Putin has opened the "Pandora's Box" of WW3.

In my last blog entry (20/11/2024 11:25 GMT) I stated that,

"Putin is opening the "Pandora's Box" of WW3.".

As  Mikey Smith (right) now reports,

"Vladimir Putin has threatened the UK with strikes from a “new” kind of missile - as Russia warned Britain it was now “directly involved” in the war.

It comes in a week where Russia has repeatedly stoked fears that the war could extend beyond Ukraine - dragging Western allies including the UK in to the fighting." (Mirror: 21 November 2024 : 21:26 GMT) (my emphasis)

In an interview on Sky News, Andrei Kelin (left), Russian Ambassador to the UK, stated that,

"Britain is now "directly involved" in the Ukraine war after its Storm Shadow missiles were used to strike targets inside Russia, according to Moscow's ambassador.

Speaking to Sky News, Andrei Kelin also warned the West to carefully consider the lower bar Russia has established for using nuclear weapons." (Sky News: Friday 22 November 2024 07:49, UK) (my emphasis)

He further stated what Putin threatened viz.,

"We believe that we have the right to use our weapons against military facilities of the countries that allow to use their weapons against our facilities," Mr Putin said." (ibid Sky News)

Sky News: Friday 22 November 2024

 

And whilst the UK and France have stated that,

"The UK and France will do "everything that is necessary" to support Ukraine and achieve lasting peace, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said in a newspaper piece co-written with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, external." (BBC News: 22 November 2024) (my emphasis),

whilst German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz (left) is maintaining that,

"‘I refused to supply Taurus to Ukraine' – Scholz is trying to gain votes, telling the Germans that they are not in danger of the Hazel Bush [Putin's recent ICBM missile used on Ukraine in Dnipro].

"Anyone who gives audacious interviews and makes audacious demands should understand that when you provide assistance to Ukraine, you need to do it judiciously, to do so in order to prevent the war from escalating into a war between Russia and NATO." (Pravda EN: 22 November 2024) (my emphasis)

As I wrote in my blog entry of  18 November 2024,

"This 'threat' of Putin scared German Chancellor Scholtz to such an extent that he steadfastly refused suppplying Ukraine with German Taurus missiles and, more recently, sought to appease Putin by having a tête-à-tête  with him. (Remember the former Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel (right), and Putin's 'Minsk Agreements' in 2014 and 2015? )

We should not forget that Putin's prints are all over the 2014 and 2015 Minsk Agreements, together with those of Angela Merkel.

As the Economist wrote in 2014,

"When Germans add the word Versteher (one who understands) to a term, they generally mix flattery with irony. So a Frauenversteher (one who understands women) is usually a man who boasts excessively about his knowledge of the opposite sex. The label is now being attached to so-called Russlandversteher or Putinversteher: members of the elite or intelligentsia who gush with empathy for Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, on talk shows, in journals and at dinner parties." (The Economist: May 8th 2014)

Fast forward to 2024 and the "Putinversteher" mentality is still alive and well in Germany.

Now that Putin has used an ICBM in all but name in Ukraine, as Matthew Dooley (left) reports,

"According to North Korean state media, Kim [Jon Un] (right) said: "Never before have the warring parties on the Korean peninsula faced such a dangerous and acute confrontation that it could escalate into the most destructive thermonuclear war."

The fiery rhetoric comes just hours after Vladimir Putin announced the test of a new Russian  missile on Ukraine. Ukraine claimed the weapon was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). However, Pentagon officials believe the weapon was more likely an intermediate-range ballistic missile." (Express: 22 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Putin has opened the "Pandora's Box" of WW3.

UPDATE: 23 November 2024: 13:40 (GMT)

 Laura Kuenssberg (left), (13:13 GMT 23 November 2024) reports that,

"There are no "red lines" when it comes to support for Ukraine, the French Foreign Minister has told the BBC.

 Jean-Noël Barrot (right) said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia "in the logics of self defence", but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.

...
Barrot, who held talks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London on Friday, said Western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and "not set and express red lines".
...
Barrot hinted at inviting Ukraine to join Nato, as President Zelensky has requested. "We are open to extending an invitation, and so in our discussions with friends and allies, and friends and allies of Ukraine, we are working to get them to closer to our positions," Barrot said. (BBC News: 23 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

BBC News: 24 November 2024

 

This comes after  Ruth Comerford yesterday  reported that,

"In an unscheduled TV address, the Russian leader said the Oreshnik missile could not be intercepted and promised to carry out more tests, including in "combat conditions".
...

This week's escalation has also prompted several warnings from other world leaders about the direction of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the war was entering a decisive stage - with a real risk of global conflict.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban meanwhile said the West should take Vladimir Putin's warnings "at face value" because Russia "bases its policies primarily on military power". (BBC News: 22 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Putin's 'end of line'?

UPDATE 2: 24 November 2024: 08:44 GMT

Rebecca Robinson (left) reports that,

"A senior Russian official has warned that Vladimir Putin is within his rights to target NATO countries backing Ukraine amid rising tensions over military aid to Kyiv.

...

He hailed the strategy as "an appropriate and long-awaited response," accusing the US and its European allies of "using missiles to strike Russian territory."

He added: "Our country has the right to target military facilities of states that attack us. Despite Western claims that Russia will not dare to act, it will-and it has every right to do so." (Daily Express on MSN: 23 November 2024) (my emphasis)

The Times of India on MSN: 23 November 2024

Rebecca Robinson further reports that,

"Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the West for seemingly capitulating to Putin's strategy: "What is needed are strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion," Zelensky demanded." " (ibid Rebecca Robinson)

And as Dr. Sergey Suleni (left) points out,

"So Putin is afraid, he's weak, but he believes that the West is more ...is than he is and he threatens the West with nukes" (WION on MSN: 23 November 2024) (my emphasis)

He further states that,

"Well, the division between ICBM and IBM is purely ... purely numbered divisions. Like does missile come from further than 5000 kilometers or does it not. So that practically it's the same missile, the same technology of the same, the same principles." (ibid WION)

WION on MSN: 23 November 2024

 

 

 

(to be continued)

Putin has come to the end of the line in his war with Ukraine.

Yesterday (19 November 2024) there were two significant develoments in Putin's 'land grab' war with Ukraine.

1. Since the use of US ATACM missiles by Ukraine to attack military targets inside Russia Putin has, once again, shaken his 'nuclear' fist particularly at the US, UK, and France, and also NATO countries, by LOWERING the treshold at which he would used 'nuclear bombs' against them.

Times of India: 19 November 2024: YouTube2

     

2. More significantly, as reported by Kanjyik Ghosh and  Lidia Kelly (right), "The U.S. embassy in Kyiv has received information of a potential significant air attack on Wednesday and will be closed, the U.S. Department of State Consular Affairs said in a statement.      

         

"The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced." (Reuters: 20 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

These two events indicates Putin broadening his war with Ukraine to potentially include NATO countries.

It is therefore no coincidence that on the battlefront, Jaroslav Lukiv and David Willis report that, in light of Korean troops now joined up with Russian troops fighting against the army of Ukraine

"US President Joe Biden has agreed to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a US defence official told the BBC, a move seen as an attempt to slow Russian troops who have been steadily advancing in Ukraine's east in recent months." (BBC News: 20 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

And conspicuous by his absence at the 2024 G20 summit taking place in Brazil at the moment, we  also learn from Divya A (right) that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India and the dates for his trip are being finalised, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
...
This will be Putin’s first visit to India in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022. The announcement comes days after the election of US President Donald Trump, who is also expected to visit India next year for the Quad Summit." (The Indian Express: 20 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

However, as Geeta Mohan (left) reported,

"The Quad Summit, originally scheduled to be held in New Delhi this September, was relocated to New York [next year] due to a scheduling conflict among the attending leaders." (India Today: 6 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Is Putin's upcoming visit to Narendra Modi a hint that Putin is now desperate for Modi to chair a "ceasefire" agreement between himself and Zelensky in his losing war with Ukraine?

 

Indeed, one has to assume that Putin and his 'siloviki' realise that if he sparks off a nuclear war with NATO countries that it will also spell the end of Russia.

 

Putin, it would seem, has come to the end of the line in his war with Ukraine.

Except for Kim Jon Un of North Korea; with no-one else left to turn to for help as his army of Russian soldiers is being dangerously depleted in his war with Ukraine, Putin has become a spent force.

 

Hoping that Narendra Modi of India will help him is all that he now has to 'save face'.

EMERGENCY UPDATE: 21 November 2024 : 15.23 (GMT) 

Putin has taken his first step onto the abyss of the unknown.

Today,November 21, 2024, at 2:46 PM GMT, Hanna Arhirova and Illia Novikov reported that,

"Ukraine claimed Thursday that Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight at one of its cities [Dnipro]. If confirmed, it would be the first time Moscow has used such a weapon in the war.
...
“If true, clearly this would be another example of grave, reckless and escalatory behavior from Russia and only serves to strengthen our resolve,” he [Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesman, Dave Pares] said." (AP News: 21 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

As also reported by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Sabine Siebold, Mark Trevelyan and Pavel Polityuk, (November 21, 2024 3:21 PM GMT)

" Ukraine said Russia fired what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile at the city of Dnipro on Thursday, in what would be the first use in war of a weapon designed to deliver long-distance nuclear strikes.
…
"Today there was a new Russian missile. All the characteristics – speed, altitude – are (of an) intercontinental ballistic (missile). An expert (investigation) is currently underway," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video statement." (Reuters: 21 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

As Rober Fox (left) also reports,

"Putin is desperate to achieve a recognised victory on the battlefield before the end of the year.
...
But progress is slow, and very expensive in manpower and ground attack equipment. Up to 2,000 soldiers are being killed and wounded a day, with an average of 100 tanks and 200 artillery pieces destroyed every month.

The Russian forces have needed reinforcement by 10,000 North Koreans to fight for Kursk. They are expected likely to call on several times that number of North Koreans before the winter is out." (The Standard: 21 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

This desperate and dangerous escalation by Putin of his war with Ukraine has led to,

"Countries bordering and near Russia have begun issuing survival guides to all of their citizens, amid fears that Vladimir Putin's warmongering in Ukraine could spill over into neighbouring territories. In spite of the threat of further Russian aggression, Nordic states have told residents “You are part of Sweden’s overall emergency preparedness.”
…
With Putin's war in Ukraine appearing to escalate in danger for the NATO countries, many of which now border Ukraine or Russia, Swedes are being told to defend their nation.
…
Meanwhile Finland, which borders Russia and has defended itself against its neighbour's territorial ambitions since declaring independence over a century ago, has issued similar instructions to its citizens in a digital self-defence guide. " (William Morgan: Express: 21 November 2924) (my emphasis)

 

Putin is opening "Pandora's Box" of WW3.  

CRUX: 21 November 2024: YouTube

 

 

 

(to be continued)

"Uncontrollable" Putin is now skating on very thin 'political' ice.

Putin could not have fully forseen the backlash of the responses of the US, UK, and EU when he imported North Korean soldiers into his war with Ukraine.

His previous 'bluffing' that NATO countries will be met with a forceful response from Russia if they allow NATO missiles to be used inside Russia itself has now been met by NATO coutries.

By 'forceful response' he was shaking nuclear missiles at NATO countries in the hope that this would deter NATO countries from allowing their missiles to be used inside Russia by Ukraine.  

 This 'threat' of Putin scared German Chancellor Scholtz (left) to such an extent that he steadfastly refused suppplying Ukraine with German Taurus missiles and, more recently, sought to appease Putin by having a tête-à-tête  with him. (remember Angela Merkel? (right))

This recent appeasement of Putin by Scholtz caused 'international' political opprobium to be poured on his head.

As reported by The Straits Times,

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his conversation with Vladimir Putin on Friday had given no indication of a shift in the Russian President's thinking on the war in Ukraine, but defended his much-criticised decision to phone the Kremlin.
...
Critics, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the call was a breach of Western solidarity for the sake of domestic political advantage." (The Straits Times: 17 November 2024) (my emphasis)  (cf. also: Sky News: Monday 18 November 2024)

 

 Adil Lateef: The Times Of India on Micrisoft Start: 16 November 2024

And now, as Putin shakes uncontrollaby in his bunker, Paul Adams and Kathryn Armstrong report that,

"US President Joe Biden has given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, US officials say.

The move marks a major change in policy for Washington which had refused for months to agree to Kyiv's requests for authorisation to use the ATACMS missiles outside its own borders." (BBC News: 17 November 2024) (my emphasis)

This decision of President Biden, together with the increased pounding of Ukraine by Putin's missiles, has exposed the emptiness of Trump's political boasting that he could, "... quickly end the war in Ukraine".

End? How? 

As Mac William Bishop (right) explains,

"Still, every indication is that under Trump 2.0, Washington will forsake NATO, coddle Putin, and end American support for Ukraine — handing a significant victory to Moscow." (Rolling Stone: 14 November 2024) (my emphasis) 

Even President Macron of France has stated that Putin simply does not want peace.

As The Straits Times reports,

"French President Emmanuel Macron (left) said that a major Russian air barrage against Ukraine on Sunday showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate".

The priority for France was to "equip, support and help Ukraine to resist", Macron told reporters as he prepared to leave Argentina to attend the G20 Summit in Brazil." (The Straits Times: 18 November 2024) (my emphasis) 

The upcoming G20 summit in Argentina represents a "Kennedy moment" for the participants when, in 1962, US President John Kennedy confronted USSR president Nikita Kruschev, and forced him to withdraw his intention of stationing nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Fast foreward to 2024, and the question that now arises is :-

"Given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, does Putin now finally realise that the awakening giant of NATO will retaliate in kind to his recent "blustering" threats against NATO countries?"

 Hindustan Times: 19 November 2024: YouTube

 "Uncontrollable" Putin is now skating on very thin 'political' ice indeed. 

UPDATE: 19 November 2024: 08.52 GMT

Sergey Markov (left) argues that the use of US, French, and British missiles used against Russian forces by Ukraine will constitute an attack against Russia, and that Russia will then attack those countries whose missiles are being used. (Sky News: 19 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Sky News: 19 November 2024

Twisting himself into a 'political pretzel', Markov desperately tries to ignore the fact that North Korean troops, and the use of North Korean military equipment, now fighting alongside Putin's troops against Ukraine in both Russia and Ukraine, is somewhat of no consequence in his argument against the use of  US, UK, and French missiles, at all.

As stated before, ".... does Putin now finally realise that the awakening giant of NATO will retaliate in kind to his recent "blustering" threats against NATO countries?"" 

Already, yesterday (18 November 2024), Newsweek reports that,

"An undersea telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Germany across the Baltic Sea was severed, raising suspicions of intentional damage, the NATO member states said.
...
This was the first time the cable has broken, said Ari-Jussi Knaapila, CEO of Cinia. The cable did not break without an external impact, a company spokesperson explained, adding that no seismic events—such as earthquakes—could have been responsible for this.
....
"Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors," they added. "Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies." (Newsweek: 19 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Putin is now, dangerously, playing with fire!

 Bloomberg Television: 19 November 2024: YouTube

Times of India: 19 November 2024: YouTube

 

 

 

(to be continued)

Has Zelensky finally cornered Putin?

Since the election of Trump as the next President of the US, Putin's war in Ukraine has taken on an urgency for him, as evidenced by the fact that 1500 Russian soldiers are being killed and maimed on a daily basis.

As reported by Miriam Kuepper (left),

"Russian forces suffered an average of around 1,500 dead and injured per day in Ukraine during October, according to the UK's chief of defence staff.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the BBC that the Russian people were paying an 'extraordinary price' for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion, saying that October was the worst month for losses since the conflict began in February 2022." (Daily Mail: 10 November 2024) (my emphasis) 

 

Daily Mail: 10 November 2024

Meanwhile, president-elect Trump continues with his proposals to end the war in Ukraine, proposals that are causing some EU members, and the UK, to have serious concerns about Trump's current attitude towards Ukraine and, particularly, NATO. 

As Zeeshan Aleem (left) reports,

"Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s support of Ukraine and promised to end the war “within 24 hours.” While Trump reportedly told Zelenskyy on the call that he supported Ukraine, it’s widely expected that Trump will want to cut off aid to the country and focus on a diplomatic solution to wind down the war. Given that Russia is making swift gains in Ukraine and is currently occupying about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, it’s likely that any settlement would involve conceding a huge chunk of Ukraine to Russia." (MSNBC: 13 November 2024) (my emphasis)

MSNBC: 13 November 2024

It is therefore no wonder that, as Simon Lewis (left) reports,

"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured NATO on Wednesday that the Biden administration would bolster its support for Ukraine in the few months before Donald Trump's return as president and would try to strengthen the alliance in that time.
…
The outgoing U.S. administration would "continue to shore up everything we're doing for Ukraine" to ensure it can fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a position of strength, he said." (Reuters: 13 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as former UK Foreign Minister William Hague (right) states,

"... It can be naive to say, "Okay ... we're going to have peace [in Ukraine] in 24 hours" ... but that's no good if you're just building up a future [European] war [with Russia]" (Kieran Kelly and James Kilner : Daily Telegraph on MSN: 13 November 2024) (my ephasis)

Daily Telegraph on MSN: 13 November 2024

Fortuitously for Zelensky, the days of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz seems to be coming to an end since, as reported by Nette Nöstlinger (left), "Germany’s early election is now scheduled for February following the collapse of Scholz’s three-party coalition last week".

As Nette Nöstlinger also reports,

"[Friedrich] Merz (right), who leads the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has criticized Scholz for refusing to deliver long-range missiles to Ukraine. If the Kremlin refuses an ultimatum to stop bombing civilian targets in Ukraine, Merz has previously said, Berlin should deliver German-made Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv.

Based on current polls, Merz is likely to become the country’s next chancellor. Germany’s conservatives are leading by a wide margin on 32 percent while Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is in third with 16 percent" (Politico: 13 November 2024) (my emphasis)

Also, ironically, as reported by Dov Zakhim in a recent interview on WION,

"... Putin also has something to worry about, and that if Putin does not go along with pretty much what Trump asks for, Trump, being Trump, could turn around and essentially say,"You didn't do what I wanted. Therefore I will go ahead and support the Ukrainians far more even than Biden has."

More disconcerting for Putin, as Olivia Christie (left) reports,

"Ukraine could develop a rudimentary nuclear bomb within months if Donald Trump pulls US military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the country's Ministry of Defence has revealed.
...
Despite giving up its nuclear arsenal in 1996, Kyiv is still in control of nine operational reactors and has significant expertise on how to build the weapons.

It comes after Trump reportedly backed the shock ultimatum President Volodymyr Zelensky gave NATO last month when he seemed to demand either Ukraine is granted membership of the bloc or they would become a nuclear power." (Daily Mail on MSN.com: 13 November 2024) (my emphasis)  (cf also: Zasha Whiteway-Wilkinson: Daily Express: 14 November 2024)

Zelensky is finally throwing Putin's constant threats of 'nuclear war' back into his face by threatening that Ukraine can, and will, become a 'nuclear power'.

As Olivia Christie further reports,

"Speaking to the former American President Donald Trump, 78, some weeks ago, the Ukrainian leader declared: 'Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and then they will be our defence."

Is it any wonder that Putin is now trying to saturate Ukraine with missiles, drones, and Korean soldiers, into submission?

Is Putin's fear of a possible 'nuclear assault' from Ukraine now dictating his 'panicked' drone assault on Ukraine? 

Has Zelensky finally cornered Putin? 

UPDATE : 15 November 2024 : 09.53 (GMT)

In the 2016 US presidential election, the Steele Dossier emerged onto the election scene to the utter dismay of the then presidential candidate, Donald Trump.

Among other things, the dossier claimed that :-

Fast forward to 2024 and, in the  current war between Putin and Ukraine, US President elect, Donald Trump, seems to be turning into a 'political pretzel' (or, one could say, ".. falling over backwards ..") to "appease", or rather to "politically and subtly give in to", the demands of Putin regarding the lands he has stolen from Ukraine.

As Mac William Bishop (left) explains,

"Still, every indication is that under Trump 2.0, Washington will forsake NATO, coddle Putin, and end American support for Ukraine — handing a significant victory to Moscow." (Rolling Stone: 14 November 2024) (my emphasis)

The question that now arises is :-

"Is Putin forcefully 'reminding' Trump of the dossier of compromising materials in his possesion of his, Trump's,  behaviours in Moscow pre-2016?

Wedged as he is between a rock and a hard place in his war with Ukraine, Putin will pull out all the diplomatic stops that he can use against Trump.

Is this why Trump now asserts that, "..  Putin's war in Ukraine will take centre stage in his incoming administration on 6 January 2025 according to his plan for ending the war in Ukraine. ? (RBC Ukraine: 15 Novembr 2024)

 

 

 

(to be continued)

With a Trump victory, Putin is now on the verge of doing in Ukraine as he wishes.

The war between Putin and Ukraine has become globalised.

As Ron Popeski, Yuliia Dysa, Oleksandr Kozhukhar, and Jihoon Lee report,

" President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the first battles between the Ukrainian military and North Korean troops "open a new page in instability in the world" after his defence minister said a "small engagement" had taken place.
...
"The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world," [Zelensky] said.

He said that Ukraine, acting with the rest of the world, had to "do everything so that this Russian step to expand the war with real escalation fails." (Reuters: 5 November 2024) (my emphasis) 

And as Martin Fornusek (right) reports,

"Beijing's "massive provision" of dual-use goods, as well as diplomatic and economic support, allow Russia to continue its war against Ukraine, the chief of Australia's intelligence agency said on Nov. 6, Reuters reported.

Beijing's support is "killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles," Andrew Shearer, the chief of the Office of National Intelligence, said at a conference in Canberra." (The Kyiv Independent: 6 November 2024) (my emphasis)

More ominous, Oleksandr V Danylyuk (left) exlains that,

"Despite the reluctance of Western leaders and societies to recognise it, a global war, the goal of which is to destroy the existing international system and build a new one, is already underway, and even the complete capture of Ukraine by Russia will not stop it.
...
Putin's statements that Russia has no interests west of Ukrainian borders are reminiscent of Hitler's famous words before the invasion of Poland that France had nothing to fear, as Germany's borders in the west were forever delineated by the fortifications of the German Western Wall." (RUSI: 5 November 2024) (my emphasis)

As also reported by Richard Thomas (right),

"Whether Republican Presidential Donald Trump returns to the office he occupied from 2017 to 2021, or Kamala Harris succeeds the outgoing President Joe Biden on the Democrat ticket, the impact on defence and foreign policy will be significant, for different reasons.

For Trump, it will be a return to strong-man politics and a return to isolationism and protectionism, with the biggest loser likely to be Ukraine as US support for Kyiv, certainly in its current scale, will come to a halt.

Harris has committed to sustaining support for Ukraine as it battles Russia, although 2024 has offered little solace for Ukrainian forces that find themselves, for the most part, on the back foot." (Airforce Technology: 5 November 2024) (my emphasis)

And as the US election nears its end, we now find that Donald Trump has already declared victory over Kamala Harris as he only requires 4 MORE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, as of now, to re-enter the White House as the next US president.

Putin must be cock-a-hoop in his bunker since he is on the verge of being given 'carte blanche' to do with Ukraine 'as he wishes'.

As Jonathan Este (left) pointed out,

"After months of gamesmanship and speculation, JD Vance has emerged as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate and the heir apparent to the America First movement.

With less than two years in Congress under his belt, the first-term senator from Ohio has very little experience in politics, let alone conducting foreign policy.
....
Just after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, in fact, Vance bluntly declared, 

"I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another." (The Conversation: 16 July 2024)

The tectonic shifts on the brink of  'globally' enveloping the international political world has now taken centre stage in the governments of the world.

The political axis of Putin (Russia), Kim Jon Un (North Korea), Xi Jinping (China), and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Iran),  in particular,  are now emboldened in carrying forward their political aims by Donald Trump being within a hair's breadth of occupying the White House.

And as Zelensky has said, "The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world."

UPDATE : 6 November 2024  GMT 14:41  

As reported by Veronika Melkozerova (left), in light of the victory of Trump in winning the 2024 US presidential election,

"Ukrainians reacted with a mix of trepidation and grim resolve to the news that Donald Trump will likely be reelected United States president, after he vowed to “stop wars” in a victorious speech Wednesday morning.
...
Trump’s Republican Party blocked aid to Ukraine for more than nine months from October 2023 to April 2024, forcing Kyiv to deplete its wartime budget and leading to the loss of some of its most capable fighters. The mood in Kyiv on Wednesday was grim but resolved." (Politico: 6 November 2024) (my emphasis)

 

UPDATE: 8 November 2024 : 07.51 (GMT)

And so it begins!!

 

Putin's nuclear threats and demands, and the Trump and Vance calls for Ukraine to fully capitulate to Putin.

 As Roland Oliphant (right) reports,

• "Donald Trump may call on European and British troops to enforce an 800-mile buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies as part of a plan to freeze the war between the two countries.
•  Details of the plan emerged as Volodymyr Zelensky warned that any attempt to make peace by appeasing Russia would mean “suicide” for Europe.
•  The US would neither contribute troops to patrol and enforce the resulting buffer zone nor finance its mission.
•  JD Vance, the vice president-elect, suggested in September that Russia would have to hold on to its current gains as a condition of peace.
•  The remainder of Ukraine would stay an independent sovereign state and its side of the line would be heavily fortified to prevent a second Russian attack, he [Vance] said.
•  “The calls of the West to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, a country with the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, demonstrates the exorbitant adventurism of Western politicians,” he added." (The Telegraph on Microsoft Start: 7 November 2024) (my emphasis)

THE FULL CAPITULATION OF UKRAINE BY THE LEGITIMISING OF PUTIN'S INVASION OF UKRAINE, AND LEGITIMISING PUTIN'S 'THEFT' OF UKRAINE'S LAND, IS THE TRUMP AND VANCE SO-CALLED 'PEACE PROPOSAL'.

 

As Zelensky warns, "... any attempt to make peace by appeasing Russia would mean “suicide” for Europe."

 

 

 

(to be continued)