On the military side of things, the front in Ukraine is now collapsing. Attrition at work. The most important development this week was the Russian advance North of Pokrovsk. Some time ago I wrote about the possibility that the move which seemed to be maneuvering to encircle the former logistics hub could be an attempt to break through the hastily constructed second defense belt to the North, before it would be finished and manned, since breaking through that last line of defense would offer the Russians room to move all the way to the Djnepr. And by the looks of it that is what happened, with Russian forces moving from eleven to nineteen kilometers North in a single day, breaching that line already, and bypassing Dobropillya.
This is not to say the Russians are ignoring Pokrovsk. They are working inside the city, after they walked right in from the South. According to extremely pro-Ukrainian vloggers the Ukrainian military command is rushing Azov militia to attack the Russian positions protruding North from the larger area under Russian control to stem the tide. Yet one Azov commander went public on ‘X’ to tell Zelensky that the situation is hopeless. In case he wasn’t told the truth by those briefing him. Which is a distinct possibility. All the more so since there are ‘strong indications’ that Ukraine is preparing another invasion of Russia, this time in the Bryansk province. Such a development does not sound like a good idea, after Kursk, which turned into a very costly fire-pit. It actually failed to draw Russian troops away from the frontlines, and resulted in up to 80.000 killed Ukrainian soldiers, some elite units among them, with plenty of hardware destroyed, and nothing but a short-lived PR-stunt to offer. North Koreans came to assist the Russians, while the Russians themselves kept their eyes on the ball in Donetsk, taking one fortified position after another through attrition and cunning. This time around, apparently, mercenaries from South America, the US and Europe are helping the Ukrainians with their plan to invade Bryansk. Personally I have no doubt that they will face North Koreans from the get-go this time around, since Putin again thanked the North Koreans last week for their support in Kursk, which translates into a warning to the adspirant Bryansk-invaders, rather than overdoing it, since he thanked the North Koreans already in May during the Victory Day parade. The Russians are obviously aware of what is being planned, and no need to allow those troops doing NATO’s dirty work to proceed in order to create a kill-zone this time around. They are already actively hunting for training camps where foreign mercenaries are being prepared for that operation, and in late July they hit one such camp, killing fifteen ‘recruits’ from the US, Colombia and Denmark, and wounding another one hundred, according to the New York Times.
On another note, the Russians warned that Ukraine was shipping ‘trusted reporters’ to Chuguev in the Kharkiv area to witness a ‘False Flag’ operation meant to ruin the Alaska Summit. The alleged plan is to use Ukrainian drones to attack civilian infrastructure, and blame Russia.
Any war is like a machine, and all the ‘parts’ need to be tuned perfectly to win. I know how people in the ‘Collective West’ are taught to see Russia as weak, hanging on by its finger nails. According to that narrative, Russia invaded Ukraine, thinking it would be able to conquer the country in four days, but thanks to the heroic Ukrainians they failed. I maintain that nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Russia was hoping to impress Zelensky sufficiently with a ‘Shock and Awe’ operation, to bring him back to the ‘Minsk-Format’ and save his country, and his people. They nearly succeeded when the ‘Istanbul Memorandum’ was concluded, and as an act of good faith they started to withdraw from positions held near Kiev. The Bucha ‘False Flag’ and pressure from NATO, Boris ‘Brexit’ Johnson in particular, prepared the road to this outcome.
Understand that both sides ‘came prepared’. NATO used the years since the near defeat at Debalseve to sprinkle the East of Ukraine with fortified positions, like a Ukrainian Maginot-Line, while planning for economic warfare which would pull the rug from under the Russian economy, and result in regime change in Russia. All the Ukrainians would have to do, was use those fortified positions to increase the cost for Russia, while NATO did the heavy lifting. The Russians did not have to improvise after ‘Istanbul’ failed to deliver. They *knew* what NATO was planning, and what would be in store if they couldn’t convince Zelensky to save his country and his people. Including plans to overextend Russia in Syria and the Caucasus. They used those years from 2015 till 2022 wisely, reorienting their economy towards Asia, although still serving Europe lavishly, and propping up the European economy with affordable energy sources. No doubt Putin’s largest disappointment was the German betrayal, with Merkel admitting that the ‘Minsk Accord’ was a ruse to buy time for NATO to rebuild the Ukrainian army, for the anticipated rematch. That is not to say Putin provided Germany with affordable gas to ‘buy’ the Germans, be he was clearly going out of his way to connect them to the ‘Northstream II’ pipeline, finishing that crucial source of energy for Germany’s continued economic growth, after Trump told Europe to stop buying Russian energy, kill ‘Northstream’ altogether, with Dutch companies obediently withdrawing from the project, paving the way for the ascendance of the Dutch PM to NATO Secretary General.
The day after tomorrow Putin will meet Trump, Mark Rutte’s ‘Daddy’, in Alaska to talk shop. As stated above, Trump was not exactly assisting Russia to serve Europe, and he won’t. But Russia won in Ukraine, and defeated Mark Rutte’s NATO in a war of attrition, instigated by ‘Team Biden’ on behalf of the ‘Warparty’, and Trump has to find a way to stop the drain on American resources, beyond charging Europe for continuing the war till Europe is gone as well. The Europeans are caught between a rock and a hard place. After betraying the Russians, stealing their money, and imposing ‘Sanctions from Hell’ on the country, while leaders like Merkel and Hollande came clean by saying that the entire ‘Minsk Accord’ was a lie, how could they mend that breach of trust? So they keep telling themselves that Russia will collapse eventually, and all it requires is collapsing the European economy. But through their choke-hold on the media and ‘experts’, they control the narrative sufficiently to put lipstick on that pig for the time being. Messing with statistics, printing money, creating useless ‘jobs’ which do not add to the economy, but are a drain on it, the whole nine yards. But what if Russia fails to collapse, and the Russian economy keeps growing? Well, simple, blame Trump and those who predicted this failure, because they ‘spread Russian propaganda’..
Though the Russians are apparently ‘storming past’ the last Ukrainian defense lines, and the country is out of men to serve as cannon fodder, I do *not* expect them to take all of Ukraine. Before the ‘SMO’ was kicked into gear, I predicted that *if* Russia would be forced to go to war, they would limit their territorial gains to the Donbass and the Black Sea coast, and leave the debt riddled ‘Rump State’ Western part to the EU, but not to NATO. And no way they would invade Europe, because they refuse to be dragged down by having to manage unwilling people. But if they stop the fighting, and manage to deliver to the people in the areas under Russian control, creating wealth together with other ‘BRICS’ nations, and look at what they did in Mariupol, expect a change of heart in Europe. The present plan in Europe no longer hinges on killing the Russian economy through ‘Sanctions from Hell’, because that clearly failed, and backfired. The amended plan is to use what will be remaining of Ukraine, and possibly other proxies, to use those failed states as ‘launch platform’ for attacks to damage the Russian economy and create fear among the Russians, while posing as the entity which is ‘only offering support’, which may include pirating Russian ships if the US will back them up. This is a gamble, since it does require a policy of keeping those proxies out of the EU, and most of all NATO, betraying the people in those countries which will see nothing but hardship and endless suffering. The moment they see the light, and realize that they are being used and abused as patsies expect a radical shift, irrespective of political affiliation. In Europe as well.
It truly is mind boggling that people who are actively used and abused to bring about Imperialist dreams, are loyal to their owners at this stage, fail to recognize their station in life. We’re far into ‘Orwellian Territory’, where the lie rules supreme. To predict when that will change, and where this change will emerge, I do have to admit that I’m clueless. In fact, I have no way of knowing that it *will* emerge eventually. As in any cult, the bulk of the mesmerized will go on until the Kool Aid arrives, because their ‘Daddy’ feels the end is near.