Putin's 'siloviki' are beginning to politically fight amongst each other.

Like the fall of Victor Yanukovich, who fled Ukraine in 2014 during the Maidan freeedom uprising in Kiev; hours before the fall Damascus  (The Times of Israel: 8 December 2024)  to Syrian rebels, and the fleeing from Syria of Bashar al-Assad, Felix Light reports that,

"Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on
Saturday it was inadmissible to allow what he called a terrorist group to take control of Syrian lands.

He was speaking in the Qatari capital Doha after meeting the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers following a rapid advance by Syrian rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's rule." (Reuters: 7 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Lavrov's panic may have something to do with the fact that, as reported by Andrew Osborn,

"Two strategically-important Russian military facilities in Syria and Moscow's very presence  in the Middle East are under serious threat from rapidly advancing insurgents, Russian war bloggers have warned....

Russian war bloggers, some of whom are close to the Russian Defence Ministry and whom the Russian authorities allow greater freedom to speak out than the military, say the most immediate threat is to the future of Russia's Hmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia province and to its naval facility at Tartous on the coast. (right)
...
The Tartous facility is Russia's only Mediterranean repair and replenishment hub, and Moscow has used Syria as a staging post to fly its military contractors in and out of Africa. (Reuters: 7 December 2024) (my emphasis)   

And just a few days before Bashar al-Assad was entering the 'private' jet that secretely whisked him out of Syria from Baghdad to a destination unknown, Lidia Kelly (left) reported that,

"There are no grounds yet for negotiations on how to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, Russia said on Wednesday, in comments about peace talks that have become more frequent since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential vote in November.
...
Valentina Matviyenko (right), speaker of the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, said on Monday that there could be attempts to begin peace talks with Ukraine in 2025.
(Reuters: 4 December 2024) (my emphasis)

These 'attempts' to begin 'peace talks' about Putin's war in Ukraine are suddenly developing an 'urgency' of their own amongst Putin's 'siloviki'.

Least of all is the fact that,

"The Ukrainian defense industry has unveiled a missile weapon prototype that can be scaled up for production
...
On December 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Defense Forces had received several dozen Peklo missile-drones, which the Ukrainian manufacturer had created in record time - in a year." (Espreso: 7 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Futhermore. as Ukrinform reports.

"President Volodymyr Zelensky shared the news on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"The second batch of F-16s from Denmark has arrived in Ukraine. This is an example of leadership in defending lives that sets Denmark apart. The aircraft from the first batch, provided by the Danish people, are already intercepting Russian missiles, saving our people’s lives and our infrastructure," the President noted" *Ukrinform: 8 December 2024_ (my emphasis)

And as  Oren Liebermann (right) also informs us,

"Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine as he forcefully argued for US leadership around the world.
...
The package, which includes more drones and ammunition for a critical rocket system, brings the total US security assistance to Ukraine to $62 billion since the war started nearly three years ago, a key component of keeping Kyiv in the fight. Russia has suffered more than 700,000 battlefield casualties since the war began, Austin said, and “squandered” more than $200 billion." (CNN: 7 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Is it any wonder that the dyed-in-the wool Soviet Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is now also threatening  'nuclear war' on Ukraine as the sweat runs down his panicked brow? 

As David Averre reports,

"Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) has declared Russia will 'keep sending messages' in the form of devastating strikes on Ukraine if Western officials continue their course of action in supporting Kyiv.

Lavrov said that Moscow doesn't want a war with the United States but will use 'all means' to defend its interests in an interview with former Fox News host and X broadcaster Tucker Carlson." (Daily Mail on MSN: 6 December 2024) (my emphasis)

So whilst Putin 'siloviki'  Valentina Matviyenko talks about beginning peace talks with Ukraine in 2025, Putin 'siloviki' Lavrov is, like Putin himself, threatening WW3 with the West.

 Putin's 'siloviki' are beginning to politically fight amongst each other. 

UPDATE: 9 December 2024: 02.52 GMT

 Like Victor Yanukovich (left), who fled Ukraine into  the welcoming arms of Putin in 2014 during the Maidan Revolution of Dignity, we now have Bashar al-Assad (right) fleeing Syria in December 2024 into the arms of a panicked Putin, seeking asylum from  the Syrians baying for his blood.

As Sky News reports.

"Syria's ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed.

Mr Assad and members of his family arrived in the Russian capital on Sunday, a Kremlin source told the TASS news agency.

The source added: "Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum." " (Sky News: 9 December 2024) (my emphasis) 

It remains to be seen how Putin's increasingly fractious 'siloviki' will react to this news.

 

 

 

(to be continued)

Will Putin's 'siloviki' now allow Putin to destroy Russia?

With the Russian economy teetering on the edge of collapsing into 'freefall', and Trump moving closer to taking over the reigns in the White House, panicked Putin is throwing everything at Ukraine to 'break the will' of the people of Ukraine, and to ensure that any 'peace negotiations' about his war with Ukraine will be entirely on his terms.

As Max Seddon (right) reports,

"He [Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian tycoon] warned that “the world is on the brink of nuclear war” after Kyiv fired US- and UK-made long-range missiles into Russian territory, and Putin responded by firing an experimental nuclear-capable ballistic missile at Ukraine.
...

Malofeyev (left), however, argued that if the US did not agree to roll back its support for Ukraine, Russia could fire a tactical nuclear weapon. “There will be a radiation zone nobody will ever go into in our lifetime,” he said. “And the war will be over.” (Financial Times: 2 December 2024( (my emphasis) (cf also: Moscow Times: 3 December 2024)

Furthermore, as Newsweek reports

"Chinese banks are refusing to work with sanctioned financial institutions in Russia, delivering another blow to the economy, which has been hit hard by Russian leader Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
...
Now trade between Russia and China faces another barrier after most Chinese banks terminated their relations with Russian credit institutions, general director of investment and consulting firm First Group, Alexey Poroshin, told the Russian daily broadsheet newspaper Izvestia." (Newsweek: 3 December 2024) (my emphasis)

 

Newsweek: 3 December 2024 

Besides Ukraine, Putin is further beset by problems in Syria and Georgia, as reported by CNN.

CNN: 2 Dec 2024 : YouTube

It is therefore no wonder that, as reported by the Times of India,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a massive defense budget for 2025. Putin allocated a staggering $126 billion to national defense. The record defense budget amounts to 32.5 percent of Russian government spending. Russia's military spending has surged dramatically in the past two years." (Times of India: 3 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Times of India: 3 December 2024 

It is thus no co-incidence that one is reminded of the Holodomor 'genocide' (1932 to 1933) perpetrated against the people of Ukraine by Stalin (right), 

 "... as a means to punish Ukrainians for resisting Soviet policies and to suppress their nationalist sentiments." (Wikipedia)

In 2024, Putin's current 'insane' assault on the people of Ukraine is, likewise,

"... a means to punish Ukrainians for resisting his invasion of, and theft of, Ukrainian land, including Crimea, and to destroy their democratic sentiments."

Putin may wish to believe that the West will buckle under the weight of his insane and indiscrimanate near 'carpet' bombing in Ukraine, as well as his closeness to making a reality of his 'nuclear' threat, but this is not so.

US President Biden (left: with Zelensky), as reported by The Associated Press on Wyoming Public Media,

"The U.S. is preparing to send Ukraine an additional $725 million in military assistance, including counter-drone systems and munitions for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which could indicate more of the longer-range missiles are headed to the battlefield.
...
President Joe Biden has pledged to spend all of the military assistance funds Congress approved this year for Ukraine before the end of his administration on Jan. 20, which before Monday's announcement included about $7.1 billion in weapons that would be drawn from the Pentagon's stockpiles." (The Associated Press on Wyoming Public Media: 3 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as Nicholas Cecil reports,

"The West should give Ukraine more weapons now to strengthen its hand in possible peace talks, Nato’s chief is urging. 

Mark Rutte (right) issued the rallying cry for more military aid for Kyiv ahead of a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels.

“We will all need to do more,” he said.

“The stronger our military support to Ukraine is now, the stronger their hand will be at the negotiating table.” (The Standard: 3 December 2024) (my emphasis) 

The Independent on MSN: 6 Dec 2024

What is even more frightening for Putin is the fact that,

"Ukraine has conducted a test on new domestically made missiles and is ramping up missile production, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app that he had received
reports from his military on the test.

"We can thank our Ukrainian missile developers. We are speeding up the production," he said, without providing further details." (Yuliia Dysa (right): Reuters: 3 December 2024) (my emphasis)

Will Putin's 'siloviki' now allow Putin to destroy Russia?

  

 

 

(to be continued)