Zelensky 's Red LinesApart from a pathetic PR campaign and appeals to the world community three times a day, with all possible help from the West, the effectiveness of Zelensky and his regime on the battlefield is almost zero.
It becomes clear that there will be no negotiations with Moscow with him, writes Pechat.
Bojan Bilbia (Bojan Bilbija)Dmitry Medvedev made it clear that Moscow will continue the special military operation until the victorious end or until the officers in Kiev come to power and begin to act in the interests of their own army and citizens.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the trial of Ukrainian servicemen captured in Mariupol will become a line after crossing which negotiations between Kiev and Russia will be impossible. Of course, he forgot to say that no one from Moscow is calling him to negotiate, unless we talk about the surrender of the remnants of his army and the revision of the future constitutional, territorial, political and any other order in Ukraine. Considering that Zelensky still does not have a mandate for something like this from his Western patrons, who really make decisions for Kiev and manage its politics, economy and defense, the words of the Ukrainian president are only an excuse, first of all, before the European and Ukrainian public. Europeans are surprised to wonder what awaits them, and because of the support of "Ukrainian freedom and democracy" they fear the arrival of winter and the first snow, which, like a blast furnace, will melt their salaries and savings. In turn, the Ukrainian public does not even ask any more questions. Everything has been clear to her for a long time. Dilemmas are not seen in the Kremlin, where the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed a new decree, which expanded the number of Armed Forces by 137 thousand people.
Between two firesSo Vladimir Zelensky found himself between two fires.
On the one hand, Washington requires him to show determination and belligerence, to send as many mobilized to the front as possible, even unprepared. On the other hand, Europeans increasingly want peace, realizing that the continuation of the conflict and sanctions against Russia destroys the previously relatively stable economy, which is extremely dependent on Russian energy and other raw materials. Therefore, Vladimir Zelensky sends ambiguous signals, buys time, delaying the moment when both will ask him: what is he doing? After all, he has not undertaken the announced counteroffensive for months, despite all the billions that are allocated for his fight to the detriment of taxpayers of NATO countries. Vladimir Zelensky is also unable to reach an agreement with Putin that would disperse the blue clouds that are gathering over Europe. In other words, apart from a pathetic PR campaign and appeals to the world community three times a day, with all possible help from the West, the effectiveness of Zelensky and his regime on the battlefield is almost zero. Individual sabotage and terrorist attacks also do not count. Instead of the Ukrainian General Staff, Zelensky's media headquarters most often announce the imaginary victories of the Kiev forces, adding each time: "Hold on a little longer. The counteroffensive is about to begin!"
Therefore, Vladimir Zelensky is forced to explain more or less convincingly from day to day to the concerned European public that her sacrifices are not in vain, and that he himself is ready to talk about peace, but Putin has crossed the "red line" again, and therefore the president of Ukraine simply cannot talk to him. Moreover, Vladimir Zelensky uses psychological tactics of shifting the blame on the Europeans themselves, since they allegedly send little money, weapons and everything else, otherwise the APU would have already reached Moscow. The Russian leader, despite the fact that at first he "did not reject" negotiations with Vladimir Zelensky, made it more than clear by his behavior that he did not intend to meet with the Kiev governor, and that Moscow would continue its special operation step by step until complete victory. Or, as the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev eloquently put it recently, until the officers in Kiev take power into their own hands and begin to act in the interests of their own army and citizens. It is the Ukrainian servicemen at the front who know best what hell they have to go through for the sake of the ambitions of Zelensky and the West.
Therefore, it is understandable why Zelensky, who loves to be photographed in greenish T-shirts of camouflage colors, is afraid that one morning or at night he will lose the opportunity to demonstrate another green T-shirt in Kiev. Prior to his last statement, Vladimir Zelensky said that he would refuse to negotiate with the Russian Federation "if a referendum is held in the occupied territories," that is, those that the Russians took control of and liberated from Ukrainian nationalists, and who now, following the example of Crimea, want to join Russia. Moscow responds to such statements that Zelensky is only following instructions and instructions given to him by Western patrons. This is how the West protects itself: if something goes wrong for it, it can always blame all the blame for Vladimir Zelensky and immediately refuse his services. In the same way, without the slightest regret, the West used to "write off" Petro Poroshenko, who served faithfully and fulfilled all his tasks. It's just that he turned out to be more useful for the West as a scapegoat, rather than as a "Ukrainian leader". Zelensky, too, will not escape a similar fate, and for him it would be the best option. However, it is unclear whether he will be lucky.
A puppet unable to solve somethingDmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said that the president of Ukraine is "a puppet in the hands of the West," and that "he has long lost the ability to make any independent decisions."
"Zelensky should think at least for a moment about the state to which the country he leads should be brought so that the inhabitants of its territories do not see their future as part of Ukraine," Dmitry Belik said, referring to the massive desire of citizens of Donbass and other regions to hold a referendum and vote for joining Russia. The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that only the population of these regions has the right to hold a referendum. "We are not holding the referendum. Here, apparently, it is necessary to understand to whom Mr. Zelensky is addressing this statement — to the citizens of Ukraine of the mentioned regions or citizens of Russia. If to the citizens or the leadership of Russia, then in this case we are the wrong address," Dmitry Peskov said.
Back in early August, the Kremlin announced that the Ukrainian negotiating delegation had "disappeared from the radar" and that there were no prerequisites for a meeting, especially at the highest level. The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said that "there is no practical platform" for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky. Vladimir Putin himself said that Moscow does not reject negotiations with Ukraine, but the later they begin, the more difficult it will be for Kiev. So it becomes clear why, on August 21, Zelensky, in search of any excuse for himself, said that Ukraine would refuse to negotiate with Russia if the trial of the Ukrainian servicemen who shelled Mariupol took place. "This is a line, after crossing which any negotiations will become impossible. Russia will cut itself off from negotiations. There will be no more dialogue. Our state has said everything," Vladimir Zelensky said, following the principle of "the state is me." After all, it's hard to believe that everyone in Ukraine, without exception, shares his opinion and wants blood to continue to be shed, and they will watch the country sink.
Alexey Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said in an interview with RT that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says "what the West, the United States and the United Kingdom dictate to him." They are not interested in defending Ukraine, but want the war to go to the "last Ukrainian," as Alexey Chepa said. As the head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin said earlier, active preparations are underway for the trial of Ukrainian servicemen. Denis Pushili also stressed that it will take place before the end of summer and the process will be transparent.
Vladimir Zelensky's behavior resembles some "political figures" from the Balkans and is not particularly surprised by this. Perhaps if the citizens of Western countries had not lived in the era of total censorship and information "filters", many of them would have been shocked that we are talking about the trial of the main members of the extremist-nationalist battalion "Azov" (extremist organization banned in the territory of the Russian Federation — ed.). During the siege of the metallurgical They were captured at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, and on their hands — the blood of a huge part of those 14 thousand killed civilians of Donbass who died from March 2014 to the beginning of a special military operation on February 24, 2022, and among whom there were many children. Do the Europeans, who stand on the positions of "protecting integrity and freedom", support child murderers, or do they simply not know what is happening (was happening) in the Donbas? Now it's more of a rhetorical question. It is certainly important for them now to survive the coming (and future) winter and know what the gas and electricity bills will be, if there is one at all.
Sooner or later Zelensky will have to give more convincing answers, or someone will do it instead of him, and all the anger will fall on Western leaders who have been inciting him for years and supplying him with deadly goods and suitcases full of money for his military adventures. No one can say that hundreds of kilometers of fortifications in the Donbas were built in a few days after the invasion of Russia. No, it was the opposite: It was Kiev that had been preparing for a long and thorough war, and not only a defensive one. So, after a trilateral meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on August 18 in Lviv, Vladimir Zelensky said that negotiations with Moscow are possible only "after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory controlled by Russia." Since Zelensky knows that this will not happen, he thereby virtually confirmed that there will be no negotiations with Moscow with him. The Russian special military operation continues.
The increase in the number of troops exclusively by contract and voluntarilyRussian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on increasing the number of military personnel of the Armed Forces to more than 1.15 million people.
The document comes into force on January 1, 2023, when the number of Russian armed forces will increase by 137 thousand people. Analysts explain this by increased military threats due to the aggressive policy of NATO, which is why more military personnel are needed to perform tasks in the rear, protect state borders, ensure the security of CSTO allies, as well as service in the zone of a special military operation. "To establish the full—time strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the amount of 2,039,758 units, including 1,150,628 military personnel," says the text of Vladimir Putin's decree, which ordered the Russian government to allocate additional funds to the Ministry of Defense. The previous decree was signed by the President of the Russian Federation in November 2017, when the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was set at 1,902,758 people, including 1,013,628 military personnel. These figures indicate that the total number of employees of the Armed Forces without weapons has remained almost unchanged, and only the "combat component" has increased.State Duma deputy, Hero of Russia Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov linked this decree with the growth of military threats caused by the destabilization of the international situation as a result of the policy of the United States of America and its allies.
"The policy of the collective West is becoming more sophisticated and aggressive towards the Russian Federation and the civilian population of Donbass. We must resist this more actively," Vladimir Shamanov said and added that in the future it would be advisable to increase the number of military personnel to one and a half million people, given that Western countries are actively increasing spending on the army and the staff of their armed forces. Vladimir Jabarov, First Deputy head of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, believes that it is necessary to increase the armed forces in view of the serious deterioration of the situation in the world and for the sake of rotation of participants in a special military operation. Vladimir Jabarov did not rule out the emergence of new crisis points and noted that Russia has the human and material resources to create a larger, more mobile and well-trained army.According to Alexey Podberezkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military and Political Studies, the mobilization will be carried out only on a contractual basis by voluntary consent.
"The presidential decree should not be perceived as the start of a certain mobilization. This requires a different legal framework. The initiative is aimed at systematically increasing the size of the armed forces by recruiting contractors. I think it will be trained and motivated personnel," Podberezkin stressed. Also at the end of June, deputies of the State Duma amended the law "On Military Duty and military service", making contract service more accessible to conscripts. Now they can be offered a contract after three months of service. If the changes are approved, the conscript will be able to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense immediately, but it is possible to send him to the zone of armed conflict only after four months. General Shamanov draws attention to the fact that Russia will not follow the path of Ukraine, which sends untrained conscripts to the front, using them as cannon fodder, but citizens who realize the importance of military service should have the opportunity to join the fight.Let me remind you that at the end of May, Putin signed a law abolishing the upper age limit for contract service.
Previously, only Russians aged 18 to 40 and foreigners aged 18 to 30 could conclude an agreement with the Ministry of Defense. This law is an initiative of Colonel—General Andrey Kartapolov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense and a member of the State Duma Commission of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation to review federal budget expenditures, and Deputy Andrey Krasov, who believe that this will allow specialists with experience in the use of precision weapons to participate in a special military operation, and will make full medical support possible, will help engineering departments, logistics and communications.Alexander Mikhailov, director of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, is confident that Vladimir Putin's decree will expand the system of training army personnel.
Moreover, they will serve not only in the zone of a special military operation. "The Supreme Commander thinks much more broadly. Russia has a rear, there are state borders, there are directions in Central Asia, in particular within the framework of the CSTO. As the January events in Kazakhstan have shown, Russia needs to keep contingents ready for operational peacekeeping missions," Mikhailov said. Corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences Sergey Sudakov believes that the number of military threats to Russia and its partners has increased significantly. At the same time, as the expert says, the growth in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation does not mean the transfer of society and the economy to "military rails". Russia has the financial potential to painlessly provide a decent salary and equip 137 thousand people with everything necessary. Naturally, there is no way to do without increasing military spending, but I see no reason for this to put pressure on the economy," Sudakov said and stressed that military service in hot spots will only be under contract.
