The longer Russia continues their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the more trouble they find themselves in, and this week could be the one that turns the tide of the entire conflict.
Just last week, Vladimir Putin “annexed” a number of Ukrainian territories through the use of sham referenda – similar to his 2014 maneuver in Crimea – and stated somewhat desperately that it would be “forever”.
It looks like “forever” lasted about 8 days.
Kyiv’s troops were pushing forward in the country’s east and south, threatening a major new breakthrough and forcing Putin’s soldiers to retreat from territory he claimed to have annexed in a grand ceremony last week.
Moscow has matched its annexation claims with a call-up of reservists and new nuclear threats, a broad intervention that has not only threatened to escalate its clash with Ukraine’s Western allies, but also expose domestic vulnerabilities.
Russia hasn’t even had time to draw the borders yet.
Russian lawmakers Monday ratified the illegal annexation of four partially occupied Ukrainian regions: Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. But while the Kremlin said it had not yet determined where the borders for its newly claimed land would be established, the areas under its control were being rapidly pushed back.
Putin’s forces humiliating defeats have caused concern on the global stage, as the Kremlin seems to be preparing to use low-grade nuclear weapons in Ukraine in an effort to regain some of their long-lost advantage.
Such a move would almost surely bring the western world into the war – and that’s something that Putin’s pawns will not survive.
