Op-ed: 

Peace Cannot Exist When Problems Remain Unsolved 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The article posted here is the authors opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google 

...And that which I just stated is what I believe Putin's war with Ukraine is really all about...as in permanent oil access. plus the eventual rebuilding of the old Soviet Union.

But being as arrogant as he is, Vladimir Putin truly believes that not only will he eventually be victorious in this his ultimate legacy endeavor, as there remains the possibility that Putin has all along been cloaking himself in talking of wanting peace while the KGB trained agent within him tries to play both Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy in the same way that Hitler did Neville Chamberlain almost 100 years ago.

And why do I say this...because last Wednesday, Putin warned that Russia should hold “veto power” over any security actions to assist Ukraine after a peace deal is reached, rendering planned Western security guarantees for Kyiv moot at this point. A setback in peace talks already involving the logistics of the “land grabs” currently on the negotiating table for if Putin were to acquire “veto power” regarding Ukraine's security it equates to more than just “appeasement” as it opens the door for Putin's...Read entire article here.

Op-ed: 

Peace Cannot Exist When Problems Remain Unsolved 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

The article posted here is the authors opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.com or Google  

  

“Both sides are going to have to make concessions to end Russia's war in Ukraine.”  

- Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The now 3-1/2 year old war between Russia and Ukraine is a war primarily stained by the blood of innocent civilian lives lost while also, not so surprisingly, being a war engulfed in “Cold War” aspects as well. How so... because like the “Cold War” of the 20th century, this war has all the hallmarks of being able to spread...whether just verbally or more way likely tangibly...if some kind of workable and lasting peace deal is not reached anytime soon.

What started as a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine could well expand into neighboring NATO nations, thus directly drawing the U.S. into it as well. And with a somewhat altered version of NATO's “Article 5” protection now on the negotiating table even minus Ukraine being a NATO nation, this war could unfortunately continue on no matter Putin's smiling face at the Alaska summit with President Trump. Why so...because when one deals with Vladimir Putin anything is possible, most especially when Russia's leader needs to counter last Monday's theatrically staged and ever so successful optics of Europe's leaders descending on Washington to show their united support for Ukraine's President Zelenskyy...worldwide televised egg on Putin's face for sure.

So while Putin continues to claim numerous military victories of sorts while standing strong in his demands for absorbing what are large parts of Ukraine into Russia, Russia's economy is still struggling as her defense budget has now reached $142+B per year, which is more than double the monies spent on defense before Putin started the war with Ukraine. And this war does affect the now war weary Russian people themselves for monies used to fund Putin's war machine were taken away from the Russian people and their needs. And know Russia's rank and file military has also grown weary of war...a war that pits brother against brother, as Russians and Ukrainians basically do share the same genetic roots.

A somewhat modern day version of our own Civil War if you will, yet a war vastly different in both mode of operation and outcome for Ukraine's President Vlodymir Zelenskyy, the once deemed underdog by all accounts, has stood his ground against not only the world's number two superpower, but against Vladimir Putin himself, with the added bonus being Zelenskyy's having united the nations of Europe together in his and Ukraine's just cause. Quite an achievement I'd say as this new camaraderie...this new alliance of sorts...has not been seen since the days of WWII.

So as to the offensive player that is Putin's Russia v. the defensive player that is Ukraine, Zelenskyy and his cause are also being supported and cheered on in the “court of public opinion,” while at the same time the still in effect Western sanctions have had a cumulative effect on what is now Russia’s full time war economy, And know that many more sanctions are to come, as per both President Trump and European leaders, if Vladimir Putin continues on in what he hopes to be his “legacy” defining moment.

And if that be the case, Putin's legacy could well be a legacy of failure if he thinks Russia could take on NATO, let alone the U.S. under President Trump. Remember, NATO has had new life and relevancy breathed into it courtesy of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while at the same time Ukraine's forces, as ragtag as they are, have been able to fend off defeat that according to Putin should have taken Russia but a mere two weeks to achieve. And whether Putin's failure to accomplish that objective has been due to the funding and equipment NATO and the U.S. has given to Ukraine or not, the fact remains that Ukraine and her people are still standing strong...as is Zelenskyy himself...while Putin tries to publicly “save face” by making nice to President Trump with fingers probably crossed behind his back.

Now here is where it gets interesting for after the “smile for the camera” show Putin put on at the Alaska Summit, the fact remains that Vladimir Putin still wants to “grab” roughly 30% of Ukraine's lands to be officially recognized as part of “Mother Russia” whether the now said lands are currently occupied by Russian troops or not.

And Russia's quest for Ukrainian land started when in 1994, Bill Clinton played a key role in negotiating the terms of the “Budapest Memorandum”...the agreement which forced Ukraine to give up its nukes in exchange for security assurances...and culminated in 2014 when Obama foolishly gave Crimea to Putin, as he had little access to its desperately needed 1.5 billion barrels of oil reserves save for a thin bit of peninsula access that does not really allow for needed heavy transport.

However, in Putin's now demanding not only the oil fields but the Dzhankoy and the Kerch Peninsulas...as well as the Dunbas region which he claims is needed for Russian “security purposes” ...something Zelensky is rightfully fighting against...know that Ukraine itself has lost access to 80% of oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea, and a significant part of the Crimea port infrastructure due to Obama's allowing the Russian annexation of Crimea.

And that which I just stated is what I believe Putin's war with Ukraine is really all about...as in permanent oil access. plus the eventual rebuilding of the old Soviet Union.

But being as arrogant as he is, Vladimir Putin truly believes that not only will he eventually be victorious in this his ultimate legacy endeavor, as there remains the possibility that Putin has all along been cloaking himself in talking of wanting peace while the KGB trained agent within him tries to play both Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy in the same way that Hitler did Neville Chamberlain almost 100 years ago.

And why do I say this...because last Wednesday, Putin warned that Russia should hold “veto power” over any security actions to assist Ukraine after a peace deal is reached, rendering planned Western security guarantees for Kyiv moot at this point. A setback in peace talks already involving the logistics of the “land grabs” currently on the negotiating table for if Putin were to acquire “veto power” regarding Ukraine's security it equates to more than just “appeasement” as it opens the door for Putin's war to actually expand.

Remember, Chamberlain truly believed that by conceding to Hitler's first few “land grabs”...that his acts of “appeasement”...would help to prevent a full blown European war from happening, but the fact is that while Chamberlain was busy “making nice” to Hitler, Hitler continued to strengthen, bolster, and add to Germany's military capabilities. Now substitute the names Trump and Putin here for not only does Trump know Putin well enough to not take anything Putin says at face value, but Zelenskyy knows that no concessions of any kind, especially involving Ukraine's security, will be reached without his approval. And so the continued to be spoken words that “a lot of progress has been made” towards peace is anything but reality, that is until peace itself sees pen being put to paper while arms are being laid down.

But even with that said, I'm sure President Trump has accounted for the old adage, “give them an inch and they'll take a mile,” as he's not an easily fooled man. Remember, as previously stated, I still believe Putin's ultimate goal, no matter his public words to the contrary...is not to ceremonially rebuild “Mother Russia” to her former glory, but to rebuild...and I cannot state this enough...what was the old Soviet Union by starting with Ukraine and then ultimately reabsorbing all the former Soviet satellites now independent nations...some even NATO member nations...back into the Russian fold.

Simply, Putin's current quest to take over 30% of Ukraine is not only “land grabbing” on steroids, but is his not so secret attempt to lay the very foundation for what could eventually turn into World War III if he does not get his way. A legacy in waiting, cleverly crafted by a madman along the same lines as Hitler's legacy of “land grabs” is remembered today.

So even with all of Vladimir Putin's talks of wanting peace...even with what might be an agreed upon implementation of what I'm sure in the end will turn into but a temporary peace...one must remember that it's not in Putin's make up, or in what he deems to be in his or Russia's best interests, to accept what would be a peace deal garnered by Russia's having, in one form or another...veiled or not...to admit to defeat. And besides, I see what's being offered by Putin in exchange for peace as being but a diversion to help keep the world's prying eyes off him and Russia...thus giving Putin the time needed to regroup, rearm, and only then logistically move forward against Ukraine yet again.

So in Putin's appearing to take a page from Hitler's “land grab” playbook...as in never give up until either ones wanted goal is achieved or until one is stone-cold dead... it's obvious that Volodymir Zelenskky will not be playing into Putin's threats of give up the land he wants or else, as he has laid down his own unwavering “red line” being that, “The positions are clear. A real peace must be achieved, one that will be lasting, not just another pause between Russian invasions.”

And with those words of President Zelenskyy basically echoing President Trump's words posted on 'Truth Social' that, “It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.” we find these two men on the same page...two men well aware of famed Russian “treachery” once again coming into play as peace negotiations remain on going...at least as I write this.

But one thing I do know for certain is that neither Europe's leaders nor even President Trump have a right to give away or to force President Zelenskyy to give away any of Ukraine's land without it being agreed to by Zelenskyy himself and the Ukrainian people. And this is especially true when all concerned know, as fact, that not only does Putin want Ukraine for its oil, but even more so that he wants Ukraine as a base from which to first reabsorb its former satellites back into the fold, and then expand Russian style communism outward into eastern Europe from there.

It seems to me that Volodymir Zelenskyy knows well all that I just stated along with something many others involved do not, and that is that while peace might stop the killing for a given period of time, peace itself does not always solve the problems that started said killings in the first place. Simply, unless all underlying problems between the two nations are resolved at the core level, any peace that might now be reached will be lost sooner rather than later.

Remember the old saying, “The devil wears black”...well the new saying in today's ever hostile and volatile world, where talks of Ukraine/Russian peace still appear to be but words ongoing minus much needed tangible actions taken, instead should be, “Beware of the little Russian man draped in Communist red.” No need to say anything more...case closed. 

Copyright © 2025 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.  

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, The Fling Heard Around the World.

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!                                                  Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 26th from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Peace Cannot Exist When Problems Remain Unsolved'; 'The Fling Heard Around the World'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50pm EST, show begins at 7pm EST.

Op-ed: 

An Essay On Ukraine 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots 

 

...And for Ukraine's and the world's free nations it best be Ukraine for if Ukraine falls to Russia...if she falls to Vladimir Putin...the face of Europe herself will change for Putin will not stop at Ukraine nor will he take his hand off the nuclear button for madmen and egomaniacs are not constrained by the ties of common sense or logic. And it's for this reason alone that we must must continue our military and monetary support of Ukraine no matter what the naysayers in both parties here at home say for without our support Ukraine will in the end fall setting off what will truly be World War III.

 

Why so...because modern history has shown that when U.S. support for any just war is lacking or minimal at best, as it currently is with Ukraine, or when the U.S. enters a said war fairly late in the game...as we did in World War II...said war tends to last longer with more casualties and collateral damage accrued than if the might of the U.S. military had entered said war sooner rather than later. In today's truly global world, for better or worse, a world now rife with the stain of cowardly non-interventionist...Read entire article here.

Op-ed: 

An Essay On Ukraine 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots

History is a cruel mistress in that lessons learned are not always remembered nor acted upon in a wise or timely manner. And here I speak of the lessons of war...lessons regarding the foreboding of possible war to come as well as of lessons reminding some that things that needed to be done were simply not done.

And war is more times than not the breeding ground of small-minded men with Napoleon complexes who see today's world as but a mere chapter in the ongoing saga of what many believe to be just a geopolitical rivalry between the world's three major super powers. Afraid to the face the truth about issues way more complex than just three nations jockeying for the number one superpower position, those here in the U.S., those in Putin's Russia, as well as those in Red China, know that both circumstances and ambition, peppered with self-perceived righteousness driven in part by media dictates can, when melded together as one, be the determining factor in who becomes the victor and and who the loser with what was believed to be a just cause being relegated to the annals of war's history alone.

Such is the case, I believe, in regards to the current happenings in Ukraine for the fact is that Ukraine and Russia have a long, bloody, and ever so complicated history with each other no matter words to the contrary. In fact, in June 1945, Ukraine...then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic...was among the first countries to sign the United Nations Charter, thus being one of its 51 founding members. Also remember that the then USSR actually endorsed Ukraine’s UN entry as it being a separate country...basically admitting Ukraine's autonomy...albeit a separate country that they counted on to always vote and side with them.

And while numerous conflicts did exist between the two countries in the years since then, today's highly volatile and dangerous situation started with Russia's February 2022 invasion of a country whose leaders were looking towards the future...as in Ukraine truly becoming part of Europe...instead of continuing to allow their country and her people to live in the past...a past that would see Ukraine officially returning to “Mother Russia's” fold. And with Vladimir Putin's overinflated ego coupled with his personally driven quest for history making immortality being the hoped for components that would propel Russia to victory, Putin deliberately escalated the still smoldering eight-year long conflict that began with Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, the very action seen by many world leaders as the historic turning point for European security.

And so with his victory in Crimea, Putin gambled on both “Mother Russia's” and himself being invincible and unstoppable, with Russia being victorious in war and with his being hailed as the motherland's hero. Thankfully though, history seems to have other things in mind for Vladimir Putin as he is now being seen by many...military folks included...as not just the purveyor of major strategic blunders in regards to his underestimating his enemy's strength and determination, but also as the destroyer of what was once great “Mother Russia” herself.

Strength, focus, determination, and history...catalysts all peppered with a healthy dose of reality finds Ukraine, the second-most-populous and powerful of the fifteen former Soviet republics, aka “satellites,” now standing its ground against one of the world's greatest armies and its ego-maniacal dictator who relishes in his having one hand on the nuclear button at all times. And as Ukraine continues to forge its own destiny as a sovereign and independent nation...a nation truly free to align itself with nations in the West...Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his personal quest to find a way to balance his country's hope for the future while at the same time resolving what remains deep seated internal divisions within his own country and government...divisions not unlike those seen during the time of our own Civil War...a war that saw brother pick up arms against their own blood brother just as Russia now picks up arms against their genetically tied Ukrainian blood brothers.

Think of the Ukrainian-speaking population in the western part of Ukraine (those who support becoming part of the EU and NATO) as being akin to the north's Union soldiers...while Russian-speaking folks in Ukraine's east (those wanting closer ties with Putin's Russia) as being Confederate soldiers. Now compare and contrast the framework for each war...minus the issue of slavery which itself was more about economics than the actual breaking of black folks chains...and one can see how eerily similar they are as both wars started with so-called “breakaway territories” declaring their independence from the homeland...the Confederate states declaring independence from the U.S., the Russian-backed states of Donetsk and Luhansk doing so from Ukraine.

And also know that both wars targeted the trade and transportation networks of the opposing side. In our Civil War access was restricted to Confederate ports with European nations feigning the face of neutrality while openly supplying arms and munitions to both sides. In regards to Ukraine, last year not only did NATO nations close their airspace to Russia, but international sanctions actually helped to restrict Russian trade while we and others who supported Ukraine continued and still continue to send them military aid with neutrality, ever so wisely, thankfully not even in the picture.

Neutrality, in my opinion, is but the front of cowards for to be successful in war means one must not fear the taking of sides nor the collateral damage incurred. And while both our Civil War and the still ongoing Russia v. Ukraine War...a war that in reality is simply a war of self-determination...sees as their basic commonality a striving for national reunification coupled with both political and economic conquest. But know that more times than not it's tangible success in battle alone that determines who history portrays as heroes and who are portrayed as villains, as well as who will be determined to be the ultimate winners and losers in this modern day version of civil war.

And for Ukraine's and the world's free nations it best be Ukraine for if Ukraine falls to Russia...if she falls to Vladimir Putin...the face of Europe herself will change for Putin will not stop at Ukraine nor will he take his hand off the nuclear button for madmen and egomaniacs are not constrained by the ties of common sense or logic. And it's for this reason alone that we must continue our military and monetary support of Ukraine no matter what the naysayers in both parties here at home say for without our support Ukraine will in the end fall setting off what will truly be World War III.

 

Why so...because modern history has shown that when U.S. support for any just war is lacking or minimal at best, as it currently is with Ukraine, or when the U.S. enters a said war fairly late in the game...as we did in World War II...said war tends to last longer with more casualties and collateral damage accrued than if the might of the U.S. military had entered said war sooner rather than later. In today's truly global world, for better or worse, a world now rife with the stain of cowardly non-interventionist policies, the aggressor...in this case Vladimir Putin and Russia...is given the time, space, and media coverage needed to help stage the battlefields of war to play out in their favor. We see it now happening on a daily basis with every step forward Zelenskyy and his forces make being met by a new and more deadly barrage of Putin's savagery with the tally in civilian casualties showing no signs of waning

History, as stated earlier, has once again become a cruel mistress as we and our allies basically sit by and watch those in Ukraine bravely continuing their fight against seemingly insurmountable odds, with help from the U.S. and NATO being fleeting at best. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom...after all freedom is and always will be worth fighting for...while we tally up the dollars and cents spent knowing well that Joe Biden's promises made to Ukraine might never come to fruition. Our problems here at home cannot compare to what the Ukrainian people are facing, and know as truth that if Ukraine does fall what's to stop Putin from overtaking Europe and then setting his sights on the U.S. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out, but know that when madmen and fools are in control...when history's lessons learned are ignored...there truly is no safe place to call home. Case closed.

Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, Biden's Balloon-a-Palooza.

 

*******************************************************************************************************

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21st, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'An Essay On Ukraine'; 'Biden's Balloon-a-Palooza'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.

 

Op-ed:

Ukraine vs. Russia...The Bigger Picture

By: Diane Sori and Craig Andresen / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

Like it or not, we’re involved in the war between Ukraine and Russia. Right now we’re supplying Ukraine with arms and cash to the point where we’re actually supporting Ukraine’s national budget, and while arguments can certainly be made that we have our own financial issues to deal with aside from propping up another country, we believe that may be a bit short-sighted.

There are those out there who don’t like Ukraine and think Zelensky isn’t worth the effort. They think Ukraine is corrupt. It was, and maybe to some extent still is, but when looking at the bigger picture we don’t believe that should be the top priority when it comes to our involvement in their war against Russia. Before the war Zelensky had been taking positive steps towards ending his country’s corruption, and he was making progress in that direction. He was elected by the people of Ukraine to change the direction of his country, and as we well know from our recent history draining the swamp is not an easy task.

Zelensky didn’t start this war. Putin did. And because Ukraine is not a member of NATO it fell to other nations, many of them NATO member nations, to step up and assist Ukraine in any way possible. Yet many in the U.S. still don’t want to be involved as they see no benefit to the U.S. in doing so.

Here’s a brief look at the bigger picture.

Without assistance, military weapons, and money, Ukraine would have quickly fallen to Russia, and anyone who believes that Ukraine would have been enough for Putin is only fooling themselves. Putin believed at the onset of the war that Russia would quickly overwhelm Ukraine, but that alone would not have solved the problem Putin claimed to have in not wanting a possible NATO member as his next door neighbor. Before the war Ukraine was the buffer between Russia and NATO, but had Putin taken Ukraine, as was his plan, he would have then had NATO members directly on the other side of his border.

There is no way Putin would have stopped there. Putin would then have moved into Poland, and Poland is a member of NATO. And as per NATO's charter, should one NATO member be attacked, the whole of NATO... which includes the United States...would have had to become involved militarily. What we’re involved in now is not a cold war and it is not a hot war either, but if Putin should direct Russia to attack any NATO member we would, by our membership in NATO, be automatically engaged in a hot shooting war with Russia.

The bigger picture shows that we are far better off as things stand today by us assisting Ukraine in any way we can without us becoming directly engaged in a shooting war with Russia than we would be by simply leaving Ukraine to their own devices. Staying out of it altogether would have allowed Russia and Putin to take Ukraine and use it as a base of operations to further invade countries in Europe including Poland among others. Frankly, the cost of allowing Putin to do whatever he wants in Europe is far too high a price to pay as it would cause a global economic disaster with Russia emerging as the most powerful country in Europe.

If you think oil prices are high in Europe and here now, just imagine how much worse it would be if Putin were allowed a complete monopoly over Europe’s energy needs with no checks and balances. Furthermore, now imagine Putin’s Russia holding all of Europe hostage economically...it’s most definitely not a pretty picture.

European stability is the benefit we, the United States, derive from our involvement in Ukraine's war against Russia, and that stability is gained by keeping Putin and Russia in check. While we may not see immediate dividends from our involvement, we most certainly will see rewards down the road including the ability for future U.S. administrations to work with Ukraine on measures favorable to both our nations while holding Ukraine accountable to clean up their own internal corruption.

So while we believe that U.S. involvement is necessary we do not believe that our involvement is being handled correctly, and that goes back to the Obama/Biden administration. Remember, it was Obama who sent blankets to Ukraine when Russia invaded Crimea while Biden was playing quid-pro-quo games with monetary and military aid to Ukraine. As hindsight isn’t always 20/20, it’s a fair bet that had the Obama/Biden administration stepped up in a bigger way back then, neither we nor Europe would be in the position we’re in today. Had Putin been held in check then he wouldn’t have been brash enough to move on Ukraine now.

Remember, Putin was held in check through Trump’s tenure, and it wasn’t until he sensed weakness with the installation of Biden in the Oval Office that he made his move against Ukraine. Putin saw the same weakness in Joe Biden, perhaps even to a greater extent than he saw in Obama, and he took advantage of that weakness as quickly as he could. Putin knew that Biden, because of his ties to Russia, would do as little, if anything, as possible to hold him back.

What we should have done at the onset when Russia invaded Ukraine nine months ago, was send Ukraine everything they needed and requested including military aircraft and defense systems, rather than slow-rolling aid and dragging our heels where military hardware is concerned. Had we done that, there is a good chance that diplomacy, not from us as Biden isn’t capable or respected on the world stage, but from Europe could have ended the war in a matter of weeks.

And for those who still cannot see the benefits of our country's involvement in Ukraine's war against Russia, a war started by Russia for the sake of but imperialist expansion, we remind you that by ignoring the lessons taught as a result of two World Wars...wars we did everything possible to remain out of until it was nearly too late...would unquestionably lead to WWIII.

Without the assistance of the United States, limited as it is, Ukraine would have fallen months ago, and the future of Europe would be much darker than it is today. But there is something else Putin never counted on which has led to him being trapped in a corner making desperate threats, and it is not something to be taken lightly.

Simply, Putin's military operation against Ukraine is falling apart.

Now suffering defeat after defeat both on the ground and in the air no matter Russia's recent large scale bombardment of civilian areas within Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other key Ukrainian cities, President Zelensky recently gave both “Mother Russia” and the Russian people a way to “save face” with his words to the affect that, “the terrible consequences of the war could be stopped at any moment if one person in Moscow gave the order. The fact that there is still no such order is obviously a humiliation for the whole world,” to which we add, no truer words spoken. And with both Finland and Sweden now joining NATO, Putin could soon find himself in a difficult position in regards to the all-important Baltic Sea, as his forces are already being stretched thin, and can only handle fighting on a limited number of fronts at any given time.

And so it might well be up to the Russian people...or Russia's military itself...to force Putin to end this war as Zelensky's forces continue to successfully push back Russian forces including in the key industrial now battlefield city of Sievierodonetsk. And it's here where Putin has now ordered the blowing up of bridges to prevent Zelensky's forces from bringing in military reinforcements and delivering aid to help the civilians trapped in an almost nine months long war...a war Putin still insists on calling a “special military operation.” But while he can call it whatever he wants, Putin can no longer hide the fact that the once overwhelming advantage in both personnel and equipment that Russia once held has now suffered humiliating defeat at the hands of a rag-tag army of resistance fighters whose best weapon has been that their fight in the name of freedom has proven to be the best and most powerful weapon of all.

And with word having leaked out that Russia's elite 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade...the GRU agency's (which is the acronym for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate) secretive and highly classified military intelligence unit which has been operating in Ukraine...may have lost at the hands of Ukrainian forces 56 of its soldiers...as in a full 75% of its reconnaissance manpower. And loss of such an elite unit is a sure indication that the tide of the war has now started turning in Ukraine's favor. And this should not be as unexpected as it seems to be for some for the Ukrainian people have been preparing for just this war ever since Russia illegally invaded and then annexed Crimea back in 2014.

Simply put, and due to its now “rapid collapse and disorderly retreat” from northeastern Ukraine...most especially from Lyman where Ukrainian forces have now moved deeper into Russian-held territory in the neighboring Luhansk region...Russia's military has proven that it truly is ill-prepared to fight against NATO forces in Europe if it were to come to that, what with Putin still sounding the nuclear alarm.

 

And with the Ukrainian military having modernized, if you will, the sum of its forces, tactics, strategy and command...thanks of course to help from the NATO nations...the Russian military under Putin's command still remains mired to Stalin's old style diktat that “quantity has a quality all its own.” And while this has allowed Russian forces to succeed in wars past, those very words are proving to fail when up against the entirety of a country now mobilized together to fight to the death.

And as Putin's battlefield losses start to add up...what with 65,500+ Russian soldiers killed to date (October 17th) as we write this...the scope of these loses is truly staggering as there are 367% more casualties now than in two 4-year long Chechen wars, and 335% more than was lost by the then Soviet Union during their nine years of fighting in Afghanistan.

Now add in the 17 and a half+ billion dollars that Putin has spent (again to date) on military equipment and the amount of equipment lost*...lost to Zelensky's less equipped and less numbered military...and you can see that Putin is losing the war on both fronts. And with almost half a million military age men having fled “Mother Russia” to avoid having to fight in Ukraine, Putin has been grabbing young men off Russia's streets...men ill-prepared to fight...men who do not want to fight...showing the world not the face of Russian victory but the face of desperation on Putin's part alone.

And it's desperation tempered with humiliation and his overwhelming need to “save face” that now drives Putin's war forward...forward to use the only means left at his disposal that could turn defeat into victory...but it's victory that comes at a high price via both threats and blackmail of the nuclear kind.

When Russia first invaded Ukraine back in March, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) first raised concerns about shelling anywhere near the proximity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant...concerns that it could lead to what they deemed to be a possible “nuclear disaster.” And after such a shelling did occur early on in the war President Zelensky rightfully stated that, “For the first time in the history of humanity, the terrorist state (meaning Russia) has resorted to nuclear terrorism. We must stop the Russian Army immediately!”

And not surprisingly both the IAEA's concerns and Zelensky's statement sadly did prove true for Vladimir Putin has continued throughout this now almost nine month long war to let the world know that for him...that for “Mother Russia”...the nuclear option, tactical in scope or otherwise, remains on the table. And while most think that what Putin is referring to is the actual dropping of a nuclear bomb on Ukraine...which surely must not be dismissed...there is another option that most have overlooked and it involves the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant itself...the very plant that had already seen land mine explosions which resulting in a fire that posed a serious threat to the infrastructure of the first unit of the facility.

But first a little background on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant beginning with the fact that said power plant is not only the largest in all of Europe but is amongst the ten largest in the world. And not only does this plant generate half of Ukraine’s nuclear-derived power with its having a total capacity of about 6,000 megawatts... which is enough to power about four million homes for a full year...but is located only about 125 miles from Crimea and about 342 miles southeast of Kyiv...two very heavily populated areas now seeing both heavy ground fighting and large scale Russian missile attacks.

And know that while the Zaporizhzhia plant itself has six Soviet-designed water-cooled nuclear reactors each containing uranium 235, the actual reactors themselves cannot explode on their own because the fuel feeding them is not compact enough to allow for an uncontrolled chain reaction. But, and this is key, that does not mean that a leak or worse cannot occur what with the plant itself being heavily shelled by the Russians or that an internal deliberately set explosion is set off, thus allowing the core to actually be breached or destroyed, either of which could result in a reactor meltdown. 

And if such a scenario were to occur not only would we then find huge amounts of radioactive material being released into the air, but it would fall back to Earth as radioactive fallout, and would reach more than a dozen European countries** as well as Russia herself, in but a mere three days time. And as the fallout is picked up by the jet stream, said fallout would, in time, also reach areas of China...which the Chinese would surely not be happy about...albeit having dissipated contamination wise to some degree.

So as we write this article, the still Russian controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant supposedly remains shut down as it was disconnected from the electric power grid back in September...meaning the reactors are in a “cold shutdown state” (with the reactors coolant system at “atmospheric pressure” and at a temperature below 200 degrees Fahrenheit following what's known as a reactor “cooldown”). But the fact is that's not totally true for the plant's six reactors always require a certain amount of electricity for cooling and other safety functions...meaning some power must still be running into the plant whether it be by emergency power lines or by diesel generators as “nuclear material” must...and we repeat “must”...continue to be cooled even when switched off.

And so if power in any form is still on even if not in full or near capacity mode...whether said power is courtesy of power lines or diesel generators...even if they're in an alternating mode...this allows Putin plenty of time to sabotage the plant if he dared to deem so.

And sabotage could be the very means by which one or more of the reactors are breached, thus leading to an actual nuclear explosion/meltdown which would indeed pose problems for Europe for years, if not decades, to come. And Putin could have his seemingly wanted nuclear scenario...a nuclear winter if you will...while not having to actually launch a nuclear missile attack on Ukraine, albeit an attack with the same result...the same destruction...just courtesy of a different delivery means.

Simply, and by no means are we saying that this is Vladimir Putin's plan, we're just presenting a possible scenario where Putin could deem a “nuclear accident” more plausible and yet just as effective in both the short and long term as an actual nuclear attack on Ukraine with his response being akin to a how did that happen “ooops” moment to the nth degree.

And with Putin now finding himself in a self-created bind of sorts as his nuclear blackmail threats can only go on for just so long, it wouldn't come as any surprise to see some sort of nuclear scenario taking place as both he and “Mother Russia” need to “save face” especially after not being unable to crush Zelensky's forces or hold onto territories captured. And with history showing that it was the United States alone who dared to drop a nuclear bomb on another country, history also shows that with said drop our country became and remains the world's number one super power. And this is something Vladimir Putin cannot abide...his narcissism and delusions of grandeur simply won't allow it...never mind that our dropping the bomb on Japan was done to end a war...Putin's using nukes in Ukraine is to see nuclear armageddon come to fruition with “Mother Russia” alone, he hopes, being the so-called “last man standing.”

Quite simply, Russia’s “special military operation” has grossly under performed as Putin has demonstrably underestimated the tenacity and resolve of Ukraine while overestimating his capability to inflict his will outside his own borders. And to be quite frank, Putin is now beginning to overcompensate for his shortcomings by threatening nuclear war.

Adding to Putin’s woes resulting from his self-inflicted war mongering, the Russian people even at gunpoint, are not with him. Last week Putin began tightening “security” within Russia’s borders which is Kremlin code for cracking down on his own people for their dissent. As for the regions Putin falsely now claims are Russian annexes inside Ukraine, Luhank, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, he has placed them under the Russian equivalent of martial law, something he would not have had to implement had the people in those regions actually voted, as Putin claims they did, to join Russia.

In fact, last week Putin ordered the pull-out of all Russian installed officials in the Kherson region as well as the “organized, gradual displacement” of up to 60,000 civilians. That means that Putin knows he’s lost that falsely annexed region, and he’s literally kidnapping tens of thousands of civilians to hold as hostages. We can add that to the growing list of Putin’s war crimes, although it remains unlikely that the U.N will hold one of their favorite thugs accountable.

Within certain regions of Russia itself, Putin has now resorted to what he calls a “medium level of response” which means that he is “boosting security and public order” (read threatening people to go along with his madness), and has restricting people’s ability to move about, and enter or exit those regions. Putin has also ordered regional governors within Russia to “meet the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, other troops and troop formations.” That means Putin is putting the needs of his already depleted and diminished military ahead of the needs of the Russian people, and that is yet another sign of desperation.

That sort of desperation coupled with what Putin has to believe is a shortened timeline makes him a very dangerous “actor.”  And while it remains unlikely that Putin will actually resort to dropping nukes in Ukraine (unlikely but not completely out of the question or off the table) causing a militarily forced “nuclear meltdown” of Ukraine’s primary facility...one of the largest such nuclear power facilities on Earth...thus irradiating a large portion of a small country and potentially rendering that region uninhabitable for possibly thousands of years is something a desperate narcissist who has painted himself into a corner would be more than apt to do.

Putin has reached full boil over what he considers to be the disgrace of Gorbachev’s move to a far less belligerent and threatening Russia, and his determination to reclaim what Gorbachev gave away while increasing Russia’s sphere of influence in Europe has set the table for his ultimate downfall and humiliation on the world stage. Vladimir Putin is highly unlikely to go quietly into the night, and as he continues to lose both ground and “face” in this war, a scorched earth policy should be expected.

On the other side of the battle lines, Volodymyr Zelensky stands strong, and has positioned his country to become far more respected that it has ever been.

As for our involvement...what it has been up to this point as well as what it may become... we stand to benefit from a much more stable Europe and possibly reap economic benefits should we return not only to energy independence in a matter of a few years, but energy dominance, allowing the U.S. to overtake OPEC+ as a supplier of energy for Europe, thus cutting Russia out of that economic equation altogether.

In closing, we would be remiss not to mention that the world is watching how we respond to Vladimir Putin’s aggression, and specifically China is watching to see if there is any change after our midterm election. If the House and the Senate turn red, but the status quo with regards to our involvement short of “boots on the ground” remains the same, China will be emboldened to move against Taiwan before the 2024 presidential election regardless of Putin’s losses in Ukraine. On the other hand, sending Ukraine the military hardware necessary to bring about a rapid end to the war would have the effect of dampening China’s desire to engage in expansion.

We are on the cusp of dire things and a failure by the U.S. to force an end to the aggression of one of the world’s most dangerous “actors” could well lead us where no one wants to go…WWIII.

And that is the bottom line.

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* Russian-Ukraine War 2022, Statistics and Facts: https://uawar.net/stats

** The nations that would be directly affected by radioactive fallout: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Russia.

Copyright © 2022 Diane Sori and Craig Andresen / Right Side Patriots / All rights reserved.

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