2018 has just begun, and already Putin's woes are hanging heavily on his mind

Just as the winter holidays have ended, UNIAN reports that,

"Permanent Representative of Bulgaria, the country now presiding over the European Union, Ambassador Dimiter Tzantchev (left), said that Sofia will adhere to the principles adopted by the EU Council on sanctions against Russia, and so far there are no conditions for their lifting, an UNIAN correspondent reported.
......
[Dmiter] Tzantchev said. "We’ll stick to the five principles of relations with Russia approved by the Council in March 2016. Full implementation of the Minsk agreements by all sides in the conflict in eastern Ukraine is an important condition for the change in EU relations with Russia. At present, this condition has not been fulfilled," he said. The ambassador stressed that the EU "insists that Russia fully respect international law." (UNIAN : 8 January, 2018) (my emphasis)

This blow to Putin has been further compounded by the fact that,

"Beginning in February, the U.S. Treasury Department will submit the details on possible expanded sanctions, though their general targets — sovereign debt and oligarchs — are already known.
...
In its February report, the Treasury Department will detail the effects on Russia and the global market of possible sanctions on U.S. citizens who buy new Russian domestic government debt. 
...
If the United States implements sanctions on Russian sovereign debt, Western investors (beyond American) could be spooked away from buying it." (Stratfor : Dec. 18, 2017)

Now recall that,

"In July, the U.S. Congress wrested the power to directly withdraw the Russian sanctions away from the presidency, and [US] lawmakers now require that changes to the sanctions regime go through them first. President Donald Trump signed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act in August, and it included provisions for expanding penalties in the coming years." (ibid Stratfor)

Trump, therefore, cannot lift the millstone of sanctions around Putin's neck. Nor can he stymie the US Congress from adding more sanctions against Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki'.

Futher exacerbating Putin's woes as we enter 2018 is the fact that Canada may sign on to a "European Plan for Ukraine".

As Steven Chase reports, 

"Lithuania is urging Canada to sign on to a long-term package of support for Ukraine that would funnel more investment into the Eastern European country and strengthen its ties with the West as Kiev struggles to fight internal corruption and rebuild its economy despite a war with Moscow-backed militants. 

...

The Lithuanian government in concert with Ukraine is championing what is provisionally called a "European Plan for Ukraine" and would disburse an estimated $7.47-billion annually to Ukrainian recipients for a period of 10 years.

.....

More than 1.3 million Canadians, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland (left), can trace their heritage to Ukraine, where Canada is currently training Ukrainian soldiers to fight the Moscow-backed rebels." (The Globe and Mail : 8 January, 2018) (my emphasis)

This "European Plan for Ukraine" may gain more momentum now that Angela Merkel is on the verge of creating a stable coalition with Germany's Social Democrats.

As reported by Leigh Boobyer,

"The embattled German leader of the CDU met with SPD leader Martin Shulz today to set out the structure of exploratory talks in an initial meeting, alongside CSU leader Horst Seehofer.
...
The talks resulting in an initial programme of government will begin on Sunday 7, and should be completed by January 11.
...

All sides talked of growing confidence today, which will be seen as good news for Ms Merkel, whose reputation as Europe’s consensus-builder is one line in this second bid to form a coalition after weeks of sniping between its would-be partners. (Express : Wed, Jan 3, 2018) (my emphasis)

Putin's woes, however, do not end with the threat of more sanctions hanging over his head, nor by the fact that Angela Merkel may succeed in creating a stable coalition government which may then also lend its support for "A European plan for Ukraine". 

Putin now has also to contend with the fact that his most wealthy and supportive Ukrainian oligarch during the Yanukovich era is having big chunks of his assets frozen.

We now learn that,

"Rinat Akhmetov, (left :Yanukovich and Akhmetov) Ukraine’s richest man, has been served with an order from a Cyprus court freezing $820m of his assets in a long-running legal dispute with a rival over the country’s biggest fixed-line telecoms group." (Roman Olearchyk : Financial Times : January 6, 2018)

Roman Olearchyk further reports that,

"The Cyprus ruling means that three out of Ukraine’s five richest oligarchs now have asset freezes of varying sizes in place against them. In an unrelated case last month, the High Court in London granted an order to freeze more than $2.5bn of assets belonging to Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, linked to the near-collapse of PrivatBank, Ukraine’s biggest commercial lender which they then owned, in 2016." (ibid Roman Olearchyk) (my emphasis)

Then we have another Putin supportive Ukrainian oligarch, Dmitry Firtash, exiled and stuck in Austria, awaiting possible extradition to the US on corruption charges.

And as Kim Janssen reported in February of last year,

"The oligarch’s [Dmitry Firtash] business dealings with [Paul] Manafort are detailed in court filings in a separate, civil case in New York and add an intriguing wrinkle to a case that already had the potential for wide-ranging repercussions. Manafort’s ties to Russia are under federal investigation, according to The New York Times." (Chicago Tribune : February 21, 2017) (my emphasis)

This is the same Paul Manafort who, as reported by Andrew Prokop,

"... .. ran Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for several months in 2016, [and who] was indicted [..]  as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, who also worked on the Trump campaign, was also indicted. You can read the full indictment here." (VOX : Oct 30, 2017) (my emphasis)

2018 has only begun, and already Putin's woes must be hanging heavily on his mind.

Neither can Putin depend on his woes being lifted by the fact that Republicans in both the Senate and the House of Congress are circling their wagons around Trump, hoping to successfully defend Trump against the continuing onslaught of evidence about his collusion with Putin during the 2016 US presidential elections.

 (cf: Joe Scarborough: MSNBC : 8 January,2018)

(to be continued)

Like a cornered rat, Putin and his generals are now lashing out.

Firstly, I would like to thank all my readers a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

The year 2017 has seen the dark and foreboding clouds of impeachment continuing to gather over the head of Donald Trump, as the collusion between Trump and Putin during the 2016 US presidential elections continues to emerge into the light of day.

As recently as November 9th, 2017, Putin was stating that,

"I have big suspicions that in response to our alleged interference in their elections, they want to create problems during the election of the president of Russia. " (Noah Friedman and Lamar Salter : Business Insider : Dec. 5, 2017) (my emphasis)

Indeed, as recently as Dec. 27, 2017, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (left) stated that,

" ..... criticism over opposition leader Alexei Navalny's blocked presidential bid, saying it amounted to "meddling in the Russian elections."

"This statement by the U.S. Department of State, which I'm sure will not be the only one, is a direct interference into the electoral process and the state's domestic affairs," Zakharova said in comments carried by state-owned TASS news agency." (USA Today : Dec. 27, 2017) ( my emphasis)

The feebleness of Putin's continuous 'mantra' that he did NOT collude with Trump during the 2016 US presidential elections, primarily to get those US sanctions against himself and his 'siloviki' off his back, and that was brought about by his invasion and annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014, as well as his continuing war with Ukraine in the Donbas, continues to prey on his mind.

And whilst Putin continues to mouth his 'mantra' that him and his Kremlin 'siloviki' did not get Trump into the White House, Glenn R. Simpson and Peter Fritsch report that,

"The [US Senate and Congressional] intelligence committees  have known for months that credible allegations of collusion between the Trump camp and Russia were pouring in from independent sources [e.g Australia] during the campaign" (New York Times : Jan. 2, 2018) (my emphasis)

Let us recall that in my last blog entry (27/12/2017) I stated that,

"Putin's military build-up of tanks in the Donbas is a prelude to attack Mariupol, specifically to gain that land-bridge with Ukrainian Crimea that he so desperately needs to further consolidate his hold over Ukrainian Crimea."

Can it therefore be a co-incidence that just yesterday (2nd Jan., 2018),

"Ukrainian positions outside the village of Hnutove in the Mariupol sector came under fire from 82mm mortars, cannons of infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers, machine guns, and small arms. 

In addition, the enemy resorted to the entire range of infantry weapons to attack the defensive fortifications of the ATO forces around the village of Vodiane several times. In total, there were six attacks on the Ukrainian army in the past day." (UNIAN : 03 January 2018) (my emphasis)

Like Trump, who had no other option but to supply Ukraine with those deadly Javelin anti-tank missiles, and who now sees the noose of impeachment descending around his neck, Putin and his generals are now staring into the abyss of being militarily repulsed from gaining their much coveted landbridge into annexed Ukrainian Crimea.

And like a cornered rat, Putin and his generals are now lashing out.

(to be continued)

Are Putin and Trump combining their attacks on the FBI to stop the Mueller investigation?

Ivan Nechepurenko reports that,

"Twelve members of the 13-member Central Election Commission voted on Monday to bar Navalny (left) from registering as a presidential candidate, citing his suspended prison sentence in a fraud case, a prosecution he has denounced as politically motivated." (The Star : 26 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

At the same time,

"In a move that seems designed to ensure the master of the Kremlin remains in place until 2024, the [United Russia]  party has decided to back a Putin re-election campaign, but only if he stands as an independent candidate, a candidate for all Russians the reasoning goes, in March 2018." (Euronews : 26 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

Similarly,

"Hundreds of Russian celebrities, sportspeople and politicians nominated President Vladimir Putin for re-election on Tuesday, hours after the Kremlin said it wanted opposition leader Alexei Navalny investigated for calling for a boycott of the vote." (Andrew Osborn & Polina Nikolskaya: Reuters : 26 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

Let us now recall that,

"In 1992, Putin was investigated [by St. Petersburg Councillor Marine Salye] for a deal he oversaw while an official in the mayor’s office. The deal involved the export of $100m worth of raw materials in exchange for food for the citizens of St Petersburg. The materials were exported, but the food never arrived." ( Maeve McClenaghan :Bureau of Investigative Journalism : April 19 2012) (my emphasis)

When Putin was first elected to the Russian presidency in 2000, the case against him was immediately dropped by the Russian Prosecutor General who argued that criminal cases against a Russian president cannot be pursued.

Compare this to the fact that this trumped-up criminal case against Navalny, which twelve members of the 13-member Central Election Commission used to bar him from registering as a presidential candidate,

" ... [has] been overruled by the European Court of Human Rights and that the Council of Europe had urged Russia to allow him to run for the presidency." (ibid Ivan Nechepurenko) (my emphasis)

Oh! how US President Donald Trump wishes he had the power of Putin simply to disappear the Mueller investigation into the collusion between himself and his lieuetenants, and Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki', during the 2016 US Presidential elections, which ultimately got him elected into the White House.

What Trump has also singularly failed to do is to alter the Republican Foreign Policy on Ukraine that he has inherited.

 As reported on MSNBC (26 December, 2017), retired 4 star US Navy Admiral, James Stavridis stated that,

" ... the new National Security Strategy, which was just issued last week, is shockingly normal .... When you look back on what the Trump candidacy was talking about ... backing  out of NATO ... nuclear weapons to Japan  and South Korea ... a close personal relationship with Russia ... None of those things have happened ...." (my emphasis)  

 
More specifically, the Javelin anti-tank missiles now heading for Ukraine will neutralise Putin's attempt to try to build a land-bridge between Russia and annexed Ukrainian Crimea. 

This is why Putin is apoplectic with rage now that Trump has failed to prevent the Republicans from supplying Ukraine with the lethal weapons that it needs to defend itself against Putin's continuous buildup of military hardware in the Donbas. 

Putin's military build-up of tanks in the Donbas is a prelude to attack Mariupol, specifically to gain that land-bridge with Ukrainian Crimea that he so desperately needs to further consolidate his hold over Ukrainian Crimea.

The Javelin anti-tank missiles now heading for Ukraine has spiked this strategy of Putin's generals. 

Having failed to help his friend Putin by preventing the US Senate and Congress from sending lethal weaponry to Ukraine, Trump and his friends in the US Congress are now focussed on discrediting the FBI and, by implication, the Mueller investigation into his collusion with Putin during the 2016 US presidential elections.

The attacks on the FBI by Trump and US Republican Congressmen are now ramping up and, significantly, are echoing the attacks of Putin on the FBI.

 
Are Putin and Trump combining their attacks on the FBI to stop the Mueller investigation, just as the Russian General prosecutor stopped the investigations into Putin's criminality in St. Petersburg in 1992 when he was elected president in 2000? 
 

(to be continued)

The scarlet thread of Maidan continues to bind Trump and Putin together even more tightly.

Josh Rogin (left) reports that,

"The Trump administration has approved the first ever U.S. commercial sale of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine, in a clear break from the de facto U.S. ban on arms sales that dates back to the Obama administration.....

“We have crossed the Rubicon, this is lethal weapons and I predict more will be coming,” said one senior congressional official. It’s likely no mere coincidence that Canada also approved lethal defense sales to Ukraine this week, which would happen only if the Canadian government knew the United States was on board, the official said." (The Washington Post : 20 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

This decision to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons by the Trump Administration and Canada comes as Alessandra Prentice (right) reports that,

"On Monday [18 December, 2017], the Russian foreign ministry [read Putin] said it was recalling officers serving at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in Ukraine, accusing the Ukrainian side of obstructing their work and limiting access to the front line.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak and security chief Olekshandr Turchynov (left) said the decision, coupled with a recent surge in fighting in the eastern Donbass region, suggested Russia had switched to a more offensive strategy.

“We cannot rule out that they withdrew their officers in order to start stepping up not only military provocations but also military operations,” Turchynov said. “We will strengthen our positions at the front.” (Reuters : 20 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

This recent surge in attacks against Ukrainian forces by Putin's Russian soldiers and rebel proxies is causing alarm amongst members of the EU (cf: Fox News,  Eyewitness News, Yahoo News)  as well as in the OSCE.

Even Kurt Volker (left), whom Rex Tillerson appointed as the United States Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, had to admit that,

“Russia withdrew its officers from JCCC - a ceasefire implementation tool - right before a massive escalation in ceasefire violations. Ukraine just suffered some of the worst fighting since February, 2017. Decision for peace lies with Russia,” Volker tweeted on Tuesday. " (ibid Alessandra Prentice) (my emphasis)

Meanwhile, as Putin is ramping up his war with Ukraine, Trump's lieutenants in the US Congress and Senate are ramping up their war against Special Prosecutor Mueller, as well as against the FBI, in the hope that they can end the investigations by the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Congressional Intelligence Committee, and the Mueller investigation, into the collussion between Trump and his 'siloviki', and Putin and his  Kremlin 'siloviki', that led to Trump now occupying the White House.

As reported by Rachel Maddow (MSNBC: 20 December, 2017),

Rachel Maddow further reports (20 December, 2017) that central to Trump's lieutenants attack on the Robert Mueller investigation into the Trump-Putin collusion during the 2016 US presidential elections is their attempt to discredit the Christopher Steele dossier, the dossier that exposes the indelible link between Trump and Putin, and that Putin is holding over the head of Trump as blackmail.

Now it may, indeed, be pure 'coincidence' that

• Putin is ramping up his war with Ukraine and, simultaneously,
• Trump's lieutenants are ramping up their war against Special Council Robert Mueller and, in particular, against the Christopher Steele dossier.

It may also be pure 'coincidence' that, as reported by Kevin Liptak,


".... Donald Trump spoke by phone on Sunday [December 17, 2017] from a cabin at Camp David to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, the press release describing their call featured something unusual: an exclamation point.
...
The theatric punctuation seemed designed to underscore the cheery tenor of the conversation, during which Putin thanked Trump for the CIA's help in thwarting a terror plot on St. Petersburg, Russia. " (CNN:  December 19, 2017) (my emphasis)

It may also be pure 'coincidence' that Putin described the Maidan revolution of 2014 as a 'coup' against the then Ukrainian president, Victor Yanukovich, just as some Fox News commentators and Republican Congressmen are now describing Special Prosecutor Mueller's investigation into the Trump-Putin collusion during the 2016 US presidential elections as a 'coup' against US president Donald Trump.

The scarlet thread of Maidan continues to bind Trump and Putin together even more tightly.

 

(to be continued)

Putin cannot remove the "economic millstone" around his neck, nor can he remove the "noose of impeachment" dandling above the head of Trump.

Agence France Press (AFP) reported that President Vladimir Putin, speaking at his annual press conference in Moscow on December 14, 2017, stated that,

"President Vladimir Putin said Russians “do not want and will not stand for” a Ukraine-style coup as he responded to a question from a rival presidential candidate at his annual press conference on Thursday.

...

“We don’t want a second edition of today’s Ukraine for Russia, do we?” asked Putin, referring to the pro-Western 2014 “Maidan” uprisings that culminated in the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
...
“We won’t let it happen.” (AFP : 14 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

This fear of Putin stems from the stagnating Russian economy that continues to impoverish the Russian people.

As reported by Slava Rabinovich (left),

"After 18 years of Putin's rule, Putin will again take Russia with 23 million people living below the poverty line and leave Russia after his death with 100 million people living below the poverty line.. 

[После 18 лет путинского правления Путин снова возьмет Россию с 23 миллионами человек, живущими за чертой бедности, и оставит Россию после своей смерти со 100 миллионами человек, живущими за чертой бедности.] (Gordonua : December 8, 2017) (my emphasis)

Added to which,

"The European Union has extended sanctions against Russia because of the stalled peace process in Ukraine.
...
EU Council President Donald Tusk (right) said at Thursday's summit of the 28 EU leaders that they were "united on the roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia." (Fox News (AP) : 15 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

Now recall that Tom Towers recently reported that at a military conference held in Sochi, Putin stated that,

“The ability of our economy to increase military production and services at a given time is one of the most important aspects of military security.
...
“To this end, all strategic, and simply large-scale enterprise should be ready, regardless of ownership.” (Daily Star : 23rd November 2017) (my emphasis)

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that the Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov (right), informed us that,
 
"Russia is building a strong military infrastructure along the border with Ukraine and may launch large-scale hostilities against our state at the order of Kremlin at any moment. 
...
Moreover, Putin's decision will not depend on Ukraine's actions. On the contrary, a much more important factor for launching Russia's foreign policy and military undertakings is the development of the domestic political situation in Russia," Mr. Turchynov said adding that the threat to the NATO member states is increasing rapidly as well." (UNIAN : Friday 15 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

And whilst Putin continues with his military build-up on the Ukrainian border controlled by his Russian soldiers and proxies, as well as converting Ukrainain Crimea into a Russian military and naval base (cf: Sergey Sukhankin),

"The United States, in fact, is a full-fledged participant in the [Donbas conflict] settlement process, regardless of whether it is part of the Normandy format or not," Putin said at his big annual press conference in Moscow on December 14, 2017. 

.....

"They are very deeply involved and aware of all the developments there," said the Russian president. (UNIAN : 15.12.2017) (my emphasis)

Whilst Putin has now co-opted Trump as a "full-fledged" participant in his settlement of his war with Ukraine, and praised him during his marathon annual press conference,  he cannot, however, stop the tide of anti-Trump feeling that is beginning to sweep across the US.

Alabama has always been a Republican stronghold, and the recent election of a Democratic Senator by the people of Alabama singifies that Trump is beginning to see the "noose of impeachment" dangling above his head.

 

Like Trump's "noose of impeachment", Putin's "millstone" of EU-US economic sanctions that continues to hang around his neck will not be removed no matter how much he continues to stroke Trump's ego.

Neither Putin nor Trump can disentangle themselves from the scarlet thread of Maidan that continues to bind them together even more tightly. 

(to be continued)

Trump, it would seem, is taking a leaf out of Putin's past actions.

 Finally the scarlet thread of Maidan that has bound Trump and Putin tightly together since the start of the US presidential elections in 2016 has now become the pinnacle of the mountain of evidence that has been accumulated by Special Council Mueller about the Trump-Putin collusion that led Donald Trump into the White House. 

And indelibly etched into this scarlet thread is one word, "Sanctions ... Sanctions ... Sanctions"

In my blog post on 19 July, 2016, I wrote that,

Diana Denman (right), a platform committee member from Texas, had proposed at the Republican National Security Committee platform meeting in Cleveland,

".... a platform amendment that would call for maintaining or increasing sanctions against Russia, increasing aid for Ukraine and “providing lethal defensive weapons” to the Ukrainian military."

I further wrote that,

"And at last week’s Republican National Security Committee platform meeting in Cleveland, Josh Rogin (left) reports that,

"The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington." (Washington Post : July 18, 2016) (my emphasis)

Manafort, who on May 19, 2016 was promoted to chairman of the Trump presidential campaign, was the primary instigator of the changes that were wrought on the amendment of Diana Denman.

Since then it has always been my contention that getting rid of the US sanctions against Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin because of Putin's illegal annexation of Crimea, and his ongoing war in the Donbas against Ukraine was, and still is, the primary reason for the collusion between Trump and Putin, and that finally got Trump into the White House.

And yesterday Rachel Maddow, of MSNBC, also concluded that getting rid of the US sanctions against Putin and his 'siloviki' is the key to the Trump-Putin collusion during the 2016 US presidential elections, including the ongoing collusion between Trump's 'siloviki' at the White House and Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki'.

As the call for the impeachment of Trump begins to gain momentum amongst Democrats in the US Congress, it is rather interesting that Trump deflects this call for impeachment by suddenly announcing that the US now recognises Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel, an annnouncement that has caused furore all over the world.

This announcement of Trump signifies that he realises that his presidency is about to come to an end and, like a drowning man clutching at straws, he is willing to unleash a possible wave of violence across the world, just as Putin unleashed a wave of support for himself when those Moscow bombings in September 1999 killed hundreds of innocent Muscovites, and which remains unsolved.

As Scott Anderson wrote,

"It is a riddle [the Moscow bombings] that lies at the very heart of the modern Russian state, one that remains unsolved to this day. In the awful events of September 1999, did Russia find its avenging angel in Vladimir Putin, the proverbial man of action who crushed his nation's attackers and led his people out of a time of crisis? Or was that crisis actually manufactured to benefit Putin, a scheme by Russia's secret police to bring one of their own to power" (GQ : March 30, 2017) (my emphasis)

Trump,  it would seem, is taking a leaf out of Putin's past actions.

(to be continued)

Are Trump and his lawyers taking a leaf out of Putin's past?

The scarlet thread of Maidan is once more emerging as a critical factor as the Trump-Putin collusion during the 2016 US presidential elections continues to emerge into the light of day.
 

And as much as members of the Republican Party in both the US Senate and the US Congress continue to bury their heads in the sand over the Trump-Putin collusion issue, and of Trump obstructing justice, in the hope that this will protect their re-election chances during the 2018 November elections Trump, in his infinite wisdom, continues to incriminate himself.

As McDonnell of MSNBC reports in the above video, even Trump's lawyers are 'digging his impeachment grave'.

As also reported by  Jack Holmes,

"The "President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case,"Dowd (left) [Trump's lawyer] claims." ( Esquire : 4 December, 2017) (my emphasis)

The ludicrousness of Trump's lawyers' statement really signifies that they are beginning to invent 'legal fictions' to mollify Trump.

But it is not only Trump who is now banging his head against a wall.

Even as Putin continues to command his Russian soldiers and proxies in the Donbas to increase their attacks against Ukrainian forces, serious cracks are beginning to appear between Putin's proxy security forces in the Donbas and his Russian FSB.

As reported by UNIAN,

"Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 21 times in the past 24 hours, with three Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters." (UNIAN : 5.12.2017) (my emphasis)

At the same time,

"Under the pretext of searching for and termination of the so-called members of a 'Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group' in Luhansk, Russia’s FSB operatives together with representatives of the so-called 'minister of state security of the LPR' are identifying and arresting people from the entourage of the “LPR”'s former leadership. Such arrests are also carried out among representatives of the 'LPR law enforcement bodies' and the leaders of the so-called '2nd Army Corps'," he told a Kyiv briefing November 29." (UNIAN : 5.12.2017) (my emphasis)

Does this conflict also signify a growing rift between Putin's Kremlin 'siloviki' and his FSB? (cf also: UK Business Insider)

112 UA now also reports that,

"The probability of the fail[ure] of the mission of Kurt Volker, the US Special Envoy to Ukraine is pretty high. (right: Surkov and Volker)

Aleksey Chesnakov, the Director of Russia Center for Political Environment that is close to Vladislav Surkov, the affiliate of Vladimir Putin reported to TASS.

The expert commented on the contradictions between Volker and Surkov. According to Chesnakov, they lie in the conditions of the deployment of the UN peacekeepers in Donbas." (112 UA : 4 December 2017) (my emphasis)

Putin was never going to allow UN forces to patrol throughout the Russian-occupied Donbas and, even more significantly, to allow UN forces to patrol the border between Ukraine and Russia that Putin's Russian soldiers and proxy forces now control.

We therefore have to ask,

"Of what real value would a fourth round of talks between Volker and Putin-surrogate Surkov really be?"

As reported by UNIAN,

"Noting that the parties will meet next week, [Ambassador to Russia, Jon] Huntsman (left) recalled that the previous three rounds of negotiations had been unproductive. 

However, according to the U.S. envoy [Volker], the very fact that the negotiation process is underway inspires confidence. Huntsman expressed hope that the fourth round of talks would yield some progress and that the U.S. and Russia would be moving away from the lowest point in their relations. 

The two countries still need to overcome the existing contradictions to this end, Huntsman believes." (UNIAN : 05.12.2017) (my emphasis)

The fact that Trump is now simply lashing out with his tweets as evidence of the collusion between himself and Putin during the 2016 US presidential elections rather undermines anything that either Volker or Huntsman may hope for in Volker's meeting next week with Putin-surrogate Surkov.

There is also a rather interesting $64 question. 

Are Trump and his lawyers taking a leaf out of Putin's past?

(to be continued)