Category Archives: Putin

President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree allowing foreign nationals who have fought for Russia in Ukraine to obtain Russian citizenship for themselves and their families. Under the new order, individuals who have signed contracts during what Moscow refers to as its "special military operation" in Ukraine can apply for Russian passports for themselves, their spouses, children, and parents. It is a requirement for them to provide documents proving their commitment to a minimum one-year service. This includes individuals who have signed contracts with the regular armed forces or other "military formations," which may include groups like the Wagner mercenary organization. Initial fast-track citizenship policy In September 2022, following the announcement of a partial mobilization to draft 300,000 reservists for the conflict in Ukraine, Putin first permitted fast-track citizenship for foreigners who signed contracts with the Russian military. Under this policy, immigrants who committed to at least a year of service and participated in active hostilities for a minimum of six months could apply for citizenship without proving their proficiency in Russian or a five-year residency in Russia under a permit. This opportunity was also extended to their spouses and children, with authorities required to make decisions on such applications within three months, as per a presidential decree at the time. Further simplification in 2023 In May 2023, another decree by Putin further simplified the citizenship process. The requirement for six months of active hostilities was eliminated, allowing anyone who signed a year-long contract during the Kremlin's special military operation in Ukraine, along with their families, to apply through the fast-track procedure. Latest decree for quicker citizenship The decree signed on Thursday further accelerates the citizenship process, reducing the decision-making period on applications to just one month, down from three. The Kremlin has not immediately commented on the rationale behind this change. Reports of police raids targeting migrants Concurrent with these decrees, there have been regular media reports of police raids in Russian cities focusing on migrants. According to these reports, individuals detained in such raids are frequently coerced or pressured into signing military contracts. Novaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper, reported a significant raid on New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg, where over 3,000 migrants were detained. An anonymous police source indicated that the objective of the raid was to recruit men for the army. The aim of this measure seems to be to provide additional incentives for foreigners with military experience to join the Russian ranks. Official data regarding the number of foreigners fighting on Russia's side in Ukraine is not publicly available. However, previous reports from Reuters have highlighted cases of Cubans who enlisted in the military in exchange for bonuses equivalent to over 100 times the average monthly salary in Cuba, as well as three Africans recruited by Wagner, two of whom were killed in action. According to a declassified US intelligence report, Russia has suffered a significant toll in the Ukraine war, with approximately 315,000 dead and wounded troops. This accounts for nearly 90% of the personnel it had at the beginning of the conflict, as shared by a source familiar with the intelligence. In September 2022, Russia initiated its first mobilization since World War Two, drafting an additional 300,000 men. There have been speculations that Russia may repeat this move, possibly after the upcoming presidential election in March, where Putin is expected to secure another six-year term. However, the Kremlin has repeatedly stated that no further mobilization is necessary due to the hundreds of thousands of men who voluntarily signed contracts last year to become professional soldiers. Both Russia and Ukraine have not disclosed the full extent of their losses during the 22-month war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that his military has proposed mobilizing an additional 450,000-500,000 individuals. The Kyiv parliament has started reviewing a controversial draft legislation that aims to tighten and expand mobilization rules. (with inputs from agencies)

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Vladimir Putin offers citizenship to foreigners who fight for Russia - IndiaTimes

The evidence that former president, Donald Trump took in at least $7.8 million from foreign entities while in office is the kind of misdeeds that the GOP cannot find on President Biden.

Donald J. Trump through his businesses reportedly received at least $7.8 million from more than 20 foreign governments during his presidency, according to new documents released by House Democrats on Thursday that show how much he received from overseas transactions while he was in the White Housemost of it came from China.

In addition to the millions Trump received while in office, the former president,DonaldTrump reportedly asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 electionaccording to an account of life inside the Trump administration by former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.

At the same meeting, Xi also defended Chinas construction of camps housing as many as 1million Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and Trump signaled his approval. According to our interpreter, Bolton writes, Trump said that Xi should go ahead with building the camps, which Trump thought was exactly the right thing to do.

Democratic Representative, Jake Auchincloss, sits on the U.S. House Select Committee on China and recently said that both Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping are both hoping that former President Donald Trump will be in the White House in 2024.

Let me be crystal clear here:Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are salivating at the prospect of President Trump re-entering the White House in 2025, Auchincloss said at Semafors World Economy Summit on Wednesday.

January 6, 2021, was Xi Jinpings best day in office because when the United States degrades its own democracy on the world stage for people all over to witness, it undermines the power of our example, Auchincloss said.

Republicans have moved closer and closer to publicly and unapologetically cozying up to authoritarian governments, perhaps more than ever before in U.S. history.

And even though America has seen its share of elected leaders that have spoken out in the same manner as authoritarian rule in other countries (think Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his U.S. communism witch hunts)no one stands out in American GOP political history quite like Sen. Robert A. Taftdubbed, Mr. Republican and whose defense of the pure principled conservatism is still seen as the GOP iconic and unfortunately, shining example, for many of the Trump faithful.

These ideologies have chillingly gained momentum.

In 1940 Taft wrote,There is a good deal more danger of the infiltration of totalitarian ideas from the New Deal circle in Washington than there will ever be from any activities of . . . theNazi bund.

This quote is Taft actually comparing one of our nations highest ideals for working Americans, the New Deal which set into motion programs, public work projects, financial reforms and regulations of protections enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939as more dangerous than the infiltration of Nazi Americans in the U.S.

TheNazi Bund was a German-American Nazi organizationestablished in 1936. Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of Nazi Germany.

Today we are seeing and hearing chants and public displays of a return to that kind of thinking and the antisemitic rhetoric is ripe among GOP MAGA candidates that were mostly defeated in the mid-terms but are making a slow but steady comeback as the nation nears 2024.

One member of the Arizona Jewish community described the growth of antisemitism and speeches flowing with hate-filled rhetoric from many of the GOP Arizona midterm candidates as a tidal wave of antisemitism.

The 64-year-old business owner and contributor to Northeast Valley News said that he is deeply troubled by growing antisemitismbut worse, the apparent acceptance of it on the part of many GOP political candidates and even some elected officials. Its difficult to know how to respond to someone so legitimately frightened by the kind of antisemitic rhetoric and communication associated with some GOP candidates in Arizona.

The longtime member of Arizonas Jewish community chose to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation and threats but told Northeast Valley News that he is concerned with the rampant and growing language of antisemitism.

They have endorsed antisemitic candidates in other states, posed with and attended rallies of white nationalists, some of them are funded by conspiracy theorists or are supported by Nazi sympathizers why are these candidates even allowed on the Az. ballot?

The business owner recently changed his party affiliation back to what it was when he was much younger after almost two decades as a registered Republican he said he wanted to drop any affiliation with the GOP.

While he has maintained a popular and successful small business for more than 21 years in Phoenixhe declined to go on the record with Northeast Valley News over fear of retaliation and threats.

Several other Valley respondents told Northeast Valley News that they fear for American democracy if Donald Trump is elected.

Loraine Hull, a retired teacher and resident of Gilbert spoke of a growing unease at the popularity of living in an isolationist country ruled by a dictator who may never leave office again.

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China's Xi Jinping and Putin salivating at a Trump 2024 winthe kinship with dictators has Valley voters concerned - Northeast Valley News

Claim:

A video authentically shows UFC fighter Conor McGregor putting his arm around Russian President Vladimir Putin for a photo-op before removing it after someone in Putin's entourage tells him not to.

On Jan 2, 2024, the X account Historic Vids posted a video purporting to show UFC fighter Conor McGregor being "given a warning for putting his arm over Vladimir Putin" during a photo op:

Some users of Community Notes, a fact-checking initiative on X, suggested the video is misleading or manipulated because the order of events has been reversed something that occurred with another video of Putin.

However, while the McGregor video is edited slightly to make it shorter, the events depicted occur in the order in which they should, and the cuts that were made do not strip it of any meaningful context, as shown by the full, unedited version:

While the interpretation that McGregor was "warned" is somewhat subjective, McGregor does remove his arm from Putin's shoulder after a member of Putin's entourage signals to him, and newspaper reports suggest that, indeed, he was asked to remove his arm.

The meeting occurred at the 2018 World Cup at Putin's invitation, as reported by the BBC:

Conor McGregor has caused controversy by calling Russian president Vladimir Putin "one of the greatest leaders of our time".

The MMA fighter posted a photo to Instagram of himself with Mr Putin at the World Cup final in Moscow.

Some fans weren't happy with the 30-year-old's choice to accept the Russian leader's invitation to the match in Moscow.

Because the video authentically portrays this meeting and documents an apparent request for McGregor to remove his arm, this claim is True.

Link:

Does Video Show Conor McGregor Being Told Not To Put Arm Around Putin? - Snopes.com

This is perhaps the most dire moment for Ukraine since Russias invasion in February 2022, with the military situation on the battlefield seemingly stalemated, Western political support wavering under the weight of political dysfunction, and war in the Middle East diverting resources and attention.

This is perhaps the most dire moment for Ukraine since Russias invasion in February 2022, with the military situation on the battlefield seemingly stalemated, Western political support wavering under the weight of political dysfunction, and war in the Middle East diverting resources and attention.

Nevertheless, many reflexive cynics in the Western press are going too far in crediting Ukraines adversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, with one Wall Street Journal columnist even declaring Putin one of the winners of the year. We cannot fall into the trap of thinking that all is good for Putin, and we cannot jettison effective measures to pressure him. Just this week, the New York Times even suggested that the exit of more than 1,000 multinational companies from Russia has backfired by enriching Putin and his cronies.

All the evidence suggests there are, in fact, ample costs of the business exodus. Economic data clearly shows that the Russian economy has paid a huge price for the loss of those businesses. Putin continues to conceal the required disclosure of Russias national income statisticsobviously because they are nothing to brag out.

Transferring nearly worthless assets does not make Russia or Putin cronies wealthier. While Putin expropriated some assets of Asian and Western companies, most firms simply abandoned them, eagerly writing down billions of dollars in assets. They were rewarded for doing so astheir market capitalization soaredupon the news of their exits. Russia is not only suing foreign companies for leaving, as ExxonMobils and BPs departures ended the technology needed for exploration, but Russian oil giant Rosnefteven sued Reutersfor reporting on it. The massive supply disruptions shuttering Russian factories across sectors were described in on-the-ground reporting by theJournal, which resulted in the arrest andnow nine-month imprisonment of the heroic journalist who documented the truth.

Consider the following economic statistics we have verified.

Talent flight. In the first months after the invasion, an estimated500,000 individualsfled Russia, many of whom were exactly the highly educated, technically skilled workers Russia cannot afford to lose. In the year-plus since, that number has ballooned to at least1 millionindividuals. By some counts, Russia lost10 percentof its entire technology workforce from this unprecedented talent flight.

Capital flight. Per the Russian Central Banks own reports, arecord $253 billion in private capital was pulled out of Russiabetween February 2022 and June 2023, which was more thanfour timesthe amount of prior capital outflows.By some measures, Russia lost 33 percent of the total number of millionaires living in Russia when those individuals fled.

Loss of Western technology and knowhow. This occurred across key industries such as technology and energy exploration. For example, Rosneft alone has had to spendnearly $10 billion moreon capital expenditure over the last year by itsown disclosure, which amounts to roughly $10 of additional expenses for every barrel of oilexported, on top of difficulties continuing its Arctic oil drilling projects, which were almostsolely dependenton Western tech and expertise.

Near-complete halt in foreign direct investment into Russia. Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Russia has come to anear-complete stopbyseveral measures. There has been only one month ofpositive inflows in the 22 months since the invasion, compared with approximately $100 billion in FDI annually before the war.

Loss of the ruble as a freely convertible and exchangeable currency. With global multinationals fleeing in such droves, there was little to stop Putin from implementing unprecedented, strictcapital controlson the ruble post-invasion, such as banning citizens from sending money to bank accounts abroad; suspending cash withdrawals from dollar banking accounts beyond $10,000; forcing exporters to exchange 80 percent of their earnings for rubles; suspending direct dollar conversions for individuals with ruble banking accounts; suspending lending in dollars; and suspending dollar sales across Russian banks. No wonder ruble trading volumes are down90 percent, making Russian assets valued in rubles virtually worthless and unexchangeable in global markets.

Loss of access to capital markets. Western capital markets remain the deepest, most liquid, and cheapest source of capital to fund business and risk-taking. Since the start of the invasion, no Russian company has been able to issue any new stock or any new bonds in any Western financial marketmeaning they can only tap the coffers of domestic funding sources such as Putins state-owned banks for loans at usurious rates (and still increasing, with the benchmark interest rate at 16 percent). And with multinational companies having fled, Russian business ventures have no alternative sources of funding and no global investors to tap.

Massive destruction of wealth and plummeting asset valuations. Thanks in part to the mass exodus of global multinational businesses, asset valuations have plummeted across the board in Russia, with even the total enterprise value of some state-owned enterprise down 75 percent compared with prewar levels, according to our research, on top of 50 percent haircuts in the valuation of many private sector assets, as cited in the Times.

These are just some of the costs imposed on Putin by the withdrawal of 1,000-plus global businesses; it does not consider the deleterious impact on the Russian economy of economic sanctions, such as the highly effective oil price cap devised by the U.S. Treasury Department. More than two-thirds of Russias exports were energy, and that is now sliced in half. Russia, which never supplied any finished goodsindustrial or consumerto the global economy, is paralyzed. It is not remotely an economic superpower, with virtually all of its raw materials easily substituted from elsewhere. The war machine is driven only by the cannibalization of now state-controlled enterprises.

Based on our ample economic data, the verdict is clear: The unprecedented, historic exodus of 1,000-plus global companies has helped cripple Putins war machine. At such a dire moment for Ukraine, it would be a mistake to be too Pollyannaishjust as it would be a mistake to be too cynical.

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No, Putin Is Not One of the Year's 'Winners' - Foreign Policy

Reports indicating Russian dictator Vladimir Putins interest in ending the war are in fact a ploy to impede and disrupt further military aid to Ukraine from Western allies, the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote on Dec. 23.

Putin is only interested in ending the war if it results in a complete victory for Russia, stressed the ISW. Analysts pointed to past Kremlin attempts to mislead Western policymakers and pressure them into urging Ukraine to resume negotiations with Russia in the winter of 2022-2023.

Read also: Immediate ceasefire in Ukraine would play into Russias hands, Washington says

This suggests Russias aim to divert attention to hypothetical negotiations rather than allowing Ukraine to accumulate sufficient material resources and weaponry before the anticipated spring-summer counteroffensive. ISW suggests the Kremlin is likely employing covert channels to achieve a similar effect amid Western debates on further military aid to Ukraine.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on Dec. 23, citing former and current high-ranking Russian, American, and other officials, that Putin uses covert channels and intermediaries to express interest in a ceasefire, despite recent public statements to the contrary.

NYT reported that Western officials have received signals since September 2023 indicating Putins interest in a ceasefire and freezing the front. The publication cautioned that messages through covert channels might not reflect the true desire to engage in negotiations.

Read also: Ukraine rejects Chinese calls for immediate ceasefire

NYT journalists presented several theories for Putins hints at a desire to end the war, including upcoming presidential elections in Russia in March 2024, the desire to keep options open for resolving the conflict, taking advantage of the expected decrease in Western support for Ukraine, and diversion due to the war in Israel and Hamas.

However, ISW analysts are convinced that all these motives represent only temporary reasons why Putin may seek a ceasefire, providing time for Russia to prepare for renewed aggression against Ukraine.

In its report, NYT mentioned that Putins private hints at a desire to declare victory and move on contradict his public rhetoric. In recent speeches, he asserted Russias maximalist goals of denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, claiming they remain unchanged.

Read also: Erdoan calls on Putin to announce unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine

Analysts noted that neither NYT nor its sources provided any grounds to believe that Putins communications through covert channels reflect his intentions more than his public statements.

From the NYT material, it is also unclear whether Putin is interested in a ceasefire for a temporary pause or the definitive conclusion of the war. Russia is ready (for negotiations), but exclusively to achieve its own goals, Putins spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said in a comment to NYT.

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Putin signals desire to halt hostilities to thwart Western aid, says ISW - Yahoo News

When Vladimir Putin canceled his traditional end-of-year marathon press conference last winter, it was widely interpreted as proof that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was going badly wrong. This December the flagship event was back, and so was the swagger. Putin oozed confidence throughout his carefully choreographed question-and-answer session, which lasted for more than four hours. In addition to claiming large parts of Ukraine as historically Russian territory and insisting Ukrainians are actually Russians (one people), the Kremlin dictator also made clear that he is in no mood to negotiate. There will be peace when we have achieved all our goals, he declared. Victory will be ours.

As the New Year holiday season draws near, this same upbeat message of impending victory is on display in public spaces across Russia, and is becoming increasingly prominent throughout the countrys Kremlin-controlled media ecosystem. Its difficult to overstate the level of outward confidence currently being displayed on Russian state TV, commented Russian media watcher Francis Scarr of BBC Monitoring on December 20.

The growing sense of triumphalism inside Russia is all the more striking as it is largely unconnected to any developments on the battlefields of Ukraine. Indeed, Putins invading army has barely advanced at all during 2023, and has spent much of the past year on the defensive. Nevertheless, there is no mistaking the change in mood among the Russian elite compared to the gloomy outlook of late 2022. This renewed faith in ultimate Russian victory owes much more to Western weakness than to the Kremlins own military might.

Since the early stages of this years summer campaigning season, international coverage of the war has focused almost exclusively on Ukraines failing counteroffensive. This has obscured the fact that Russias own attempted offensives have proven equally underwhelming. Despite mobilizing more than 300,000 additional troops in late 2022, Moscow has been unable to achieve any major military breakthroughs over the past twelve months. Instead, the front lines of the war have remained largely static, with Russian commanders paying a terrible price in men and equipment for comparatively modest gains that have often been measured in meters rather than kilometers.

The absence of international media interest in Russias lack of progress speaks volumes about the countrys diminished status as a military superpower. On the eve of the full-scale invasion, many experts believed Ukraine would be no match for Putins army and predicted the country would fall in a matter of days. Less than two years later, Russias multiple failed offensives and catastrophic losses are now increasingly taken for granted. Rarely in modern history has a countrys military reputation taken so severe a battering in such a short space of time.

While the Russian army has little to cheer, the situation at sea is arguably even worse. The Russian Black Sea Fleets shortcomings first became apparent in the early months of the war with the sinking of fleet flagship The Moskva and the retreat from Snake Island. However, these setbacks were to prove relatively minor compared to the fleets dramatically deteriorating fortunes during 2023. Despite not having a navy of its own, Ukraine has used a combination of drones, missiles, and commando raids over the past year to break the blockade of the countrys Black Sea ports and force Russia to withdraw the bulk of its warships from occupied Crimea. The most humiliating blow in this innovative Ukrainian campaign came in September, when the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol was partially destroyed by a Ukrainian airstrike.

With 2023 offering very little in terms of genuine Russian military success stories, why is the Kremlin suddenly so bullish about the future prospects of the invasion? This optimism is in large part due to a weakening of Western resolve that has become increasingly evident during the second half of the year. The failure of Ukraines counteroffensive has played a key role in this process, leading to widespread war weariness and increased talk of Ukraine fatigue. With no end in sight to the conflict, a major new American support package has become hostage to domestic US politics, while EU leaders were recently unable to secure unanimous support for a landmark multi-year aid initiative.

Western weakness is playing directly into Putins hands. Ever since the failure of its initial blitzkrieg attack in spring 2022, Russias strategy has been to outlast the West while gradually overwhelming Ukraine. Putin is openly preparing his country for an extended confrontation with the Western world, and has shifted the Russian economy to a war footing. This long-term approach appears to be working. Many in Russia are now convinced the West is preparing to abandon Ukraine and are openly relishing the prospect of what would be an historic victory.

As the world prepares to enter 2024, the stakes in Ukraine could hardly be higher. If Western indecision and disunity allows Putin to achieve his goal of extinguishing Ukrainian statehood, the implications for international security would be disastrous. A resurgent Russia would almost certainly go further, either by targeting low-hanging fruit such as Moldova and Kazakhstan, or by testing NATO itself. Even in a best case scenario, the countries of the democratic world would soon find themselves forced to drastically increase defense budgets to levels that would dwarf the current cost of arming Ukraine. Meanwhile, other authoritarian regimes would seek to replicate Russias success. The whole world would be plunged into a new era of instability.

If Western leaders wish to prevent the collapse of the international security system, they must recognize the necessity of defeating Putin and finally give Ukraine the tools it needs to secure victory. There is nothing inevitable about the current stalemate; on the contrary, it is a direct result of the failure to arm Ukraine adequately in 2023. With sufficient weapons, Ukraine has already shown it is capable of beating Russia on the battlefield. However, without continued Western support, Ukrainian resistance will likely end in tragedy.

Fateful months lie ahead. The collective West has more than enough economic, industrial, and military resources at its disposal to surpass anything Russia could hope to muster, but Western leaders have yet to demonstrate the necessary political will to win. Unless this is urgently rectified, 2024 may go down in history as a decisive year not only for Ukraine but for the entire Western world.

Peter Dickinson is editor of the Atlantic Councils UkraineAlert service.

The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.

Image: Russian President Vladimir Putin awards Sergeant Yevgeny Supakov with the Hero of Russia Gold Star medal following an expanded meeting of the Defence Ministry Board at the National Defence Control Centre in Moscow, Russia December 19, 2023. (Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS)

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Putin scents historic victory amid growing signs of Western weakness - Atlantic Council

Russian President Vladimir Putin may be open to a cease-fire in his war with Ukraine, so long as the country could still declare victory, a new report by the New York Times found.

Putin, still confident in his forces, said that Russia’s goals have not changed. In his annual year-end press conference last week, Putin warned that there would be no peace solutionin Ukraine until Russia achieves its overarching goals, the “denazification” and demilitarization of Ukraine.

Putin’s message might be different now, as he has reportedly signaled he is ready to make a deal. Since September, Putin has signaled that he is open to a pause in fighting along the current lines, which is much shorter than his intention to dominate Ukraine, according to the Times who cited two former senior Russian officials.  

According to the United Nations, more than 10,000 civilians have been killed and 18,500 have been injured since the start of the war nearly two years ago.

According to American officials, Putin also put out feelers for a ceasefire in the fall of 2022 after he was not happy with how much territory Russia had captured.

“Mr. Putin’s repeated interest in a cease-fire is an example of how opportunism and improvisation have defined his approach to the war behind closed doors,” the Times wrote.

The Times said they conducted dozens of interviews with Russians who have known Putin for years that shine a light on his maneuvering to avoid risks and keep his options open in the war that’s lasted longer than he thought it would.

The officials that spoke with the Times said Putin sees several reasons that make now a good moment to make a deal, particularly since the war seems stuck in a stalemate, Ukraine’s offensive has been disappointing and the onset of the Israel-Hamas war.

According to the Kremlin’s analysis, public support for the war is broad but not deep, which means most people would accept whatever Putin would deem as a victory.

Some Western officials are skeptical that Putin would only rearm and rebuild during a cease-fire.

There is no guarantee that Ukraine’s leaders would accept a deal, though the country has been struggling to finance its military amid delays in funding from both Europe and the United States.

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Putin could be open to a pause in fighting amid Russia-Ukraine war: Report - The Hill

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been sending signals through intermediaries since at least September that he is ready to agree to a ceasefire in the war of aggression against Ukraine, which would include freezing hostilities on the current contact line.

Source: The New York Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The newspaper claims to have learnt this information from two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin, as well as US and international officials.

US officials believe Putin had already made attempts to negotiate a ceasefire a year earlier, in the autumn of 2022. His previously unknown intentions emerged after Ukraine defeated the Russian forces in the northeast. At the time, Putin indicated his satisfaction with the territories that Russia had captured and was ready for a truce, the newspaper's sources noted.

However, Putin is now deploying fiery public rhetoric that Russia's goals in the war have not changed while privately indicating his desire to "declare victory and move on."

Western officials have been receiving new signals since at least September that Putin appears to be interested in a ceasefire. The messages come through several channels, including foreign governments with ties to both the United States and Russia.

"They [the Russians] say, We are ready to have negotiations on a cease-fire They want to stay where they are on the battlefield," said one senior international official who met with Russian officials this autumn.

However, some US officials suggest that this may be a typical misleading attempt by the Kremlin and that it does not reflect Putin's genuine willingness to compromise. Former Russian officials add that Putin may well change his mind again if Russian troops gain momentum.

"He really is willing to stop at the current positions Hes not willing to retreat one meter," said one former senior Russian official, echoing a message he believes the Kremlin is tacitly sending.

Current and former officials say Putin is considering a confluence of factors that create a favourable moment for a deal: a stalemated battlefield, the aftermath of Ukraine's failed offensive, weak support for Kyiv in the West, and the distraction from the Russo-Ukrainian war due to the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Publicly, Putin has maintained his aggressive stance, claiming that he is confronting the West, which is seeking to destroy the "millennia-old Russian civilisation".

However, US officials see a shift in Putin's stance, noting that he is no longer demanding the resignation of the Zelenskyy government. They claimed that the ceasefire Putin is proposing would preserve a sovereign Ukraine with Kyiv as its capital but leave Russia in control of nearly 20% of the Ukrainian territory it has managed to occupy.

The US sources added that while Putin has signalled that he is open to such a deal, he is waiting for a more concrete proposal.

One of many likely stumbling blocks is Putin's determination to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO. Nevertheless, one former Russian official noted that disagreements over this issue would not be a reason for Putin not to negotiate, as the Alliance is not expected to accept Ukraine into its ranks in the foreseeable future.

However, senior US officials expressed their doubts that any prominent Ukrainian politician could agree to a deal that would cede that much Ukrainian territory to Russia.

The ceasefire is viewed with scepticism by many in the West, who believe Putin is rearming for a future attack.

Background:

At a press conference on 14 December, Putin declared that the war against Ukraine will end when he achieves all his goals - "denazification, demilitarisation and neutral status for Ukraine".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that Russia will not be able to achieve its goals in Ukraine despite its enormous efforts.

Earlier, the French and UK foreign ministers vowed to support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion "as long as it takes", with the important thing being that President Vladimir Putin must lose.

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Putin sends signals of willingness to freeze war New York Times - Yahoo News

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

Putin's regime is an existential threat to European civilization. If Russia wins in Ukraine, it will not stop, just as Hitler did not stop when he captured the Sudetenland. Putin will go further and wont rest until he destroys the Western world, Leonid Gozman writes.

Hopes for Kyiv's relatively quick victory have not materialised and the war between Russia and Ukraine has dragged onthough this is certainly not the fault of the Ukrainians.

The war is becoming polarising and demands for negotiations and compromise are increasingly frequent.

Those hoping for a compromise with Vladimir Putin do not fully understand the nature of his regime or him as a person.

Compromise with Putin is impossible, and any peace agreement will not lead to peace, but rather to a temporary ceasefire that Putin will use to build up his forces for a new attack.

Putin started this war not to resolve a specific issue there were no unsolvable contradictions between Russia and Ukraine but to destroy Ukraine as a subject of politics, language, and culture.

He repeatedly stated that there was never such a thing as Ukraine to begin with, that it was invented by Vladimir Lenin, that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, and that the Ukrainian language does not exist.

He believes it. In Putins mind, destroying Ukraine is not at all aggression, but a return to a normal order.

That is why Ukrainians cant agree with Putin or as Golda Meir said, You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.

Since it would be politically inviable to openly declare the destruction of Ukraine as the goal of the invasion, the Russian authorities constantly changed their war aims.

They first aimed to ensure the right to speak Russian in Donbas which no one encroached on then destroy biological laboratories designed to make Russian women infertile, allegedly created in Ukraine with the help of the United States.

After came denazification and finally, in Dmitry Medvedevs words, the fight against Satan.

It is true: today, Russian propaganda does not talk about the goals of the war at all. For Russia, war is no longer the means, but a natural state.

The war with Ukraine is only one of three that Putins regime wages. The second one, no less important, is the war for the revival of the Empire.

While the Kremlin has been preparing for it for a long time, it entered the active phase in 2008, when Russia captured 20% of Georgias territory.

Putin, of course, does not seek to occupy all the countries formerly part of the Russian Empire, but he does demand special rights and control over their foreign policy.

Russia takes every opportunity to destabilise its neighbours, from utilising the Russian diaspora to bribing politicians and organsing coups.

Putin will never give up his rights to the Empire. He believes that any territory where Russian soldiers shed blood should be part of Russia or its sphere of influence, and people living there should be eternally grateful to Russia.

The lack of gratitude angers and makes Putin even more aggressive.

However, the main war for Putin is the one with the West, where Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and threats to Poland are just episodes.

According to the Russian leadership, the West (or Anglo-Saxons) has always humiliated Russia, seeking to conquer or slow down Russias development.

The motive of humiliation or lack of respect is fundamentally important to Putin. And, even when Russia did not yet exist, this was not so much of an inter-country struggle but a spiritual confrontation between the worlds good, embodied by Russia and the Russians, and evil, that is the West.

Now, just as before, so the story goes, the West hates Russia, seeking to undermine its unity and destroy the country as a whole, and is ready to risk a global war for this.

The idea of a global confrontation with European civilization did not emerge immediately after Putin became president.

Putin began as a Westerniser and perceived integration of Russia into the First World as his mission.

That did not work out, but Putin also did not strive to join the modern West, but rather the West of the Yalta Conference times, when the great powers could divide the planet among themselves.

And since returning to the past turned out to be unattainable, Putin, while remaining in G8, began to pursue an anti-Western policy, hoping to lead the worlds anti-American sentiment.

But that did not work out either: neither China, Turkey, nor Iran accepted him as the leader. That was the time when the wars began: Putin decided to gain global respect and recognition with military force.

Putin needs this war for both domestic and psychological reasons.

His reign has been plagued by failures: the demographic situation is worsening, the technological gap is increasing, the quality of life is falling, and it is not possible to solve any of Russias most pressing problems.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no support for his policies or him personally.

People are indifferent; they have come to terms with Putin and his actions and do not feel any enthusiasm about it.

The defeats at the front or what is declared as victories do not provoke a public reaction, and neither did Putins ICC arrest warrant or the drone attack on the Kremlin.

The war with no end allows Putin to suppress discontent we were attacked, the enemy is on the doorstep and not think about the failures, instead plunging into the world of illusions completely, where he has been in recent years.

For Putin, peace is impossible. The task of maintaining control over Russia and preserving self-respect is solved only in conditions of war.

Peace will make the population realise the meaninglessness of their sacrifices and, most importantly, give elites an opportunity to express, in one form or another, their dissatisfaction with Putins policies, catastrophic both for them and the country but beneficial to Putin and his entourage.

The dissatisfaction of the elites has been accumulating for years.Therefore, no matter what the costs are, Putin will continue the war, using any negotiations as a respite.

This is exactly what Adolf Hitler would have done if, at the end of the war, the anti-Hitler coalition had agreed to a peace agreement with him.

He could no longer help but fight; a stable peace meant the end of his power. It is the same for Putin.

He does not need peace, but only a truce. And peace on Earth, as in 1945, can only be achieved if the regime of Vladimir Putin is destroyed.

Therefore, the supply of Western weapons and financial assistance to Ukraine is not charity, but self-defence.

The Putin system is an existential threat to European civilization. If Russia wins in Ukraine, it will not stop, just as Hitler did not stop when he captured the Sudetenland.

Putin will go further and wont rest until he destroys the Western world.

Leonid Gozman, Ph.D. is a Russian liberal politician, psychologist and political scientist, and a professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University in Moscow until 2020. Now in exile,Gozman was declared a "foreign agent" in 2022, then arrested and spent a month in prison for opposing the war in Ukraine.

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

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Russia's three wars have made peace with Putin impossible - Euronews

Vladimir Putin’s unwavering faith in the supremacy of autocracy is not baseless: Two years into his Ukraine war, having lost more than 200,000 Russian soldiers in a quagmire that would be disastrous for any democratic leader, Putin sees the collective West receding from its once strong support of Ukraine. Rather than having buckled to the world’s initial, emotional outrage to his full-scale invasion, Putin has taken a page from the Playbook of America’s Enemies: Give it time, and the West will fold.  

Putin is now signaling that he has devised further, post-Ukraine plans for global destruction. We should not lose time in ending the Putin regime before it is too late. 

Failing to take Ukraine in 2014, Putin relaunched his efforts in 2022, and last week foreshadowed that “Odessa [Ukraine] is a Russian city.” Taking Odessa would be the last stop before the Russian train of terror dives deeper into Europe, into Moldova, a mere 31 miles away. Moldova, like Ukraine, is not a member of NATO: The poorest country in Europe, with a military of less than 7,000 men, would quickly be overrun by Russian troops.  

We should not dismiss as hyperbolic Putin’s promise of “problems for Finland” for having joined NATO and the ire he feels toward the Baltic states, which have been energetic cheerleaders for Ukraine: Putin has already decided they need not exist. 

The Baltic States’s military strategy, should the Russian Bear arrive, is to essentially break into partisan units, holding off Russia for a few weeks until NATO arrives. NATO’s Article 5 dictates that countries must assist the attacked member-nation. However, a reinvigorated, NATO-skeptic President Trump, if reelected, could use America’s vote to veto the use of Article 5. 

Putin may not start-off with the full-scale invasion of another European country, as Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said: Moscow has plenty of strings to pull in the Balkan tinderbox.  

The autocracies of the world are rejoicing at the debacle of America toying with support for Ukraine, giving the wrong signal to other bad actors: China’s lust for Taiwan is well-known; Venezuela is headed toward the conquest of Guyana; Iran is backing terrorists who attack foreign vessels and wage war in Israel. The U.S. flicks its wrist to slow the attackers but does not leave a bruise. The global tyrannies look to Moscow and see that the protagonist of the dictatorial narrative, Putin, was right all along: Just be patient, persevere, exhaust the West, then do as you please.  

Russia, like its most intimate allies, is under crushing sanctions — something that Moscow has in common with illegal non-state actor allies such as drug cartels or Islamic terrorists. Putin, championing de-dollarization and the abandonment of the West’s financial mechanisms, hopes to provide a parallel means to do business for those who oppose the international rules-based-order. The very global system that the West built over hundreds of years is being fundamentally challenged by rogues that see how easily distracted the West has become. 

The good news? The global cabal of autocracies, narcos and terrorists has only one ringmaster: Russia’s Putin. If Putin, the lynchpin, is removed, the global network will be disordered. 

The West should strongly back those seeking to build a Putin-less world, starting with Russia’s democratic opposition. Facing troubles on the home front, Putin will not waste time in re-evaluating his priorities to prevent his own downfall. To suppress internal chaos, Putin would need to import Russian troops, now engaged abroad, across Russia so he could prevent counterrevolutions or the break-up of the Federation. Given a choice of entertaining fantasies of expanding Russia, or serving their self-interest, such as avoiding being toppled, Russian leaders are predictable.  

A “hardline” leader seizing the Kremlin post-Putin is improbable: Usurpers who come to power, without a plausible narrative justifying their claim to power, need to gain legitimacy, part of which comes from possessing the world’s largest nuclear stockpile while fighting-off challengers vying for the keys of the Kremlin, which would require Russia’s troops to be in Moscow.  

It’s time to force Russia to focus on its domestic situation, rather than steering Europe toward new catastrophes. More broadly, to stop the advance of dictatorships abroad, we must remove the keystone regime that is holding together and propelling their global expansion. 

Jason Smart, Ph.D., is a political adviser and special correspondent for Kyiv Post. 

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Its not too late to defeat Vladimir Putin but we must act now - The Hill