RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 12.11.2024
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.
THE ROAD TO THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION OF WORLD WAR III RUNS THROUGH HERE.
*** HOW LONG BEFORE ZELENSKY RESIGNS & UKRAINE SEEKS PEACE? ***
COLLECTIVE WEST-UKRAINE <-> RUSSIA
ALEEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: Rubio Waltz Neocon China Hawks Tipped Key Foreign Policy Posts; Shoigu Wang Yi; Kurakhovo Disaster.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN: RUBIO rumors. Elensky NEW Victory Plan, sell Ukraine to Trump. Germany, early snap elections.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN: Foreign policy shift, Ukraine conflict endgame w/ Jim Webb.
Ukraine prioritizes holding Russian land over its own defense – media.
Kiev has reportedly sent much more manpower into Russia’s Kursk region than it has committed to holding its positions in Donbass.
Kiev has reportedly chosen to channel military resources to its incursion into Kursk Region in Russia rather than reinforcing its positions in Donetsk People’s Republic, newspaper El Pais reported on Sunday.
According to Ukrainian servicemen fighting in Kursk Region who spoke with the Spanish outlet last month, while they occasionally experience shortages of weapons and equipment, there are no such problems with personnel.
The soldiers reportedly told El Pais that Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk Region rotate every ten days. In comparison, servicemen operating on the front line in Donetsk People’s Republic get replaced on average only every 25 days.
Sunday’s report also noted that Ukraine currently has two of its “best regiments” operating in Kursk Region, namely the 95th and 80th airborne assault brigades, which are outfitted with the best equipment, including German Leopard and American Abrams tanks.
Read more: Ukraine suffering ‘colossal’ losses in Kursk – Putin
Kiev launched the cross-border incursion into the region in August, deploying some of its best-equipped units. The force was ultimately contained by Russian troops and is currently being beaten back, according to Moscow.
The deployment of these elite regiments to Kursk, however, has been criticized by some military experts. Ukrainian General Dmitry Marchenko has said in an interview that he did not understand the reason for deploying Kiev’s best brigades to Kursk while the country’s defenses were “collapsing.”
“Maybe our leaders have some brilliant secret plan,” the general suggested.
Politico reported in September that former Ukrainian army commander Valery Zaluzhny was also against the Kursk incursion and considered it a mistake while Russian forces were gaining ground in Donetsk.
According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, Moscow’s forces have been making great strides in Donbass over the past few weeks, taking over a significant number of villages and key settlements such as the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar. Media estimates also suggest that Russian troops gained more ground in October than in any month this year.
The top commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Aleksand Syrsky, also admitted last week that Kiev’s forces were facing “one of the most powerful” Russian offensives since 2022.
Meanwhile, Moscow has claimed that the Ukrainian incursion has come at great cost to Kiev in terms of manpower and weapons, estimating that Kiev has lost nearly 30,000 troops, close to 200 tanks and over 1,000 armored vehicles.
Ukraine prioritizes holding Russian land over its own defense – media.
SCOTT RITTER: Ukraine’s Nightmare.
DANIEL P. WELCH: Trump's Victory, The EU and Ukraine in Panic, Middle East Confused.
DANIEL DAVIS: Russia Re-Taking Kursk w/ 50,000 Troops.
SEBASTIAN SAS: 50K RUS Shock Units To STORM Kursk And Humiliate NATO.
EMIL COSMAN: Rus mass drone-missile attack. Rus major Zaporizhzhia offensive.Rus struck Kurakhivske Reservoir dam.
BORZZIKMAN: Bloody Welcome: Freshly Arrived FRENCH Soldiers Were Wiped OUT in KHERSON┃RUS Captured KOLESNIKOVKA.
Raw Materials and Troop Deployments: How Zelensky Tries to Woo Trump With Revised 'Victory Plan'.
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky showed his "victory plan" to Donald Trump back in September, with two clauses designed specifically to spark the US president-elect's interest in potential resource-related deals, Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing several European and Ukrainian sources.
According to the newspaper, Ukraine is adjusting its "victory plan" for the future Trump administration, emphasizing potential business deals, access to raw materials and the deployment of troops in an attempt to secure his support. According to the sources, Ukraine's allies in Europe and the US, including leading representatives of the Republican Party, gave advice on how best to formulate proposals that would stimulate close cooperation with Kiev, rather than stop critically important assistance to the country.
One of the two tailored clauses suggested replacing part of the US's contingent in Europe with Ukrainian troops after the end of the conflict. The other, which was first developed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (listed in Russia as a terrorist and extremist), involves the sharing of Ukraine's most important natural resources with Western partners.
Zelensky unveiled his "victory plan" in mid-October, insisting that it could help end the conflict in Ukraine no later than 2025. The document includes five clauses and three secret addendums. In particular, the Ukrainian leader proposes inviting Ukraine to NATO, lifting restrictions on strikes deep into Russian territory, and deploying a "comprehensive non-nuclear deterrence package" in Ukraine.
Zelensky's plan drew criticism in the EU and NATO for outlining in detail the multiple obligations of Ukraine's Western allies but not assigning any to Kiev itself. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed it as a set of incoherent slogans that pushed NATO into a direct conflict with Russia, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the real peace plan for Kiev would be to realize the futility of the Ukrainian policy. He said that Kiev should "wake up" and understand the reasons that led it to the conflict.
Raw Materials and Troop Deployments: How Zelensky Tries to Woo Trump With Revised 'Victory Plan'.
What Does Trump's Decision to Not Hire Pompeo Mean for Ukraine Lobbyists in DC?
President-elect Donald Trump wrote on his Social Truth account on November 9 that he "will not invite… former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join the Trump administration, which is currently in formation." Prior to the announcement the #NoPompeo hashtag was trending on X.
Pompeo has been praised as "a Ukraine advocate" by the Ukraine press, making one wonder how Trump's decision could affect the Kiev regime and its lobbyists.
What's Known About Pompeo's Ties with Ukraine?
In June, Pompeo called the Ukraine conflict "a European challenge and therefore a challenge that the United States needs to be all in on" while speaking at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. He insisted that Ukraine is "central" to America's national security.
In late July, the former CIA director came up with a "peace plan" for Ukraine, claiming in his op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that in case of a Trump victory, he would set a $500 billion "lend-lease" program for Ukraine lifting all restrictions on type of weapons Ukraine can get and use.
The plan also envisaged “bulk[ing] up America’s defense industry", "swiftly admit[ting] Ukraine [to the European Union] and help[ing] it modernize and develop its economy."
The "peace plan" author, Pompeo, is mired in an apparent conflict of interest given that he is "a board member of a major Ukrainian telecom company [Kyivstar]," wrote the Quincy Institute's Eli Clifton on July 29. Potential EU membership "would almost certainly benefit Kyivstar and its shareholders, whose interests Pompeo is entrusted to protect," Clifton stressed.
Americas: Trump Denies Plans to Invite Haley, Pompeo to Join His New Administration
What is Kyivstar?
The Ukrainian telecom company, Kyivstar, is a subsidiary of VEON, a global digital operator. Pompeo joined Kyivstar's board of directors in November 2023 "in his capacity as a Partner of Impact Investments, a newly established US-based strategic and financial advisory and investment firm," VEON's press release said.
VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu also joined Kyivstar's board of directors, demonstrating "VEON’s commitment to Ukraine and to the recovery and reconstruction of the country," according to the press release.
Earlier, VEON committed $600 million in investments in Ukraine over the next three years and launched an “Invest in Ukraine NOW!” initiative calling on other international companies to commit to "Ukraine’s rebuilding".
VEON exited Russia and completed the sale of its Russian subsidiary by October 9, 2023.
US Eyes Holding Presidential, Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine in 2025 - Russian Intel
Pompeo's Op-Ed Co-Author is Director of a Firm Lobbying for Ukraine and US Arm Companies
The WSJ op-ed detailing the Ukraine "peace plan" was written by Pompeo together with David J. Urban, managing director at the BGR Group.
The BGR Group is a lobbying firm that was hired by 208 clients in 2024, for a total amount of $33.37 million, according to Open Secrets. Among its clients is RTX, former known as Raytheon, that paid the group $180,000 in 2024 and $240,000 in 2023. US defense contractors have benefitted enormously amid the ongoing Ukraine and Middle East conflicts.
According to the Quincy Institute, BGR was registered as an agent "for two foreign principals based in Ukraine in May 2022," and is providing "pro-bono representation" for Vadym Ivchenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, and Elena Lipkivska Ergul, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky.
What Does Trump's Decision to Not Hire Pompeo Mean for Ukraine Lobbyists in DC?
ISRAEL-WEST <-> PALESTINE-IRAN-SYRIA-IRAQ-LEBANON-YEMEN-VENEZUELA-DPRK
LARRY JOHNSON (EX-CIA INTEL ANALYST): Israel's Defense System SHATTERED: Hezbollah & Iranian Missiles Obliterate IDF.
DANNY HAIPHONG: Israel FINISHED: Iran & Hezbollah Ready to CRUSH IDF, Trump Next | Ghadi Francis & Elijah Magnier.
NOVARA MEDIA: The Media Lied About These Attacks.
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER: "Iran is sitting naked" : Prof. John Mearsheimer debunks Gen. Jack Keane.
USA
REDACTED: DEMS PLAN TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM INAUGURATION, BIDEN TO RESIGN TO INSTALL HARRIS.
PANIC In "Dystopian Hellscape" DC! Kamala Can Still Be PRESIDENT.
NON-ENGLISH NEWS
LIU SIVAYA: LA VENGANZA RUSA POR LOS ATAQUES CONTRA MOSCÚ: HASTA 250 DRONES DESTRUYEN OBJETIVOS EN TODA UCRANIA.
MAPPING CHANNEL UPDATES
Harvest Time, On The Brink Of Collapse, Zaporizhzhia Offensive Has Begun. Military Summary 11.12.2024
ALMOST 100 SQKM CAPTURED BY RUSSIA; Kursk Front is shrinking! | Ukraine War Frontline Changes Report.
Heavy Fighting And Heavy Losses, Massive Tank Breakthroughs. Military Summary And Analysis 2024.11.12
Massive New Russian Offensive Begins l Kursk Disaster Unfolding.
Another Catastrophe Unfolds (Flanks Collapse) - Rhetoric Vs Reality - Ukraine Map & News Update.
MASSIVE DISASTER | Velyka Novosilka & Kurakhove Under Massive Threat | AFU Upper Hand In Toretsk.
VELYKA NOVOSILKA OFFENSIVE BEGINS. Massive Kursk advances! Kurakhove entered! | Ukraine War SITREP.
Dam Was Blown Up Once Again. Collapse of the Donetsk front. Russian Advances. Front Update.
This Breakthrough Is Insane! Deep Russian Push South Of Kurakhove.
10 Kilometers of Russian Breakthrough is Coming!Novoselydivka,Voznesenka And Kolisnykivka Has Fallen.
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.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
THE WORLD WILL BE A SAFER PLACE WITH TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Talking only to friends, agreeing ever-more aggressive acts while shunning dialogue with those you consider adversaries or enemies, brings us all to a very dead end. Thankfully those years are over.
There is no chance whatever that this second Trump presidency will be an unmitigated blessing. However, amidst what will certainly be the same old insistence on making the USA dominant globally, there is one very hopeful sign that marks an enormous divergence from the Biden presidency. Trump clearly intends (as he did last time also) to open dialogue with others that were completely shunned over the last four years.
Trump will certainly engage Vladimir Putin in talks before too much longer. A report by the Washington Post today, 11th November 2024 that a phone call between the two men has already occurred has been criticised as never having happened by the Russian presidents press secretary, Dmitry Peskov. But sometime between now and Trump reentering the White House such a conversation is bound to take place.
As Winston Churchill famously said, “Better to jaw-jaw than war-war.” The last few years under Biden were arguably the most dangerous for humanity since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and in several significant ways worse than that extremely tense crisis. It was resolved through a channel of communication being opened between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. A deal was made that dissolved the tension that had reached fever pitch with the U.S. Chief’s of Staff urging Kennedy to target Cuba with missiles. In the end Khrushchev agreed to remove the Soviet Union’s missiles from Cuba if the USA removed its missiles situated in Turkey aimed at them. Kennedy agreed though the deal was that he would not announce this at the time but wait many months before doing so, to mitigate criticism of himself for agreeing to this.
We must be very glad and relieved that Trump is not a neocon. Even his fiercest critics will admit that though he did occasionally green light violent attacks (missiles fired into Syria and the killing of Soleimani of Iran) he did not start any new wars. His record on Ukraine cannot be said to be clean however. His predecessor, Barack Obama had refused the request of the Kiev regime that he send them lethal weaponry. When Trump entered the White House he quickly authorised these weapons to be provided. He is therefore quite obviously responsible for the deaths of many Russian troops who might otherwise have survived.
Still and all, we have entered a new and far safer phase of world history with Trump. Every last one of us ought to feel a sense of relief. The landslide victory Trump achieved over Kamala Harris shows the vast majority of Americans will certainly now be relieved also. The threat of a nuclear war between the United States and Russia is no more and there is now every prospect of an end to the Ukraine war, even if it is not achieved over a 24 hour period as Trump has bragged. The world is a far safer place now and will stay that way just as long as Trump does not make the same mistake as last time of tapping neoconservative war hawks for top positions in his coming administration.
How different from the Biden administration where from the top down there was a neocon dominance that threatened each and every one of us and demanded the juggernaut of war only speed on forever with zero dialogue between the warring sides.
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Published 29th July 2020:
FROM DETENTE TO PERMANENT DIVISION
Who gains from a world divided into warring camps? Who would want such a thing with all its attendant dangers? Surely no one truly sane.
What happened to our world?
Only a few decades ago it seemed that significant differences had been reconciled and that we had learned to work together for the common good. Where did that vision, that hope, that fervent desire for the good of all go?
Why, after such a watershed moment, are we where we are now?
It cannot be any one factor as geopolitical changes of these magnitudes are inherently complex. But it cannot be denied that we are in a far more fear-ridden, accusatory and aggression-laden place than we were in recent memory. Why?
The Factors Denying Tolerance and any Hope for Future Peace:
That Fateful Day - 9/11
It is too simplistic to say 9/11 made all the difference but the events of that day certainly created waves of change that we still feel today and which show no sign of breaking to leave a new space for something more healing and unifying.
The Theater of Economic Warfare
Every nation is doing what it can to increase its economic growth. Many nations have little to play with, are poor and will doubtless remain poor. But others are making steady progress and whereas before they were extremely reliant upon western goods and services this is changing. The main change however has been the economic rise and rise of China with its command form of governance whereby many areas of potential red tape and planning restrictions simply do not exist. It can move quickly and, using huge cash resources it can plan for and initiate huge projects in prime industries and infrastructure to guarantee future success. This has come to a point where in the near future China will overtake the western world and the USA as the world’s primary economic driving force.
The Administrative Pushback Against Peace
An extremely large proportion of monetary and material resources are claimed by the intelligence, security and military echelons. Vast numbers of extremely well paid individuals depend upon continuing high levels of threat to maintain their jobs, status and career structures going forward. A coming together of nations to face the monumental challenges of humankind in years to come in an atmosphere of cooperation, compromise and peaceful coexistence endangers every aspect of their livelihoods. In addition it endangers the future income of those who own corporations within each nation’s military industrial complex. It cannot be a coincidence that the generation of fear has become an industry in and of itself... though those within that industry will claim they have no thought of self-interest.
Political Expediency, Elite Protection and Self-Interest
Politicians in the USA require funding. This funding comes mostly from U.S. corporations, many of them high fliers on Wall Street within the Banking, Pharmaceutical and Defense industries. There is an incestuous relationship within Washington between these corporations, their lobbyists and both the permanent and transient elites within the U.S. governance establishment. The people of North America are largely left out of the equation due to having undefinable wishes in anything like certain terms. Both major parties pay lip service to what they think the U.S. population wants by majority but they know with a great deal of certainty what corporations and their lobbyists want. And, due to their financial symbiosis with those corporations it is in their self-interest to provide it while putting on a certain show for the general public based on their guess about the majority view.
Mass Media and its Self-Inflicted Limitations
The bought media, i.e. that which is owned by corporations and billionaires has a vested interest in keeping its owners happy. The censorship applied is self-censorship and will hardly ever be vocalized, it needn’t be... it is in the air, it is taken for granted. Certain myths, attitudes, beliefs and narratives are subsumed within its central ethos and the milieu within which the staffs of its organizations reside. True journalism is almost never seen due to the restrictions of the subconscious and barely conscious group thought agreement that exists within these entities. Almost no attention of any geopolitical nature is directed inward, only outward. Therefore, the controversies must be found overseas where geopolitics is concerned and so the inclination builds inexorably to find objections to other nations generating fears to fever pitch while the home team stays pure as driven snow in relation to its geopolitical intent.
The Self-Serving Inclinations of Intelligence Agencies
Due to the secrecy at the very heart and nature of their industry entities such as the CIA and MI6 have enormous power. To manipulate information that only increases their value, status and continuing expansion is child’s play for them. They can hardly be gainsaid as only they have the access required and all others have extremely limited oversight into any aspect of their structure, methods and data-gathering function or the analysis which filters it. What is known and known without any doubt is that the creation of lies (misinformation, propaganda, psychological operation narratives) are a primary part of any intelligence agency’s day to day work. All empires seek to maintain themselves. The empire of each intelligence agency is no different.
The Might of the Military Industrial Complex
Eisenhower was brave enough to speak his mind about the M.I.C. as he left office. No doubt while in office he found it impossible to do so and it is interesting to speculate on why not. The M.I.C. is hugely powerful. It employs hundreds of thousands and generates vast wealth for what must be a sizeable number of others. It’s highest ranking individuals are often given equally high positions within consecutive U.S. administrations. Its donations to politicians are the most reliable along with the banks and pharmaceutical companies of the USA. The M.I.C. is an integral part of the deepest structure of the U.S. state and what it wants would be extremely hard to resist if any politician wished to maintain his or her position, career path and hopes of still higher office. The M.I.C. needs war and the threat of war like any company selling a product. Both desire an ever-greater number of customers imbued with the unassailable conviction that the products on offer are a must-have accessory to life without which they would be subject to a mournful longing tinged with an abiding fear. The M.I.C. knows exactly how to ensure their products are always in demand. Along with all others above it generates the ever abiding fear of enemies and there must always be enemies. If not real, then imagined.
All of the factors above combine and conjoin to create the self-serving fear matrix that keeps all of its diverse individuals and entities cruising along in their upwardly mobile status, all working toward the same end of goal of self-interest above all else. It is exceedingly effective in this. From the Oval Office to the office of the lowliest clerical officer in Raytheon the self-serving, thoroughly cynical fear industry continues to thrive 24/7, all the while smoothed over with a facade of rectitude and patriotic myth duly channeled subliminally by its political and mass media mouthpieces.
