Putin resorting to starving the most vulnerable in the world to cling to power.

Putin has finally jumped into the abyss of drawing NATO forces into his war with Ukraine.

 As reported by Clare Sebastian, Tim Lister, Vasco Cotovio and Andrew Carey,

"Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (left) has criticized Moscow's strikes on Ukraine’s river port infrastructure, calling them an “escalation" in the war.

“I strongly condemn the recent Russian attacks against the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on Danube, very close to Romania [200m across the Danube River],” Iohannis tweeted on Monday.

Romania, a NATO country, shares a border with Ukraine along the Danube River. The Danube, near the area that was struck overnight, is less that one kilometer wide.

“This recent escalation pose[s] serious risks to the security in the Black Sea,” he added. “It also affects further [Ukrainian] grain transit [and] thus the global food security.” (CNN : 24 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Al Jazeera : 25 July 2023 : YouTube

As also reported by Jonathan Saul,

"Almost 30 ships dropped anchor near Ukraine's crucial Izmail port terminal after Russia destroyed grain warehouses on the Danube river on Monday, data showed, although it was unclear exactly what had caused them to stop.
...
Monday's pre-dawn Russian air strikes wounded seven people and hit infrastructure along the Danube, a vital alternative route for Ukrainian grain since the demise last week of a year-old deal allowing safe exports via the Black Sea. Kyiv said the attack was an expansion of an air campaign Russia launched last week after pulling out of the grain deal." (Reuters : 24 July 2023) (my emphasis)

International political repercussions against Putin's weaponizing food in his war with Ukraine has been swift.

 As reported by Frances D'Emilio (left),

"The U.N. chief on Monday urged Russia to resume the internationally brokered deal so that grain can be shipped from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, saying that otherwise, the world's most vulnerable among the hungry will suffer the worst consequences. 

 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (right) made the appeal during a speech in Rome at the opening of a three-day food summit.

With the recent collapse of the Ukraine-Russia grain deal, "the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,'' Guterres said. He lamented that there are already negative effects on global wheat and corn prices."  (ABC News (article from: The Associated Press) : 24 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Frances D'Emilio further reports that,

"The deal's suspension as well as Russian attacks on the Black Sea ports of Ukraine have irked Russian ally China and as well as developing nations heavily dependent on the shipments to feed their people" (ibid Frances D'Emilio)

 Lawrence Freedman (left) writes that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin set as his objectives the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine. By the first, he presumably meant regime change, in which case the war has clearly been a failure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s position is as strong as ever. As for demilitarization, Ukraine is on its way to becoming the most militarized country in Europe.
...
Russian forces have failed to take complete control of any of the four oblasts, or administrative regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—that Putin claimed for Russia in September 2022. Much of the ground initially seized after the full-scale invasion has been relinquished, and more is being lost, albeit slowly, during the current Ukrainian offensive. (Foreign Affairs : 25 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by Marita Vlachou,

"U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ukrainians have “already taken back about 50%” of the territory Russia seized since the invasion as the embattled country continues its counteroffensive.

Asked to weigh into reports that Ukraine was facing a tough time in its stepped-up fight to oust Russian invaders, Blinken told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that the Kremlin has failed in its goal." (Yahoo News (CNN report): 24 July 2023) (my emphasis)

US Secretary of State Blinken : CNN : 24 July 2023 : YouTube

 Lawrence Freedman is correct in stating that,

"Putin can simply try to hang on but given the mounting pressures [both inside Russia and internationally] he needs a strategy to show that Russia still has a path to victory.  What Putin does should in turn shape Ukrainian actions. Kyiv can add to the anxieties in Moscow, demonstrating that no part of Russia is secure, punishing Russian forces at the front, and opportunistically liberating territory even if it is not quite what military planners intended. This has become a war of endurance. (ibid Lawrence Freedman) 

As reported by Andrew Osborn (left),

"Russia spoke of taking harsh retaliatory measures against Ukraine after two drones damaged buildings in Moscow early on Monday, including one close to the Defence Ministry's headquarters, in what it called a brazen act of terror.
...
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the RTVI TV channel Ukraine was guilty of what she called "an act of international terrorism".
...
Attention is now likely to turn to where the drones were launched from and whether pro-Ukrainian saboteurs inside Russia had a role. After May's drone attack on the Kremlin, U.S. drone experts concluded they might have been launched from inside Russia." (Reuters : 25 July 2023) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 24 July 2023: YouTube

These drone attacks on Moscow has accelerated Putin's anxieties.

 And as UN Secretary General Guterres has recently stated,  

"With the recent collapse of the Ukraine-Russia grain deal, "the most vulnerable will pay the highest price,'' Guterres said. He lamented that there are already negative effects on global wheat and corn prices." (ibid Frances D'Emilio)

Putin is now resorting to starving the most vulnerable to cling to power.

 

(to be continued)

 

How much longer will Putin now survive?

 John Sparks (left) of Sky News has just reported that,

"According to social media there were two explosions on the Kerch Bridge at 03.04 this morning. We understand that traffic has been stopped. Traffic is blocked up on both sides of the bridge." (Sky News : 17 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Sky News : 17 July 2023 

As also reported by Mattha Busby and Helen Livingstone,

“This morning we all started with information about the emergency that happened on the Crimean bridge. We all saw a video on the internet of a damaged car with Belgorod number plates,” Vyacheslav Gladkov [Crimea’s Russian governor] wrote." (The Guardian : 17 July 2023) (my emphasis)

 The Guardian : 17 July 2023

This critical event on Putin's bridge follows closely on the heels of Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky, receiving assurances from US President Biden after the recent NATO summit in Vilnius that,

"President Joe Biden pledged Wednesday that western allies “will not waver” in defense of Ukraine, casting the struggle against Russian aggression as one of the world’s central challenges requiring a broad coalition of countries to stand in defense of freedom.

“Our unity will not falter,” Biden declared. “I promise you.” (Chris Megerian and Seung Min Kim  (above): Associated Press : 12 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Associated Press : 12 July 2023

All of this happened against the backdrop of Putin and his Kremlin 'siloviki' practically at each other's throats.

As reported by Aljazeera,

"Moscow’s military leadership has reportedly dismissed Major-General Ivan Popov (left), commander-in-chief of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army stationed in southern Ukraine, over his concerns for troops fighting without rest and criticism of Russian battlefield strategy." (Aljazeera : 13 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Not content with only 'purging' Major-General Ivan Popov, Will Stewart And Shari Miller also report that,

"Yet another high-profile general was purged in Russia today as Vladimir Putin's defence minister continues to root out anyone viewed as having betrayed the Kremlin.

Paratrooper commander Major-General Vladimir Seliverstov (right), 49, is the eighth member of the country's top brass to be fired, suspended, detained or vanished in recent months.

Defence minister Sergei Shoigu is alleged to be conducting 'combat operations' against his own staff as key war generals are axed or sidelined." (Mail Online : 15 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Erin Burnett : CNN : 13 July 2023

And on the economic front, Ajay Banga (left) reports that,

"Redoubling support for war-stricken Ukraine is the "single best" way to aid the global economy, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, along with boosting emerging economies and tackling debt distress.
...
"Ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative," she told reporters in Gandhinagar, which is hosting a wider G20 summit. "But it's also the single best thing we can do for the global economy." (Yahoo News: 16 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

AFP video : Yahoo News: 16 July 2023

And as if to underline Janet Yellen's call that, "support for war-stricken Ukraine is the "single best" way to aid the global economy", Xu Keyue reports that,

"Contrary to usual practice, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made a high-profile pledge on Saturday to "expand the scale" of his country's military assistance to Ukraine during his sudden visit to Ukraine, an indication that he has decided to side with the US-led NATO amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Chinese observers said.
...
During the visit to Kiev for a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yoon said in a press conference that South Korea plans to provide "a larger scale of military supplies" to Ukraine this year, following last year's provision of non-lethal supplies such as body armor and helmets. He did not give more details, Reuters reported on Saturday. (Global Times : 16 July 2023) (my emphasis)

BBC News : 16 July 2023 : YouTube

For Putin it must feel as though the whole world is now conspiring against him.

Even his generals can no longer be trusted to cover his back for him.

How much longer will he now survive?

UPDATE 1: 18 July 2023

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's statement that, "Ending this war is first and foremost a moral imperative" (ibid Ajay Banga), is brought into sharp relief by the report of Philip Pullella and Costas Pitas that, 

"Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi (left), assigned by Pope Francis to help bring peace to Ukraine, will discuss repatriating children who Kyiv and others say have been deported by Russia with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington as part of a three-day visit.

Zuppi will meet Biden on Tuesday at the White House where they will discuss the suffering caused by the war, humanitarian aid and "the Papal See’s focus on repatriating Ukrainian children forcibly deported by Russian officials," the White House said." (Reuters : 17 July 2023) (my emphasis)

UPDATE 2 : 18 July 2023

Yellen's "moral imperative" that Putin should end his war with Ukraine is further underlined by the report of Stephen Collinson (right) that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin just reminded the world that he has the capacity to apply pain far beyond the excruciating torment he’s inflicting on Ukraine.

Russia’s suspension of a deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain from a region fabled as the world’s bread basket threatens to cause severe food shortages in Africa and send prices spiraling in supermarkets in the developed world.
...
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia was trying to use food as a tool in its war on Ukraine, adding that the tactic would make “food harder to come by in places that desperately need it and have prices rise … The bottom line is, it’s unconscionable. It should not happen.” (CNN : 18 July 2023) (my emphasis)

UPDATE 3 : 20 July 2023

It was inevitable that Putin would attack Odesa, the main grain exporting port in Ukraine.

 And true to form, as reported by Hanna Arhirova (left),

"Russia unleashed intense drone and missile attacks overnight Wednesday, damaging critical port infrastructure in southern Ukraine, including grain and oil terminals, and wounding at least 12 people, officials said.

The bombardment crippled significant parts of export facilities in Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk and destroyed 60,000 tons of grain, according to Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry." (ABC Eyewitness News :19 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

As also reported by Zachary B. Wolf,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have declared open season on Ukraine’s consequential grain exports, targeting the port city of Odesa with new ferocity and jeopardizing worldwide food prices.

With the strikes on Odesa, Putin says he wants payback for damage to a nearly 12-mile bridge that connects annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland."  (CNN : 19 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Zachary B. Wolf : CNN : 19 July 2023

Zachary B. Wolf : CNN : 19 July 2023 

How, now, will the world respond to Putin, "[playing] roulette with the hungriest people in the world at the time of the greatest food crisis (USAid's Samantha Power : CNN : 20 July 2023)"?

 

(to be continued)

Putin's 'dream' of recreating the old USSR is ending.

In March of 2018, Andrew Osborn (left) reported that,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he would reverse the collapse of the Soviet Union if he had a chance to alter modern Russian history, news agencies reported." (Reuters : 2 March 2018) (my emphasis) (cf. also: NBC News (Associated Press article) : 25 April 2015) 

TRW World : 2022 : YouTube

Andrew Osborn went on to further report that,

"Fielding quick-fire questions from supporters in Russia’s European exclave of Kaliningrad, Putin was asked what Russian historical event he would like to change.

“The collapse of the Soviet Union,” Putin immediately shot back.

Putin, who served in the KGB in the Soviet era, called the 1991 Soviet fall the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the twentieth century in a 2005 speech and has used the Soviet Union’s World War Two defeat of Nazi Germany to stir patriotism and help create a new sense of Russian identity." (ibid Andrew Osborn)

Fast forward to 2023, and Putin's 'dream' of reversing the collapse of the Soviet Union has now become his nightmare.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry (28 June 2023),

" Richard Ashmore also writes that,

"Vladimir Putin is “bitter and “disenchanted” like “Hitler and Saddam Hussein” in the final moments of their rule and could be on the brink of losing power, a defence expert claims. Echoing some of the worst dictators in history, the Russian despot will be “fuming” after the recent rebellion by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin exposed his shaky grasp on rule." (Express : 27 June 2023) (my emphasis) "

We now learn that, as reported by  Henri Astier,

"Russian President Vladimir Putin met mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin after the failed Wagner group mutiny last month, the Kremlin says." (BBC News : 11 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Having publicly "fumed" about Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion, and then to publicly hold a meeting with the 'traitor' Yevgeny Prigozhin, must have stuck in Putin's craw!

Forbes Breaking News : 11 July 2023 : YouTube

Adding fuel to Putin's current nightmare about his failure to "reverse the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991", we now learn from Simon J Smith and Jordan Becker (left) that,

"In a surprise move, Turkey has ended its veto on Sweden joining Nato, thereby removing all the barriers to its membership of the military alliance.

Hungary quickly followed suit and, as a result of the two countries’ support, a consensus was able to be reached at the 2023 Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreeing to support Sweden’s bid to join will be touted as one of the key achievements of the summit." (The Conversation : 11 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Andrea Mitchell and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: MSNBC  11 July 2023

And if Sweden now joining NATO was not enough to further dissolve Putin's 'dream' about re-creating the 'old' USSR, James Landale & Oliver Slow report that,

"G7 members are expected to ratify a wide-ranging security pact with Ukraine at the Nato summit on Wednesday.
...
US President Joe Biden earlier suggested a model for Ukraine similar to his country's agreement with Israel. Under that deal, Washington has committed to providing $3.8bn (£2.9bn) in military aid per year over a decade.
...
Diplomats also highlighted the creation of a new Nato-Ukraine Council, meeting on Wednesday for the first time, which will give Kyiv the right to summon meetings of the whole alliance. (BBC News : 12 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Hindustan Times : 8 July 2023 : YouTube

Furthermore, and rather unexpectedly, Adam Chapman (left) reports that,

"President Joe Biden has been shown up by his French counterpart as Emmanuel Macron officially gives the go-ahead to ship long-range missiles to Ukraine.

Despite pumping more than £30 billion into the war effort, the White House has so far refused to send Ukraine its Army Tactical Missile Systems over fears it will spark World War 3.
...
Macron said Paris would provide the SCALP surface-to-air missile system to strike targets further inside Russian-occupied territory." (Express : 11 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Express : 11 July 2023

Politically and militarily, Putin now has no chance of fulfilling his dream of recreating the old USSR. 

 

(to be continued)

Has Putin inadvertently lit the fuse for civil war in Russia?

The fallout of the attempted 'coup' by Victor Prigozhin continues to cause dis-array amongst Putin's generals and his 'siloviki'.

As reported by Tim McNulty (left),

"Vladimir Putin's blundering efforts in Ukraine have forced the Kremlin to pull a large number of Russian troops away from other deployments with huge geo-strategic importance to Russia." (Express : 6 July 2023) (my emphasis)

McNulty goes on to report that,

"The UK Ministry of Defence has reported that Russia is moving units to the front-line in Ukraine from bases 7000km away where they serve as a strategic counterbalance to Chinese power." (ibid Tim McNulty) 

MSNBC : 8 July 2023

As also reported by Liam Doyle,

"Vladimir Putin's Russian government is on the brink, secret internal Russian analysis has suggested.

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), headed by spymaster Major-General Kyrylo  Budanov (left), has access a Russian study conducted by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD).
...
The report, Mr Budanov said, has suggested the country is primed for a civil war which could tear the country apart." (Express : 5 July 2023) (my emphasis)

More sinister, as reported by Yousra Elbagir (right : Sky News reporter),

"Senior sources from [the Central African Republic's] ministry of defence and an official from the Russian embassy have revealed around 400 Wagner employees left the capital on two planes on Wednesday, confirming local reports of Wagner disengagement.
...
One ministry of defence official said the Wagner Group personnel who left refused to sign new contracts with Russia's ministry of defence." (Microsoft Start (Sky News report) : 7 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Wagner Troops in Central African Republic: 9 June 2023: YouTube 

Meanwhile, as reported by Anastasia Stognei (left),

"The rouble sank to its lowest level against the dollar since the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, as the repercussions of Wagner’s aborted insurrection heap further pressure on a currency already groaning under the weight of western sanctions." (Financial Times : 6 July 2023) (my emphasis)

 She goes on to further report that,

"[Natalia Lavrova, chief economist at BCS Global Markets] said that on the day of the mutiny, Russians withdrew some Rbs100bn, an amount of withdrawals comparable to when the Kremlin announced a mass mobilisation in September." (ibid Anastasia Stognei) 

Further causing Putin to furiously pace around in his bunker, Lorne Cook reports that,

" NATO leaders will agree next week to help modernize Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day, the organization’s top civilian official said Friday. But the war-torn country will not start membership talks soon.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (right) said that when U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet for a two-day summit in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, they also will agree to boost defense spending as alliance members pour weapons, ammunition and other support like uniforms and medical equipment into Ukraine." (Associated Press : 7 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

If Putin is furiously pacing around in his bunker because NATO alliance members continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, then he must be apoplectic with rage on learning that,

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.

Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine's entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end." (CTV News (Associated Press article) : 8 July 2023) (my emphasis) 

Not only are the walls of his bunker closing in on Putin, the nightmare of Prigozhin's troops currently in Africa now heading to join Prigozhin in Belarus, or even in Russia, must be causing him to face his imminent demise.

MSNBC : 7 July 2023

Has Putin inadvertently lit the fuse for civil war in Russia?

 

(to be continued)

Will Putin now jump into the abyss of a war with NATO?

As I wrote in my previous blog entry (28 June 2023),

" Richard Ashmore also writes that,

"Vladimir Putin is “bitter and “disenchanted” like “Hitler and Saddam Hussein” in the final moments of their rule and could be on the brink of losing power, a defence expert claims. Echoing some of the worst dictators in history, the Russian despot will be “fuming” after the recent rebellion by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin exposed his shaky grasp on rule." (Express : 27 June 2023) (my emphasis) "

This 'bitterness and dis-enchantment' of Putin after the recent Yevgeny Prigozhin rebellion is evidenced, as reported by Elena Salvoni (right), that,

"Vladimir Putin's forces unleashed destruction on a funeral gathering in eastern Ukraine today, according to reports, with dozens injured in an airstrike as mourners gathered to remember a fallen soldier from an elite fighting unit. (Mail Online : 4 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Mail Online : 4 July 2023

Salvoni further reports that,

"Preliminary findings suggest the strike - which hit the town of some 28,000 people miles away from the frontline - was carried out by a Russian Iskander missile." (ibid Elena Salvoni)

And as reported by Isabel Keane (New York Post),

"Ukraine is reportedly “preparing for a nuclear explosion” at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, heightening tensions in the wake of Russia’s first overnight drone attack on Kyiv in 12 days. (News.com :3 July 2023) (my emphasis)

News.com (DW) : 3 July 2023

Isabel Keane further reports that,

"Russian troops have been ordered to leave the power plant — which has been under Russian control since March 2022 — by July 5, according to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine." (ibid Isabel Keane)

And as reported by Olive Enokido,

"The Ukrainian armed forces quoted "operational data" as saying that the devices had been placed on the roof of the plant's third and fourth reactors on Tuesday, adding that an attack was possible "in the near future".

Ukrainian president Mr Zelenskyy said: "Now we have information from our intelligence that the Russian troops have placed objects resembling explosives on the roof of several power units of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant." (Microsoft Start: Sky News: 5 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Microsoft Start : Sky News : 5 July 20123

Putin bombing a funeral in Ukraine, and on course to blowing up the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear plant, signifies not only his dangerous state of mind but also his real fear of losing power as his 'siloviki', the very backbone of his power, now also begins to disintegrate.

More significantly, as reported by Max Seddon, James Kynge, John Paul Rathbone, and Felicia Schwartz,

"Xi Jinping personally warned Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, indicating Beijing harbours concerns about Russia’s war even as it offers tacit backing to Moscow, according to western and Chinese officials.
...
Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said that “Russia has never and will never have China’s approval for using nuclear weapons”. If Russia used nuclear weapons against Ukraine, “China will further distance itself from Russia”, he added.
...
But the statement indicated that even China may be unable to fully deter Putin, said Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. “Nuclear weapons are the ultimate insurance Putin has against losing this war catastrophically.” (Financial Times : 5 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Deeply reinforcing Putin's "weaponizing" of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear plant against him catastrophically losing his war against Ukraine is, according to Fareed Zakaria (right),

"It is fair to say that Russia's (Putin's) biggest problem is not that it (Putin) is losing the Ukraine war but rather that it (Putin) is losing the 21st century" (CNN : YouTube : 3 July 2023) (my emphasis)

(CNN : YouTube : 3 July 2023)

Putin now teeters on the edge of the abyss of setting off a serious confrontation with NATO and, possibly, lighting the fuse for WW3.

UPDATE1 5 July 2023 : 17.26

Max Parry (left) reports that,

"Senior US Senators are demanding Joe Biden deploys the 'full weight of NATO' if Putin blows up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and now a former British Army colonel has pleaded that Britain supports that same threat against the Kremlin.
...
The UK must join the US and the rest of the NATO alliance to warn Vladimir Putin, that if he orders an internal explosion within the reactors of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, triggering a nuclear catastrophe, the West will be "all in" to crush the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a former British Army colonel has said.
...
In a grim statement, he [Hamish de Bretton-Gordon] said it was "quite likely" that Putin's troops had placed explosives inside the reactors at the nuclear plant and that if he was to order their detonation, the resultant contamination would travel "westwards" under the current weather conditions." (Express : 5 July 2023) (my emphasis)

Will Putin now jump into the abyss of a war with NATO?

 

(to be continued)

The countdown for Putin has begun

The Progozhin political earthquake that struck Putin over the last week-end continues to have political aftershocks in the Kremlin amongst Putin's 'siloviki'.

As Anshel Pfeffer (left) wrote,

"Prigozhin accused a "clan of oligarchs" of starting the war for their benefit, so they could pillage Ukraine and said, sarcastically, that the "demilitarization" and "de-Nazification" of Ukraine were "pretty stories." (Haaretz : 24 June 2023) (my emphasis)

More critically, Pfeffer asks,

"But the more immediate question is: Whom will the Russian people believe now? [Putin or Prigozhin?] (ibid Anshel Pfeffer)

As recently reported by Jeremy Bowen (right),

"The drama over the border in Russia has hardened the view in Kyiv that Mr Putin's time as Russia's president is coming to an end.

"I think the countdown has started," said Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky's closest adviser." (BBC News : 28 June 2023) (my emphasis)

CNN : 28 June 2023 : YouTube

Richard Ashmore also writes that,

"Vladimir Putin is “bitter and “disenchanted” like “Hitler and Saddam Hussein” in the final moments of their rule and could be on the brink of losing power, a defence expert claims. Echoing some of the worst dictators in history, the Russian despot will be “fuming” after the recent rebellion by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin exposed his shaky grasp on rule." (Express : 27 June 2023) (my emphasis)

Putin's 'bitterness and disenchantment' is best illustrated by the recent cruel and callous bombing of a pizza restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk by Putin's forces.

As reported by Ryan Merrifield and Rachel Hagan,

"At least eight people are dead, including three children, while dozens more have been injured after a Russian missile strike hit a restaurant in Ukraine, Kyiv officials have said.

It's feared more casualties are trapped in the rubble and debris following the attack in Kramatorsk.

It's understood the popular Ria Lounge restaurant was hit, which was "packed" with volunteers, soldiers and journalists at the time of the attack." (The Mirror : 27 June 2027) (my emphasis)

Sunita Patel-Carstairs: Sky News: 28 June 2023 & Instagram: 28 June 2023

Sky News : 28 June 2023 

And against the backdrop of this criminal attack against civilians by Putin's forces, Mike Stone (left) reports that,

"The United States will provide Kyiv with a new military package worth up to $500 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, in a show of support for Ukraine's fight against Russia as Moscow deals with the aftermath of a mutiny by mercenary fighters.

The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers, and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, according to a statement from the Pentagon." (Reuters:27 June 2023) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Ukrinform,

"NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the Alliance must not underestimate Russia despite the recent events and stressed the importance of providing further support to Ukraine.
...
“We all saw the events in Russia over the last days.  These are internal Russian matters. But what is clear is that President Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine has deepened divisions, and created new tensions in Russia. At the same time, we must not underestimate Russia. So it is even more important that we continue to provide Ukraine with our support. And I expect that our Summit in Vilnius will send a clear message of our commitment,” Stoltenberg said."  (Ukrinform : 28 June 2023) (my emphasis)

Perhaps even more disconcerting for Putin, besides the reaffirmation by Stoltenberg of NATO's commitment  to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Putin, is the announcement by China’s envoy to the European Union (EU), Fu Cong (left), that,

"In an interview with Al Jazeera, China’s envoy to the European Union (EU), Fu Cong, suggested that China supports Ukraine’s goal of restoring its territorial integrity.

Fu answered “I don’t see why not” when questioned about whether he supported Ukraine’s objectives of restoring its borders as they were in 1991.

This includes the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine back in 2014." (Yen Zhi Yi: Mothership News: 28 June 2023) (my emphasis)

As Richard Ashmore wrote,

"Vladimir Putin is “bitter and “disenchanted” like “Hitler and Saddam Hussein” in the final moments of their rule" (ibid Richard Ashmore )

The countdown for Putin, as pointed out by Andriy Yermak, President Zelensky's closest adviser, has begun. 

UPDATE 1 : 07.14 June 29 2023

Interviewed by Mika Brzezinski (left) on MSNBC (28 June 2023)  Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, said,

"This is, and remains in many ways, an extraordinary moment because I think it further revealed the failure of Russia's war in Ukraine, both abroad and also at home.

And we're seeing some cracks emerge not just in what it's doing on the ground in Ukraine but, .. if you put this in perspective it's really extraordinary.
....
Across the board this has been a failure for Putin and we're now seeing internal cracks emerge, not just the external ones in terms of his prosecution of the war."  (MSNBC : 28 June 2023) (my emphasis)

Interview of Anthony Blinken by Mika Brzezinski (28 June 2023)

 

 

(to be continued)