One of the most remarkable things to cross my path, deep in a Tasmanian forest, edged by a wineglass beach – was a five-foot Black Tiger snake. From nowhere, the thing appeared. Aggressive, attracted to motion, venomous, merciless on resistance, a nuclear power in the wild, it rises to prey, then collapses – if unsuccessful. Putin has the profile – and the vulnerability. Collapse is nearing.
Fresh data on Putin’s extraordinary overreach, overestimation of Russia’s military prowess, misunderstanding of Ukraine’s nationalism, tenacity, and gut-level courage – continues to roll in.
Russian casualties whispered in Moscow with fear – but known – are high. In one month, they rival all the Red Army’s losses in Afghanistan over ten years. North of eight thousand, some say more than 15,000, have been killed. How do you explain this, in weeks ahead, to Russian mothers at Easter?
An indefensible assault expected to last three days, is now dead in the water outside Kiev, while other Ukrainian cities are alive with ghosts who refuse to relent, continue to take vengeance, and impose loss.
Ukrainian forces are proving stunningly nimble, versatile, persistent, and effective, another miscalculation by Russian intelligence, or sign that no one wanted to tell a clothes-less emperor.
As 100,000 new Russian conscripts reluctantly reported for duty on April 1, Putin pulled troops from Africa, Syria, and Moldova to Ukraine’s front lines. Resistance is now gaining, pushing his troops in the north, disrupting rotations, and launching counterattacks. Ukraine is actually pushing Russian troops further north.
Contrary to pronouncements, “damaged units” are not launching a grand offensive to the East. They cannot. Instead, those present pound Donbas and Mariupol. The strategy has shifted from intimidation and a swift, compelled surrender to gloves off, or “ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.”
To what end? How does Putin declare victory? If Ukraine – with Western support – scores future victories, immobilizing what was thought a magnificent conventional force, momentum shifts. What then? Putin’s brave face, consummate autocrat, may crack. Confident without basis, walls may tip-in.
The likeliest outcome now is that Putin starts to listen to generals not yet arrested or dead. He lost five major generals in combat, one admiral, a major resupply ship, and he is pinned down. He has airpower, numbers, fresh recruits, a lot at stake – but odds are moving. Soon, he may start talking to those dead generals. For now – the endgame must be consolidation of gains, the insurgency notwithstanding.
All this means that the “grand plan” was a paper tiger. Yes, Putin still has WMD, if he wishes to challenge Hitler for ignominy – but he is slowly beginning to look like a Black Tiger snake in retreat. If the kill is not quick, impact decisive, prey not disarmed and taken, things change. They are changing now in Ukraine.
Interestingly, what the attacker thought easy prey is becoming a battlefield fumble; it is shaping up as a collapse, a profound strategic loss. NATO is stronger, and will stay so. Defense budgets are up, even here.
China is questioning the wisdom of brute-force and illegal conquest, reducing their fighter invasions of Taiwan’s airspace, registering a stutter-step with Russia, questioning whether unified anti-Russian sanctions might hurt China, and whether fresh European energy deals with the US are a problem.
So, while the path towed is uncertain, and nations with predatory ambitions rise in that path, fangs out, they can fail, attack collapsing too. Putin shows how venal ambition can collapse on itself; his is.
Putin is a wannabe Hitler … not quite, but close to pure savagery as was Hitler. What is disappointing is the relatively mild response displayed by neighboring European Nations (e.g. Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, etc.) Russia is a Communist Government that focuses on using military power to rule a nation if they don’t given in to the demands of the Communist governing body. The top of a any Communist government fancies him/herself as GOD.
Putin is intent on leveling the entire country, making a show of causing maximum misery to tens of millions of “ordinary” Ukrainians. But as the weeks clock in and clock out, we see–the world sees–that President Zelensky and his countrymen are courageous, resilient, and patient when faced with horrendous ongoing circumstances…not ordinary at all.
I would love to see free nations of the world (“the coalition of the willing”) get together and give Ukraine what it needs to defeat this viper once and for all. We should also refuse any deals with Putin and retain the harshest sanctions until he “gives up”, leaves office. I know this will cause misery to the Russian people, and I know the only way to get rid of Putin is to make him assume room temperature, as Rush Limbaugh used to say. Biden implied that part, although it would have been better left unsaid, along with those other memorable slips of the tongue.
Your reference to that snake, Mr. Charles, brought to mind an encounter I had a few days ago while gardening. When turning over the soil, I disturbed a snake, and thought I had decapitated it. But–and pardon any parallels with our illustrious leader, Slidin’ Biden–what I had thought was decapitation was merely the fact that this snake had an extraordinarily small head! Not much between those ears! I placed this tiny red-bellied snake (it’s real name) on the edge of the garden, although he was really slow to do anything. As least he couldn’t say anything stupid.
Putin is on a mission to destroy all the bioweapons labs and the tunnels in the Ukraine being used to traffic drugs and humans. He is not bent on destroying the country or the people. For those who are not up on the events, Obama installed Zelensky to be the puppet for laundering money and building and operating the bioweapons labs, mostly funded by your USA tax dollars. If you have doubts about Putin, ask yourself who the mainstream media is supporting and why. Just what do we really know about this comedian who suddenly became the leader of a country? And I would remind everyone, too, that the liberals love to use Russia as the bad guy. Remember that big report on Trump from Russia that turned out to be a lie? Don’t believe what you are hearing on this either.
Do you really not know that Ukraine is the money laundering capital of the world, human trafficking and other corruption by the nazis. I don’t really trust Putin but he is trying to get the nazi mafia out of Ukraine. The Biden crime family does lots of money laundering there. They don’t want it cleaned up. The Nazis are forcing the Ukrainian people to stay so Putin will have to go through them to get to the nazis. I am really disappointed in this article which reads like lamestream media. Please check into this more and then do an accurate article on the Ukraine situation.
What I find hard to believe is that AMAC….who has for a long time spoken of distrusting the media narrative is buying directly into that narrative with the “everthing Russian is evil” drivel. Why sacrifice members of the military? How about because of the fear of even larger losses of life from the ever increasing encroachment of NATO to all the Euro states that border Russia? What can come from NATO states? How about nuclear weapons? Would the US be happy if Russia planted bases and potential nuclear missles in say, Mexico? No. Would we sacrifice troop lives to avoid such? Of course.
In 1990 when Russia and other countries disbanded the old Warsaw Pact the west agreed to not expand NATO……so what did the west do? They greatly expanded NATO and the last stone was the talk of adding Ukraine to that list….another border country and a complete potential blocking off of the only winter weather port available to Russia.
Then there was the pesky Minsk Accords that served as to forbid military actions against the eastern Provinces of Russia made up of ethnic Russians. Since the Minsk Accords were agreed to Ukraine had continually attacked and killed some 15000 civilians for the crime of being of Russian heritage. This is proven and many of the attacks were funded by Ukraine and carried out by genuine Nazis…you might have heard little whispers about those people. They are real and ingrained in the Ukraine government and military.
So please AMAC…..take a step back and verify info you publish. There are two sides to every coin and action especially the actions taking place in Ukraine.
Putin took the chance to extend “buffer territory” from NATO members. He and Xi (and others) noted the disaster that Biden performed in Afghanistan. It was a mess, and embarrassed our military. That is why Putin took the initiative– along with the knowledge and confirmation that the US would not get involved in the defense of Ukraine.
Putin is a wannabe Hitler … not quite, but close to pure savagery as was Hitler. What is disappointing is the relatively mild response displayed by neighboring European Nations (e.g. Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Portugal, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, etc.) Russia is a Communist Government that focuses on using military power to rule a nation if they don’t given in to the demands of the Communist governing body. The top of a any Communist government fancies him/herself as GOD.
Putin is intent on leveling the entire country, making a show of causing maximum misery to tens of millions of “ordinary” Ukrainians. But as the weeks clock in and clock out, we see–the world sees–that President Zelensky and his countrymen are courageous, resilient, and patient when faced with horrendous ongoing circumstances…not ordinary at all.
I would love to see free nations of the world (“the coalition of the willing”) get together and give Ukraine what it needs to defeat this viper once and for all. We should also refuse any deals with Putin and retain the harshest sanctions until he “gives up”, leaves office. I know this will cause misery to the Russian people, and I know the only way to get rid of Putin is to make him assume room temperature, as Rush Limbaugh used to say. Biden implied that part, although it would have been better left unsaid, along with those other memorable slips of the tongue.
Your reference to that snake, Mr. Charles, brought to mind an encounter I had a few days ago while gardening. When turning over the soil, I disturbed a snake, and thought I had decapitated it. But–and pardon any parallels with our illustrious leader, Slidin’ Biden–what I had thought was decapitation was merely the fact that this snake had an extraordinarily small head! Not much between those ears! I placed this tiny red-bellied snake (it’s real name) on the edge of the garden, although he was really slow to do anything. As least he couldn’t say anything stupid.
Putin is on a mission to destroy all the bioweapons labs and the tunnels in the Ukraine being used to traffic drugs and humans. He is not bent on destroying the country or the people. For those who are not up on the events, Obama installed Zelensky to be the puppet for laundering money and building and operating the bioweapons labs, mostly funded by your USA tax dollars. If you have doubts about Putin, ask yourself who the mainstream media is supporting and why. Just what do we really know about this comedian who suddenly became the leader of a country? And I would remind everyone, too, that the liberals love to use Russia as the bad guy. Remember that big report on Trump from Russia that turned out to be a lie? Don’t believe what you are hearing on this either.
Do you really not know that Ukraine is the money laundering capital of the world, human trafficking and other corruption by the nazis. I don’t really trust Putin but he is trying to get the nazi mafia out of Ukraine. The Biden crime family does lots of money laundering there. They don’t want it cleaned up. The Nazis are forcing the Ukrainian people to stay so Putin will have to go through them to get to the nazis. I am really disappointed in this article which reads like lamestream media. Please check into this more and then do an accurate article on the Ukraine situation.
What I find hard to believe is that AMAC….who has for a long time spoken of distrusting the media narrative is buying directly into that narrative with the “everthing Russian is evil” drivel. Why sacrifice members of the military? How about because of the fear of even larger losses of life from the ever increasing encroachment of NATO to all the Euro states that border Russia? What can come from NATO states? How about nuclear weapons? Would the US be happy if Russia planted bases and potential nuclear missles in say, Mexico? No. Would we sacrifice troop lives to avoid such? Of course.
In 1990 when Russia and other countries disbanded the old Warsaw Pact the west agreed to not expand NATO……so what did the west do? They greatly expanded NATO and the last stone was the talk of adding Ukraine to that list….another border country and a complete potential blocking off of the only winter weather port available to Russia.
Then there was the pesky Minsk Accords that served as to forbid military actions against the eastern Provinces of Russia made up of ethnic Russians. Since the Minsk Accords were agreed to Ukraine had continually attacked and killed some 15000 civilians for the crime of being of Russian heritage. This is proven and many of the attacks were funded by Ukraine and carried out by genuine Nazis…you might have heard little whispers about those people. They are real and ingrained in the Ukraine government and military.
So please AMAC…..take a step back and verify info you publish. There are two sides to every coin and action especially the actions taking place in Ukraine.
Putin took the chance to extend “buffer territory” from NATO members. He and Xi (and others) noted the disaster that Biden performed in Afghanistan. It was a mess, and embarrassed our military. That is why Putin took the initiative– along with the knowledge and confirmation that the US would not get involved in the defense of Ukraine.