Armchair prophets predicted a swift end to the proxy war in Ukraine following NATO’s belligerent encroachment upon Russia’s border for three decades, counterfeit diplomacy revealed by Western politicos when they publicly admitted that the Minsk peace accords were a ruse to buy time and arm Ukraine’s military, and unprecedented financial sanctions imposed upon Russia. They’ve all joined the ranks of misplaced expectations and the romanticization of war throughout history. Despite input from experienced military brass, esteemed analysts, scholars, A.I. computer technology, modern weaponry, and 21st-century war games, all of it underestimated geopolitical uncertainty, humanitarian crises, raw willpower on a battlefield, and the human carnage of combat, all of which combine to steer decision makers into a blind man’s closet.
“The lesson is first and foremost the uncertainties of war, as true when the European powers plotted a brief, decisive war in 1914, as in 1964 when we sought no wider war in Vietnam, or in 415 B.C. when Athenians dreamed of glory on a far-off battlefield. In none of these cases did those who planned the conflict foresee the ultimate costs, in blood and treasure, of the long-range consequences of their actions.” – Senator Wyche Fowler
Fade to Black in Ukraine… “Try to imagine Mr. Zelensky’s predicament. Mighty America and redoubtable Europe conned the former comedian into thinking that if he went along with a genius scheme to ruin Russia and knock Vlad Putin off the global gameboard, his sad-sack country would be transformed into something like Ukro-Disneyworld, while he, Mr. Z, would be lionized and made rich beyond his wildest imaginings. His backup was the greatest hegemonic power the world has ever seen. The game was called Let’s You and Him Fight. The poor schlemiel fell for it.” – James Howard Kunstler’s Clusterf’k Nation, May 22
The war dogs and military industrial complex have been inexplicably careless and are price gouging to an “unconscionable” degree any country that purchases weapons as the world treads along an apocalyptic WW3 warpath. One of several statements emanating from numerous bureaucrats is when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted this week that we are witnessing that “Western-led undeclared war is being waged against Moscow and Minsk.”
The fall of Bakhmut – May 19, 2023
How Russia forced Ukrainians to retreat from their supposed ‘fortress’ in Donbass… “The importance of the battle for Bakhmut (Artyomovsk) lies in the fact that it allowed Russia to grind down Ukrainian reserves – forcing Kiev to focus on Bakhmut – and to disrupt Ukraine’s offensive in other parts of the front, specifically in the direction of Melitopol. ‘On October 8, 2022, together with Army General Sergey Surovikin and Wagner leader Prigozhin, it was decided to launch an assault on the village of Artyomovsk in order to provoke Vladimir Zelensky to throw in as many forces as possible to hold Bakhmut. We grinded the Ukrainian forces, hence the name – Bakhmut meat grinder.’” – RT, May 21
The presstitute narrative that this war would be swiftly won by financial sanctions and Ukrainian blood is an “unmitigated disaster” that is failing miserably, but the West’s G7 is doubling down while public statements indicate politicos are freaking out behind closed doors. For perspective, here is a visual of international support for war against Russia:
Western Coalition for War Against Russia in the Ukraine
The Strategy That Can Defeat Putin… “‘The Western objective must be to leave Russia profoundly weakened and militarily crippled … internally divided until the point that an aging autocrat falls from power,’ Eliot A. Cohen of Johns Hopkins University, a former official in the George W. Bush administration, wrote recently.” – The Atlantic, Mar. 2022
National security experts: War in Ukraine is an ‘unmitigated disaster’… “Signers say the conflict will be ‘our undoing’ if we don’t ‘dedicate ourselves to forging a diplomatic settlement that stops the killing.’” – Responsible Statecraft, May 2023
Why the economic war against Russia has failed… “We should avoid being smug. The truth is that the war is not going well for the West.” – The UK Spectator, May 13
Fortunately, there are a few glimmers of hope out of Europe that peace is preferred instead of blindly backing NATO and Zelensky for “as long as it takes.” The regime of unelected European Union ministers failed to reach an agreement on financing more weapons for Ukraine because Hungary vetoed the latest spending proposal on the basis that “Ukraine is not capable of winning the war that Russia has unleashed.” Then there’s French President Macron who openly questioned Europe’s role as a U.S. vassal state and said Europe should reduce its dependence on the “extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar,” aka de-dollarization by a growing number of countries that include allies. Reality is setting in since sanctions and weapons have only wrought financial hardship and political division in the West but continue to escalate an unwinnable conflict between nuclear superpowers. Prospects for a peace deal remain doubtful because Ukraine and Russia are steadfast in sticking with opposing non-negotiable preconditions.
Denmark wants to host Ukraine peace summit in July… “Although Moscow and Kyiv have said they were open to peace talks, they hold diverging views on what the starting point of negotiations should be. Ukraine has set the restoration of its territorial integrity, as well as ‘building security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine’ as preconditions for peace talks. Russia has said Ukraine needed to be ‘neutral,’ refrain from joining NATO and the EU, and wants the international community to recognize the territories it annexed for peace talks to begin.” – Politico, May 22
NATO and its cohorts might want to humbly recognize reality before it’s an hour too late following a hypersonic missile strike on its “decision-making centers” without the luxury of timely detection. Here is an excerpt from Part XIII (Twitter thread):
“On Mar. 31, the Kremlin released an updated ‘foreign policy concept’ due to a ‘hybrid war’ aimed at weakening Russia in every possible way, ‘including at undermining its constructive civilizational role, power, economic and technological capabilities, limiting its sovereignty in foreign and domestic policy, and violating its territorial integrity.’ The 42-page document noted that the collective West has chosen a path that’s an ‘existential’ threat to Russia and will defend itself by all means possible. Since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, it was made clear several times that a preemptive use of nuclear weapons was possible if its territorial integrity and existence was threatened.” – TraderStef, Mar. 29
Numerous “red line” issues have transpired since penning Part XIII. I will only mention a recent few to drive home the point that Western leadership is ill-advised and irrational, or perhaps they truly are insane psychopaths beholden to illegitimate fiat. Many of the details are covered by Redacted in the video below. This past weekend, Ukrainian “militants” launched an incursion into Russia’s pre-war region of Belgorod and utilized U.S. armored vehicles and ammo. Its ultimate failure is not a surprise. Moscow condemned the incident and views Kyiv as resorting to terrorist acts against civilians within pre-war Russian territory. That type of folly only confirms Russia’s concern about its national security, which the U.S. ignored despite repeated requests to negotiate in good faith prior to the “special military operation.” Remember Biden’s promises and proclamations about what he didn’t support?
Lies & Escalation, Belgorod, F-16s, Tanks, Long-Range Missiles – Redacted, May 22
Other incidents include but are not limited to the early May drone strike on the Kremlin intended to be seen as an attempt to assassinate Putin, but U.S. intelligence agencies admitted this week via the NYT that it was likely orchestrated by Ukrainian spies or its military intelligence vs. propaganda it was a Russian false flag event. Shortly after the attack, Russia’s military launched an extensive missile campaign across all of Ukraine that’s targeting Western-supplied weaponry depots and command and control infrastructure to blunt Zelensky’s well-publicized counteroffensive aspirations. It’s no coincidence that Zelensky extended his globetrotting tour for Western support following the Kremlin attack because he is now a legitimate moving target. One missile strike obliterated a command post in Kherson where Ukraine Commander-In-Chief Zaluzhnyi was reportedly killed or gravely wounded. Today, a report surfaced from the chief doctor of a private ambulance service in St. Petersburg that claims Zaluzhnyi is likely in a vegetative state.
“The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian forces was gravely wounded in a Russian strike. General Zaluzhny won’t lead the long-delayed counter-offensive. The loss of Bakhmut, the mass destruction of arms & munition depots by Russia and now this. End your failed proxy war @JoeBiden.” – KimDotcom, May 24
Seven other events of note are that we’re now paying for U.S. Senators to suddenly have mobile satellite phone service as a security precaution in the event that a crisis “takes out communications” in America, a Chinese spy hit on U.S. military base sparked fears of a communications blackout, Russian submarines armed with hypersonic missiles are stalking the U.S. coastline, the hypersonic missile strike on U.S. Patriot missile systems near Kyiv, Russia slammed the U.S. for “approval” of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea, Ukraine officially joined NATO’s cybercentre, and the obliteration of an ammunition depot near Khmelnytsky in west Ukraine that stored depleted uranium shells provided by Britain for tanks they delivered to Ukraine.
Depleted Uranium Fallout in Poland From Khmelnytsky Ammo Depot Explosion
Lastly, there is speculation that an enormous buildup of NATO fighter aircraft taking place in Europe for an unprecedented show force/exercise (Air Defender 23) in mid-June is cover for strikes in east Ukraine or on Russian soil. Note that the Washington Post reported that Zelensky is plotting for bold attacks inside Russia. Here’s a gentle nudge from a film that terrified the world into a “Cold War” exit:
“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand
The Day After (1983 Trailer)
Plan Your Trade, Trade Your Plan
TraderStef on Twitter, Gettr / Website: TraderStef.com
