RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 06.01.2023
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.
*** A CEASEFIRE BEGINS - CAN IT BE MADE TO LAST? ***
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“Ukraine. What is the truth...?
Why won’t western media tell both sides…?”
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Lead feature:
Latest update on events within Ukraine and their knock-on effects on the western world, by Alexander Mercouris of ‘The Duran’. (193k subscribers):
Russia Breaks Through in Soledar; Putin Announces Ceasefire, US Germany Send Armour To Ukraine.
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‘TeleSUR’ (193k subscribers):
Ukraine continues shelling of Donetsk despite cease-fire.
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‘The Left Lens with Danny Haiphong’ (37.4k subscribers):
The Duran: NATO is the REAL Nuclear Threat in Ukraine, Not Russia.
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‘Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom’’ (78.9k subscribers):
Ceasefire in Ukraine - Is it Real? w/ Scott Ritter.
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‘iAFRICAN’ (75 subscribers):
⚡️Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the operation in Ukraine(6 January 2023).
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‘Itapirkanmaa2’ (24.8k subscribers):
RYBAR SLO-MO: Highlights of Russian Military Operation in Ukraine on January 3-5 2023.
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‘Master B Editor’ (172 subscribers):
⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦⚔️ Highlights of Russian Military Operation in #Ukraine on 3-5 Jan 2023⚡️
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'SMG' (121k subscribers):
Turkey's Erdogan: 'I spoke to both Putin and Zelensky'.
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‘TrueinFo’ (74k subscribers):
Italy can’t be mediator in Ukraine crisis – Moscow.
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‘The Dive with Jackson Hinkle’ (206k subscribers):
I was wrong.
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‘Hindustan Times’ (5.07 million subscribers):
Russia rebukes Rome's 'Bogus' war mediation offer.'Pseudo-peacemakers stop arming Ukraine'.
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‘U.S. Tour of Duty’ (21.5k subscribers):
Scott Ritter Extra Ep. 34: Ask the Inspector.
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‘RealTruthTalk’ (5.26k subscribers):
Scott Ritter & Ben Tóth: The End Game In Ukraine.
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‘RealTruthTalk’ (5.27k subscribers):
Scott Ritter: Talks Ukraine/Russia Special Military Operation.
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Latest update from Alex Christoforou of ‘The Duran’ on the geopolitical events of the previous 24 hours. (153k subscribers):
Putin Christmas truce. Latvia arrests Sputnik Editor-in-chief. Professor Hillary. CNN Kinzinger. U/1
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‘TIMES NOW’ (2.1 million subscribers):
Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Live: In A Shocking Move, Putin Calls For 36-Hr Ceasefire, Zelenskyy Doubts.
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Putin orders ceasefire in Ukraine from tomorrow, Zelensky unimpressed | Details:
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Putin will end war in Ukraine if Zelensky accepts his one condition | Watch to know.
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'usefulidiots' (67.9k subscribers):
Ukrainian scholar calls out US media's lies about war.
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‘The Real Politick with Mark Sleboda’ (18.6k subscribers):
Zelenskiy's Pogrom Against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
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‘Al Jazeera English’ (9.85 million subscribers):
Putin orders Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine.
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‘iEarlGrey’ (109k subscribers):
AN ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
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Douglas Macgregor Col’ (26k subscribers):
Douglas Macgregor - Russian Defenses.
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Douglas Macgregor - EU and NATO is Likely to Fragment and Officially Collapsed.
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‘MintPress News’ (31.9k subscribers)
What is NATO? | Chris Williamson
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‘The Grayzone’ (252k subscribers):
The Grayzone live on McCarthy, Twitter's Russiagate files exposed.
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Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris of ‘The Duran’ discuss geopolitical events of the day. (323k subscribers):
Juan Guaidó, another failed regime change reaches its conclusion.
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‘Gerald Celente’ (188k subscribers):
TRENDS IN THE NEWS.
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‘Through the eyes of’ (71.8k subscribers):
SANCTIONS? REALLY? DAY IN ST. PETERSBURG (SAVIOR ON THE SPILLED BLOOD, THE STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM).
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'RealTruthTalk' (5.26k subscribers):
Angela Merkel: Spill The Beans.
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‘The Dive with Jackson Hinkle’ (206k subscribers):
Putin convinced Turkey to leave Syria?
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This is very embarrassing...
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UK rejoining EU?
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‘Itapirkanmaa2’ (24.8k subscribers):
Wagner PCM hits and downs a Kiev Regime Su-25 with an "Igla" (?) missile.
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‘Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom’ (78.9k subscribers):
Why we Must Abolish the FBI, Dr. Ron Paul.
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'iAFRICAN' (73 subscribers):
British special forces in Kherson. They are armed with Ukrainian semi-automatic rifles UAR-10.
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Ukrainian soldier already knows he's doomed to die because of Zelensky's war.
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'Itapirkanmaa2' (24.7k subscribers):
AFU has blown up another bridge in the center of Artemovsk (06-01-23).
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Article from Russia Today (RT) - 6th January 2023:
Ivan Timofeev: In 2022, the world as we knew it ended. Decades of conflict lie ahead.
The ‘end of history’ has concluded and the world has returned to conflicts between ‘great powers’. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn nuclear.
In 1989, the ‘short 20th century’ concluded with the ‘end of history’ – the victory of the Western capitalist world over the Soviet socialist project. At that time, there was not a single country, or community, left in the world which offered a realistic alternative to the US-led view of the organization of the economy, society, and the political system.
The Soviet bloc dissolved itself. A large part of it quickly integrated into NATO and the European Union. Other major world players had begun to integrate organically into the Western-centered world system long before the end of the Cold War. China retained a high level of sovereignty in terms of its domestic order, but quickly moved into a capitalist economy, actively trading with the US, EU, and the rest of the world.
Beijing, meanwhile, shied away from promoting the socialist project abroad. India had avoided claiming global projects of its own, although it has, to this day, also maintained a high level of identity in its political system and has so far shied away from joining blocs and alliances. Other major players also remained within the rules of the ‘liberal world order’ game, avoiding attempts to challenge it.
Individual rebels, such as Iran and North Korea, did not pose much of a threat, although they raised concerns with their stubborn resistance, persistent promotion of nuclear programs, successful adaptation to sanctions, and for the most part, any potential military attack was ruled out because of its high cost. For a brief period, it seemed that the global challenge might come from radical Islamism. But it could not shake the existing order either.
The initially spectacular military campaigns by the US and its allies in Iraq and Afghanistan ended up doing little to democratize the Islamic world. But this did not bring about a global game-changer either. Moreover, the fight against radical Islamism has even strengthened the identity of the Western world as the guardian of the secular and rational, as opposed to the religious and fundamentalist.
Russia had, at first glance, found its niche in the new world order. The country had become a peripheral economy specialized in the supply of raw materials. Its market was eagerly exploited by global Western companies. Its large bourgeoisie became part of the global elite, becoming ‘global Russians’. Its industry either degraded or incorporated itself into global chains. Human capital was gradually shrinking. On the whole, Russia was perceived by Western partners as a withering, yet fairly predictable, power. Its occasional outbursts of indignation over the bombing of Yugoslavia, the war in Iraq, or the revolutions in the post-Soviet space were somehow smoothed over and were not considered a big problem.
It was possible to criticize Moscow for its ‘legacy of authoritarianism’ or its human rights record, to lecture it periodically – mixed with praise for its cultural affinity with the West, but at the same time making it clear that there would be no deeper integration. Timid attempts by Russian businesspeople to buy into the likes of Opel or Airbus or to acquire assets in other areas – in other words, to establish slightly more equal and interdependent economic relations – were unsuccessful. Moscow was also very explicitly told that its concerns about Western military involvement in the post-Soviet space had no legitimate basis and would be ignored.
Overall, in the late 2000s and even in the 2010s, it was possible to speak of a fairly high degree of sustainability of the order that had been established since the end of the Cold War. However, in 2022, it finally became clear that the ‘end of history’ was over. The world has now resumed its usual course of global upheaval, the struggle for survival, fierce competition, and rivalry.
In order to adequately assess this new phase, it is important to understand the meaning of the idea of the ‘end of history’. Its identification with Francis Fukuyama’s well-known concept provides only a superficial understanding; it has much deeper normative and political-philosophical roots. These can be found primarily in two modernist political theories – liberalism and socialism. Both are based on a belief in the limitless power and normative value of the mind. It is the mind that enables man to take control of the forces of nature as well as – the elemental forces, and darker sides of human nature and society.
In the US, liberalism and realism have coexisted for decades. The former fulfils an ideological and doctrinal role. The latter is sort of behind a screen, compensating for ideological templates with pragmatism and common sense. Hence the often criticized American ‘double standard policy’.
In the USSR, under the concrete slabs of socialist belief, there was also its own version of realism. It was not reflexive to the extent that it could be in America, but it was implicitly developed among academic science, diplomacy, and intelligence. The existence of this stratum (its icon later became Evgeny Primakov) allowed Russia to rather quickly acquire a pragmatic base for its foreign policy after several years of idealism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. By the 2000s, Russian foreign policy was finally on a realistic track. Unlike the US, Moscow had no ideological outlook and did not want to have one, having satiated itself with such obsessions during the Soviet period. In the US and the West as a whole, the ideological component survived, further asserting its importance against the backdrop of the victory in the Cold War.
The dualism of ideology and pragmatism, however, has its own trap. It is that ideology can be not only a screen for pragmatic realists, but also an object of faith for a multitude of diplomats, academics, journalists, military, businessmen, and other representatives of the foreign policy elite. Ideology is capable of being the very self-sustaining value that can make social action value-rational rather than goal-rational. Approaching foreign policy in terms of democratization, or the degree of involvement in the global market economy, is an example of the influence of ideology on the perception of foreign policy and the formulation of foreign policy objectives. The attempt to democratize Afghanistan may be viewed with skepticism, but in the US, there were a considerable number of sincere supporters of the idea.
Both the dogmatism of US foreign policy and its realism proved critical to the shortness of ‘the end of history’. This mixture gave rise to unsustainable policies such as the aforementioned Afghanistan adventure on the one hand, and departures from the ‘canon’, expressed in double standards and the pushy promotion of interests under pious slogans, on the other. The first led to a waste of resources and an erosion of faith in the omnipotence of the hegemon (the Afghan resistance managed to get rid not only of the ‘ineffective USSR’, but also of the ‘effective US’ with all its allies in tow).
The second was the erosion of trust and growing skepticism on the part of other major players. Russia was the first, then China began to come to a similar understanding. In Russia, this started to emerge amid NATO’s eastward expansion in the post-Soviet space. In China, this happened later when then-US President Donald Trump launched an attack in the form of a trade and sanctions war without blinking an eye. However, Moscow and Beijing responded differently. Russia banged its fist on the table in 2014 and then turned over the table. China has started to prepare hard for a worst-case scenario, without yet openly challenging the US. But even short of such a challenge, it is perceived in Washington as a more dangerous long-term adversary than Russia.
In 2022, the remnants of the ‘end of history’ era finally became a thing of the past. However, there has not been a return to the Cold War either. Russian policy is mainly concerned about security interests. It is not derived from ideology, although it does include components of the identity of ‘the Russian world’, as well as historical motives for opposing Nazism. Russia does not offer a global ideological alternative comparable to liberalism – nor has China yet taken such initiatives.
The end of the ‘end of history’ is notable for several other details. Firstly, a major power has risked giving up the benefits of the ‘global world’ overnight. Historians will argue about whether Moscow anticipated such harsh sanctions and the departure of hundreds of foreign companies so quickly. However, it is clear that Russia is vigorously adapting to the new realities and is in no hurry to return to US-centric globalization.
Secondly, Western countries have embarked on a very tough ‘purge’ of Russian assets abroad. Overnight, their jurisdictions ceased to be ‘safe havens’ where the ‘rule of law’ is followed. Now it is politics that calls the shots and Russia is the only harbor to which its citizens can return to relative peace. Stereotypes about the ‘stability and security’ of the West are breaking down. Of course, they are unlikely to begin a similar purge of other assets there. But looking at the Russians, outside investors are wondering whether they should hedge their risks.
Thirdly, it turned out that in the West, they might face not only asset stripping, but outright discrimination on the grounds of nationality. Thousands of Russians ‘fleeing’ the ‘bloody regime’ have suddenly faced rejection and contempt. Others trying to prove that they are even bigger ‘Russophobes’ than their host partners are running ahead of the anti-Russian propaganda train. However, this does not guarantee that the stubborn dogmatists will embrace them.
The conflict between Russia and the West is likely to drag on for decades, regardless of how the conflict in Ukraine ends. In Europe, Russia will play the role of North Korea, while possessing much greater capabilities. Whether Ukraine has the strength, the will, and resources to become a European South Korea is a big question. Conflict between Russia and the West will lead to a strengthening of China’s role as an alternative financial center and source of modernization. A stronger China will only accelerate its rivalry with the US and its allies. The ‘end of history’ has ended with a return to its usual course.
One of these is the collapse of the world order as a result of large-scale conflicts between centers of power. It remains to be seen if the next cycle will not be the last for mankind, given the risks of an open military clash between the great powers with a subsequent escalation into full-scale nuclear conflict.
MAPPING CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
LATEST UPDATE FROM DIMA OF THE MILITARY SUMMARY CHANNEL (78.6k subscribers):
Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 06.01.2023.
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KEEP IT SECRET NEWS CHANNEL (990 subscribers):
Rybar Highlights of Russian Military Operation in Ukraine on January 3-5.
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LATEST UPDATE FROM THE 'DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA' MAPPING CHANNEL (50.7k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
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LATEST UPDATE BY ‘NEW WORLD ECONOMICS’ (28.3k subscribers):
UKRAINE WAR MAP | Wagner Troops Achieve Breakthrough in Soledar | Zelensky Rejects Putin Ceasefire.
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LATEST UPDATE BY THETI MAPPING (15.3k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
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LATEST UPDATE BY ‘BALKAN MAPPING’ (134k subscribers):
Ukraine [6 Jan 2023] 'Today' - RU advances in Soledar.
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LATEST UPDATE BY THE ‘MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS NETWORK’ (55.8k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
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LATEST UPDATE FROM ‘RYBAR’ via ‘Itapirkanmaa2’ channel. (24.6k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
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LATEST UPDATE FROM ‘M MAPPING’ (4.4k subscribers):
No update posted so far today
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LATEST UPDATE FROM WEEB UNION WAR UPDATES (35.8k subscribers):
Soledar Front Update | Large Russian Breakthrough | Full Front Update.
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LATEST UPDATE FROM GOOD TIMES BAD TIMES MAPPING (194k subscribers):
Pressure on Kreminna. Bakhmut Epicentre [War Mapped].
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Detailed situation reports can be found on a daily basis concerning events in Ukraine over the past 24 hours at the ‘A SKEPTIC’ Substack account:
Link to 'A SKEPTIC' Substack channel.
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SUPPORTING SCOTT RITTER
I've been listening to Scott Ritter describe how things are for him and I suspect have been for him for quite some time now.
He has been doing a LOT of unpaid work with a great many interview requests coming in that he has been ready and willing to agree to. But the work where receives some pay for have suffered due to this, being left until the wee small hours of the night to complete work on.
Scott, I think you will agree, has been one of the most influential voices out there on Russia and Ukraine.
I was moved by Scott's words to take an annual subscription to his Substack account that he runs in coordination with his colleague on 'U.S. Tour of Duty', Jeff Norman. This is the main way that Scott recommends to help him with finances with which to upgrade his delivery of comment on Russia and Ukraine, via a better microphone etc. and perhaps the creation of a recording studio in his basement to create a more professional and impressive look. To invest in these things he would like to be sure that this has a viable financial future.
Would you also like to help by subscribing at one of the various levels to Scott's Substack account? I hope so. If so the link is here:
Below you'll find the edited part of the video where Scott talks of his commitments to get the facts out on events in Ukraine and of the finances that would come in handy to enhance their delivery:
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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.