What, now, is Putin's next move.

Sniper Dubbed 'Ukrainian Joan Of Arc'

In my blog entry of 23 October 2022 I wrote that,

" ...... 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. ... " (blog entry 23 October 2022)

Now that the dust has settled on the mid-term US elections, and the Democrats have retained control of the US Senate, and could retain control of the US Congress as the final Congressional results continue to emerge,  Putin's TV propaganda pundits have become muted in their chest-thumping bravado about Putin's 'brilliant' war strategy since the recent Russian retreat from Kherson.

Suddenly the dreaded word of, "negotiations " has now entered their vocabulary.

In the words of one Russian TV Pundit,

"The only thing we can count on in case Republicans come to power is the track towards negotiations. Republicans are ready to discuss Ukraine's fate with Russia .." (cf.  video below)

Julia Davis (Russia Media Monitor) : Twitter : 8 November 2022

Even Margarita Simonyan (left), the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled propaganda media organisation RT, is having to rather lamely admit that,

"We should figure out how we feel about negotiation. Do we need this process of negotiations? ... Perhaps we should wait until the mobilized troops get trained and and attempt to start an offensive ..." (cf: video above)

Could this change of tune by Putin's TV propagandists be partly driven by the fact that,

"Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine has fueled separatist sentiment throughout Russia, notably inside the republics of the nation.
...
Growing dissatisfaction with the Kremlin's heavy-handed assimilation efforts, which attempt to stifle and eradicate local cultures and national identities, has spawned the latest generation of activists in the republics, who are increasingly demanding full independence from Russia.?" (The Economic Times : 13 November 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin is now caught in a "negotiations" vice.

Both US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholtz, (left) have both stated that Zelensky will decide on the timing and contents of any negotiating framework with Russia.

As reported by Lucia Mutikani,

"Ukraine would decide on the timing and contents of any negotiation framework with Russia, according to a readout of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Phnom Penh on Saturday.

Blinken also discussed the United States' unwavering commitment to assist Ukraine in mitigating the effects of Russia's attacks on critical infrastructure as winter approaches, including accelerated humanitarian aid." (Reuters : 12 November 2022) (my emphasis)

And as reported by Yana Stavskaya,

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes that at this stage it is impossible to end the Russian-Ukrainian war through diplomacy.

As he said in an interview with RND on Friday, November 11, Russia is hindering this process, and Ukraine should not make concessions to the Russians.

It was Putin, Scholz noted, who crossed out all the efforts that had previously been made in the matter of negotiations between the two countries." (Ukrainetoday : 12 November 2022) (my emphasis)
 
Ukraine's president, Volodomyr Zelensky, outlined his negotiating framework with Russia in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour's Interview with Zelensky : YouTube : 12 November 2022

Putin is being further pushed internationally towards the 'negotiating table' on Zelensky's terms because of the global economic repercussions of the war that he started with Ukraine in February of this year.

As reported by VOA News (Agence France-Presse),

"U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (left) heaped pressure on Russia on Monday ahead of the G-20 summit in Indonesia, saying the best way to end world economic tumult was to stop the Ukraine war.

"Ending Russia's war is a moral imperative and the single best thing we can do for the global economy," Yellen told reporters as she met French counterpart Bruno Le Maire in Nusa Dua, on the resort island of Bali." (VOA News : 13 November 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin now finds himself trapped in the vice of 'negotiating' to end to his war with Ukraine by 

• the rumblings of  demands from republics within the Russian Federation for full independence from Russia 
• and the growing international calls  to end his war with Ukraine.

If Putin is trapped in the vice of 'negotiations' then his 'siloviki', his Kremlin clique, and his compliant oligarchs, are similarly trapped into whether to unseat him from power or not.

His generals, at least, are wising up to the reality of their defeats at the hands of Ukraine's army, as witnessed by their recent hasty retreat from Kherson.

Ukraine retakes Kherson after ‘chaotic’ mass Russian retreat :
Channel 4 : YouTube 12 November 2022

What, now, is Putin's next move.

STOP PRESS!!!

At 13.32 on the 14 November 2022, Elsa Maishman reported that,

"The liberation of Kherson marks the "beginning of the end" of the war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on a visit to the city.

Ukraine is "moving forward" and ready for peace, he told soldiers.
....
He told troops that Ukraine is "ready for peace, peace for all our country," the Reuters news agency reported.

In response to Mr Zelensky's visit, the Kremlin said that Kherson was part of Russia.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko (left) said Russia would not agree to withdrawing troops as a prerequisite for peace talks.

"Such conditions are unacceptable," the Russian news agency Interfax quoted him as saying on Monday.

"Our president has repeatedly said that we are ready for talks. But these talks, naturally, should take into account the situation on the ground." (BBC News : 14 November 2022) (my emphasis)

As President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, said, "The liberation of Kherson marks the "beginning of the end" of the war with Russia".

What now, indeed, is Putin's next move, as the rest of the world welcomes the words of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, that,

 

"... Ukraine is "ready for peace, peace for all our country," "

 

Call to Putin to end war in Ukraine at 2022 G20 Summit in Bali

Yahoo News (AP): 15 November 2022

(to be continued)

Is Putin setting up Kherson for his destructive Grozny and Allepo playbook?

Now that the dust has settled on the mid-term US elections (November 2022), and the red-wave of Republican successes so eagerly anticipated by Putin, his 'siloviki, and his Kremlin clique, has fizzled out, the call for negotiations to be held between Putin and Ukraine's President Zelensky is beginning to gain momentum.

 Steve Benen : MSNBC : Nov. 9, 2022

As reported by BBC News,

"In recent days, Ukraine has signalled a willingness to hold some discussions with Moscow, after President Volodymyr Zelensky dropped a demand that his opposite number, Vladimir Putin, must be removed from power before negotiations could resume." (BBC News : 10 November 2022) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by  Matthew Luxmoore, Laurence Norman, and Marcus Walker,

" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was open to “genuine peace talks” withRussia, following pressure from Western backers to signal readiness for negotiations amid concerns about the rising cost of the eight-month war ..." (Wall Street Journal : 8 November 2022) (my emphasis)

This signalling for "geniune peace talks" between Putin and Zelensky may have something to do with the publicly stated withdrawal of Putin's troops from Kherson.

As reported by BBC News,

"Gen Sergei Surovikin (left), who was made Russia's commander in Ukraine just weeks ago, announced the withdrawal on Wednesday accompanied by the military top brass on Russian state TV. He confirmed Russian troops would pull back entirely from the western bank of the River Dnipro. " (BBC News : 10 November 2022) (my emphasis)

 CNN : 10 November 2022

But as reported by Samantha Lock (left),

"Ukraine is treating Russia’s declared withdrawal from Kherson with caution until a fuller picture of the situation on the ground becomes clear.

In his national address on Wednesday night, however, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urged restraint despite “a lot of joy in the media space today”, saying “the enemy does not bring us gifts, does not make ‘gestures of goodwill’. We fight our way up." (The Irish Times : 10 November 2022) (my emphasis)

DW News: YouTube : 10 November 2022

 Zelensky is correct in advising caution and restraint at the announcement of Russian General Sergei Surovikin about Putin's troop withdrawal from Kherson.

As reported by Emma Crabtree (left),

"An advisor to Zelensky’s office, Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted: “Actions speak louder than words. We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight.”

Satellite images have now emerged showing that the Russians have been building trenches and restoring old ones in the northern part of Crimea and in the Kherson Oblast.
.....
The analyst said: “They are building a fortress.”

The news comes just days after relatives of Russian’s who have been drafted into the war said that the troops were being forces to dig trenches with their bare hands." (Express : 10 November 2022) (my emphasis)

We should remind ourselves that 'maskirovka' is deeply ingrained in Russian military philosophy and strategy. (BBC Radio Broadcast 2015.. Please wait for it to load)

 

So are those satellite images of Putin reinforcing his defences in Ukraine's Crimea, and building reinforcements in the Kherson Oblast, a prelude to launching a viscious assault on Ukraine's army once they regain the city of Kherson?

Is Putin and his generals setting up Kherson for what they did to Grozny in Chechnya (1999 - 2000) and Allepo in Syria (2011 - to date)?

 Al Jazeera : 2017 : YouTube

(to be continued)

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.
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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)