RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 05.01.2025
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
FIFTEEN DAYS TO GO: CAN THE COMBINATION OF PUTIN AND TRUMP RESULT IN THE REQUIRED EFFECTIVE AGENCY TO BRING PEACE WHERE NOW THERE IS ONLY WAR?
COLLECTIVE WEST | RUSSIA
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: Zelensky Doubles Down; Failed Kursk, ATACMS Attacks; Baerbock Syria Humiliation.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN: Ukraine KURSK offensive. Blinken, Trump will be blamed for Ukraine. Biden honors Bono, Magic, Soros.
BRIAN BERLETIC of THE NEW ATLAS: Ukraine's Exhausted Army Crumbles as West Considers Intervention.
DANIEL DAVIS: Putin Holds All the Cards in Ending Ukraine War.
Russian Troops Repel Ukraine's Counterattack in Kursk Region.
The Ukrainian armed forces launched a counterattack in the direction of the Berdin farm in Russia’s Kursk Region at around 9:00 a.m. Moscow time [6:00 GMT] on Sunday, and Russian troops defeated the assault group and destroyed two tanks, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
"On January 5, at about 9:00 Moscow time, in order to stop the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk direction, the enemy launched a counterattack with an assault group consisting of two tanks, a mine clearing vehicle and 12 combat armored vehicles with landing troops in the direction of the Berdin farm. Artillery and aviation of the Sever group of forces defeated the assault group of the Ukrainian armed forces. Two tanks, a mine clearing vehicle and seven combat armored vehicles were destroyed. The operation to destroy the Ukrainian armed forces formations continues," the ministry said in a daily bulletin.
The Sever group of forces repelled two counterattacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk direction, the ministry said.
"Over the course of the day, the AFU losses were over 340 troops, four tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, four armoured personnel carriers, 12 armoured fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles, and five mortars", the statement read.
Just Business: US MIC Wants Ukrainian Bloodbath to Continue Even If It Means Drafting 18-Year-Olds
Troops of the Sever group also defeated the formations of four mechanized, four airborne assault brigades, a marine brigade, and five territorial defense units in a number of settlements of the Kursk Region, the ministry added.
Since the beginning of combat operations in the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 49,010 soldiers, as well as 273 tanks, 209 infantry fighting vehicles and 153 armored personnel carriers.
"The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress", the Ministry concluded.
US supplied ‘a lot of weapons’ to Ukraine ahead of conflict with Russia – Blinken.
The “quietly” supplied armaments have proven “instrumental” in Ukraine’s defense, according to the US secretary of state.
Washington supplied “a lot of weapons” to Ukraine in the months before the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev began in February 2022, outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted.
The top diplomat made the remarks while speaking on the New York Times’ ‘The Interview’ podcast, aired on Saturday. The US saw the conflict between Russia and Ukraine “coming” and wanted to get Kiev “prepared” for it, according to Blinken.
“Starting in September and then again in December, we quietly got a lot of weapons to Ukraine to make sure that they had in hand what they needed to defend themselves – things like Stingers, Javelins that they could use,” he said.
The weaponry has proven “instrumental” in “preventing Russia from taking Kiev,” as well as “rolling over the country, erasing it from the map,” Blinken asserted.
READ MORE: West ‘must’ send Ukraine more – Zelensky
The intentions ascribed to Moscow by the top US diplomat, however, sharply contrast with the goals of the military operation repeatedly articulated by Russia’s leadership. The original aims included demilitarization and denazification of the country, as well as Kiev accepting a neutral status and abandoning its aspirations to join NATO.
Over time, the list was somewhat expanded in the wake of the incorporation of the four formerly Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, into Russia. Moscow has repeatedly said any potential negotiations with Kiev would require it to accept the “realities on the ground,” as well as to withdraw troops from the new Russian territories.
Blinken’s remarks received a poor reception in Moscow. Senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik suggested the revelations somewhat undermined the usual narrative about the supposedly “unprovoked Russian aggression.”
“Pumping [Ukraine] with weapons for an attack on Donbass and Russia, isn’t that a pretext for the special military operation?” Miroshnik said in a Telegram post.
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Ukrainian neo-Nazi officer upset over Russia’s e-scooter soldiers.
The notorious Azov unit has run into an unconventional battlefield tactic.
Russian assault troops are using electric scooters to swarm Ukrainian trenches, an officer from the notorious neo-Nazi Azov unit has complained to the New York Times.
In a bleak account of the battlefield situation published on New Year’s Eve, the US newspaper quoted Azov’s intelligence chief, Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlenko-Krizheshevsky, who pointed out a new method of attack employed by the Russians.
“Hitting just one piece of equipment carrying 15 people, well, that’s possible; it can be done quite easily,” he said. “But when those 15 people are riding electric scooters, then that’s a very big problem.”
Ukrainian troops have increasingly relied on first-person-view (FPV) suicide drones to target armored vehicles transporting assault troops. In response, the Russians have utilized motorcycles, bicycles, all-terrain vehicles, and even scooters to disperse and cover ground quickly. Company-strength attacks of 150 to 200 men at a time are “quite normal” for the Russians, who have “significant reserves,” Pavlenko-Krizheshevsky noted.
READ MORE: Ukraine probes skyrocketing desertions from elite unit
Established as a volunteer unit in 2014 and incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard a year later, Azov infamously uses the Wolfsangel, a rune adopted by several German divisions during World War II, including the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. The unit’s co-founder is prominent Ukrainian nationalist and white supremacist Andrey Biletsky.
Azov has faced accusations of committing war crimes in Donbass since 2014 and has been formally designated a terrorist organization by the Russian authorities. While the original Azov Battalion was eliminated in the 2022 Battle of Mariupol, Biletsky raised the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade under the Azov banner in 2023.
Ukrainian officers who spoke to the NYT could not admit that Russian forces have continued advancing along the front line, but they described the situation as dire.
READ MORE: Kiev set to comply with US demand to draft teenagers – Moscow
“The question is whether the front line will stabilize,” a major from the 68th Jaeger Brigade, identified only as Taras, who was fighting around Pokrovsk, said. “Unfortunately, there are no signs of that yet.”
Ukraine has struggled to mobilize sufficient forces to hold the front while coping with mass desertions. According to a recent report, 1,700 members of a brigade trained in France fled without firing a shot. Troop shortages have become so severe that Kiev might be willing to concede to US pressure and lower the draft age to 18, Russian intelligence has said.
COLLECTIVE WEST | GLOBAL MAJORITY
Houthis Claim 1st Attack on Power Plant in Northern Israel.
Yemeni movement Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, said on Sunday it carried out its first missile attack on the Orot Rabin power plant near the city of Haifa in northern Israel.
The Houthis have previously attempted to target power plants near Tel Aviv and Jerusalem after Israel bombed a power plant in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and the western city of Al Hudaydah.
"The Yemeni armed forces attacked the Orot Rabin power plant south of Haifa in the occupied Palestinian territories using a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile, successfully hitting the target," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria told Yemen's broadcaster.
The spokesman added that the operation had been carried out in support of the Gaza Strip and said their military capabilities were constantly evolving.
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In December, Ansar Allah's leader announced that the movement had used 1,147 missiles and drones to attack Israel since November 2023.
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COLLECTIVE WEST | BRICS
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How US Dollar Will Be Dethroned by BRICS National Currencies.
To bring an end to the dollar hegemony one doesn't need one common competing currency, but a number of national ones, according to former Ronald Reagan official and renowned American economist Dr Paul Craig Roberts.
Critics of de-dollarization argue that no viable alternative to the greenback has emerged as a major reserve currency.
They maintain that the dominance of the US dollar is likely to persist for the foreseeable future. Are they right?
"The dollar as reserve currency is the main basis of US power," wrote Dr Roberts. "It means the US can always finance its debt, because US debt is the reserves of foreign central banks. As US debt increases, so do the reserves of foreign central banks."
Additionally, the dollar also gives the US control over the clearance system and the ability to impose sanctions, noted the economist. That's why the greenback is so important to Washington.
Other countries are striving to sell to the US to obtain dollars for central bank reserves, he continued. Then the greenbacks from exports are converted into US Treasuries which pay interest while they serve as reserves for central banks.
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Do World Players Really Need Dollars?
But do countries really need US dollars to maintain their national reserves? The immobilization of Russia's Central Bank reserves and Washington giving itself the authority to steal that money raised serious financial security questions across the world.
"Today there is no need for a reserve currency," argues Dr Roberts. "Countries should trade in their own currencies. This gives every country incentive to keep a strong currency."
The economist explained that the US dollar became the reserve currency after the Second World War not because it was inherently indispensable, but because all other industrialized nations had been devastated by six years of conflict.
Since the US dollar's dominance originally stemmed from convenience, it would be logical for global players to adopt other currencies for the same reason — especially now that the dollar has been weaponized, the economist argued.
By focusing on their own currencies, countries would have more room for maneuver in financing their own debt, Dr Roberts noted.
"If a country has its own currency and denominates its debt in its currency, it can always redeem its debt by printing money to pay off the debt," he wrote.
What's the US Deep State and How Could De-Dollarization Weaken It?
BRICS is Spearheading De-Dollarization
BRICS+ is now increasingly using national currencies for trade and investments within the bloc.
BRICS+ countries collectively represent approximately 3.5 billion people, accounting for 45 percent of the global population — a vast and significant market.
The group of emerging economies has great industrial potential, technical expertise, advanced technologies and abundant natural resources.
"In my opinion BRICS should not worry about selling to the West," Dr Roberts wrote. "Instead it should develop trade relations between the members of BRICS which has the potential to expand into Asia, Africa and South America. The world is ready for a non-weaponized system."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that BRICS is not aimed against any third party. Moscow has signaled the West may join but on the conditions of equality of all members and fairness of common rules.
But the US and its allies are hostile to BRICS because they lack the ability to control it, according to the economist.
"BRICS is a system outside the economic and political control of the West," Dr Roberts pointed out. "It is a way for countries to escape the West and its manipulations."
Could Russia Become the World’s Crypto Capital?
De-Dollarization: Over Half of Countries Worldwide Embark on Boycott of Greenback.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov earlier said that during the country’s BRICS presidency, member states managed to achieve results in developing models of de-dollarization and formalize them in agreements.
More than half of the countries across the world have declared a boycott of the US dollar, an analysis conducted by Sputnik showed. In 2024, 14 more nations embarked on de-dollarization, according to the analysis.
Who are Supporters and Opponents of the Dollar?
There are 94 states that did not introduce any restrictive measures against the use of the greenback, 46 countries that switched to making transactions in national currencies, and 53 countries that openly opposed the US currency, the research shows.
As for the countries opposing the dollar, these mainly include former members of the socialist bloc, BRICS members, and their allies, plus the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce, which launched its own system of settlements in rubles.
Why Will the US Add to End of the Greenback's Era?
This year may see further developments related to de-dollarization, independent industry expert Leonid Khazanov told Sputnik.
"The US itself will contribute to promoting the rejection of the dollar due to the peculiarities of its policy. While declaring support for democracy wherever possible, Washington is in reality trying to impose its will on the world, trying to make all countries dependent on itself. This, as history shows, cannot continue forever," the expert pointed out.
BRICS on Path to De-Dollarization
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said late last year that the de-dollarization of the country’s foreign trade is underway, with about 90% of all mutual payments with China and about 50% with India being made in national currencies.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, for his part, praised BRICS members’ efforts to fulfill de-dollarization "through the use of mutual clearing schemes, a long-tested method that needs to be further developed and given a multilateral nature."
USA
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EUROPE | BRITAIN
SEBASTIAN SAS: WHO Is Behind The PROTESTS In Slovakia? EU's ENDGAME.
GEOPOLITICAL TRENDS: Will Qatar's Threat to Europe Spark a Global Energy Crisis?
Scholz May Meet With Putin Before February 23 - German Lawmaker.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz can visit Russia before early elections to the Bundestag planned on February 23, and the meeting of US President-elect Donald Trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned for March, German parliamentarian from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Roderich Kiesewetter, said on Saturday.
"There are increasing indications that Chancellor Scholz will travel to Moscow and meet Putin before February 23," Kiesewetter said on X.
The meeting of Putin and Trump is planned for March 2025, he added, without providing sources of his information.
No Taurus Missiles: SPD Backs Scholz’s Approach to Ukraine and NATO's Limits
Kiesewetter himself is against any agreements regarding the end of the conflict in Ukraine, since, in his opinion, they will in any case harm Kiev.
In December, German media reported that the CDU circulated rumors that Scholz in the coming days might go with a "peaceful mission" to Moscow. The press service of the German government told Sputnik that media reports about the possible imminent visit of Sholz to Moscow were fiction.
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GROK PICS
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
FIFTEEN DAYS TO GO: CAN THE COMBINATION OF PUTIN AND TRUMP RESULT IN THE REQUIRED EFFECTIVE AGENCY TO BRING PEACE WHERE NOW THERE IS ONLY WAR?
I am really worried about Slovakia…..