How much longer before Putin 'gingerly' raises the flag of peace?

It is interesting to note that there is now a panicked scramble by Putin to his 'bosom' friends in Chechnya and China as the powerful and successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Russian Kursk and Belgorad oblasts continue to pummel Putin's forces.

As AP reports,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday made an unscheduled trip to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation, his first visit in nearly 13 years, as Ukraine’s stunning cross-border incursion into western Russia entered its third week." (AP: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis)

AP: 21 August 2024

As AP also reports,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese premier Li Qiang Wednesday, hailing growing trade relations as Moscow becomes increasingly dependent on Beijing for political and economic support.
....
“Chinese-Russian relations are at an unprecedentedly high level,” said Li, who earlier had met with his Russian counterpart, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The meeting took place as Russia struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region now in its third week. And overnight, Moscow experienced one of the largest waves of drone attacks on the Russian capital since the start of the Ukraine conflict." (AP: 22 August 2024) (my emphasis)

 AP: 22 August 2024

All these meetings were against the background, as Devdiscourse News Desk reports,

"Ukraine reported on Wednesday the destruction of Russian pontoon bridges in Kursk region using U.S.-made weapons, a strategic move amidst their ongoing incursion into the area." (Devdiscourse: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by John Varga (right),

"Ukraine launched a huge drone attack on a major Russian airfield in the Volgograd region in the early hours of Thursday morning.
...
Ukraine has stepped up its aerial bombardment of Russia in recent weeks and months, as it seeks to disrupt Russia's war machine.

Oil refineries, airfields, air defence systems and ammunition warehouses have been remorselessly targeted in a carefully calibrated campaign." (Daily Express: 22 August 2024) (my emphasis)

More significantly, however, countering Putin's mouthpieces blustering about the use of 'nuclear' weapons, US Presidentn Biden has,

"President Joe Biden (left) has quietly approved a new US nuclear strategy focusing on China’s rapidly expanding nuclear arsenal earlier this year, a new report has revealed.

The Nuclear Employment Guidance (NEG) is designed to prepare the US for potential nuclear confrontations with Russia, China, and North Korea, The New York Times reported. The strategy takes into account the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal and ongoing threats from Russia, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine, the report said." (Maroosha Muzaffar: The Independent: 21 Augist 2024) (my emphasis)

Which rather puts into perspective Putin's mouthpiece, Dmitry Medvedev, once again 'indirectly' threatening to use nuclear weapons in Putin's war with Ukraine.

As Guy Faulconbridge (right) writes,

"Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region means there will be no talks between Moscow and Kyiv until Ukraine is completely defeated on the battlefield, Dmitry Medvedev (below: left), deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said on Wednesday.
 ...

"They understand that there will be NO NEGOTIATIONS UNTIL THE ENEMY IS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY DESTROYED!" (Reuters: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis)

One merely has to listen to the rantings of Stanislav Krapivnik on Russian TV to gain an insight into the 'apocalyptic' mindset of Dmitry Medvedev.

Russia Media Monitor: 18 August 2024: YouTube

The continuing counter-attack by Ukraine against Putin's forces, on Russian soil, is beginning to reach a 'near' crescendo in the political ears of Putin.

Desperately scambling to the few friends that he still has on the international political scene, such as Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechnya, Xi Jin Ping of China, and Kim Jon Un of North Korea, Putin now knows that his 'nuclear war' threats are falling on deaf ears.

How much longer before he gingerly raises the flag of peace? 

UPDATE : 24 August 2024 

Trying to keep pace with the ongoing and current developments in the Ukraine-Russia war is like running after a tornado that keeps changing direction.

Oli Smith (left) reports that,

"Olga Skabeyeva, one of the leading pro-Putin voices on Russian state TV, suggested Russia was prepared to unleash nuclear strikes if the incursion continued." (Express: 23 August 2024) (my emphasis),

whilst, 

"Sergei Chemezov, the head of the Russian state corporation which supplies Moscow with many of its arms for the war, Rostec, told Reuters news agency that the country “feels confident” at the prospect of a wider conflict" (Kate Nicholson (right): Huff Post: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis), 

and Putin is proclaiming that,

"But Chemezov is not the only person boasting about Russia’s abilities recently – Putin just told some of his troops that “we are absolutely, absolutely invincible” (Kate Nicholson: Huff Post: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis).

 Yet John Varga (left) reports that,

"Russian locals in a Siberian town are having to raise money to buy body bags for their soldiers, according to reports.

"So many Russian soldiers have been killed in the Irkutsk region that the local authorities have run out of money to transport them back to their relatives.

"Local people are now having to crowdfund for body bags and the transportation of corpses." (Express: 23 August 2024) (my emphasis)

 And as Oli Smith also reports,

"Russia's failure to stop a Ukrainian invasion of Kursk has exposed Vladimir Putin's fragile grip on the country, it has been claimed.

Western officials warned the surprise incursion, more than two and a half weeks ago, has "undermined" the Kremlin propaganda narrative that claimed a "Russian victory was inevitable". (Express: 24 August 2024) (my emphasis)

All of this comes against the background of :- 

• The United States has announced a new round of military assistance to Ukraine, following a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden. (Al Jazeera: 23 August 2024) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Joshua Posaner: Politico: 24 August 2024)
  
• Ukraine struck another huge blow against Russia's navy on Thursday after destroying and sinking a train ferry used to transport military equipment to Crimea." (John Varga: Express: 23 August 2024) (my emphasis)
• "Ukraine has launched another drone strike on an oil depot that has already been burning for six days in Russia's Rostov region, and Russians fear the blaze could reach nearby kerosene reservoirs, triggering a much larger explosion." (Newsweek: 23 August 2024) (my emphasis)

Like a raging tornado, Putin's currrent war in Ukraine is reaching a 'near' crescendo in his political ears.

Indeed, Putin is downplaying Ukraine's attacks in the Kursk and Belgorad Russian oblasts purely as a "large-scale provocation".

As Peter Dickson (left) writes,

"Russia’s propagandists are taking their lead from Putin himself. The Kremlin dictator has remained remarkably tight-lipped over Ukraine’s invasion, and has limited himself to only a handful of public statements. Notably, there have been no attempts to rally the Russian people against the invader or engage in the kind of historical grandstanding that Putin normally favors. On the contrary, he has opted for a strikingly understated approach. Putin initially branded the invasion a “large-scale provocation,” and has since compared the advancing Ukrainian army to “terrorists.” " (Atlantic Council: 21 August 2024) (my emphasis)

Yet another indication exposing Vladimir Putin's fragile grip on the country.

 

 

 

(to be continued)