Putin’s Fatal Mistake. His Final Mistake?
He is hiding in the woods
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A military enlistment center in Moscow was bombed with two Molotov cocktails this weekend. A reported 3000 Russians have been arrested for protesting mobilizations. Whole villages have been stripped of all healthy males. Crimean Tatars claim they and other ethnic minorities are being targeted for conscription.
Just yesterday the Ukrainians shot down four Russian manned aircraft and eight drones. Russia has lost an estimated 60 aircraft. The cost of that is measured not just by the planes themselves but by the pilots who can take years to train. Running out of experienced pilots is a real problem.
Putin’s mobilization has destroyed his veneer of support with his draconian conscription methods. He and his Kremlin thugs cannot arrest their way out of this as the Russian people begin to understand just how bad things are in Ukraine. Putin’s reaction? He is hiding in his house hidden deep in the woods.
Meanwhile, Lavrov, also known as The Voice of Sauron, went to the United Nations and laid out the most incredible line of bullshit about the war imaginable and was thoroughly rebuked by the rest of the world. And there are calls to remove Russia from the Security Council.
As if this wasn’t enough, China is notably silent and there are persistent rumors of a military coup there with Xi under house arrest. Flights in and out of Beijing have been canceled by the thousands. If by some far chance this is true, Putin’s biggest ally will be out of the picture for the foreseeable future.
India’s Prime Minister flatly told Putin that the time for war is over. As Europe prepares to wean themselves off of Russian oil and gas, the only source of global cash in Russia, Putin’s two biggest potential customers are up in the air.
The question is, are there Russians with the ability to oust Putin before he pulls the trigger on using nukes? And if he does, how do we respond?
If that’s not enough, winter is coming. In Russia and the surrounding countries winter means mud and bitter cold that has historically stopped ground wars. This affects both Ukraine and Russia but with Ukraine’s recent lightning advances, the time advantage is theirs.
