, who needs enemies?".

And against this political backdrop Charlie Bradley (right) reports that,

"Vladimir Putin's forces took the town of Avdiivka in February after months of fighting near the town, but a new Ukraine war map shows Russian advances have virtually ground to a halt.
...
This comes as the New York Times also reports that Russian troops have been held back near the villages of Berdychi, Orlivka and Tonenke in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine has been boosted in these areas by its most skilled battalions and American armoured vehicles and tanks." (Express : 11 March 2024)(my emphasis)

Added to which, Guy Faulconbridge (left) and Lidia Kelly (right) report that,

"Ukraine pounded targets in Russia on Tuesday with dozens of drones and rockets in a sweeping attack that inflicted serious damage on a major oil refinery and sought to pierce the land borders of the world's biggest nuclear power with armed proxies.
...
In one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia to date, Russia said it had downed 25 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions including Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Tula and Oryol. Many more drone attacks were reported.
Russian officials reported attacks on a slew of energy facilities, including a fire at Lukoil's (LKOH.MM) NORSI refinery and a drone destroyed on the outskirts of the town of Kirishi, home to Russia's second largest oil refinery." (Reuters : 12 March 2024) (my emphasis)

 

Richard Ashmore : Express : 10 March 2024

As his re-coronation as the Czar of Russia rapidly approaches, and as his navy has suffered devastating defeats  in the Black Sea (cf. Charlie Bradley), Putin has a new headache to contend with

As reported by Ania Nussbaum and Milda Seputyte,

"France received a show of support from Baltic countries and Ukraine after President Emmanuel Macron irked other allies when he left the door open to sending troops to Ukraine.

Lithuania’s Gabrielius Landsbergis, Estonia’s Margus Tsahkna, Latvia’s Krisjanis Karins and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba praised Macron’s “outside of the box” approach during a joint press conference, after Paris convened a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Vilnius on Friday.

“What Macron is reminding everyone and bringing again to the forefront is the sense of urgency,” Karins said. “This is what is needed.” (Bloomberg : 8 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Putin's and Medvedev's constant threats about "nuclear" war is now coming to bite them in the behind as the idea of troops from EU countries bilaterally joining Ukraine's forces outside of NATO takes hold amongst other EU members.

Added  to which, Russian wives demonstrating daily for the return of their conscipted husbands from Ukraine may yet prove to be Putin's Achilles heel.  

 

Aljazeera : 12 February 2024 : YouTube

 

(to be continued)

In Ukraine, Winter is now turning into Spring in its war with Putin.

Today, as reported by Guy Faulconbridge (left),

"Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief has said French President Emmanuel Macron's refusal to rule out sending European troops to fight Russian soldiers in Ukraine was extremely dangerous and irresponsible.
...
Asked about Macron's remarks, Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence
Service (SVR), the main successor to the KGB's First Directorate foreign spying section, said they were deeply irresponsible." (Reuters : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)

This response of  Sergei Naryshkin (right) follows on from the report of Warren Murray that,

"Emmanuel Macron (left) has urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting its fight against the Russian invasion. He “fully stood behind” remarks made last week not ruling out the deployment of western troops. “We are surely approaching a moment for Europe in which it will be necessary not to be cowards,” the French president said on a visit to the Czech Republic." (The Guardian : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Sky News Australia : 6 March 2024 : YouTube

Was Macron specifically referring to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when urging Ukraine's EU allies "not to be “cowards” in supporting its fight against the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Andrew Naughtie & Tamsin Paternoster (left) seem to underline this possibility by reporting that,

"Scholz's government has lately been resisting pressure to share one of its most powerful military assets with the Ukrainians just when they need it most.
...
According to Benjamin Tallis, Senior Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations,"Following the Taurus leak, it seems that what Scholz is really afraid of is the weapon's effectiveness. This betrays his position of not wanting Ukraine to win – and it's an approach that lets down all Europeans by making us less safe." (Euronews : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis) 

What further betrays Scholz's position of not wanting Ukraine to win is the recent relocation of 5,000 German troops to Lithuania "amid mounting concerns about a potential attack from Moscow, whose Kaliningrad enclave borders Lithuania, along with its ally Belarus. (Euronews : 29 February 2024) (my emphasis)"

Admittedly, these German troops have been deployed as NATO troops in defence of a NATO member.

But cowering behind NATO's Article 5 as an excuse not to send Taurus  missiles to Ukraine further underscores the argument of Benjamin Tallis that Scholz simply does not want Ukraine to win in its war with Putin.

As was reported by Nathan Rennolds (left),

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticized for a "flagrant abuse of intelligence" after he appeared to suggest British and French soldiers had been helping Ukraine fire missiles they had supplied.

Scholz made the comments while explaining his reluctance to send Germany's long-range Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine, which he said risked the country becoming directly involved in the war.
...
"What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French can't be done in Germany. Everyone who has dealt with this system knows that," he said, The Associated Press reported.

"German soldiers must at no point and in no place be linked to targets this system reaches," he added." (Business Insider : 29 February 2024) (my emphasis)

And whilst Scholz is cowering behind NATOS's Article 5,

• Ukrainian intelligence says seven people have been killed and six more injured after a Russian patrol ship was hit and sunk in a sea drone attack. (Thomas Mackintosh : BBC News : 5 March 2024) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 5 March 2024 : YouTube 

• Ukraine shot down 38 of the 42 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on March 6, the Air Force said in its morning update. (Olena Goncharova : Yahoo News : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis)   
  

• Coalition members funding the short-term purchases [of ammunition for Ukraine] include Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Czech Republic and the United States, among others, Wouda told Reuters."Collectively we have actually found opportunities around the world to find ammunition in other places, outside of Europe," he said, declining to identify those places. (Anthony Deutsch and Jan Lopatka : Reuters : 6 March 2024) (my emphasis) 
  

• Ukraine has hinted that it was responsible for destroying a railway bridge in the Russian region of Samara, some 600 miles from the Ukrainian border. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said in post on messaging site Telegram that the blast had “paralysed” traffic in the area. (Chris Samuel : Express : 4 March 2024) (my emphasis) 
  

• And in a significant political development reported by Joel Gehrke, "India is working to secure the return of citizens who say they were conned into fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine. “We remain committed, as a matter of top priority, to actively pursuing with the Russian authorities all the relevant cases of Indian nationals for an early discharge from the Russian army,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a Monday statement." (Washington Examiner : 26 February 2024) (my emphasis)

• As also reported by Rebecca Robinson, "A distressing plea has emerged from a group of young men from India who claim to have been deceived into military service in Russia's war against Ukraine.... Subsequently apprehended by Belarusian authorities and handed over to Russian forces, they were coerced into signing undisclosed documents, effectively conscripting them into military service." (Express : 5 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The recent euphoria of Putin and his 'siloviki' over the fall of Avdiivka has now been eclipsed :-

1. by Macron not ruling out the deployment of western troops in Ukraine, 
2. by Scholz being inexorably forced towards supplying Ukraine with Tausus missile, 
3. by Ukraine gaining the momentum in pushing back Putin's forces, 
4. and by the India government pursuing the return of forced Indian conscripts into Putin's army.

In Ukraine, Winter is now turning into Spring in its war with Putin.

 

(to be continued)