Russia carried out a surgical strike early Monday morning against targets in the town of Reni on the Ukrainian side of the Danube River near the tri-border with Moldova and Romania. This video alleges to show one of the explosions at its port while this image purports to be of a grain warehouse that was supposedly destroyed in the aftermath. It can’t be ruled out that military and/or terrorist assets were hidden there, however, since Russia insists that it doesn’t strike purely civilian infrastructure.
In any case, Monday morning’s surgical strike was very important since it sent several messages that Russia’s opponents would do well to heed. For starters, Reni is located on the other side of the Danube from NATO-member Romania, which demonstrated that Russia will hit targets anywhere in Ukraine and can do so with maximum precision. Those military and/or terrorist assets based on the literal border of that bloc but just outside of Article 5’s jurisdiction can no longer take their security for granted.
The second message is that Russia is serious about cracking down on those threats to its security that were previously untouchable due to Kiev exploiting the grain deal to protect some of its aforesaid assets. Russia remained committed to that agreement in spite of that since it sincerely expected that the West would eventually remove those sanctions that impeded its agricultural exports. Since that didn’t happen and Russia therefore declined to extend the deal, Kiev’s selfsame assets are now fair game.
Third, carrying out a surgical strike on Reni proved that Russia had actionable intelligence regarding the Danube’s role in Kiev’s military logistical network, which many observers have suspected for a while. Related targets were previously untouchable for the abovementioned reason, but that’s no longer the case now that the grain deal expired. Accordingly, it can be expected that this won’t be the last surgical strike on the Danube, though it of course can’t be known when the next ones will occur.
The fourth message is that Russia now knows that NATO won’t extend its air defense umbrella over any part of Ukraine after no effort was made to stop its surgical strike in Reni on the Romanian border. The bloc either didn’t see the missiles approaching their air defense zone or detected them but declined to attempt an interception in order for Russia not to think they’re ready to get directly involved in this proxy war. Either way, NATO looks weak and Russia thus feels emboldened to continue striking near its borders.
And finally, this successful strike signifies that no part of Kiev’s military logistical network is safe, which could lead to Moscow’s edge in the NATO-Russian “race of logistics”/“war of attrition” growing even larger if it keeps up the tempo of these attacks against its opponent’s previously untouchable assets. In that event, peace talks might resume earlier than many expect if this accelerates the erosion of Ukraine’s military capabilities and thus forces its patrons to move up their timeline for freezing the conflict.
With these five messages in mind, there’s no doubt that Russia’s surgical strike against military and/or terrorist assets on the Moldovan-Romanian-Ukrainian tri-border is much more important than it might appear at first glance. Not only did Russia hit closer to NATO than ever, but that bloc didn’t even try to stop it, thus suggesting that they’re reluctant to get dragged even deeper into this proxy war. If Poland doesn’t unilaterally intervene by summer’s end, then peace talks might recommence shortly after.
John Varoli is a former foreign correspondent for New York Times, Bloomberg and Reuters TV. Trained as a U.S. foreign policy expert with a focus on Russia and Ukraine.
By John Varoli, Substack, 7/17/23
Kiev, April 2019 — I was dining in an upscale restaurant and warned my wealthy Ukrainian friends not to let their country become a pawn in NATO’s deadly chess game with Russia. Some said they understood what I meant, but others said the following words that sent chills up and down my spine: “We will fight the Russians even if it means that all of Ukraine will burn”.
This was the first time I encountered suicidal nationalism. Previously, I wasn’t convinced by Moscow’s claims of “Nazis” in Ukraine. But at that moment in Kiev everything became clear. Truly something dark and evil resides in the soul of Ukraine’s intellectual and political elite. Nationalists in Lvov and Kiev who openly glorify World War II Nazi collaborators are ready to accept their country’s destruction and see their people slaughtered just to insist on their ‘right’ to join NATO.
Most [independent] geopolitical experts know that this war between Russia and Ukraine was easily avoidable — it’s necessary only to guarantee political autonomy and human rights for the ethnic Russians of the Donbass region; allow Crimea the right to self-determination as enshrined in international law; and keep Ukraine geopolitically neutral and end all talk of NATO membership.
The solution really is that simple. Except it isn’t, because self-destructive Ukrainian nationalism and American imperial ambitions have found common cause. I ended that dinner in April 2019 by predicting to my Kiev friends that NATO will eventually betray Ukraine and it will be discarded on the gutter of European history, mauled, battered and violated.
Fast forward to July 2023. Last week’s NATO Summit in Lithuania sealed Ukraine’s sad fate. Despite the encouraging words and public praise, behind the scenes it was clear that Ukraine will never join NATO and that the country is merely a geopolitical ‘pawn’ in the hands of Washington DC and Brussels.
Feeling like a loser: Someone didn’t follow the dress code
NATO’s cynical conditions
Ukraine’s shameless con man and president, Vladimir Zelensky, finally woke up to the fact that he’s been out-scammed by more devious western leaders. Zelensky took to social media and responded with petulant outbursts about no NATO membership. His masters, however, quickly put him in his place, reminding who calls the shots.
Still, Zelensky returned home from Vilnius with vague and empty promises that Ukraine might be accepted into NATO if it fulfills “certain conditions”, which of course are inherently unattainable and will never be met.
One cynical ‘condition’ for NATO membership is the defeat of Russia and conquest of the breakaway regions of Donbass and Crimea. This, of course, requires the slaughter and ethnic cleansing of the 4 million Russian citizens who live there. While Kiev can easily stomach such genocide, the fact remains that neither it nor NATO have the military might to do so.
The Kremlin won’t let such atrocities happen, and that’s why Russian troops vigorously hold the line against the Ukrainian/ NATO invasion. The lives of millions of innocent Russian civilians are literally at stake.
Ze is increasingly a liability in the eyes of NATO
Bye bye Zelensky?
Zelensky’s popularity is plummeting at home and abroad. I have a feeling that the White House might soon dispatch him to the Underworld, and proclaim him a ‘martyr’ in the cause of ‘democracy’ — though, of course, pin the blame on Moscow.
Biden can’t afford to go into the presidential election with Zelensky and the Ukrainian war around his neck. He must end this war in the next six months. Zelensky’s timely demise could be the catalyst to freeze this conflict until the November 2024 election, after which the NATO crusade against Russia will resume.
What’s one more Ukrainian death, even if it’s a prominent comedian? The deaths of nearly 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers hasn’t been sufficient to satisfy the bloodlust of NATO’s vampire elite, who constantly call for more death and destruction.
Sadly, many Ukrainians are brainwashed, blinded by hatred and a desire for revenge, and unable to realize that they’re being ‘played’ by NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine is becoming a land of the dead: Cemeteries are overflowing, funeral processions are ubiquitous, hospitals and morgues swell with the maimed and dead; and the corpses of forgotten and abandoned soldiers fertilize the fields.
In the aftermath of the NATO summit, Ukraine’s future is now almost certain — the country will slowly be depopulated and turned into a desolate wasteland. Ukraine is a failed state, having lost nearly 50% of its pre-2014 population, nearly 23% of its pre-2014 territory, and seen its economy pulverized.
This is now everywhere in Ukraine
Western media as sinister sirens
Despite all the western media disinformation about Russia’s imminent collapse, NATO elites in fact now understand that they’ve awakened a sleeping giant (Russia) whose feet are made of steel, not clay. Kiev’s six-week old ‘counteroffensive’ has been an absolute disaster, with a large part of its invading army already destroyed or knocked out of commission by the Russian army and air force.
Still, from across the ocean sinister sirens demand more war, enticing hapless Ukrainians to their death. White House propaganda outlets such as the New York Times and the Washington Post exhort Ukrainians to continue to die “for freedom and democracy”. Of course, these media companies earn enormous sums from major news events; they have a vested interest in fueling the war. That’s just how the media business works today. What has happened to the liberal American press of the 1980s that once preached peace and coexistence with Moscow?
In order to deceive and prod Ukrainians to march to their certain deaths, western media have concocted a bizarre parallel universe claiming that Ukraine is winning the war and that no sacrifice is too great to defeat “Putin’s autocratic Russia”. Just a little more effort, send more weapons and Kiev will be victorious over Putin’s “demoralized and poorly equipped army”.
Meanwhile, in the real world, where real people pay the price for the sins of a greedy and heartless ruling class, millions of Ukrainian families have seen their lives shattered. A recent Ukrainian survey says that nearly 70% have a family member or close friend who has been killed or injured in the war. Such collective trauma will impact current and future generations for at least half a century.
The informal army of young widows and orphans grows rapidly each day. But their suffering fails to melt the callous hearts of oligarchs, politicians, Pentagon generals and journalists in Washington DC and New York who demand: “Go fight and die!”
As far as my wealthy Kiev friends who in 2019 were so eager for war with Russia — Where are they now? They’re living in Europe and the U.S. of course. Neither they nor their children are fighting and dying.
Ukrainian war widow and orphan — NATO appreciates their sacrifice
Are liberal regimes the new Nazis?
I spent a decade (2011-2021) promoting Ukrainian cultural, business and educational projects, and I always noticed how western elites hate Ukrainians just as much as they hate Russians. Ukraine’s destruction is a desirable goal for most NATO elites. Russians and Ukrainians killing each other is their dream come true.
In this context, NATO’s diabolical policies are a continuation of the Third Reich of the 1930s and 1940s. In essence, we are witnessing a resurgent western hatred of the eastern Slavs, and a desire to exterminate them and steal their land.
The survival of both Ukraine and Russia depends on putting aside their animosity and uniting against a common enemy. The liberal regimes of NATO are determined to succeed where the Nazis failed — destroy the eastern Slavs and then establish control over Eurasia.
Only when united, just like in 1945, can the eastern Slavs put an end to this grave threat to their survival and to world civilization. The non-aligned global community, led by countries such as India and Brazil, should do everything possible to assist the two Slavic giants in achieving such a goal and reestablishing peace in Eastern Europe.
The age of NATO militarism must end. And we in the West would only benefit from a conclusion to one of the most disgraceful chapters in our collective history.
This evening’s News of the Week program on Russian state television opened with a 30 minute documentary survey of Polish-Russian relations from the end of WWI and during the period of the Russian Civil War, when the government under Marshall Pilsudski wrested substantial territory from Russian control. It also dealt extensively with Poland’s well documented role as aggressor and occupier of Czechoslovak, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Belarus lands from before the start of WWII and until Hitler overran Poland.
This reportage was all built around Vladimir Putin’s speech to the RF Security Council on Friday which was partly broadcast then. Excerpts from that speech were used to introduce or segments of the overall documentary.
Let us recall that on Friday, Putin explained how and why we may expect the formal entry into the war of a Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian joint military force that will officially be presented as defending Ukrainian statehood by occupying the Western Ukraine. However, Putin described this as an occupying force which once installed in Lvov and Western Ukraine would never leave. This would in effect be a repeat of the sell-out of Ukrainian interests to Poles and cession of territory to Poland such as had been perpetrated by their leader Semyon Petlyura in April 1920 and has now been repeated in the secret agreements between presidents Zelensky of Ukraine and Duda of Poland.
However, that was not the only pending Polish aggression announced by Vladimir Putin on Friday. He said that Poland also had designs on Belarus land. The documentary this evening fleshed out that remark and reminded us of what Belarus territory Poland had grabbed by force in the 20th century when it had the opportunity. It also pointed a finger at those Belarus fighters abroad who will be used by Poland to spearhead their move against Minsk from Polish territory, and what armaments they are receiving from the United States and NATO member countries.
With respect to Polish designs on Ukraine, Putin did not tip his hand on what Russia’s response may be. But as regards Belarus, he stated directly on Friday that any act of aggression against Belarus will be considered an attack on Russia and Russia will respond with all the military force at its disposal. He warned Warsaw to consider the consequences of their actions.
Putin’s speech on Friday appeared to be directed at Warsaw. The program this evening was clearly directed at the broad Russian public, to prepare them for the onset of a possible Russian-Polish war in the immediate future.
This point was highlighted by the ongoing visit of Belarus president Lukashenko to Petersburg. There has been pomp and ceremony in this visit. Both presidents today visited Kronstadt, touring its principal church, which is the spiritual home of the Russian Navy. They also visited the about to be opened new museum of the Russian Navy, and its featured exhibit, which is Russia’s first nuclear submarine, the country’s answer to the American Nautilus at the time. And they held talks on the military and political threats their countries face. These talks unexpectedly will continue in the Konstantinovsky Palace outside Petersburg tomorrow. The reason for extensive consultations was clear from remarks that Lukashenko made to the press during his meeting with Putin: namely that Belarus military intelligence has been following very closely the massive build-up of Polish forces including tanks, helicopters and other heavy military equipment close to the Belarus border at several locations.
Tonight’s News of the Week program explained to the Russian public that the Poles’ new aggressive plans are proceeding only because of their confidence that Uncle Sam supports them. And they named the person embodying this link as former Foreign Minister of Poland Radoslaw Sikorsky (2014-15), who is today a Member of the European Parliament and delegate responsible for relations with the United States. A photo of Sikorski’s latest meetings with Pentagon officials and with Joe Biden and his advisers was put on the screen. For those who may wonder about Sikorsky’s political views, it pays to remember that he is the husband of neo-con, Russia-hating journalist Anne Applebaum, who is very well known to American audiences for her regular columns in The Washington Post.
From Russian talk shows of the past several days, it is easy to understand the Kremlin’s reading of the present proxy war in and around Ukraine: Washington sees that the Ukrainian counter-offensive is a complete failure that has cost tens of thousands of lives among the Ukrainian armed forces and has seen the destruction of a large part of the Western equipment delivered to Ukraine over the past months. Instead of suing for peace, Washington seeks to open a ‘second front,’ using Poland for this purpose.
One possible Russian response to any move against Belarus has also been discussed on air: to seize the Suwalki corridor that connects Kaliningrad to Belarus across Polish territory.. Taking control of that corridor would have the effect of isolating the Baltic States from Poland and thereby put their security at peril.
The inescapable conclusion from the latest news is that Washington’s incendiary policies and continuing escalation of the conflict cannot secure Russia’s defeat. On the contrary, they may well lead to the total collapse of the NATO alliance once its military value is disproven in a way that cannot be talked away or papered over by the most creative propagandists in DC.
Kremlin website, 7/21/23 (English translation via Google translate)
The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, Vice-President of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev, Minister of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.
We have several issues today, one of which is the development of relations with our friends on the African continent, and the Russia-Africa summit will soon be held in Russia. And the issue related to such an important area as the use of information technology, of course, in relation to ensuring the country’s security.
But first, I would like to ask if anyone has any current questions? Yes, please, Sergei Evgenievich.
Sergei Naryshkin: Mr President, colleagues!
According to information coming to the service from several sources, official Warsaw is gradually coming to the realization that no Western assistance to Kyiv is able to support Ukraine for the purposes that were laid down in this assistance. Moreover, there comes the realization that the issue of Ukraine’s defeat is only a matter of time.
In this regard, the Polish leadership is strengthening its intention to control the western territories of Ukraine, the western regions, by deploying its troops there. Such a step, as one of the options, is planned to be formalized as the fulfillment of allied obligations within the framework of the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative – this is the so-called Lublin Triangle.
In this regard, we see that it is planned to significantly increase the size of the combined arms Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade, which operates under the auspices of this so-called Lublin triangle.
It seems to us that these rather dangerous plans of the Polish leadership should be closely monitored.
Vladimir Putin: Yes. This is what Mr Medvedev has just said, and it should be discussed in more detail. This information has already appeared in the European, in particular in the French, press.
In this regard, I think it would be appropriate to recall some of the lessons of the history of the twentieth century.
Today it is obvious that the Western curators of the Kyiv regime are clearly disappointed with the results of the so-called counteroffensive, which the current Ukrainian authorities loudly broadcast in previous months. There are no results, at least not yet. Neither the colossal resources that were “pumped” into the Kyiv regime, nor the supply of Western weapons: tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, missiles, nor the dispatch of thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers who were most actively used in attempts to break through the front of our army help.
At the same time, the command of the special military operation acts professionally. Our soldiers and officers, units and formations fulfill their duty to the Motherland courageously, steadfastly, heroically. At the same time, the whole world sees that the vaunted Western, supposedly invulnerable equipment is on fire, and in terms of its tactical and technical data, it is often even inferior to some Soviet-made weapons.
Yes, of course, Western weapons can still be additionally supplied and thrown into battle. This, of course, causes us some damage and prolongs the conflict. But, first, NATO’s arsenals and stocks of old Soviet weapons in some states are already largely devastated. And secondly, the existing production facilities in the West do not allow to quickly replenish the consumption of reserves of equipment and ammunition. We need additional, and more resources and time.
And most importantly, as a result of suicidal attacks, the formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered huge losses. These are tens of thousands, tens of thousands of people.
And, despite the constant raids, the incessant waves of total mobilization in the cities and villages of Ukraine, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the current regime to drive new recruits to the front. The country’s mobilization resource is being depleted.
People in Ukraine are increasingly asking a question, a legitimate question: for what, for whose selfish interests are their relatives and friends dying? Gradually, slowly, but sobering up.
We see that public opinion is changing in Europe as well. Both Europeans and representatives of the European elites see that the so-called support for Ukraine is, in fact, a dead end, a waste of money and effort, but in fact it serves someone else’s, far from European interests: the interests of the overseas global hegemon, which benefits from the weakening of Europe. He also benefits from the endless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict.
Judging by what is happening in real life, today’s ruling elites in the United States are doing just that. In any case, they act in this logic. Whether such a policy corresponds to the true, fundamental interests of the American people is a big question, a rhetorical question, of course, let them decide for themselves.
However, now the fire of war is being intensively fomented. In particular, they use the ambitions of the leaders of some Eastern European states, who have long turned hatred of Russia and Russophobia into their main export commodity and an instrument of their domestic policy. And now they want to warm their hands on the Ukrainian tragedy.
In this regard, I would be remiss if I did not comment on what has just been said: the press reports about plans to create a so-called Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian unit. That is, we are not talking about some kind of gathering of mercenaries – there are enough of them there, and they are being destroyed – but about a regular, cobbled-together, equipped military unit that is planned to be used for operations on the territory of Ukraine. Including to supposedly ensure the security of modern Western Ukraine, and in fact, if you call a spade a spade, for the subsequent occupation of these territories. After all, the prospect is obvious: if Polish units enter, for example, Lviv or other territories of Ukraine, then they will remain there. And they will remain forever.
And this, by the way, will not be anything new. Let me remind you that after the defeat of Germany and its allies following the results of the First World War, Polish units occupied Lviv and adjacent lands that then belonged to Austria-Hungary.
Poland, instigated by the West, took advantage of the tragedy of the Civil War in Russia, annexed some historical Russian provinces. Our country, which was then in a difficult situation, was forced to conclude the Treaty of Riga in 1921 and actually recognize the rejection of its territories.
And even earlier, in 1920, Poland seized part of Lithuania – the Vilnius region, the territory around modern Vilnius. It seems that together with the Lithuanians they fought against the so-called “Russian imperialism”, and as soon as the opportunity turned up, they immediately chopped off a piece of land from their neighbors.
Poland, as you know, also took part in the partition of Czechoslovakia as a result of the Munich agreement with Hitler in 1938. Completely occupied Cieszyn Silesia.
In the 20s and 30s of the last century, in the so-called Eastern Kresy of Poland – and this is the territory of Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and part of Lithuania – severe Polonization and assimilation of local residents was carried out, national cultures and Orthodoxy were suppressed.
I would also like to remind you of how such an aggressive policy ended for Poland as a result. It ended with the national tragedy of 1939, when Poland was abandoned by the Western Allies to be devoured by the German war machine and actually lost its independence and statehood, which was restored to a large extent thanks to the Soviet Union. And it was thanks to the Soviet Union, thanks to Stalin’s position, that Poland received significant lands in the West, the lands of Germany. This is exactly right: the western territories of present-day Poland are Stalin’s gift to the Poles.
Have our friends in Warsaw forgotten about it? We will remind.
Today we see that the regime in Kiev is ready to do anything to save its corrupt skin and prolong its existence. They do not care about the people of Ukraine, its sovereignty and national interests.
They will trade in everything: both people and land. By the way, just like their ideological predecessors, the Petliurists, who in 1920 concluded so-called secret conventions with Poland, according to which, in exchange for military support, they gave Poland the lands of Galicia and Western Volhynia. Such traitors are still ready to open the gates for foreign owners and once again sell Ukraine.
As for the Polish leaders, they probably expect to form some kind of coalition under the NATO umbrella and directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine, in order to then tear off a fatter piece for themselves, to regain for themselves, as they believe, their historical territories – today’s Western Ukraine. It is well known that they also dream of Belarusian lands.
As for the policy of the Ukrainian regime, this is his business. They want, as is usual with traitors, to hand over something, sell it, pay off the owners with something – this, I repeat, is their business in the end. We will not interfere in this.
But as for Belarus, it is part of the Union State, unleashing aggression against Belarus will mean aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to this with all the means at our disposal.
The Polish authorities, nurturing their revanchist plans, do not tell the truth to their people either. And the truth is that the West is clearly not enough Ukrainian “cannon fodder”, not enough. Therefore, they plan to use new consumables: the Poles themselves, Lithuanians and further down the list – everyone who is not sorry.
I will say one thing: this is a very dangerous game, and the authors of such plans should think about the consequences.
Sergey Evgenievich, I hope that your service, as well as our other special services, will closely follow the development of events.
Igor Strelkov, a controversial former Donbass militia commander, was detained in Moscow on Friday amid an investigation into allegations of extremism, according to news outlets and family members. The soldier-turned-blogger is also known by his real name, Igor Girkin.
Citing sources, newspaper RBK reported that the Russian Investigative Committee was executing a search order at Strelkov’s home, and that he had been taken into custody.
Strelkov became the focus of international attention in 2014 while serving as defense minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), which was then unrecognized.
The role made him the prime suspect in the Dutch investigation into the downing of MH17, which crashed in July 2014, killing all 298 people on board. In November 2022, a Dutch court sentenced Strelkov in absentia to a life term in prison. Moscow rejected the prosecution as politically motivated and claimed it was an attempt to whitewash possible Ukrainian guilt.
Strelkov’s lawyer confirmed his detention, according to RBK. Sources in law enforcement claimed that the arrest was based on a criminal complaint filed by a former member of the Wagner private military company.
A message posted on Strelkov’s social media, which was signed by his wife, said she had learned about the detention from the concierge of their apartment block. Unidentified friends said Strelkov was suspected of extremism, according to the message.
Other Russian news outlets later confirmed the news about Strelkov’s detention, citing their own sources.
Strelkov is now a popular military blogger, and is a vocal critic of the Russian government and military leadership amid the conflict with Ukraine. He believes Moscow is not going far enough in mobilizing the capacity of the country.
Earlier this year, Strelkov was involved in a public feud with Evgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group. Prigozhin challenged Strelkov to go to the front lines and join his forces, although the pair could not reach agreement over which position he would take.
Prigozhin is now viewed as a pariah in Russia after staging a brief mutiny last month. He ordered some of his men to march on Moscow with the stated goal of replacing senior Russian generals. Moscow branded Prigozhin a traitor, but allowed him to leave the country to avoid major bloodshed.
Strelkov has also had tensions with fellow members of his ‘Club of Angry Patriots’ online group over his criticism of Wagner troops.
