Putin has now reached "the point of no return"

That dyed-in-the-wool Soviet foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has let the 'cat slip out of the bag' by publicly announcing that,  

“It is not only about the DNR and LNR,” said Lavrov, referring to the regions by the acronyms of their self-proclaimed people’s republics, “but also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region, and also other territories,” he said." (John Psaropoulos : AlJazeera : 21 July 2022) (my emphasis) 

Good Morning America : YouTube : 21 July 2022

John Psaropoulos further reports that,

"A day before Lavrov’s interview was published, Igor Girkin (left), a former military commander who was involved in fomenting the Donetsk and Luhansk uprisings in 2014, wrote in favour of “the reunification of Novorossiya with the Russian federation along the line Kharkiv-Dnipropetrovsk-Kryvyi Rih-Mykolaiv-Odesa (all inclusive)”.
...
Such a move would entail annexing all of eastern and southern Ukraine. Western Ukraine, Girkin suggested, could be annexed by Belarus. (ibid John Psaropoulos)

Against these empty belligerent remarks of escalation by Lavrov and Girkin, Gordon Corera reports that,

"Russia will struggle to maintain its military campaign and Ukraine may be able to hit back, the head of Britain's foreign intelligence service says.
...
"Our assessment is that the Russians will increasingly find it difficult to find manpower and materiel over the next few weeks," Mr Moore (right) [UK MI6 Chief] told the conference in Colorado. "They will have to pause in some way and that will give the Ukrainians the opportunity to strike back." (BBC News : 21 July 2022) (my emphasis)

As also reported by John Psaropoulos,

"Russia’s problems have not been confined to personnel. Ukraine has been [successfully] attacking Russian ammunition stores far behind the line of contact with increasing frequency since it started receiving HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems from the United States." (ibid John Psaropoulos: AlJazeera) (my emphasis)

And as I reported in my previous blog entry (18 July 2022),

"Vladimir Putin is deploying soldiers to the front line in Ukraine from notorious Russian prisons with a fierce reputation. Criminals from jails will bolster the ranks of the invading forces with the promise of almost £2,800 and their sentences scrapped if they comply." (Benjamin Lynch: The Daily Record: 17 July 2020) (my emphasis)" (Blog Entry : 18 July 2022)

Putin's army is now being forced to resort to sending criminals from jails to the Russian front lines, and the Russian army is fast running short of materials.

Zelensky's army is being fortified as the West continues to supply the Ukrainian army with the necessary armaments and supplies to strike back hard against Putin's invading Russian army.

As reported by Jack Wright (left),

• Britain will send hundreds of drones and anti-tank weapons and scores of artillery guns to Ukraine 
• More than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled guns and 36 L119 105mm artillery guns will be arriving shortly 
• In excess of 1,600 anti-tank weapons and hundreds of loitering aerial munitions will also be sent
  

MoD says weaponry will help bolster Ukraine's ability to defend against the Russian invasion (Mail Online : 21 July 2022) (my emphasis)

We also learn that, as reported by John Bacon, Jeanine Santucci, and Claire Thornton,

"A top U.S. military general says the United States and its allies are considering providing Ukraine with fighter jets, a decision that would sharply escalate the level of weaponry being sent to Kyiv.
...
[US] Gen. Charles Brown (right), Air Force chief of staff, said the jets could come from the U.S. or its allies.
...
"I can't speculate what aircraft they go to," Brown said in an interview at the Aspen Security Forum." (USA Today : 21 July 2022) (my emphasis) (full video: The Aspen Institute : YouTube 20 July 2022)

China's Xi Jinping is now caught in a serious dilemma as he eyes his possible invasion of Taiwan against the response of the US and the West to Putin's invasion of Ukraine..

As reported by Gordon Corera,

"[Mr Moore, the UK's MI6 Chief] revealed MI6 now devoted more effort to China than to any other single subject - the effort in this field having just moved past that devoted to counter-terrorism.
...
He said it was "important" to remind China's leadership of how an invasion of Taiwan could go wrong. He said China's leadership underestimated US resolve and power and this might lead them to miscalculate. "I don't think it is inevitable," he said when asked about a major conflict. (ibid Gordon Corera)

As also reported by Jesse Johnson (right),

"Japan underscored the potentially long-lasting impact of the war in Ukraine on the Indo-Pacific region in its annual defense white paper released Friday, devoting an entirely new section to the conflict and its implications for Asia.

The focus on the ongoing conflict thousands of kilometers away comes as Japan looks warily at military powerhouse China and its plans for self-ruled Taiwan, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warning repeatedly that "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”

“If Russia's aggression is tolerated, it may give the wrong impression that unilateral changes in the status quo are allowed in other regions, including Asia,” the white paper said. “The international community, including Japan, must not tolerate such aggression.” (The Japan Times : 22 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin's war with Ukraine has attempted to up-end the international 'rule-of-law' in favour of an authoritarian, rather than a democratic, status quo.

Lavrov's recent announcement that,

“It is not only about the DNR and LNR,” said Lavrov, referring to the regions by the acronyms of their self-proclaimed people’s republics, “but also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region, and also other territories,” 

signifies that Putin has now reached "the point of no return".  

 (to be continued)

Putin continues to flail politically, and in his war strategy against Ukraine

Kateryna Tyshenko (left) reports that,

"The scale of military training for children in Russia is expanding. In Belgorod Oblast alone, 500 cadet classes and about 1000 young army classes have opened for enrolment.

Quote: "500 cadet classes and about 1,000 young army classes have been opened in Belgorod and Belgorod Oblast." (Yahoo News: 17 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Mark Felton Productions : YouTube : 13 May 2020

Let us also recall that, as reported by Will Stewart (left),

"Russia is recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine with the promise of almost £3,000 and their sentences being annulled if they come back alive after six months.
...
Inmates are being actively recruited in St Petersburg jails, according to independent media outlet IStories.
...
The convicts are told they will be put on the frontline to hunt down 'Nazis' in Ukraine in an arrangement that suggests they will be deployed as cannon fodder." (Mail Online : 5 July 2022) (my emphasis) 

As also now reported by Benjamin Lynch (right),

"Vladimir Putin is deploying soldiers to the front line in Ukraine from notorious Russian prisons with a fierce reputation. Criminals from jails will bolster the ranks of the invading forces with the promise of almost £2,800 and their sentences scrapped if they comply." (The Daily Record: 17 July 2020) (my emphasis)

As Putin is recruiting imprisoned criminals, murderers, rapists, and setting up his "Youth Army", Jessica Warren and Lizzie May reports that

"Russia has lost 30 per cent of its forces with 50,000 soldiers dead or injured and almost 1,700 of Putin's tanks have been destroyed, the UK's Chief of the Defence Staff has revealed.
...
Head of the Armed Forces Admiral Sir Tony Radakin has said Vladimir Putin has 'already lost the Ukraine war', with nearly 4,000 armoured fighting vehicles belonging to Russia having also been ruined." (Mail Online : 17 July 2022) (my emphasis)

And again we have Putin's glove-puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, throwing yet another tantrum, this time warning that Ukraine 'dare not' attack Russian forces in Ukraine's Crimea.

As reported by The New Voice of Ukraine,

"According to the Russian Interfax media agency, without naming anyone in particular, Medvedev said that "individual exalted blood-thirsty clowns... are trying to threaten us, I mean the attack on the Crimea, and so on,” referring to Ukrainian statements on the liberation of the Crimean peninsula.
...
“In this regard, I want to say that it is quite obvious that they understand the repercussions of such statements, and the consequences are obvious that if something like this happens: for all of them there will immediately come a ‘judgment day’, swift and brutal,” said Medvedev.
(New Voice of Ukraine : 17 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Ukrainian News also reports that,

"If the authorities of Ukraine decide to attack the Crimean Bridge, it will turn into a devastating retaliatory blow, said the member of the Russian State Duma Mikhail Sheremet (left). This was reported by Info24 on Sunday, July 17.
...
The MP emphasized that the responsibility for a possible attack will also be borne by the United States, since, according to him, the United States supplies the Ukrainian state with weapons. (Ukrainian News : 17 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Again do we have the implicit 'nuclear' threat being pushed by Putin and his cohorts in the Duma.

It really beggars belief that those Russians forever shaking the big stick of the 'nuclear' fire-power that Putin controls simply cannot comprehend that Russia, itself, will come under nuclear attack should Putin dare to "press the nuclear button".

And as Putin contiues to wield his 'nuclear' stick, Apoorva Kaul reports that,

"The chairperson of the Parliament defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (left with Scholtz) has urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to hold a National Conference on Ukraine at the earliest to discuss additional measures needed to help the war-torn nation.
...
She has called on Germany to "take lead in Europe" in supporting Ukraine against the Russian military offensive. Earlier, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann had urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to provide heavy weapons to Ukraine. After her appeal, Germany started providing military equipment to Ukraine." (Republic World : 17 July 2022) (my emphasis)
 
But all eyes are on July 21st, when Germany is due to get Nord Stream1 back online.

Zelensky has already urged Canadian PM Justin Trudeau not to make the export of German gas pipeline equipment a special case that can circumvent the current sanctions against Putin.

As reported by Sergiy Karazy and Max Hunder,

"Ukraine opposes Canada handing over a turbine to Russia's state-controlled Gazprom for natural gas supplies to Germany as the move would contravene sanctions on Russia, a Ukrainian energy ministry source told Reuters on Thursday.
...
Gazprom cut the capacity along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to just 40% of usual levels last month, citing the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada." (The Gazette : 7 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Teresa Gottein Martinez,

"In 2020, gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 4.6 percent before jumping again by 2.9 percent in 2021.
...
At the beginning of the year, Mr Habeck announced a growth of 3.6 percent for this year. But after four months after war broke out in Ukraine, not much of that is left.
...
The latest forecasts from the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Leipzig Institute for Economic Research consider only 1.5 percent to be realistic – and only if gas from Russia returns. (Express : 11 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Angela Merkel has left German industry with a legacy of dependency on Putin's gas, which is now coming to haunt her and the German economy.

As Oliver Moody (right) writes,

"Today large parts of Merkel’s legacy are in ruins. Ukraine is fighting for its survival under a Russian artillery onslaught. Nord Stream 2 is effectively dead. Russia has turned its energy leverage not against Kyiv but against Germany and Europe, threatening one of the country’s worst economic crises since the Second World War. (The Times : 16 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin is now desperately attempting to gain concessions from the West by re-shaking his 'nuclear' and 'gas' sticks, and releasing murderers, rapists, and sundry criminals to re-supply his fallen soldiers on the front in his war against Ukraine, but to no avail.

He continues to flail politically, and in his war strategy against Ukraine, as his downward descent in the apocalyptic abyss continues.

STOP PRESS : 19 JULY 2022

Jens Stoltenberg, General Secretary of NATO, chastises those in the EU dragging their feet over FULLY supporting Ukraine.

 EPP Group : YouTube : 18 July 2022

(to be continued)

Putin is now flailing desperately as he continues to fall into the apocalyptic abyss.

Putin, having fallen into the abyss, now finds himself confronted with diminishing returns in his onslaught against the Ukrainian people.

As reported by Maria Grazia Murru (left),

"The Ukrainian military on Tuesday reported destroying a Russian ammunition depot in southern Ukraine, resulting in a massive explosion captured on social media, while rescuers said the death toll from a weekend Russian strike in the country’s east grew to 45.
...
The precision of the strike suggested Ukrainian forces used U.S.-supplied multiple-launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS. Ukraine indicated in recent days that it might launch a counteroffensive to reclaim territory in the south as Russia bombards the eastern Donbas region." (AP News :13 July 2022) (my emphasis) (cf also: Express : 12 July 2022)

Channel 4 News : YouTube : 12 July 2022

As reported by Francesca Edwards, Olivia Stringer, Emma Crabtree,

"Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has raged at Vladimir Putin, telling him it is time to act on the UN's plans to set up a sea corridor for Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea." (Express : 13 July 2022) (my emphasis)

In the above TV address, (Express : 13 July 2022), President Erdogan explicitly states that,

"The military operation launched by Russia to Ukraine is not acceptable and we reject it. This (state?) is contrary to the International Law and it is a huge strike on the stability .. and prosperity of the region"

President Erdogan goes on further to say that,

"I have once again re-affirmed that Turkey is putting a lot of effort to provide the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which I have re-affirmed to Mr Zelensky ..".

Significantly, he also stated that,

"So starting with the Crimean Tartars .. in the region .. we will our share in order to protect our brothers and sisters in the region [i.e. in Crimea]"

Meanwhile, Paola Tamma (right) reports that,

"EU finance ministers Tuesday approved a European Commission proposal for €1 billion in macro financial assistance to Ukraine, to be provided as a long-term concessional loan.
...
The amount will be backed by an EU budget guarantee, and the EU budget will subsidize interest payments. The aid is part of an international effort to plug Ukraine's budget deficit and avert a financial crisis in the war-torn country." (Politico : 12 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Matt Berg (left) further reports that,

"Ukraine will receive another $1.7 billion in aid from the United States and the World Bank to pay health care workers’ salaries and provide other essential services, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday." (Politico :  12 July 2022) (my emphasis) 

But, as reported by Jack Walters (right),

"According to the Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera, Germany blocked the allocation of €9billion (£7.61billion) in aid to Ukraine.
...
The Italian news outlet even goes as far as to claim Berlin is preparing to violate some sanctions against Moscow in order to obtain more gas supplies from Russia through Nord Stream pipelines." (Express : 11 July 2022) (my emphasis) (video: Express 11 July 2022)

Express : 15 July 2022

This is to be expected since, with the FULL support of Angela Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen [current President of the European Commission], German companies were key bankrollers of Nord Stream2.

Let us recall what Ursula von der Leyen said in 2018 regarding the Nord Stream2 pipeline..

"If you look at the gas pipeline ...Germany is an independent country where energy supplies is concerned.." (CNBC : Aug 20 2018) (my emphasis)

And now, as reported by Ambrose Evans-Prichard (left),

"Vladimir Putin has prepared the ground for a drastic cut in supplies of both oil and gas at any moment, giving him the means to strike a psychological hammer blow against the Western democracies before a global recession erodes his energy leverage.
...
The coming weeks may be his best chance to try to force the West to the table on Russian strategic terms, locking in territorial gains on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast and in the Donbass before the delivery of heavy weapons from NATO raises the military cost for Russia to excruciating levels." (Daily Telegraph : 13 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin is now flailing desperately as he continues to fall down the apocalyptic abyss.

 

STOP PRESS : 15 JULY 2022

 

 Emma Crabtree (left) reports that,

• "‘Desperate’ Putin authorises over 100 new laws in a day including Hitler-esque youth group' 
• The ‘Foreign Agents’ law means authorities in Russia can label those they consider under “foreign influence” as a “foreign agent” even in the absence of any evidence of foreign funding. 
• One of the more concerning laws is the creation of a new nationwide youth group of Putin’s ‘new Pioneers’ which is eerily reminiscent of the Hitler Youth. 
• The movement creating this group will be called ‘The Great Change’ and will be entirely under the control of the President and membership is theoretically voluntary. 
• The group is open to children from the age of six until they finish school or technical school, or college and in the draft bill it is for “the comprehensive spiritual, moral, intellectual, and physical development of children” and to educate them on “patriotism, civics, and respect for their elders”. (Express : 15 Juy 2022) (my emphasis)
  

One is reminded of the pro-Putin Nashi movement (right: Emblem of Nashi) inaugurated in 2005, with the goal of,

"...  the goal of the new movement, Nashi, was to put an end to the "anti-Fatherland union of oligarchs, anti-Semites, Nazis, and liberals." Several Moscow newspapers suggested the goal of the group is actually a bit more specific: to eventually replace the party of power, United Russia." (Wikipedia)

(to be continued)

Putin is about to fall into an apocalyptic abyss

 

As night follows day, it was inevitable that Medvedev would ramp up Putin's threat to light the fuse that will plunge the world into a nuclear war as international pressure against Putin and his 'siloviki' continues to mount.

As reported by Pavel Polityuk and Simon Lewis (right),

"Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said attempts by the West to punish a nuclear power such as Russia for the war in Ukraine risked endangering humanity, as the near five-month conflict leaves cities in ruins and thousands homeless.
...
"The idea of punishing a country that has one of the largest nuclear potentials is absurd. And potentially poses a threat to the existence of humanity," Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on Telegram on Wednesday." (Reuters : 7 July 2022) (my emphasis)

And now, as reported by Arpan Rai and Liam James (left),

"Russia has ramped up its naval presence in the Black Sea by adding five missile carriers, two submarines and one amphibious assault ship, officials from Ukraine’s southern operational command said." (Independent :7 July 2022) (my emphasis)

In Sergei Shoigu's current 'glowing' report to Putin about Russian 'successes' (sic) against Ukrainian forces in the Donbas, Putin's response at the end of this report should give cause for concern.

As he says to Shoigu,

"... the east grouping and the west grouping should carry out their task according to previously approved plans, according to a single plan .. and I hope that everything will happen in their direction in the same way .." (cf: Arpan Rai and Liam James)

In other words, Putin is telling Shoigu to continue to raze villages and towns to the ground, irrespective of the war crimes that this will perpetrate against Ukrainian civilians. 

Yet notwithstanding the criminal devastation that Putin's war with Ukraine has so far cost the Ukrainians, Michael Curzon now informs us that,

• Polling [in Germany] suggests, however, that most Germans do not believe Ukrainian forces are capable of succeeding in pushing their Russian counterparts out of the occupied territories. 
• Sixty-nine percent said that even if the West continues to increase its level of arms support for Ukraine, a full victory is not possible. 
• As a result of this, close to half of those polled said Ukraine should be ready to make territorial concessions in negotiations. (Express : 6 July 2022) (my emphasis)
  

I am reminded of an article written in the Economist in 2014 which possibly explains why close to half of Germans recently polled still suffer from the Putinversteher mentality. 

"WHEN Germans add the word Versteher (one who understands) to a term, they generally mix flattery with irony. So a Frauenversteher (one who understands women) is usually a man who boasts excessively about his knowledge of the opposite sex. The label is now being attached to so-called Russlandversteher or Putinversteher: members of the elite or intelligentsia who gush with empathy for Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, on talk shows, in journals and at dinner parties.
...
They include two former Social Democratic chancellors. In the newspaper Die Zeit, Helmut Schmidt said Mr Putin’s annexation of Crimea was not quite “legitimate” but certainly “understandable”." (The Economist : (8 May 2014) (my emphasis)

And in December of 2014, Roula Khalaf (right) pointed out that,

" More recently Matthias Platzeck, chairman of the German-Russian business forum and former chief of the Social Democratic party (SPD), a partner in the ruling coalition, became the first high-profile German to suggest the west should accept the annexation of Crimea to ease tensions with Moscow. (The Financial Times : 3 December 2014) (my emphasis) 

It would seem that seven years later this Putinversteher mentality is still alive and well in Germany, notwithstanding what Putin is now doing to the people and country of Ukraine. (cf also: DW : 27 May 2022)

And whilst the Putinversteher mentality is alive and well in Germany, Millie Cooke (left) informs us that,

"The West could form a "United Nations Army" and send troops into Ukraine, a weapons expert has claimed.
...
Former army officer and chemical weapons expert Hamish de Breton-Gordon told Express.co.uk that a UN army could be sent in to seize grain from Ukraine, which is allegedly being stolen by Russian forces. He described the move as being a "realistic" option, as it would be less inflammatory than British or American troops being sent in alone." (Express : 7 July 2022) (my emphasis)

It is therfore no wonder that, as reported by Rebecca Ratcliffe and agencies,

"Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has flown into the Indonesian island of Bali for a gathering of G20 foreign ministers, which is likely to be overshadowed by Moscow’s war in Ukraine and deep divisions within the bloc over how to respond to the crisis.
...
There would not be a formal meeting between the US and Lavrov, it said, adding that Russia was not “serious about diplomacy”.
...
“We have not seen that yet,” said state department spokesperson Ned Price." (The Guardian : 7 July 2022) (my emphasis)

Al Jazeera : YouTube : 7 July 2022

That Russia is not “serious about diplomacy” is underscored by Putin stating that,

"... the east grouping and the west grouping should carry out their task according to previously approved plans, according to a single plan" (cf: Arpan Rai and Liam James video)

Putin has dug himself so deep into the hole of his war with Ukraine that neither diplomacy nor the German mentality of Ukraine caving in by simply giving him the Ukrainian territory that he has illegally annexed in 2014, and the territory which his army now controls, can now satisfy him.

As Medvedev has threatened, " ... attempts by the West to punish a nuclear power such as Russia for the war in Ukraine risked endangering humanity.."

Putin no longer teeters at the edge of an apocalyptic abyss.

He is about to fall into it.

STOP PRESS 8 JULY 2022

Putin has now fallen into the abyss.

As reported by Sky News, amongst many other reports throught the world,

"Vladimir Putin has told Kyiv it should quickly accept Moscow's terms or brace for the worst, adding ominously that Russia has barely started its action in Ukraine.
...
"It's a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it looks like it's heading in that direction," he said during a meeting with leaders of the Kremlin-controlled parliament.
...
"Everybody should know that largely speaking, we haven't even yet started anything in earnest."
...
The Kremlin wants Kyiv to acknowledge Russian sovereignty over the Crimea peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

It is also demanding the independence of Moscow-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and an acceptance of the existing situation on the ground - a reference to other land gains it has made since troops invaded on 24 February." (Sky News :8 July 2022) (my emphasis)

cf. also, amongst many others,

https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-dares-west-to-defeat-russia-on-battlefield/31933634.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/jul/08/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-putin-dares-west-to-defeat-russia-on-battlefield-ukraine-will-not-be-broken-zelenskiy-says

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-news-live-updates-july-8/liveblog/92734457.cms

Разрыв связи | Фильм Андрея Лошака
("Disruption of Communication": Andrey Loshak's film)
YouTube : 19 June 2022

(to be continued)

For Putin, the pressure is now ramping up against him.

In my last blog entry I wrote that,

"However, his ongoing war crimes in Ukraine, his war crimes against the world by using food as a weapon of war, and his threats against Lithuania and Denmark, could be the 'Black Swan' events that leads to a much wider and more dangerous conflict." (blog entry : 21 June 2022)

And now, in the words of UK General Sir Patrick Sanders (left), Chief of the General Staff,

"This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war - but we must act rapidly so that we aren’t drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion. So surely it is beholden on each of us to ensure that we never find ourselves asking that futile question – should we have done more?
...
The conflict in Ukraine will herald I think a paradigm shift in how NATO delivers collective deterrence; from a doctrine of reacting to crises, to one of deterring them." (uk.gov : Chief of General Staff Speech : 28 June 2022) (my emphasis) (video: Sky News : YouTube : 28 June 2022)

This speech comes against the backdrop, as reported by AP, that,

"Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, a breakthrough in an impasse clouding a leaders’ summit in Madrid amid Europe’s worst security crisis in decades triggered by the war in Ukraine." (NBC News (AP) (incl. video): 28 June 2022) (my emphasis)

And today, (30 June 2022) Putin warned that if Sweden or Finland have NATO troops or infrastructure placed in their countries Russia will, in his words,

".. ... respond in kind and create the same threats for the territories from which threats towards us are created" (The Guardian : YouTube : 30 June 2022) (my emphasis)

 The Guardian : YouTube: 30 June 2022

Recently, in the words of  non other than French President Macron,

"France's president denounced Russia’s fiery airstrike on a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine as a “new war crime” Tuesday and vowed that the West's support for Kyiv would not waver, saying Moscow “cannot and should not win" the war.
...
“Russia cannot and should not win,” he said. He called Monday's attack on the mall “a new war crime.” (Franceska Ebel and Yuras Karmanau: Yahoo : 29 June 2022) (my emphasis)

CNBC Television : YouTube: 28 June 2022

A few days before this bombing took place, and Sweden and Finland were welcomed into NATO, 

"The UN Security Council on Sunday voted on a draft resolution deciding to convene an emergency special session of the General Assembly to recommend collective action on the situation in Ukraine, two days after a similar resolution, sponsored by 81 nations, was shot down at the council on Friday by the Russian veto." (Arab News : 29 June 2022) (my emphasis)

And after the day of the missile strike on a Shopping Mall in Ukraine, in a summary of a UN Security Council Meeting,

"Rosemary Dicarlo (right), Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said the depravity of the situation in Ukraine has only increased in the 10 weeks since she last briefed the Security Council.  It was on full display again on 27 June following a missile strike in Kremenchuk, in the central Poltava region." (UN Security Council Meeting: 28 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Meanwhile, as reported by R. Ghosh on June 26,

"Mystery shrouds a late-night rush to Kremlin by Russian President Vladimir Putin amid suspicion that he had prepared a new televised statement on the war with Ukraine. A new video has emerged that shows Putin's convoy in a late-night dash to Kremlin on Saturday night. Also, reports are that he hasn't returned yet." (International Business Times : 26 June 2022) (my emphasis) (video : Mail Online : 26 June 2022)

This dash by Putin to the Kremlin comes just a day before the bombing of the Shopping Mall in Kremenchuk.

And we also just learn that,

"Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (left), who is hosting the NATO summit, told Cadena Ser radio that Russia will be identified as the alliance's "main threat" in its new strategic concept.
...
The country was previously considered a strategic partner. (Sky News : 29 June 2022) (my emphasis)

On the sanctions front, we now have the prospect of Putin's sales of gold being severely restricted.

As reported by William Schomberg (right),

"Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada will ban new imports of Russian gold as part of efforts to tighten the sanctions squeeze on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the British government said on Sunday.
...
Russian gold exports were worth 12.6 billion pounds ($15.45 billion) last year and wealthy Russians have recently been buying bullion to reduce the financial impact of Western sanctions, the government said." (Reuters : 26 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Unfortunately for Putin and his oligarchs, gold carries with it an exclusive fingerprint of where it was mined. (Gold- Identifying its provenance : John Watling, Cameron J Scadding, and Roger Dixon)

Will Russia's oligarchs dare to NOT buy gold from Russia's gold mines? I think not!

For Putin, the pressure is now ramping up against him.

STOP PRESS : DOORSTEP STATEMENT NATO 29 June 2022

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, has just issued a Doorstep Statement from the Madrid Nato Conference.

Referring to Ukraine he said,

".... we will, of course, express our support to Ukraine.

I am glad that President Zelenskyy will address all the leaders as we start the Summit today.

And we will also agree a Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine.

NATO and NATO Allies have supported Ukraine for many many years.
But, of course, after the invasion we have all stepped up." (NATO : 29 June 2022) (my emphasis) 

 

 (to be continued)

Putin is moving towards a much wider and more dangerous conflict.

The dust has now settled on the French elections and Macron, recently re-elected President of France,  now finds himself caught in a political vice by the leftwing and rightwing in the French National Assembly.

As reported by Hugh Scholfield (right),

"The results of Sunday's legislative election confirm that this second term will be a different beast from the first, with Mr Macron cutting the figure of a chastened and greatly weakened leader.
...
Instead of being able to rely on (and basically therefore ignore) a compliant legislature, the president now faces a National Assembly which cannot guarantee the passage of his reforms." (BBC News : 20 June 2022) (my emphasis)

For Zelensky, President of Ukraine, what is disconcerting about the French election results is the success of the far-right Rassemblement National led by Marine Le Pen, a staunch supporter of Putin.

As reported by Ivanne Trippenbach,

"For the first time in the history of the Fifth Republic, the far right has stormed into the Assemblée Nationale with 89 MPs, compared to six in the previous elections.
...
Ms. Le Pen was easily re-elected as MP for Pas-de-Calais with 61.03%. She made an emotional congratulation speech to celebrate achieving "a very powerful group of RN MPs in the Assemblée, which makes it a little more national." The far right will now benefit from increased resources, influence, speaking time and parliamentary staff." (Le Monde : 20 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Let us recall that in 2015, shortly after Putin illegally invaded and annexed Ukraine's Crimea,

"France's Front National [led by Marine Le Pen] may have been given a multi-million-euro loan by a Russian bank as a "reward" for backing President Putin's annexation of Crimea, according to text messages released by Russian hackers...." (David Chazan : The Telegraph : 4 April 2015) (my emphasis) (cf also: Blog Entry 19 January 2016, and Romain Geoffroy and Maxime Vaudano: Le Monde: 22 April 2022)

And as Putin's friends in the newly reconstituted National Assembly in France celebrate their victory, David M. Herszenhorn points out that,

"Each of the three EU leaders [ France's Macron,Germany's Scholtz, and Italy's Draghi] has come under criticism in recent months for seeming to be too accommodating of Russia’s gripes and demands, and potentially too willing to appease Putin. Macron, for instance, negotiated endlessly with Putin to no success, and has repeatedly urged that Russia not be “humiliated.” Berlin, in turn, has been slow to send urgently needed weapons." (Politico : 16 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Deutche Welle : 16 June 2022 : YouTube

We can now only wait and see whether this 'historic' win of Le Pen's far right movement will 'further affect' Macron's rather 'feeble' support of Ukraine. 

Macron's political ambitions for the EU now has to confront the anti-EU stance of Marine Le Pen and the left-wing Eurosceptic Jean-Luc Melenchon in France's National Assembly.

As Michael Wohlgemuth (left) writes,

"..... one should bear in mind that in the April 10 first round, a majority of French voters chose a candidate of the radical right (Eric Zemmour, Ms. Le Pen) or radical left (Jean-Luc Melenchon). Each of these candidates advocated dismantling the EU from within by deliberately breaking or ignoring basic rules of the EU treaty that conflicted with the French national interest." (GIS Reports : 6 June 2022) (my emphasis)

And against this political backdrop in France, Sabine Siebold and Charlotte Van Campenhout report that,

"Russia is committing a war crime by blocking the export of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain, the European Union's foreign policy chief [Josep Borrell] said on Monday as EU foreign ministers met to discuss ways to free up the crop amid a global food crisis." (Reuters : 20 June 2022) (my emphasis)

MSN News (Newsweek) 21 June 2022

Le Monde also reports that,

"Kyiv warned that Russian troops were intensifying their battle for control of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of holding Africa "hostage" by blocking wheat deliveries, which has spurred food shortages and fears of famines in vulnerable areas." (Le Monde : 21 June 2022) (my emphasis)

As Putin's desperation leads him to intensify his war with Ukraine in the Donbas, US President Biden is stepping up his support for Ukraine.

As reported by AlJazeera, President Biden said,

“I informed President Zelenskyy that the United States is providing another $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery and coastal defense weapons, as well as ammunition for the artillery and advanced rocket systems that the Ukrainians need to support their defensive operations in the Donbas,” Biden said." (AlJazeera : 15 June 2022) (my emphasis) 

And, as reported by George Bowden (right),

"The new head of the British Army has issued a rallying cry to troops -

telling them they need to be ready to face Russia on the battlefield.
...
Gen Sir Patrick Sanders, who started the job last week, addressed all ranks and civil servants in an internal message on 16 June, seen by the BBC.
...
Russia's invasion of Ukraine shows the need "to protect the UK and be ready to fight and win wars on land", he says." (BBC News : 19 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Putin's desperation is best exemplified by the fact that, as reported by Sky News,

"Moscow has threatened EU and NATO member Lithuania by saying it will take measures to defend its national interests unless the transit of goods to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave is swiftly restored." (Sky News : 20 June 2022) (my emphasis)

Furthermore, as reported by Michael Curzon,

"A Russian warship has twice violated Denmark's territorial waters in an event that has been branded "completely unacceptable".
...
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod (left) described the intrusion as “a deeply irresponsible, gross and completely unacceptable Russian provocation”. (Express : 18 June 2022) (my emphasis)

In his bunker, Putin may be pleased that the recent French elections have increased his friends in the French National Assembly.

However, his ongoing war crimes in Ukraine, his war crimes against the world by using food as a weapon of war, and his threats against Lithuania and Denmark, could be the 'Black Swan' events that leads to a much wider and more dangerous conflict. 

9 News Australia : YouTube : 21 June 2022

 (to be continued)