Putin is now clinging onto power with his onslaught against the people of Ukraine

As winter begins to set in, Putin has accelerated his destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure to cling onto power.

 

As Adrian Zorzut reports,

"Vladimir Putin is losing grip on power and his regime faces total collapse as "predators" circle around due to his disastrous handling of the war in Ukraine, claims a KGB expert.

Yevgenia Albats, who now lives in exile, said Putin can no longer keep at bay competing power groups that want to take over the Kremlin." (The Sun : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis) 

 

 And as reported by Catherine Byaruhanga, Kyla Herrmannsen, and Alex Binley,

"In recent weeks millions of Ukrainians have intermittently been left without electricity and water, as Russian air strikes target vital infrastructure.

Rolling power cuts are also in place to avoid overloads and to allow for repairs.

Some 40% of Ukraine's energy system has been damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks on power plants and lines." (BBC News : 6 November 2022) (my emphasis)

Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has warned that,

"Kyiv residents should be prepared to leave the city if there is a total loss of power, its mayor has said." (ibid Catherine Byaruhanga et al)

 

David Propper : New York Post : 6 November 2022

 

More disconcerting, Reuters reports that,

"Ukraine's Russian-held Nova Kakhovka dam (left) was damaged in shelling by Ukrainian forces, Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing emergency services.
.....
The reports provided no evidence to support the allegation, which could not be immediately verified by Reuters." (Reuters : 6 November 2022) (my emphasis)

 

 Assed Baig : Aljazeera : 7 November 2022

In a similar vein of  pure "Russian allegations", Shweta Sharma (right) reports that,

"Pakistan has denounced statements from a Russian senator

that accused Islamabad of helping Ukraine develop nuclear bombs, calling them illogical.

Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said on Tuesday that the statements were baseless and sought an explanation from its Russian counterpart." (Independent : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis)

It is rather interesting, as reported by Mint, that,

"In a first clear message to Russia, China President Xi Jinping (left) warned against nuclear weapons over Ukraine. Xi warned Russia during a meeting with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing." (Mint : 6 November 2022) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Andreas Rinke and Eduardo Baptista : Reuters : 4 November 2022)

As in the case of  the constant mantra of Putin, his 'siloviki', and his Kremlin clique, that Ukraine is developing a 'dirty nuclear bomb', are Russian News Agencies setting the scene for a Russian 'false flag' operation on the Nova Kakhovka dam?

Further underlining the dangerous nature of Putin's 'desperate and false allegations' are the recent  Russian allegations against the UK.

As Samuel Osborne (right) reported,

"Russia's ambassador to the UK has claimed Britain played a role in an attack on its warships - warning the country is "too deep" in the Ukraine war.

In an interview with Sky's Mark Austin, top diplomat Andrei Kelin claimed he had proof that UK special forces were involved in a Ukrainian drone assault on Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea and had handed 'evidence' to the British ambassador.

Asked to provide evidence of Russia's claims, Mr Kelin said: "We perfectly know about [the] participation of British specialists in [the] training, preparation and execution of violence against the Russian infrastructure and the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. We know that it has been done." (Sky News : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis)

So far no proof of direct British involvement in Ukraine's drone assault on the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been made public by either Andrei Kelin or the Kremlin.

 Sky News : 3 November 2022

 

As also recently reported by Guy Faulconbridge and Sachin Ravikumar,

" Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, a claim that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine.

Russia did not give evidence for its claim that a leading NATO member had sabotaged critical Russian infrastructure amid the worst crisis in relations between the West and Russia since the depths of the Cold War." (Reuters : 29 October 2022) (my emphasis)

 

 

Asia Radar : 3 November 2022 : YouTube

 

As Tara Fair, Charles Harrison, and Astha Saxena, report,

"Vladimir Putin has launched an extraordinary threat against the UK after bizarrely accusing it of being involved in a humiliating Russian defeat in the Black Sea.
...
...the Russian Foreign Ministry said: “The demarche stressed that such confrontational actions by the British threatened to escalate the situation and could lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences." (Express : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis)

 

This threat against a leading NATO member could, indeed, lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences.

 

Which illustrates just how desperate Putin must be in view of the ongoing and catastrophic defeats he is suffering at the hands of Ukraine.

 

In a recent Newsnight interview, Mikhail Khodorkovsky stated that,

 

"Putin will loose power only if he is defeated militarily.... If we are looking to somebody who could hold power after Putin then we would have to look to the Russian regions ..." (Newsnight : 1 November 2022) (my emphasis)

 

Putin is now clinging onto power with his onslaught against the people of Ukraine.

 

(to be continued)

Putin, simply, has nowhere else to go.

Putin's desperation, in light of his realization that even throwing thousands of untrained mobilized soldiers into his continuing bloody war with Ukraine, has not stemmed the tide of Ukraine's steady push to rid their land of Russian soldiers and reclaim their territorial independence. 

Nonetheless, he continues to trumpet pure fictions and lies to justify what can now only be described as his calculated genocide against the people of Ukraine.

As reported by Michael Curzon (left),

"Vladimir Putin has issued a threat to the people of Kherson, suggesting that they can choose either to flee or be deported from [Kherson]. Speaking in Moscow, the President said: “Those who still live in Kherson should certainly be removed from the area of the most dangerous hostilities... civilians should not suffer from shelling, from attacks, counter-attacks or something like that.”(Express: 5 November 2022) (my emphasis) 

And whilst he is threatening the civilian population of Kherson with deportation, proclaiming that, "they should not suffer from shelling, from attacks, .... or something like that", he continues to indiscriminately shell and kill Ukrainian civilians living in other parts of the country.

Indeed, so intent is Putin on furthering his genocide against the people of Ukraine that, as
reported by Patrick Jackson (right),

"Convicted murderers and drug dealers who have recently left prison in Russia face being conscripted to fight in Ukraine under a change to the law.

President Vladimir Putin amended the legislation on calling up reservists to include men convicted of serious crimes who recently left prison." (BBC News : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis)
 

RN24: Facebook : 5 November 2022

And underpinning the raison d'être of the recruitment of convicted murderers and drug dealers, we have Alexander Dugin (left), Putin's 'Rasputin', declaring that,

“It is a holy war. It is no coincidence it has been declared a jihad. It is a holy battle against the Satanic West.
...
“It is an Orthodox battle, a final apocalyptic, eschatological battle of Orthodox Christian Russia, holy Russia, against the antichrist.

“That is the point of this special military operation!” (Tom Watling : Express : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis)

This is not exclusively the ravings of  Putin's 'Rasputin'.

As reported by Reuters,

"Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday cast Russia's war in Ukraine as a sacred conflict with Satan, warning that Moscow could send all its enemies to the eternal fires of Gehenna.

[Russia must] "stop the supreme ruler of Hell, whatever name he uses - Satan, Lucifer or Iblis."
 ...
In a message marking Russia's Day of National Unity, Medvedev said the task of the fatherland was to "stop the supreme ruler of Hell, whatever name he uses - Satan, Lucifer or Iblis." (Reuters : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis) (cf. also : Jerusalem Post : 4 November 2022)

Hindustan Times : YouTube : 4 November 2022

And whilst Dugin and Medvedev are invoking the idea of a 'holy war' against Ukraine, France 24 reports that,

"Top diplomats from the G7 on Thursday vowed to help see Ukraine through the coming winter as they held talks in Germany, with Kyiv's fight against Russia topping the agenda.
...
"Russia has chosen a new method of warfare by trying to let people starve, die of thirst and freeze to death," [German Foreign Minister Annalena] Baerbock added.

"This is exactly what we, as G7 partners, will try to prevent with everything we have, just as we will try to prevent the other perfidious methods of Russian warfare." (France 24 : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis)

France 24 : YouTube : 4 November 2022

Furthermore :-

• The U.S. is sending Ukraine $400 million more in military aid and establishing a security assistance headquarters in Germany that will oversee all weapons transfers and military training for Ukraine, the Pentagon announced Friday. (KY3 (AP article) : 4 November 2022) (my emphasis)
• As the situation on the ground deteriorates, Microsoft renewed its pledge to provide free tech support to those in [Ukraine] throughout 2023 and committed to just under $100 million in additional funding. (Veronika Bondarenko : TheStreet : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis)

Referring to his current war with Ukraine as a 'holy war' through his mouthpieces of Dmitry Medvedev and Alexander Dugin, Putin now sits slumped in a corner with his head in his hands not knowing what more he can do to vanquish the spirit of the people of Ukraine as the Kremlin vultures begin to circle above his head.

Putin, simply, has nowhere else to go.   

 (to be continued)

Putin now relies on "pure fiction" when speaking to the world

Publicly telling a lie, against an overwhelming  mountain of evidence that proves that you are telling a lie, now seems to be the desperate strategy of Putin, his comrades, and his 'siloviki', in Putin's war with Ukraine. 

Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, when asked about Putin always threatening to use a nuclear bomb in his war with Ukraine, responded in an interview with Steve Rosenberg (left) by saying that,

Steve Rosenberg : Sergei Yevgenyevich, about Russian rhetoric. Is there no Russian nuclear rhetoric?

Sergei Yevgenyevich :  No. No. Absolutely not. (BBC News : 2 November 2022) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 2 November 2022

Throughout his war with Ukraine, starting with his illegal invasion and annexation  of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, his follown-on invasion of the Donbas, and his current war with Ukraine that started in February of 2022, Putin has never been shy to publicly threaten the use of a nuclear bomb against Ukraine.

As reported in 2015 by Laura Smith-Spark, Alla Eshchenko and Emma Burrows,

"Russia was ready to put its nuclear forces on alert over the crisis in Crimea last year, such was the threat to Russian people there, President Vladimir Putin said in a documentary that aired on state TV on Sunday night.

Asked if Russia was prepared to bring its nuclear weapons into play, Putin said: “We were ready to do it. I talked with colleagues and told them that this (Crimea) is our historic territory, Russian people live there, they are in danger, we cannot leave them.

“It wasn’t us who committed a coup, it was the nationalists and people with extreme beliefs.” (CNN : 16 March 2016) (my emphasis)

CNN : 16 March 2016

And now, seemingly in a  U-turn from his constant 'nuclear sabre-rattling', Bloomberg News reports Putin stating that,

“We don’t need a nuclear strike on Ukraine,” Putin said, claiming Russia had only dropped “hints” in response to US and European discussion of a possible atomic conflict. “There is no point, either military or political.” (Moneyweb : 28 October 2022) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Bloomberg News : 27 October 2022)

Yet, the Bloomberg News goes on to report that,

"In fact, Kremlin officials including former President Dmitry Medvedev have warned in recent weeks about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine as Moscow’s faltering war enters its ninth month with its forces in retreat from territory that Putin annexed as “forever” part of Russia last month. (ibid Moneyweb)

Underscoring the threats of Medvedev and 'other' Kremlin officials, Paul Kirby (left) reports that,

"Senior Russian military leaders discussed last month how and when they might use nuclear weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine, two US officials have told CBS News." (BBC News :2 November 2022) (my emphasis)

Kirby goes on to report that,

" ... And in a statement on Wednesday (2 November 2022), the Russian foreign ministry reiterated that Moscow was entitled to use nuclear weapons in response to "an aggression with the use of conventional weapons when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy". (ibid Paul Kirby)

More disconcerting, however, Isabel van Brugen reports that,

" The State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine said this week that Russian forces are building an "unknown structure" by Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
...
Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear energy operator, said in a statement last week that Russian forces have been carrying out unauthorized construction work at the nuclear power plant.

It also said that Russian forces occupying the area are blocking Ukrainian personnel from accessing the area." (Newsweek : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis)

On 27 October I wrote in my blog entry that,

"Putin, his Generals, and that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, are
now using Goebbels's tactic of constantly pushing the lie that Ukraine's president Zelensky is about to release a 'dirty nuclear bomb' on the people of Ukraine. (video: ITV News : 26 October 2022, Aljazeera : 25 October 2022, Sky News : 24 October 2022)

In view of the fact that Putin and his motley crew have been pushing the false claim that Ukraine is developing a dirty "nuclear bomb", and that Putin has recently stated that, “We don’t need a nuclear strike on Ukraine”, is Putin preparing a 'false-flag dirty bomb' at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear plant that he will subsequently blame on Ukraine?

And now, as reported by Rubryka,

"Russia's appeal to the Security Council to investigate US "military biological activity" in Ukraine was rejected by the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs deputy and the US ambassador to the UN.

Radio Svoboda reports that US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (left) told the Security Council that the accusation made by the russian foreign ministry on October 27 is "pure fiction without any evidence." " (Rubryka : 3 November 2022) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Jonathan Landay, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis : Reuters : 11 March 2022)

"Pure fiction" is all, it would seem, that Putin now relies on when speaking to the world.

Bloomberg News : 27 October 2022

 (to be continued)

Putin has nowhere to go except to use any means to vanquish Ukraine

The desperation of Putin's war machine in Ukraine is evidenced by the facts that,

• As reported by Zakharchenko Yuliia, "The Russian army shelled Kyiv with strategic air-to-ground cruise missiles X101 launched from the Caspian Sea. ... The X-101 (pronounced Ha-101) is a strategic air-to-ground cruise missile using radar mitigation technology. " (Fakti : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)
• Antony Ashkenaz reports that, " Russia has warned that it is prepared to obliterate commercial space systems that are being used to aid Ukraine, in a veiled threat to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. .....[IF] Putin were to attack SpaceX satellites, it would signal a sharp escalation of tension between Russia and the US, as no country has ever carried out a missile strike against an enemy satellite. (Express : 30 October 2022) (my emphasis) 
• Will Stewart and Sam Elliott-Gibbs report that, "A senior Putin military expert has threatened both Britain and America with full-scale nuclear strikes amid Russian claims that Ukraine is poised to release a “dirty bomb”. Colonel Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Russia ’s National Defence magazine, told state TV that Vladimir Putin should launch Topol-M attacks on military targets in the two Western countries.(Mirror : 25 October 2022) (my emphasis)
  
• Michael Curzon and Matthew Dooley report that, "The chief of the paramilitary Wagner Group has let slip that Russia is recruiting “convicts suffering from serious diseases”. Britain’s Ministry of Defence today pointed to comments shared by Yevgeny Prigozhin, “apparently admitting allegations that his private military company… had altered its standards and was recruiting Russian convicts suffering from serious diseases including HIV and Hepatitis C”." (Express : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Sky News : 30 October 2022 : YouTube

These developments are further compounded by the fact, as reported by Pavel Polityuk and Michelle Nichols (left), that,

"The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine are pressing ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact that has allowed the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets.
...
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, halted its role in the Black Sea deal on Saturday for an "indefinite term" because it could said it could not "guarantee safety of civilian ships" travelling under the pact after an attack on its Black Sea fleet." (Reuters :30 October 2022) (my emphasis)

As Sarah Fortinsky (right) also reports,

"Putin is using "food as a weapon of war," says USAID head Samantha Power.
...
The head of the United States Agency for International Development urged Russia to continue its participation in the United Nations-brokered Black Sea grain deal, writing that “the world cannot afford for Putin to continue to use food as a weapon of war.” (CNN : 31 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Already there is appearing a line-up of Putin's possible replacement being touted in the Kremlin. These are :-

• Dmitri Medvedev, now Head of Putin's Security Council
• Sergey Kiriyenko, who oversaw Putin's recent illegal annexation of Ukraine teritories
• Nokolai Patrushev, Head of the Security Council (FSB)
• Dmitry Patrushev, son of Nikolai and Agriculture Minister
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, Chief of the Wagner Mercenary Group.
  

Newsweek : 25 October 2022

Chloe Mayer (left) speculates that,

"A restaurant magnate dubbed "Putin's Chef" is setting up his own military to fight alongside Russia's army in Ukraine—but experts say the organization could "pose a threat to Putin's rule."
...
"Prigozhin (right) continues to accrue power and is setting up a military structure parallel to the Russian Armed Forces, which may come to pose a threat to Putin's rule—at least within the information space," ISW analysts wrote." (Newsweek : 25 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Prigozhin, however, when viewed against the political heavyweights of Putin's 'siloviki' and former comrades, stands a rather slim chance of replacing Putin.

What the west cannot expect is that a replacement from this motley crew of possible succesors will roll back Putin's delusional beliefs that precipitated :-

• his illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, 
• his first war with Ukraine in the Donbas in 2014, 
• and his current war with Ukraine in 2022.

Neither Putin, nor his prospective successor, has anywhere else to go except to annihilate, by any means available to them, the country of Ukraine.

 

 

(to be continued)

Putin is now resorting to shouting like Goebbels the Nazi about 'dirty nuclear bombs'

In his article, "How liars create the ‘illusion of truth’", Tom Stafford wrote,

" “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels (left). Among psychologists something like this is known as the "illusion of truth" effect." (BBC Future : 26th October 2016 ) (my emphasis)

Stafford goes on to warn us that,

"We live in a world where the facts matter, and should matter. If you repeat things without bothering to check if they are true, you are helping to make a world where lies and truth are easier to confuse." (ibid Tom Stafford)

Putin, his Generals, and that dyed-in-the-wool Soviet Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, are
now using Goebbels's tactic of constantly pushing the lie that Ukraine's president Zelensky is about to release a 'dirty nuclear bomb' on the people of Ukraine. (video: ITV News : 26 October 2022, Aljazeera : 25 October 2022, Sky News : 24 October 2022)

As I also wrote in my previous blog entry (23 October 2022),

"Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material." (Jonathan Landay and Pavel Polityuk :Reuters : 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

The fact that Putin is orchestrating such a concerted effort to set the scene for his use of a 'dirty nuclear bomb' has not gone unnoticed in the West.

Shannon Vavra (left) reports that,

" Russia is now taking its claim that Kyiv is preparing to use a dirty bomb in Ukraine as an act of provocation to some of Moscow’s closest partners in India and China, in an apparent attempt to shore up support. But the presentation has fallen flat.
...
India’s warning about the dirty bomb claims echoed western allies’ rejection of Russia’s allegations, which Shoigu began shopping around to leaders over the weekend without providing any evidence. The United States, U.K., and France issued a rare joint statement following Shoigu’s campaign, labeling his claims as “transparently false allegations.” (Daily Beast : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Mark Reynolds has also reported that,

" Russia's 'transparently false allegations' that Ukraine is preparing to fire a dirty bomb within its own territory is being seen as a double-bluff by Vladimir Putin to allow his military to use such a device.

Britain, the United States and France have jointly rejected Moscow’s contentions – with Volodymyr Zelensky angrily accusing the Kremlin of nuclear blackmail and a ‘false flag’ ploy. The Ukrainian President said Russia’s mention of a dirty bomb – where conventional explosives are laced with radioactive material – meant Putin could well be preparing such an illegal attack." (Express: 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

US President Biden underscored Putin's 'nuclear bomb' threat during a meeting with his defence officials yesterday (26 October 2022)

CBS News : 26 October 2022

Added to putin's constant headaches about his failing army in Ukraine, Charlie Bradley (left) reports that,

"An economist from Russia, Vladislav Inozemtsev (right), believes that Putin's mobilisation will contribute to Moscow's financial downfall in the future. Writing for The Insider, he said that the “financial effects of mobilisation—in the medium-term—will be significantly greater than the consequences of…the war in Ukraine."

Mr Inozemtsev added: “The Russian economy is going to die by winter, I wrote in early March. Now I think I was right. The mobilisation announced on September 21 was a milestone that really divided Russian history into ‘before’ and ‘after’—an event that began the final countdown of Putin’s era." (Express : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

And as Putin's economy continues along its downward spiral Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, is calling for the equivalent of a 'Marshall Plan'  to rebuild Ukraine after Putin's forces are all pushed back to Russia by Zelensky's army, including from Ukraine's Crimea.

As reported by  Reuters,

"“My message to the Ukrainians is: ‘Not only do we stand by your side, but we will continue to support Ukraine economically, politically and also militarily,” Steinmeier told reporters on his arrival by train in Kyiv.
...
Steinmeier’s arrival in Kyiv coincided with a conference in Berlin on what its hosts say must be a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild Ukraine, comparing the challenge to the U.S. funding of Europe’s reconstruction after World War Two. (Euronews : 26 October 2022) (my emphasis)

 

DW : 25 October 2022 : YouTube

But perhaps Putin's biggest headache lies in the fact that, as reported by Tim McNulty,

"Russian conscripts have filmed a makeshift prison below an army base where they say soldiers who refused orders are being held in squalor and filth.

The spokesman for the conscript moans about the threat of being sent to "the meat grinder," and describes Ukraine as the "slaughterhouse" as he points out the filth the unit is forced to live in." (Express : 27 October 2022) (my emphasis)

And as reported by Michael Drummond (left),

"The governor of Russia's Belgorod region announced on Monday that an explosive device damaged the railway near the village of Novozybkovo.
...
The damage to Russian logistics has been a key factor in supporting Ukraine's counteroffensives.
...
The latest attack on the railways Moscow uses to send supplies to Ukraine - this time apparently from inside Russia - will only add to the difficulties." (Sky News : 27 October 2022) (my emphasis)

It is therefore no wonder that Putin has now resorted to shouting like Goebbels about an alleged Ukrainian 'nuclear dirty bomb'.

 

(to be continued)

Putin desperate for a US Republican victory in November

True to form, General Sergei Surovikin (left), who was "nicknamed General Armageddon" for his ruthlessness in Syria, is now adopting his Syrian tactic of bombing Ukraine's infrastructure in his attempt to demoralise the people of Ukraine.

As revealed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky,

"Russia has launched a "new massive strike" targeting Ukraine's

energy grid, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

He said the attacks were on a "very wide" scale, hitting Ukraine's regions in the west, centre,south and east.

Almost a third of Ukraine's power stations and other energy-generating facilities have been destroyed in a wave of air strikes since.." (Henri Astier & Yaroslav Lukov : BBC News  : 23 October 2022) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by Bartosz Brzezinski

"Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that Russia launched a “massive missile attack” at 7 a.m. local time, targeting “critical infrastructure in different regions of the country.” The air force said it had managed to shoot down 18 cruise missiles launched by Russian troops.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (right) urged foreign capitals to boost Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, tweeting: “There should not be a minute of delay in capitals deciding on air defense systems for Ukraine.”" (Politico : 22 October 2022) (my emphasis)

As reported by Hyder Abbasi (left),

"Russian-installed authorities in the occupied city of Kherson on Saturday urged residents to leave immediately in the face of a looming counteroffensive by Ukraine’s armed forces that aimed to recapture the southern city.

“Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city,” a statement on the Russian administration’s Telegram channel said Saturday." (NBC News : 22 October 2022) (my emphasis)

What is very disconcerting, as Ukrainian forces are on the verge of re-taking Kherson, is the danger of Russian forces blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam which not only will flood Kherson but, more dangerously, deprive the nuclear plant at Zaphorizia of cooling water.

NBC News and Sky News (YouTube) : 22 October 2022

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's call for there, ".. not be a minute of delay in capitals deciding on air defense systems for Ukraine" now rings critical for Ukraine to defend itself against this rain of Iranian "UAV doodlebugs" against the infrastructure of Ukraine.

Specifically, Dmytro Kuleba was directing his call to Israel.

As reported by DPA and Jonathan Lis,

"Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz (left) said on Wednesday that Israel has no intention of providing Ukraine with weapons to help it in its war with Russia.
....
Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that Israel has no intention of providing Ukraine with weapons to help it in its war with Russia. Gantz did, however, add that Israel has offered Kiev help in developing a smart warning system against aerial threats. Gantz's comments on the heels of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's statement that his country will officially ask Israel for air defense systems." (Haaretz : 19 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Added to which, as reported by Aaron Blake (right),

"In a new interview, though, [Kevin] McCarthy is singing a significantly different tune. He says that if Republicans win back Congress, we shouldn’t take for granted that the United States will send further military aid to Ukraine.

“I think people are going to be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy (left) told Punchbowl News." (The Washington Post : 18 October 2022) (my emphasis) 

It is not only Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz and US member of Congress Kevin McCarthy who are distancing themselves from supporting Ukraine in its war with Putin.

As reported by Alessandra Scotto di Santolo,

"Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, 86, is a long-time friend of Putin and in a first leaked audio file released on Tuesday, he revealed to parliamentarians from his Forza Italia party that he was back in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin and had exchanged "sweet letters" and gifts.
...
Mr Berlusconi also repeated an assertion that Putin had bowed to internal pressure and only invaded Ukraine to set up a new government "of decent people with common sense". (Express : 20 October 2022) (my emphasis)

However, the incoming Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni (left),

".... threw down the gauntlet to her right-wing coalition partners on Wednesday, saying her new government would be pro-NATO and fully a part of Europe.

In a sharply worded declaration, she said any party [read : Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party], that disagreed with her foreign policy line should not join the government, which is set to take office next week.

"Italy with us in government will never be the weak link in the West," she said.

Ms Meloni has staunchly defended Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February, and has supported Western sanctions against Moscow." (ibid Alessandra Scotto di Santolo)

The upcoming US elections in November will be critical for Ukraine.

Putin is wishing for a Republican victory, and a slowdown of US arm shipments to Ukraine that will prevent the complete collapse of his army in Ukraine.

URGENT STOP PRESS!! 24 Oct 2022

Jonathan Landay and Pavel Polityuk report that,
...
"Russia fired missiles and drones into the Ukrainian-held southern town of Mykolaiv, destroying an apartment block, and said the war was trending towards "uncontrolled escalation" in a flurry of telephone calls to Western defence ministers.
...
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the "rapidly deteriorating situation" in phone calls with British, French and Turkish counterparts, the ministry said.

He also spoke by phone with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for the second time in three days. The Pentagon said Austin told Shoigu he "rejected any pretext for Russian escalation."

Without providing evidence, Shoigu said Ukraine could escalate by using a "dirty bomb", or conventional explosives laced with radioactive material." (Reuters : 24 October 2022) (my emphasis)

Reuters : 24 October 2022 : CBS News : 24 October 2022

As I wrote in my blog entry (2 August 2015),

"In April of 2015 Putin threatened to use 'nuclear' weapons if anyone should try to reclaim Ukrainian Crimea.

As John Hall reported on 2 April 2015,

"Vladimir Putin is planning to exploit the threat of nuclear war to force Nato out of countries bordering Russia, it has been claimed.

A secret meeting between intelligence figures in Moscow and Washington reportedly revealed Putin will consider any attempt to return the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine as declaration of war and will take any necessary step - including using nuclear weapons - to retain control of the region." (MailOnline : 2 April, 2015) (my emphasis)

This is now coming true in the case of eastern Ukraine. As Taku Dzimwasha (right), International Business Times journalist, informs us,

"Pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine building 'dirty' bomb with help of Russian scientists" published on August 1 that pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine are "building a dirty bomb" with the assistance of Russian nuclear scientists, according to a Ukrainian security service report seen by The Times." (UNIAN : 01.08.2015) (my emphasis)

Taku Dzimwasha further reports that,

"When the accusations were put to an unnamed DPR official, he initially denied that the factory stored radioactive waste, but eventually admitted to its existence, The Times reported.

"Everyone knows that there is a small repository with [radioactive] waste," he said. "But the story that we signed an agreement with Russia is fake."

Russia's state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom denied that its staff had travelled to Donetsk and challenged the idea that radioactive material was being stored in the area.

However, a spokesman did acknowledge that there were private companies and individuals in Russia capable of removing the material from the bunker, IBTimes wrote." (ibid UNIAN) (my emphasis) (Blog Entry 2 August 2015)

It is interesting to note that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is now confirming that in 2015, pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine were "building a dirty bomb" with the assistance of Russian nuclear scientists. 

IS THIS THE NUCLEAR BOMB THAT PUTIN WILL NOW UNLEASH ON THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE???

 

(to be continued)