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)