Vlad has declared the west as the enemy.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has claimed the West is the real enemy as his invasion of Ukraine approaches its second anniversary.
The former KGB operative, who is seeking re-election in March, claimed forces in western countries including the US and Britain were working to destroy “Russian statehood” – and providing weapons to Ukraine to ensure the world’s largest country suffered a “strategic defeat” on the battlefield.
While there is a point here, the west never planned to destroy Russian statehood. The collapse of the USSR was always seen as a good thing and Russia, now separate from the erstwhile union, had an opportunity to form alliances. After all, we were allied with Russia prior to WWI, why not again?
“Unfortunately, this has been the case for centuries and continues to be the case today.”
Putin claimed at the start of the invasion, in late February 2022, that the objective of his “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” the government in Kyiv.
His claims that we are an enemy centuries in the making defies historical fact. Afterall, while we fought Russia in the Crimea, we fought on the same side against Boney and again, until the 1917 revolution, with them against Germany in WWI. History is a muddled thing.
While he complains about NATO on his doorstep – on the face of it a reasonable grumble – the increase is now entirely down to his behaviour. Finland has good cause to look to the west as they have history with Russia and don’t want a repeat. Sweden has perfectly reasonable twitches caused by Russian behaviour.
As for a strategic defeat on the battlefield, yes, that should happen as an object lesson not to invade someone else’s country. I am not interested in what the USA got up to, meddling in Ukrainian politics as that is irrelevant. Likewise, the civil war in the Donbas region as both matters were internal. The denazification claim is again, risible. If there are actual Nazis in Ukraine, then that is a matter for Ukraine, not Russia (yes, there probably are. We have a few of our own). No pretext justifies marching into another country with an invasion force. No one elected Vlad and his army to police neighbouring countries. And before anyone chimes in about the USA, the same applies to them.
Should the west have assisted Ukraine? Maybe, maybe not. After all, we took action when Germany invaded Poland and arguably we should have acted when they marched into the Sudetenland. It all depends on whether you believe we have a moral duty to help countries that are invaded by a hostile neighbour. It also depends on whether you think governments should spend taxpayers’ money interfering in foreign wars.
Returning to that strategic defeat – frankly, I see no obvious end to this one and neither side is looking like gaining a sufficient advantage to call it a victory. What we have seen here is that the Russian military is not what we thought it was. They seem to be weak when it comes to logistics and strategy (one of my students was a logistics officer and was commenting on this a few months back. What he said made a lot of sense). The Ukrainians look to be better at this and their troops will certainly be more motivated, but ultimately, they are outnumbered. Too outnumbered to strike a decisive blow. It’s like two prize-fighters slugging it out until they both collapse, exhausted, to the ground.
Vlad’s desire for a reformed Soviet Union isn’t going to come out of this – for that is what he is – an old Soviet and the sooner he is gone, the better for the region as a whole.
Putin seems to like his country and his people. Even his churches.
Our People In Power in the “West”, politicians, civil servants, Qangos, Thinktanks and their ilk, the multi-national and anational moneyed money people, WHO, UN and the rest, not so much.
Shame.
This is true. The same can be said of Zelensky.
We are being taught to hate ourselves. Russians, Chinese, Iranians and North Koreans are most definite not. Also they are most certainly NOT wasting time debating what a woman is.
The Ukrainians that I’ve met have no doubts about what a woman is, either. They also have a strong sense of nationhood and culture. The west’s enemy is its ruling class – what Simon Gabb once referred to as the enemy class. In many respects, the people of the west and Putin et al, have exactly the same enemy. The blob.
The West may well be the greatest enemy in Putin’s eyes. Unfortunately the West seems to be the people of the West’s greatest enemy too.
See my response above.
Toytown austria-hungary seems genuinely to want to absorb Ukraine (whether the peoples of the various satrapies want to is another matter of course, but they are irrelevant – Ukraine seems to want it though, and it’s not difficult to see why).
Well, best of luck with that, but the reality of this intention means they will not be able to leave it alone. Just as they can’t leave this country alone. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if these deluded lunatics thought they rightfully owned Russia itself!
Like the Russia of 1914, the worse toytown austria-hungary gets internally, the more it seems to drive the obsession with international power plays.
Dying empires do this, but toytown austria-hungary isn’t remotely an empire, except in the surreal and isolated self-constructed world of it’s wannabe aristocracy. It’s behaving like a dying empire even as it fails to become an actual one. It really is an extraordinary political construct and I wonder if there has ever been anything quite like it before. If it’s the model for world government, well the asteroid can’t come soon enough!
I haven’t forgotten the elephant in the room – the US – though. They, or rather those who are pulling the strings of the mentally collapsing dullard installed in the white house – have their own agenda (which this country – the parts that aren’t in thrall to “europe” – again, whores itself to). Toytown austria-hungary seems to think it can ride on the coat tails of the US agenda to impose their own.
Double best of luck with that! Multiply two idiocies together and I suspect we’ll get it cubed!
As for Vlad, well, he’s just as bad. Multiply three idiocies……
Can we have two asteriods please, just to make sure?
Peter Hitchens made the point that after the collapse of the USSR, we could have been magnanimous to Russia, as we were to Germany and Japan after 1945.
I don’t know if this would have been a better option, or even if it was feasible – far too late now of course – but had it been tried would we be in a worse position than now?
LR, Fist off, please forgive my writing, its difficult to write thoughts.
There’s such many wrong points in the your articles, it is distortion but I can address some, I would need to write a book address them all.
“the west never planned to destroy Russian statehood”
Wrong. The West was planned a ago. I’m not talk about centuries, that previously 1990 is irrelevant. You can’t say “I am not interested in what the USA got up to, meddling in Ukrainian politics as that is irrelevant” because you need be interest to understand this whole thing. If you don’t any interest, you don’t should be write about because you are put one a side. The easier I can explain by a short clip (Maiden Coup c2014).
https://www.nsfwyoutube.com/watchmore?v=fWkfpGCAAuw
Jeffery Sachs (USA Diplomat Economist) & Oliver Stone explains from 1990 – 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nkww5m09wA
The key is about USA is hegemony. EU and the UK (collective West) are just puppets for USA. They say ‘jump’ and the UK and EU asks ‘how jump?’. And is Ukraine used as a battery ram against Russia, aka a proxy war. This is how USA fights. The sad thing is Ukraine lost over 500,000 soldiers (about 10:1 ratio for Ukraine to Russian) and the blood is on Zelenzky’s hands. Ukraine is current lost 3 armies and they are trying a 4th army. So, the conscription Zelensky army send the front, no trained, people like disable, 14/15 year old kids, and women, even pregnant ones. Just cannon fodder.
As for Dobass Oblast, remember, those people are ethnic Russian. The fascist Ukraine regime passed laws prevent the ethnic Russians speak or taught they children Russian. They also Orthodox Russian Christianity worship made a crime. The Ukraine version celebrate Christmas 25th Dec, rather than 7th Jan. So, the secede the Russians (about 2015) and two states were autonomous made (DPR and LPR). The Nazi khokhols infect the military forces (and those are a lot brigades such as Azov, Right Sector etc. they are Stepan Bandara followers – Google Stepan Bandera) from roughly come the West Ukraine (Lviv, Odessa, Kiev). The two states up to Feb 2022 the ethnic Russian civilians have daily been shelled over 8 years (14,000 citizens, most of children). For that 8 years the Ukraine UAF, USA built up it as the biggest and powerful army in Europe. The ethnic Russian people begged Putin to intervene, but Putin were trying work with the Misk Agreements – twice. Finially, Putin recognize DPR and LPR, he co-signed security agreements and intervene on Feb 24. The Russian intelligent (I think FSB), had plans AFU were intend to attack Donbass and then the over border Russia, that a plan intended in March.
Russia do not interest for territory, they simply protect their people Russian and the country’s interests, regardless where Russian people are, and there 5 oblasts – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are now parts Russia. And don’t tell me the referendum are shams – these are held properly, saw over by international inspect (the Germany inspect lost he job for doing this) and the people votes in the oblasts. Like the 5th, Crimea. This oblasts are parts of Russia because the people in there *want* to be in the Russia Federation.
Don’t to mean insult, but I can see from your article, you know nothing, but that is not your fault, that is down reading/tv the mainstream media. This a massive rabbit hole is not as simple you seem believe. The best from learning this subject, people like:
Scott Ritter (ret. weapons inspect)
Ray McGovern ( ret. CIA)
Douglas MacGregor (colonel)
Larry Johnson (ret. CIA)
Jeffery Sachs
Andrei Martyanov (Russian Naval Commander)
Mark Sleboda (Geopolitics)
If I you need any prove what I say. I have a 2TB hard drive full chock video AFU war crimes, corrupt, documents and others – such like children traffic, Bio-weapons labs funded USA. Funnily, one thing I cannot find, despite trawled pro Ukraine sites, I cannot find one Russian war crime – only proven false flags – eg Bucha.
I appreciate your difficulties, but to say that I know nothing is simply not true. I’ll leave it at that.
On reading my comment, it looks bloody harsh, so I apology, I should not have write that way. It meant more about how propaganda works in msm, but this is not an excuse. I don’t to have one. I can’t say that ‘you know nothing’, I’ve known you many years and you is knowledge many subjects. I don’t remember anything that I disagreed with you. This a first. Please accept my apology LR.
My response to you wasn’t because I felt that you were rude, it was because you are misinformed – or making an incorrect assumption. I’ll give you just two examples.
I am well aware of the suppression of Russian language, religion and culture in Ukraine. I did not get this from the MSM, I got it from Ukrainians living in this country, who have relatives still out there. They are no more happy about this than you or I because the Russian language and music/culture is closely entwined with the Ukrainian. And living here, they happily speak Russian and listen to Russian music. They don’t hate Russians, they hate the Russian leadership that has seen fit to invade their country and plunge them into a war they don’t want.
On military tactics and strategy, I see quite a few members of the military in the course of my job. I mentioned one such conversation. They have a professional interest in how the ‘special military operation’ has been conducted and I gave an insight into their view.
Also, regardless of what the MSM might say, it is verifiably true that the ‘special military operation’ has proved as effective as the Schlieffen plan given that they are still fighting two years on.
All of that said, fair enough, I accept the apology.
This your reply would make a very interesting discussion, sadly due the nature of blogs, the articles passed quickly. What you are saying is near alignment with me.
My news regard this subject from a few independent reports, who live in the Dobass – Patrick Lancaster, Russel ‘Texas’ Bentley, Gonzalo Lira (he was twice arrest by the SBU for simply report truth. He has been torture and current is the in hospital. He is a dual American/Chilean citizen. I note that USA ignore pleads get Gonzalo out).
I did work with a couple from Russia, their families came here to live, both they from Siberia area, I don’t knew any Ukraine but my bits news from the Russians. Though I left in 2020 and lost touch. I do know that Poles (worked/knows a lot them also Slovaks) hate with a passion the Russians. As you will know, notably the West area in Ukraine original was regions Poland – ‘Galicia’ sp? comprise cities like Lvov, Odessa. This where the Nazis (Stepan Bandera followers) came, so is far I can see, those people (khokhol, named from a hair style) from there have a different culture to the Eastern areas – Dobass, or very rough East from Dnepr river. So I assume, interviewing people’s opinions regards experiences, depends they live.
“They don’t hate Russians, they hate the Russian leadership that has seen fit to invade their country and plunge them into a war they don’t want.”
Very true, however, the Ukraine people should give thanks to USA for that. Those neoglobals American in the white house, who engineered the regime then take a handful Nazis and built up those in an massive army, with use NATO. I’m sure that Zelenky’s end with a Mussolini moment.
With regard military/weapons/fighting/tactics, my knowledge is very weak, I rely on opinions or analysts such Gen. Tony Sheffer, Col. Douglas MacGregor and Adm. Andrei Martyanov. I know nothing about ‘Schlieffen plan’, I need look this up. Brian Berletic (Thailand) is aslo excellent with weapons.
I just have a strong interest regard Russia from started my school days (about 11 year old). At school, rather we learn French, Spanish etc. we learnt Russia. Not that I learned lot – just a few phrases and read/alphabet good to read Russian though I didn’t understand what I read the language. But the interest sparked from when I noted I was being tell this I should must I hate the Russians. I didn’t believe those people (widely public), describe Russians as drunken vodka sodden hillbillies or demons. Maybe Stalin, not the people. Nor did I turn to a Russia sock-puppet – people the same world over.
The war in the Donbas was never internal, Russia was heavily involved throughout:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Donbas