Ukraine Crisis and Putin: Putin is now running around like a political 'headless chicken'.

In my last blog entry I wrote that,

The question is :-

"Will Trump fall for Putin's feeble 'bluster' about his defeating Ukraine?" (blog entry: 9 February 2025)

And true to form, Arpan Rai (left) and Alexander Butler (right) report that,

"A senior Russian official has said that all of president Vladimir Putin's conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine can end.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it would not be possible to reach a US-brokered peace deal if Mr Trump undermines Mr Putin’s fundamental aims.
…
He suggested the non-negotiables for Mr Putin include:-

Ukraine abandoning hopes of joining Nato and
its withdrawal of troops from the four regions Russia illegally annexed in September 2022. All four regions remain partially unoccupied. (The Independent on MSN: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Let us recall that in 2014, in an article entitled "Putin’s “Greater Novorossiya” – The Dismemberment of Ukraine", Adrian A. Basora (left) and Aleksandr Fisher (right) wrote that,

"On April 17, Vladimir Putin introduced a

dangerously expansive new concept into the Ukraine crisis. During his four-hour question and answer session on Russian TV that day he [Putin] pointedly mentioned “Novorossiya” – a large swath of territory conquered by Imperial Russia during the 18th century from a declining Ottoman Empire. This historic Novorossiya covered roughly a third of what is now Ukraine (including Crimea).

Subsequent comments and actions by Putin and his surrogates have made it clear that the Kremlin’s goal is once again to establish its dominance over the lands once called Novorossiya
. Furthermore, it is clear that Putin hopes to push his control well beyond this region’s historic boundaries to include other contiguous provinces with large Russian-speaking populations." (Foreign Policy Research Institute: 2 May 2014) (my emphasis)

That was in 2014, when Putin illegally invaded and occupied Ukraine's Crimea, and started to foment a war in Ukraine's Donbas between Ukrainians' and Ukrainian Russians'.

Fast foreward to 2024, and with almost a million Russian war casualties in his current war with Ukraine, Putin is still obsessed with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya", the so-called initial [2014] aims of Putin as recently stated by Sergei Ryabkov.

Putin's "obsession" about recreating Novorossiya has now morphed into "non-negotiables" in any 'peace deal' Trump may propose to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump himself is obsessed with the idea that Ukraine gives its rare earth minerals to the US as payment for war aid.

The Independent on MSN: 11 February 2025

Furthermore, tacitly supporting Putin's obsession with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya", Trump has suggested that,

"... Ukraine could be Russian in the future - a statement that will set alarm bells ringing in Kyiv amid discussions over potential peace talks.

"They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday," Trump told Fox News in an interview aired last night." (Sky News: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

As also reported by Edward Szekeres (left),

"US President Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,” as he called for the war-torn country to share its natural resources in exchange for US assistance." (CNN: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Bear in mind, as reported by Yahoo,

"Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. Vice President JD Vance (right) may meet during the Munich Security Conference later this week, the Presidential Office confirmed for the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 9.

The news comes amid U.S. President Donald Trump's push for a quick resolution of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine that nears its three-year mark." (Yahoo: 10 February 2025) (my emphasis)

What, then, exactly, will Vance have to discuss with Zelensky when Trump has already stated that, "Ukraine may fall under Russian control “someday,”", thus tacitly supporting Putin's obsession with the idea of recreating "Novorossiya" ?

Apart from parroting Trump, very little indeed.

We now also learn from Max Parry and Will Stewart that,

"NATO has scrambled Western warplanes after Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The defensive alliance deployed F-16 and F-35 multi-role fighters on NATO’s eastern flank in the wake of the Kremlin's latest act of aggression.
…
The brutal onslaught came after Donald Trump once more insisted he was talking to the Russian leader and was seeking an end to the war." (Express: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

This onslaught by a 'panicked' Putin against Ukraine comes against the backdrop of Russia's dire economic state.

As Rebecca Robinson reports,

"Russia's only allies are finally turning on [Russia] in the wake of economic sanctions from the West, a leaked government report revealed.

The bombshell report was presented at a strategy session led by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and gives a grim insight into the state of the economy.
…
The Financial Times reports that its analysis admitted that increasingly stringent sanctions are "driving a wedge" between Russia and some of its "nearest trade partners."

This is something that Vladimir Putin has been accused of hiding as he continues to paint a more positive picture of the war in Ukraine's economic impact" (Express: 11 February 2025) (my emphasis)

Joe Blogs: 9 February 2025: YouTube

And piling the pressure on Putin's head, we now learn from John Varga (left) that,

"Splits in Russia's army are deepening, as commanders increasingly refuse to carry out "suicidal" attacks - Ukrainian partisans have told the Express.
…
However, reports are emerging that an increasing number of senior officers are starting to defy orders as they become disillusioned with the tactics of the Russian military command." (Express: 10 February 2025) (my emphasis)