Reuters reports that during a phone conversation with the President of Finland and the Prime Minister of Norway, Putin stated that Russia does not intend to abandon the takeover of the entire Donbas.
Important clarification: this is not the testimony of the leaders of Finland and Norway, a source close to the Kremlin informed the agency (this is for context).
Alright, but let’s assume this is indeed what Putin stated during this phone conversation.
We know that Ukraine also does not intend to abandon its belt of fortresses, let me remind readers outside Ukraine: the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration is a huge fortified area whose defense has been built up over the years.
The defense of this section of the front, including adjacent directions, is provided by two military groups – “Center” and “Azov”, which unite under their command corps, brigades, separately assigned units, and so on.
These groups are headed by Brigadier Generals Andriy Biletsky and Denys “Redis” Prokopenko.
No sane person in any war (unless they have capitulated or their defense has collapsed) surrenders their territory to the enemy just like that, especially such fortified areas.
In general, even if we imagine that an order from Kyiv to leave this area is issued, it is unlikely to be executed at all, which is normal for the situation Ukraine is in (or “normal” – nothing is ever normal in war).
This somewhat reminds me of Switzerland during World War II, where the concept of the National Redoubt existed.
It envisaged the continuation of resistance based on fortifications in the Alps even in the event of part of the country being captured by the Wehrmacht, regardless of the political leadership of the state.
That is, if the Reuters information is true, Putin essentially made it clear to the leaders of Finland and Norway that he does not intend to end the war.
This puts a big cross on any attempts by the US administration to freeze the conflict, as there are simply no agreed conditions for such a freeze.
The war will continue, though, let’s be honest, it is difficult to call it a war in the true sense of the word, given the number of soldiers Russia is sacrificing in its offensive operations.
It is rather one huge sacrificial offering.
This logically raises the question: to what false gods or idols is Putin sacrificing these hundreds of thousands of his people?
Photo: Third Army Corps
