Tag: ukraine

Russia Determines How the Ukraine War Ends

Scott Ritter, the former UN weapons inspector, told the “Dialogue Works” podcast on Tuesday that the incoming Trump administration’s position on how to resolve the war in Ukraine is insignificant because it will be Moscow that determines how the war will end.

Ritter said he does not think it is worthwhile to talk about the conversations Keith Kellogg, the retired three-star general tapped by Donald Trump as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has with Kyiv because “that conversation is irrelevant.”

“Ukrainians, simply, don’t have a vote,” he said. He said Kellogg should inform the Ukrainians that the longer they choose to fight, the greater harm will be done to the country.

“But I don’t think he’s going to do that,” he said. “I think Kellogg is going to think that he’s going to find some kind of pressure points for Russia…maybe he will reach out to Europe about increasing defense spending.”

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Failing Kursk Offensive May Backfire On Ukraine As Russian Troops Mass Near Sumy

The true purpose of Ukraine’s surprise offensive into the Russian agricultural region of Kursk has been hotly debated since it was launched in August.  The complete failure of the 2023 “counter-offensive” led many to believe that Ukraine’s rumored troop shortages were far worse than initially reported.  Some believed that the Kursk offensive was designed to allay fears among allies that Kyiv was no longer capable of taking ground from the Russians. 

The invasion of Kursk was successful primarily because the area was weakly defended, and it was weakly defended because it has no strategic value.  It’s a collection of farming towns with no industrial infrastructure, and the nearest vital site (a nuclear power plant) is too far away for the Ukrainians to reach.  Almost every tactician not working for Ukraine has questioned the offensive, calling it potentially one of the greatest military blunders in modern history.  

Why?  Because Kursk has siphoned up some of Ukraine’s best troops and weaponry and increased the ground they have to defend with the limited forces they have available.  In a war of attrition, the losing side must seek to shrink and strengthen their area of defense instead of spreading themselves thin.  Ukraine did the opposite. 

Vladimir Zelensky claims that Kursk was designed to lure large numbers of Russian troops away from the eastern front and stop their advance.  If this is the case, then the effort was unsuccessful.  Russian attacks increased in the period after the Kursk invasion and now Kremlin forces are in the process of taking at least three key cities which will cement their control of the Donbas.  

Another theory is that Kursk was intended to convince NATO allies that Vladimir Putin’s “red lines” are meaningless and that Ukraine should be given access to long range missiles for striking deep into the heart of Russia.  If that was the plan, then it has succeeded.  The Biden Administration and NATO have given Zelensky the green light to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles at will.  

Another possible advantage for Ukraine in the “red line” narrative is that it could be used to convince NATO countries to deploy troops to the region, thus triggering WWIII.  This is, at bottom, the only hope Ukraine has to push Russia back – A massive influx of western troops and hardware.  But at the same time the risk of a wider war with nuclear implications grows exponentially.  There are plenty of people in Ukraine, elites in globalist think tanks and officials in NATO that have no problem with that.

The problem with Kursk is that Ukraine needs to hold it until they can get the response they want from the west, but Russia appears to be poised to take the ground back.  And, if these reports are accurate, then maintaining a presence in Kursk may have backfired on Ukraine.

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Biden White House to Give Another $2.5 Billion to Ukraine – After a $1.25 Billion Donation on Friday!

Joe Biden’s handlers announced another $2.5 billion will be gifted to Ukraine.

Today’s multi-billion dollar donation included an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package.

Biden’s handlers are hoping to escalated the Russia-Ukrainian conflict before the senile Democrat leaves office.

Who’s up for World War III?

The Biden team announced the latest donation early Monday morning on the White House website.

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Friends With (Geopolitical) Benefits: How Russia and North Korea Are Changing the Game

Recent reports suggest that North Korean (DPRK) troops may be assisting Russia in its war with Ukraine – a development that underscores their growing strategic partnership, formalized by a treaty pledging mutual military, economic, and cultural cooperation. This alliance, formalized through a recently enacted treaty, could bolster Vladimir Putin’s position ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, as Trump has pledged to end the war in the early days of his second administration. Any involvement of DPRK troops – whether logistical or kinetic – could help to expedite Russian operations. These developments, set against the backdrop of Russia and North Korea’s recently enacted comprehensive strategic partnership, highlight the deepening ties between the two nations, raising critical questions about the Ukraine war, DPRK-Russia relations, and US diplomacy in the region.

The Kremlin’s Pragmatic Gambit

The treaty, signed during Vladimir Putin’s state visit to the DPRK on June 18, 2024, ratified in November and taking full effect on December 4, 2024, marks a pivotal moment in DPRK-Russia relations. While Western media have focused on the defense-related aspects – such as alleged sales of DPRK ammunition to Russia and the rumored deployment of North Korean troops to the Russian Federation – the treaty encompasses far more than military cooperation.

Allegations of DPRK troop deployments to Russia have dominated Western headlines, though neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has confirmed them, and much of the evidence was clearly fabricated. The Pentagon claims that several thousand DPRK troops likely traveled to Russia earlier this year, ostensibly for “training exercises,” and are now stationed in rear echelons behind the front lines in the Kursk region in response to a Ukrainian invasion that was launched in August 2024. Even if DPRK troops are confined to logistical and support roles, their presence could enable Russia to redeploy its troops to critical fronts, enhancing its operational capabilities.

This aligns with speculation that Putin hopes to drive all Ukrainian forces from Russian soil before Trump’s inauguration, preferring to negotiate an end to the war from an uncompromised position of strength.

The recently enacted treaty commits both nations to mutual military assistance, stating, “In case any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and the laws of the DPRK and the Russian Federation.”

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Putin Reveals Biden Offered To Postpone Ukraine’s NATO Entry As Compromise 

Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded questions from journalists Thursday at the conclusion of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting held outside St. Petersburg. The Russian-led EEU economic bloc includes member states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Among the more interesting moments was when Putin revealed what President Biden previously offered him in order to avert the Ukraine conflict, regarding the question of Kiev’s NATO membership.

The comments came in the context of a question over Trump’s reported peace plan and the idea of freezing the front lines. Putin described that such a plan is nothing new, and added the following per state media translation:

“I know that the current President Biden spoke about this, it’s no secret, back in 2021. He proposed exactly this to me – to delay Ukraine’s admission into NATO by 10-15 years, because [Kiev] is not ready yet,” Putin said, referring to the midsummer meeting he had with the US leader in Switzerland.

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Biden Pledges More Arms To Ukraine After Christmas Strikes

President Joe Biden on Christmas Day said he has directed the Pentagon to continue its “surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine,” following a wave of Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure early Christmas morning.

“The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid,” Biden said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: the Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety, and the United States and the international community must continue to stand with Ukraine until it triumphs over Russia’s aggression.”

The president said that the United States will “continue to work tirelessly” to back Ukraine against Russian forces in the ongoing war.

Ukraine’s air force said that the early morning attack by Russia using 78 air and ground missiles and 106 Shahed drones damaged critical equipment in Ukraine’s power grid, causing outages on Christmas Day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decried the deliberate attack on Christmas day as “inhumane.”

Ukraine shot down “more than 50 missiles and a significant number of drones” and was still hit as there are power outages in a number of regions as engineers are trying to restore power, Zelenskyy said.

“Russian evil will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas,” Zelenskyy said.

The strikes wounded at least six people in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and killed one in the region of Dnipropetrovsk, the governors there said.

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Ukraine Spit In Poland’s Face By Flying The Bandera Flag Atop A Polish APC

Polish-Ukrainian relations might continue worsening due to Ukraine’s provocations and Poland’s responses to them that it promulgates with society’s sentiments in mind.

The Polish milblog platform WarNewsPL shared footage on X late last week showing the Ukrainian Armed Forces flying the Bandera flag of the “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (UPA) atop a Polish armored personnel carrier (APC). This prompted Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz to post around an hour later that this is “a provocation that should not have happened” and declare that he’s organizing an urgent meeting with the Ukrainian attaché in Warsaw “to clarify the matter.”

There are several reasons why this is so scandalous. First, the UPA is considered a terrorist group in Poland due to it targeting the Polish state and civilians during the interwar period, after which they genocided Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during World War II. Second, Ukraine refuses to this day to exhume and properly bury those genocide victims’ remains despite already doing the same for over 100,000 Wehrmacht troops. And third, Poland has given more vehicles to Ukraine than anyone else.

Flying Bandera’s UPA flag atop a Polish APC accordingly amounts to Ukraine spitting in Poland’s face. The public paid for this vehicle that the state donated to its neighbor as part of the aid that it’s provided in solidarity with Kiev’s cause. Ukraine wouldn’t even be able to fight to this day had it not been for Polish aid and Poland tacitly promising continued support if Kiev abandoned spring 2022’s peace talks. It’s therefore so disrespectful that Ukraine would fly that terrorist and genocidal flag atop a Polish vehicle.

“Most Poles Now Want Peace In Ukraine Even At Kiev’s Expense” according to the results of a November survey by a publicly financed research institution so this latest provocation will predictably increase that majority even further the next time that Poles are polled. It could also complicate the ruling liberal-globalist coalition’s plans to provide more military equipment to Ukraine on credit instead of continuing to give away the rest of its depleted stockpile for free since public opinion is quickly turning against Kiev.

Correspondingly, the already small amount of Poles that are in favor of their forces deploying to Ukraine under any pretext (only 14% per the results of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ summertime survey) will probably further decrease as well. These shifts in public sentiment could make such a scenario politically impossible until at least after May’s next presidential election since the ruling liberal-globalist coalition might not dare to risk losing votes to their conservative-nationalist rivals before then.

Seeing as how “Poland’s Participation In Any Ukrainian Peacekeeping Mission Could Lead To World War III” since Poland could retaliate against Russia in Belarus and/or Kaliningrad should its troops come under fire in Ukraine, thus setting into motion a possibly uncontrollable escalation, this would be for the best. Influential Azov officer Roman Ponomarenko’s anti-Polish rant that he shared on Telegram after Kosiniak-Kamsyz’s post will further fuel anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Poland.

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Rand Paul ‘Festivus’ grievances: US millions for Ukraine TikTokers

Every December 23, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) releases a “Festivus Report” based on the spoof holiday featured in the 1990s television show “Seinfeld.” On this made-up holiday, people would engage in an annual “airing of grievances,” and when it comes to wasteful government spending, each year Paul always has a very long list of beefs.

But this year, in finding over $1 trillion in wasteful, stupid spending, like $12 million for a pickleball complex, $15 million in new furniture for empty federal offices, $873,000 for film making in Jordan, and over $400,000 to study lonely rats, there appears to be some substantial spending related to Washington’s ongoing role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Th 2024 ‘Festivus Report’ reveals that, “despite American taxpayers providing nearly $174 billion in aid and military assistance to Kyiv since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, someone over at State thought it was a brilliant idea to drop an additional $4.8 Million for ‘KYIV, Ukraine public affairs – Influencer Staff.’”

That’s right. Apparently the U.S. government was bankrolling Ukrainian TikTokers and Instagram personalities. To the tune of $4.8 million.

From Paul’s report:

“Apparently, what we really need in a war zone are more Instagram stories and TikTok dances. The dangers here are more than just cringeworthy content; this kind of spending opens the door to disinformation, propaganda, and international PR disasters. And don’t even get me started on the potential to escalate tensions with other nations.”

Sen. Paul proceeds to mock the funding’s aim: “after all, nothing says ‘peacekeeping’ like a viral video.”

More “Festivus” airing of the grievances: “But the absurdity doesn’t end there. The State Department also splurged $15,220 on an ‘influencers event’ and another $22,231 on a ‘USAID Social Media Influencers Campaign.”

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Righty Tighty: A Simple Way Donald Trump Can End The Ukraine & Israel Wars

Upon his inauguration as president, Donald Trump will become the leader of a United States executive branch mired in two major wars via its continuing pumping of money, weapons, and intelligence into support of the Ukraine and Israel governments. Trump has declared his opposition to the continuation of these wars. But, how can he end them?

The means by which Trump can end the wars is simpler than many Americans think. This means just does not come to mind for many Americans because it is far removed from the course US presidents have tended to pursue over the last few decades.

Righty tighty. That’s it. Taking the US out of these wars is as simple as turning off a standard outdoor water faucet. President Joe Biden has turned the handle all the way lefty loosey. Trump should just turn it back all the way. Shut off the money flow. Shut off the weapons flow. Shut off the intelligence flow.

And there is no good reason for Trump to take his time about it. He should turn off the flow of aid in all forms promptly in his presidency.

Doing so would comport with Trump’s stated objectives regarding the Ukraine War and the Israel War during his campaign and since. Trump has repeated his promise to end the Ukraine War in a day. He has also commented on multiple occasions that he wants the Israel War over before he is even sworn in as president.

Without US support, Ukraine and Israel lack the means to continue their wars. Deprived of the means to continue fighting in anywhere near the strength they have, both governments will immediately find themselves in a new situation where their best option is to seek peace.

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Ukrainian Drones Pummel Russian City Over 600 Miles From Front Line

Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks deep inside Russia have already been a near daily occurrence, but now these projectiles are reaching further and further into Russia, often utilize Western-supplied weapon systems.

“Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line,” The Associated Press reports Saturday.

The regional governor said that eight drones attacked the city, with anti-air defenses only able to shoot down one. The others hit residential buildings and an industrial facility. 

No casualties were indicated by emergency services, but the attacks halted flights at Kazan’s airport, and all public gatherings were canceled due to the threat of more possible inbound drones.

The last several days have seen deadly attacks on Rostov and Kursk regions. The several waves of assaults involved US-provided ATACMS, UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles, as well as a HIMARS attack which occurred Friday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said: “These actions by the Kiev regime supported by Western handlers won’t be left unanswered.”

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