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<\/a>\u00a9 Public Domain<\/span><\/h5>\nPutin and What Really Matters in the Chessboard<\/strong><\/h1>\nPepe Escobar
\nStrategic Culture Foundation<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fascinating to see how Russian war correspondents are now playing a role similar to the former political commissars in the USSR.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nPresident Putin\u2019s meeting with\u00a0a group of Russian war correspondents and Telegram bloggers<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 including Filatov, Poddubny, Pegov from War Gonzo, Podolyaka, Gazdiev from RT \u2013 was an extraordinary exercise in freedom of the press.<\/p>\nThere were among them seriously independent journalists who can be very critical of the way the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) are conducting what can be alternatively defined as a Special Military Operation (SMO); a counter-terror operation (CTO); or an \u201calmost war\u201d (according to some influential business circles in Moscow).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fascinating to see how these patriotic\/independent journalists are now playing a role similar to the former political commissars in the USSR, all of them, in their own way, deeply committed to guiding Russian society towards draining the swamp, slowly but surely.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear Putin not only understands their role but sometimes, \u201cshock to the system-style\u201d, the system he presides actually implements the journalists\u2019 suggestions. As a foreign correspondent working all over the world for nearly 40 years now, I have been quite impressed by the way Russian journalists may enjoy a degree of freedom unimaginable in most latitudes of the collective West.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin transcript of the meeting shows Putin definitely not inclined to beat around the bush.<\/p>\n
He admitted there are \u201coperetta Generals\u201d in the Army; that there was a shortage of drones, precision munitions and communication equipment, now being addressed.<\/p>\n
He discussed the legality of mercenary outfits; the necessity of sooner or later installing a \u201cbuffer zone\u201d to protect Russian citizens from systematic Kiev regime shelling; and he stressed that Russia will not answer Bandera-inspired terrorism with terrorism.<\/p>\n
After examining the exchanges, a conclusion is imperative: Russian war media is not staging an offensive even as the collective West attacks Russia 24\/7 with its massive NGO\/soft power media apparatus. Moscow is not \u2013 yet? \u2013 fully engaged in the trenches of information warfare; as it stands Russian media is only playing defense.<\/p>\n
All the way to Kiev?<\/strong><\/p>\nArguably the money quote of the whole encounter is Putin\u2019s concise, chilling evaluation of where we now stand in the chessboard:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were forced to try to end the war that the West started in 2014 by force of arms. And Russia will end this war by force of arms, freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine from the United States and Ukrainian Nazis. There are no other options. The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West. The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians and what used to be Ukraine will remain. Direct intervention by NATO\u2019s European armies will not change the outcome. But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe. It looks like the US is ready for that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a nutshell: this will only end on Russia\u2019s terms, and only when Moscow evaluates all its objectives have been met. Anything else is wishful thinking.<\/p>\n
Back on the frontlines, as pointed out by the indispensable Andrei Martyanov,\u00a0first-class war correspondent Marat Kalinin<\/a>\u00a0has conclusively laid out how the current Ukrainian metal coffin counter-offensive has not been able to reach even the first Russian line of defense (they are a long \u2013 highway to hell \u2013 10 km away). Everything NATO\u2019s top proxy army ever assembled was able to accomplish so far was to get mercilessly slaughtered on an industrial scale.<\/p>\nMeet General Armageddon in action.<\/p>\n
Surovikin had eight months to place his footprint in Ukraine and from the beginning he understood exactly how to turn it into a whole new ballgame.\u00a0Arguably the strategy is to completely destroy the Ukrainian forces between\u00a0the first line of defense \u2013 assuming they ever breach it \u2013 and the second line, which is quite substantial. The third line will remain off limits.<\/p>\n
Collective West MSM is predictably freaking out, finally starting to show horrendous Ukrainian losses and giving evidence of the utter accumulated incompetence of Kiev goons and their NATO military handlers.<\/p>\n
And just in case the going gets tough \u2013 for now a remote possibility \u2013 Putin himself has delivered the road map. Softly, softly. As in, \u201cDo we need a march on Kiev? If yes, we need a new mobilization, if not, we do not need it. There is no need for mobilization right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crucial operative words are \u201cright now\u201d.<\/p>\n
The end of all your elaborate plans<\/strong><\/p>\nMeanwhile, away from the battlefield, the Russians are very much aware of the frantic geoeconomic activity.<\/p>\n
Moscow and Beijing increasingly trade in yuan and rubles. The ASEAN 10 are going all out for regional currencies, bypassing the US dollar. Indonesia and South Korea are turbo-charging trade in rupiah and won. Pakistan is paying for Russian oil in yuan. The UAE and India are increasing non-oil trade in rupees.<\/p>\n
\nStrategic Culture Foundation<\/p>\n
President Putin\u2019s meeting with\u00a0a group of Russian war correspondents and Telegram bloggers<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 including Filatov, Poddubny, Pegov from War Gonzo, Podolyaka, Gazdiev from RT \u2013 was an extraordinary exercise in freedom of the press.<\/p>\n There were among them seriously independent journalists who can be very critical of the way the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense (MoD) are conducting what can be alternatively defined as a Special Military Operation (SMO); a counter-terror operation (CTO); or an \u201calmost war\u201d (according to some influential business circles in Moscow).<\/p>\n It\u2019s fascinating to see how these patriotic\/independent journalists are now playing a role similar to the former political commissars in the USSR, all of them, in their own way, deeply committed to guiding Russian society towards draining the swamp, slowly but surely.<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear Putin not only understands their role but sometimes, \u201cshock to the system-style\u201d, the system he presides actually implements the journalists\u2019 suggestions. As a foreign correspondent working all over the world for nearly 40 years now, I have been quite impressed by the way Russian journalists may enjoy a degree of freedom unimaginable in most latitudes of the collective West.<\/p>\n The Kremlin transcript of the meeting shows Putin definitely not inclined to beat around the bush.<\/p>\n He admitted there are \u201coperetta Generals\u201d in the Army; that there was a shortage of drones, precision munitions and communication equipment, now being addressed.<\/p>\n He discussed the legality of mercenary outfits; the necessity of sooner or later installing a \u201cbuffer zone\u201d to protect Russian citizens from systematic Kiev regime shelling; and he stressed that Russia will not answer Bandera-inspired terrorism with terrorism.<\/p>\n After examining the exchanges, a conclusion is imperative: Russian war media is not staging an offensive even as the collective West attacks Russia 24\/7 with its massive NGO\/soft power media apparatus. Moscow is not \u2013 yet? \u2013 fully engaged in the trenches of information warfare; as it stands Russian media is only playing defense.<\/p>\n All the way to Kiev?<\/strong><\/p>\n Arguably the money quote of the whole encounter is Putin\u2019s concise, chilling evaluation of where we now stand in the chessboard:<\/p>\n \u201cWe were forced to try to end the war that the West started in 2014 by force of arms. And Russia will end this war by force of arms, freeing the entire territory of the former Ukraine from the United States and Ukrainian Nazis. There are no other options. The Ukrainian army of the US and NATO will be defeated, no matter what new types of weapons it receives from the West. The more weapons there are, the fewer Ukrainians and what used to be Ukraine will remain. Direct intervention by NATO\u2019s European armies will not change the outcome. But in this case, the fire of war will engulf the whole of Europe. It looks like the US is ready for that too.\u201d<\/p>\n In a nutshell: this will only end on Russia\u2019s terms, and only when Moscow evaluates all its objectives have been met. Anything else is wishful thinking.<\/p>\n Back on the frontlines, as pointed out by the indispensable Andrei Martyanov,\u00a0first-class war correspondent Marat Kalinin<\/a>\u00a0has conclusively laid out how the current Ukrainian metal coffin counter-offensive has not been able to reach even the first Russian line of defense (they are a long \u2013 highway to hell \u2013 10 km away). Everything NATO\u2019s top proxy army ever assembled was able to accomplish so far was to get mercilessly slaughtered on an industrial scale.<\/p>\n Meet General Armageddon in action.<\/p>\n Surovikin had eight months to place his footprint in Ukraine and from the beginning he understood exactly how to turn it into a whole new ballgame.\u00a0Arguably the strategy is to completely destroy the Ukrainian forces between\u00a0the first line of defense \u2013 assuming they ever breach it \u2013 and the second line, which is quite substantial. The third line will remain off limits.<\/p>\n Collective West MSM is predictably freaking out, finally starting to show horrendous Ukrainian losses and giving evidence of the utter accumulated incompetence of Kiev goons and their NATO military handlers.<\/p>\n And just in case the going gets tough \u2013 for now a remote possibility \u2013 Putin himself has delivered the road map. Softly, softly. As in, \u201cDo we need a march on Kiev? If yes, we need a new mobilization, if not, we do not need it. There is no need for mobilization right now.\u201d<\/p>\n The crucial operative words are \u201cright now\u201d.<\/p>\n The end of all your elaborate plans<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, away from the battlefield, the Russians are very much aware of the frantic geoeconomic activity.<\/p>\n Moscow and Beijing increasingly trade in yuan and rubles. The ASEAN 10 are going all out for regional currencies, bypassing the US dollar. Indonesia and South Korea are turbo-charging trade in rupiah and won. Pakistan is paying for Russian oil in yuan. The UAE and India are increasing non-oil trade in rupees.<\/p>\n