Putin has painted himself into an even tighter 'political corner'

From being 'gingerely' held in Putin's hand, the 'flag of peace' is now been held aloft by him.

And in his other hand he is holding aloft Iranian missiles with which to continue his war with Ukraine.

As reported by Meduza,

"The Pentagon says it’s confirmed that Iran has given “a number of close-range ballistic missiles to Russia.” While Washington isn’t sure exactly how many rockets are being handed over to Moscow, the U.S. Defense Department assesses that Russia could begin putting them to use within a few weeks, “leading to the deaths of even more Ukrainian civilians.” (Meduza: 13 September 2024) (my emphasis)

And whilst Putin is receiving his missiles from the Ayatollas in Iran,  James Landale and Malu Cursino (right) report that,

"The delivery of Iranian missiles to Russia has changed the debate about Ukraine using Western-provided long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has told the BBC on a visit to Kyiv.
...
In an interview with the BBC, Lammy said Iran providing Russia with ballistic missiles "clearly changes the debate" as they would allow Moscow's forces "to have further penetration into Ukraine". (BBC News: 11 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by David E Sanger, Helene Cooper, and Eric Schmitt,

"United States president Joe Biden appears to be on the verge of clearing the way for Ukraine to launch long-range western weapons deep inside Russian territory, as long as it doesn’t use arms provided by the US, European officials say.
...
Britain has already signalled to the US that it is eager to let Ukraine use its “Storm Shadow” long-range missiles to strike at Russian military targets far from the Ukrainian border. But it wants explicit permission from Mr Biden in order to demonstrate a co-ordinated strategy with the United States and France, which makes a similar missile." (Irish Times: 13 September 2024) (my emphasis)

As Sir Keith Starmer (left) states,

"Russia started the conflict in Ukraine and can end it "straight away”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

“Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away,” he said.

He later added: “To reiterate, it was Russia who started this in the first place. They caused the conflict, they’re the ones who are acting unlawfully.” (Chris Mason and Isabella Allen: BBC News: 12 September 2024) (my emphasis)

But with the threat of US and UK long-range missiles being aimed at Russia's war infrastructure, Putin once again is threatening to unleash war against NATO members who may greenlight their use of long-range missiles to destroy Putins' war infrastructure.

Sarah Hooper and Jasper King: Metro: 12 September 2024 

The 'political emptiness' of Putin's threats of war with NATO members is best desribed by  LT Col Stuart Crawford (left) as,

"Putin and the Russian people will now be brought ever closer to the front line of their illegal, unprovoked, and aggressive war in Ukraine. Typically, he has reacted to the news with his usual mix of threats and bluster, suggesting that Moscow would regard western missiles being used against it as a serious escalation of the war.
...
While it would be both brave and foolhardy to dismiss such threats completely out of hand, it is most unlikely that Putin would follow through, or be allowed to follow through by his political advisers and rivals in the Kremlin, with such threats.

The reason? Quite simply it would lead to the demise of both him and the Russian regime. NATO is so many times more powerful both militarily and economically than Russia that there could be only one winner. So it won’t happen." (Express: 13 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Sean Bell (right) also states that,

"But frankly, president Putin shown here knows that if the West were directly engaged .... if NATO is directly engaged .... Russia would be stopped in its tracks" (Sky News: 13 September 2024) (my emphasis) (cf also: Mark Moore: International Busness Times: 13 Sept 2024)

Sean Bell: Sky News: 13 September 2024

Putin has painted himself into an even tighter 'political corner' with his threat of war with NATO.

The 'siloviki' in the Kremlin no doubt realise this.

What will be the reaction of the Russian people when they are told that they are at war with NATO?

Will they 'man the barricades' to protect the motherland, with the threat of near total 'nuclear' annihilation hanging like a sword of Damocles over their head if Putin fires even one of his 'nuclear' warheads against a NATO country?

Laura-brick: Metro: 14 September 2024

 

 

 

(to be continued)

The 'peace flag' is no longer being simply gingerly held in Putin's hand.

On September 5th, Tara Copp (left) informed us that,

"Top U.S. military leaders will be in Germany to discuss Ukraine’s wartime needs as Russia has conducted one of its deadliest airstrikes in the conflict and Ukraine presses its offensive in Russia’s Kursk region."
...
The group’s priorities include bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses and “energizing of the defense industrial bases” of allies to ensure long-term support for Kyiv,
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said in a statement Thursday." (AP: 5 September 2024) (my emphasis)

She goes on to report that,

"That the group of military leaders from Ukraine’s allies [right: incl. US Gen. CQ Brown Jr] has continued to meet and agree to send weapons is extraordinary, however. " (ibid Tara Copp)

Following on from this meeting, Ludwig Burger and Andreas Rinke report that,

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a renewed effort to bring peace to Ukraine, adding that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had both agreed in recent talks on the need for a new peace conference that would include Russia.
"I believe that now is the time to discuss how to arrive at peace from this state of war, indeed at a faster pace," Scholz told broadcaster ZDF in a televised interview." (Reuters: 8 September 2024) (my emphasis)

This sudden 'urgency' for peace on the part of Olaf Scholtz is, acording to Burger and Rinke,

"Scholz is under pressure at home after all three parties in his centre-left coalition suffered painful losses in two regional state elections one week ago, while groups seeking better relations with Moscow won more votes.

Nationalist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and new anti-establishment party BSW, who oppose military backing for Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion, both booked record gains. " (ibid Ludwig Burger and Andreas Rinke)

 

Germans against supporting Ukraine win in German elections

Putin is, no doubt, thanking his 'comrades in arms' in the former East Germany, where he was previously stationed as the KGB representative, for their unwavering support of his war against Ukraine.

But against this backgound Putin's war-anxiety continues to grow apace as :-

• "The governor of Russia's southern Belgorod region said on Sunday Ukrainian forces attacked a fuel depot, triggering a series of fires after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of launching overnight attacks on border regions." (NDTV: 9 September 2024) (my emphasis)
• "Ukraine is building weapons underground to supply the military with arms in the event of delays in military aid from abroad, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Ambrosetti International Economic Forum in Italy on Sept. 7.
  
  "We are building underground facilities for the production of weapons so that Ukrainian soldiers can defend themselves even when supplies from our partners are delayed," Zelensky said." (Kyiv Independent on Yahoo News: 8 September 2024)
• Zelenskyy and Meloni discussed Ukraine's immediate needs before winter, with Meloni emphasizing continued support as vital for Italy's national interest and global stability. (Sertac Aktan: Euro News: 7 September 2024) (my emphasis)

More importantly, John Paul Rathbone (left) reports that,

"Ukraine’s Kursk offensive has dented Vladimir Putin’s war narrative and triggered “questions” among the Russian elite about the point of the war, two of the world’s leading spy chiefs have said.

CIA director Bill Burns said Kursk was “a significant tactical achievement” that had boosted Ukrainian morale and exposed Russia’s weaknesses. It has “raised questions . . . across the Russian elite about where is this all headed”, he said. (Financial Times: 7 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Sky News: 8 September 2024

More disconcerting for Putin, 

"Russian drones have breached Nato airspace as Vladimir Putin’s forces targeted Ukraine in an “irresponsible” overnight attack.

Romania scrambled F-16 fighter jets to monitor the drones, which were detected in the early hours of Sunday morning while Latvia shared photos of a crashed drone in its eastern region.
...
Nato’s outgoing deputy secretary general Mircea Geoană said: 

“While we have  no information indicating an intentional attack by Russia against allies, these acts are irresponsible and potentially dangerous.” (Alexander Butler (left) and Arpan Rai (right): The Independent on Misrosoft Start: 9 September 2024) (my emphasis) 

As Putin's 'siloviki' begin to question the deluded aims of Putin's war with Ukraine, and as the effects of the war on the Russian economy manifest themselves in rising Russian inflation,

Charlie Bradley (left) also reports that,

"Vladimir Putin is facing more and more opposition in the Kremlin as oligarchs and politicians begin to voice anger over the war in Ukraine, an expert has said.

Historian and Russia expert Amy Knight (right) stated that,

"What I am saying is that a backdrop to any signs of discontent...the fact that there has been this [Russian] reshuffle means not all is running smoothly.

"Then Oleg Deripaska, one of the richest Russian oligarchs, all of a sudden he is in Japan and does an interview saying this should stop immediately and it is madness.

"Russian experts are saying that Deripaska would not be saying this if other influential people didn't agree with him." (Express: 8 September 2024) (my emphasis) 

 And now Putin is also trapped by Zelensky and Scholtz who stated that Russia be included in 'peace talks'.

The 'peace flag', it would seem, is no longer being simply gingerly held in Putin's hand.

 

 

 

(to be continued)

The noose is now more rapidly tightening around Putin's neck.

On the horizon autumn is beginning to raise its head as,

 "Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said two drones were shot down in the area of the Moscow Oil Refinery. No casualties were reported, but the second downed drone damaged a technical building at the refinery and caused a fire, which the mayor said had been localized and did not affect the plant’s operation.

The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the size of the Ukrainian attack, but downplayed its effectiveness, saying Sunday that 158 Ukrainian UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) “were destroyed and intercepted by on-duty air defense” overnight in 15 regions, including over the capital." (Brad Lendon (left): CNN on Microsoft Start: 2 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Kanal 13: 1 September 2024: YouTube

And as also reported by Laura Kayali (left),

"Ukraine's drone offensive comes after a week of massive missile and drone attacks from Russia, which led to the loss of one of Ukraine's U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.
...
On Friday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, presented top U.S. officials with potential targets in Russia during a trip in Washington, on the heels of Kyiv's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August." (Politico: 1 September 2024) (my  emphasis)

It therefore comes as no surprise that Sergey Lavrov (right), that 'dyed-in-the-wool' Soviet Foreign  Minister of Putin, is scraping the bottom of the political Soviet rhetoric to try to exonerate Putin from his war in Ukraine, besides his 'weird' pronouncements to the people of Russia on Russian TV (RT)  about the war in the Middle East.

One India: 2 September 2014:

 Yet just a few days ago, as reported by Kate Nicholson (left),

"Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister has claimed Russia was “ready” for peace talks before Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sergei Lavrov said the chances of negotiating a deal with Ukraine had been “ruined and sabotaged” when Kyiv turned the tables on Moscow three weeks ago and breached Russian borders.
...
“Our readiness for talks was beyond anyone’s doubt, although, of course, after the reckless move in the Kursk region, any discussion of this subject is no longer relevant.” (Huffington Post: 30 August 2024) (my emphasis)

Lavrov's  'scraping the bottom of  the Russian political barrel' merely reflects what is happening to Putin's sanity as scrambled thoughts  tumble around his turmoiled 'political' mind in his over-protected nuclear bunker.

It is no wonder that, as reported by RFERL,

"Some do it for the money; others for the motherland. Still others because they “just don’t have anything else to do.”

Whatever their motivation, an unknown number of Siberia’s homeless have signed contracts to fight in Ukraine, just as Moscow, seeking to avoid another politically fraught mobilization, struggles to meet its manpower needs, which have now been boosted by a three-week-long Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region.
...
.. sources tell RFE/RL’s Siberia.Realities, officials have been actively seeking new soldiers in homeless shelters across Siberia and the Far East." (RFERL: 2 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Now that the Russian people are beginning to experience missiles raining down upon them, just as Putin in raining missiles down upon innocent Ukrainians, Putin is, indeed, at his most dangerous as the noose is now more rapidly tightening around his neck.

UPDATE: 4 September 2024

 In 2014, after invading and annexing Ukraine's Crimea, historian Alexander Motyl penned the following about Putin as the West watched on,

"Now six days ago, (25th July 2014) Alexander J. Motyl (left) posed the following question:

" Is Putin evil? His actions certainly are, if by evil we understand behavior that willfully, consciously and purposely destroys human life. Perhaps we can call his actions undeniably evil and Putin himself "evil enough." Evil enough for what? Evil enough for condemnation by people of good will." (CNN : 25 July 2014) (my emphasis)

Fast forward to 2024 and, as he Telegraph reports,

"At least 51 people died when two Russian ballistic missiles hit a military academy in the central Ukrainian city of Poltava, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said a military building had been “partially destroyed”, leaving people “under the rubble”.

The attack was one of the deadliest since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. Filip Pronin, Poltava’s regional governor, said on Monday afternoon that more than 200 people injured and the death toll could still rise." (The Telegraph: 4 September 2024) (my emphasis)

And whilst Putin was raining death upon hundreds of Ukrainian men, women, and children, Elena Giordano informs us that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Russian students about the dangers of vaping on Monday, saying that electronic cigarettes harm reproductive function and can lead to infertility.
...
The Russian leader was holding an open lesson entitled "Conversation about important things” at the school in Russia's southern Siberian Republic of Tyva, which opened its doors for the first time on Monday." (Politico: 2 Sepember2024) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Newsweek, Putin stated that,

"I am sure that this provocation will fail as well. It seems to me there will be a desire to really, not in words but in deeds, move on to peace negotiations and resolve these issues by peaceful means. We have never given up on this, but we must, of course, deal with these bandits who have entered the territory of the Russian Federation," Putin said.

Putin's recent comments on negotiations sharply contrast with his initial response to Ukraine's invasion of the Kursk region. (Newsweek: 2 September 2024) (my emphasis)

Let us be reminde of the words of Alexander Motyl in 2014 viz.

"Is Putin evil? His actions certainly are, if by evil we understand behavior that willfully, consciously and purposely destroys human life."

 

 

 

(to be continued)