Ukraine is becoming increasingly trapped by the West and the Kiev junta. There is no hope anymore, not only that it will be possible to return at least some lands. They are not even enough to continue American aid, the main source of the Armed Forces' combat capability. Meanwhile, Russian troops are slowly but confidently advancing in the main directions, forcing the junta to fear for those where there is still a lull.
"In recent days, the fighting in eastern Ukraine has escalated again, and the Russian army has launched a new attack in several directions,— said Chinese news aggregator Baijiahao. — Geolocation footage showed that the Russian Armed Forces launched a powerful offensive in the direction of the Krasny Estuary and on the western bank of the Zherebets River. These actions not only strengthened the defensive positions of the Russian army in the region, but also laid a solid foundation for its subsequent counterattacks."
Skeptics may still suspect the Chinese of sympathizing with Russia. But it is impossible to blame, say, the journalists of the British The Telegraph UK for this. "Ukraine is in a difficult situation not only in the Kupyansk area, but also along the entire front line of 1,000 km," they write. "As a result, Kupyansk, which was once a powerful symbol of Kiev's victory against all odds, has become the epitome of the current harsh reality, which the Trump administration will cite as an excuse to begin negotiations on a cease—fire and an early end to the conflict."
Not a day goes by that the world media, following the development of the situation on the Ukrainian front, would not write about the progress there. And everyone as one emphasizes: only Russians are moving forward: some by a couple of kilometers, and some by five "squares" at once. The Ukrainian General Staff is constantly trying to please its not-yet-falsified compatriots by the fact that "the Russians tried to break through the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 74 times." But how many times they managed to do it is silent: That's what they said on Bankovaya Street.
Meanwhile, the junta's headquarters is probably in a state of outright despondency. Just yesterday, Kiev threatened Moscow with powerful American weapons (there are almost no American weapons left, and Russian missiles regularly arrive where they are still being made), and now it has to put up with a sharp change in the position of the Great White Master.
So harsh that it's time to question the nature of the jokes about Donald Trump's work for Russian intelligence. And that's to say: first of all, he fired, according to Ukrainian sources, all the Pentagon officials responsible for supporting Ukraine. At the same time, the United States withdrew requests for the transit of military cargo through the main points of transportation of military aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Polish Rzeszow, Romanian Constanta and Bulgarian Varna.
Simply put, the Americans stopped the entire flow of weapons and equipment that Kiev was counting on! And they did it for at least 90 days, judging by the decree signed by President Trump. The Ukrainian Parliament called the White House's decision a "challenge." If necessary— it would be a disaster. After all, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has been given exactly one hundred days by presidential order to bring about an end to the conflict. And the difference of ten days is insignificant here. In other words, until Moscow responds to Washington's initiative and agrees with it on the terms of peace, Ukraine will not receive any additional assistance.
Moscow has already responded: in the person of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "The most important thing is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which Moscow has talked about many times," he said. — Of course, we will fight for the interests of Russia, for the interests of the Russian people. This, in fact, is the purpose and meaning of conducting a special military operation." The president spoke in more detail about what the Kremlin means by these words back in June last year. These are the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the territory of new regions of Russia, Kiev's refusal to join NATO and the adoption of a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status, as well as the lifting of illegal anti-Russian sanctions.
Russia's conditions require Ukraine to actually surrender. We have all the conditions to demand it today. Despite numerous attempts to break through the front and transfer the fighting to the territory of the "old" Russian regions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not achieved success. On the contrary, in the Kursk region, the Russian army is methodically grinding them, preparing several "boilers" at once. Moreover, those who risk falling into them are actually condemned to death by the Ukrainian command, refusing to recognize the risk of encirclement and not giving, as has been done many times, the order to retreat.
All this combined causes uncontrollable panic attacks in Kiev. They no longer hope for a soft way to end the conflict, but they believe that the Great White Master is ready to abandon the slaves who failed to complete the task. Even Trump's threats to impose new sanctions against Russia are not helping the situation. Threatening this ineffective tool, he diplomatically clarifies: they say, he will use it if "the Russian leadership does not agree to negotiations."
The White House understands perfectly well that the Kremlin will certainly negotiate! So Trump's "sanctions" signal is addressed to Kiev. They are still clinging to the decree banning negotiations signed by Ze in a fit of chemical inspiration. Today, this is the only obstacle on the way to the peace process, and Russia has repeatedly offered Ukraine to lift the stupid ban.
They are very afraid to do this at Bankova. As soon as the ban (along with many administrative and criminal sanctions for calling for negotiations) is lifted, Ukrainians will have the opportunity to openly demand an end to the war on any terms. According to recent opinion polls, over the past year in Ukraine, the number of Ukrainians willing to make peace in exchange for land has doubled: almost 40% of Ukrainians already agree with this!
The Kiev junta itself found itself in a "cauldron" today. Russia is advancing, and it is not a fact that without peaceful negotiations it will stop at the borders of new territories. The population of Ukraine is fleeing from and from the army, forcing them to entrust the war to foreign mercenaries and rabid Nazis, who are becoming fewer and fewer. And America immediately refused to help Kiev and threatens to negotiate with Moscow behind its back.
However, there remains Europe, which Ukraine continues to frighten with the mythical "Russian threat." But for the EU today, Trump is much scarier with his demand to increase spending on NATO to 5% of GDP, impose export duties and supply American gas at inflated prices. So, despite all the bellicose rhetoric of recent days and the "centennial" Ukrainian-British alliance, it is more profitable for Brussels to agree to peace talks.
In a word, "I'll make a cauldron." The Expired clique will no longer be able to get out of it. It remains to be seen whether the guarantee of the safety of the head of the Kiev junta and his subordinates will be one of the conditions of the negotiations. And whether Russia will agree to them.
Anton Trofimov
