"Ukrainian military infrastructure, air defence facilities, military airfields, and air forces are being neutralised by high-precision weapons", the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement Thursday 24th February 2022.
That did not take long, but it certainly took some people by surprise. After more than three months of pounding the war drums, western politicians and media could barely disguise their disappointment that Russia did not invade Ukraine on any of the pre-announced dates. The Russian government sat back and trolled the western press with amusing messages like this:
Russian Invasion Plan: https://stolzuntermenschen.blogspot.com/2022/02/scoop-russian-ukraine-invasion-plan.html
As it seemed that Russia would not take the bait, the US and Nato started the war themselves, pushing the Ukrainians to break the long already broken ceasefire and begin bombarding Donetsk and Lugansk on Sunday 20 February 2022. You probably wouldn't know that though if you were watching mainstream media.
The western war planners expected Russia to respond to the provocation with invasion, but once again the Russians sidestepped expectations. Firstly, in response to the Ukrainian shelling Russia publicly announced the evacuation of civilians from the war zone. Ukrainian forces were warned that any attack on evacuating civilians would constitute a war crime and be responded to severely. This took the west and Ukrainians by surprise, and resulted in a pause in hostilities, but the down-payment on war is non-refundable. The prostituted UN came out with a statement that Russia's claimed humanitarian evacuation was an illegitimate cover for invasion. Germany announced the termination of Nordstream II - the United States' key war goal in the Ukraine crisis. The war was back on.
Russia's next move had been waiting in the wings a long time. In a televised session of the Russian Security Council on Monday 21st February, a proposal to recognize the two People's Republics was tabled. There was widespread support in Council as well as among the public. President Vladimir Putin agreed to the proposal and announced formal Russian recognition of the Republics within their original state boundaries. Treaties of mutual defence were signed with the representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk. This was the end of the Minsk Accord, a dead letter from day one due to Ukrainian and western intransigence. The following day the Russians formally advised the Ukrainian forces occupying territory in the Donbas to cease military action and withdraw back into Ukrainian territory. This request came with a deadline - dawn 24 February 2022.
As predicted, Russia has acted decisively, cutting off communications to the front-line and annihilating Ukrainian airforce and missile batteries on the ground with air attack and precision munitions. Ukrainian troops in the frontlines on the Donbas was advised to throw down their weapons and surrender. Many of the conscript troops did exactly that and began a headlong retreat back into Ukraine proper. The occupied towns and cities in the Donetsk and Lugansk oblast have run up Russian and People's Republic's flags. It will be interesting to see what happens in the other neighboring oblasts. Will they too throw down the Banderist Nazi flags and declare their own People's Republics, or will they remain tied to the disaster that is Ukraine.
We are yet to see what becomes of the Ukrainian rout. Is this the end of the "Short Victorious War", or merely the first echoes of the Guns of August?
Update - WST 3.45pm. The information war is in full swing. It seems access to the Russian Ministry of Defence website is being blocked here in Australia.
Progress report as at 24 February 2022 - 4pm: https://stolzuntermenschen.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-de-nazification-campaign-in-ukraine.html
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