Some military experts are convinced that the fierce Ukrainian resistance may be insurmountable, as long as it continues to be supported by continued Western support. Appearing on the state-run television show The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov last Friday, Andrey Gurulyov, a State Duma deputy and former deputy commander of Russia’s southern military district, stressed that the West would continue to supply Ukraine with every possible type of weapon, “until a nuclear bomb – just to stop us from winning.” He proposed re-creating the Cuban Missile Crisis, but this time with hypersonic weapons, in order to achieve an eventual détente with the United States: “Our hypersonic weapons … should come close to the United States, with time flight time no more than five minutes.” Guruliov frankly admitted: “This is the only scenario for us to be able to de-Nazify and demilitarize Ukraine. Only a direct threat to the US and the UK… will force them all to the negotiating table… this is all part of a larger plan to conduct not just a special operation, but World War III, which is for us the second Great Patriotic War”. He positioned nuclear blackmail as Russia’s golden ticket, urging the country’s leadership to “seriously think about plans for how we can get painlessly to the next crisis that will be our ticket to the future.” Host Vladimir Solovyov said: “Thanks to the stupidity of NATO countries, the world can foresee starvation and a big war.” His constant attempts to prevent foreign support for Ukraine through threats of nuclear attacks against Western countries have become so over the top that even his fellow propagandists cringe and roll their eyes. Solovyov, who himself reportedly buys military equipment to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine, is currently advocating the total destruction of the country’s vital infrastructure. His theatrical threats ring hollow, but at the same time raise expectations. On Monday, the Kremlin childishly refused to congratulate the United States on its Independence Day. Military expert Alexey Leonkov appeared on Solovyov’s July 4 show suggesting Russia declare the US and its allies “state sponsors of terrorism” for helping Ukraine deter Russian aggression. The host enthusiastically agreed and threatened that Russia would start shooting down American satellites, which would lead to an immediate conflict with the United States. Solovyov added: “I don’t know why we haven’t declared them terrorists already.” While most of the world hopes for a swift end to Russia’s brutal war against its neighbor, Kremlin propagandists insist the carnage must continue – and expand. On Sunday night on Solovyov’s show, one of the program’s recurring guests, Yaakov Kedmi, aka Yasha Kazakov, an Israeli former politician and diplomat, insisted that Russia must occupy all of Ukraine and would do nothing less . “If the results of this operation are as close as possible to the expectations of the Russian people, that will be a victory. If they are too far from it, it will be a loss. Semantic somersaults, such as the claim, “We set as our goal the liberation and security of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics,” will not help. It will be seen by the Russian people as a defeat. It doesn’t matter what created that anticipation for the goal, whether it was smart or not, that’s what they expect,” he said. “If they have such expectations, any deviation from a complete and final victory over Ukraine will be seen as a loss, with consequences for Russia.” Quoting former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Kedmi said: “He noted and others point to an incredible surge of support for Putin as a result of this operation. What is the basis for this support? Unshakable confidence of the Russian people that they will secure total victory. God forbid that trust be somehow broken or spoiled… The world will not accept and forgive anything less than a total victory. I would like to remind you, based on the history of Russia, how people reacted when the government did not meet their expectations. With equal force they supported [the government]they’ll run it into the ground… Anything less than Novorossiya [a proposed confederation of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic] and the left bank of Ukraine will be a disaster. Not just a defeat, but a disaster.” Solovyov jumped in: “In that case, let’s be even more blunt. In fact, the targets were formulated in December 2021. They are not limited to Ukraine, but require the return of NATO infrastructure to the limits of 1997-1998. Kendmi agreed: “That was another one of Kissinger’s mistakes. As I have said before, everything that is happening in Ukraine is a prelude to the main confrontation, the main struggle, which will determine the fate of the whole world, the fate of the United States, as well as the fate of Russia. This great battle will develop based on the outcome of the actions in Ukraine. Russia has no right to lose this big battle or the battle in Ukraine, as defeat is like death.” Solovyov concluded: “Defeat is death.” The next guest, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, appeared seething over Kedmi’s comments, which may suggest the Kremlin has indeed settled for a more moderate endgame in Ukraine. He told him to speak to the Israeli government and leadership about the plight of the “Kiev regime,” instead of “fantasizing” about the wishes of the Russian people. He claimed that there is “a complete unity” of the average Russian with the country’s government, in relation to their goals in Ukraine. Zakharova’s angry tirade sought to cover up the fact that even top propagandists seem unable to understand the Kremlin’s ultimate goals, let alone everyday people. The latest poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center VCIOM shows that 38 percent of Russians believe the goal of the invasion was to disarm Ukraine, 20 percent believe the goal was to protect Donbas, only 19 percent believe the Putin’s dubious claim of “de-Nazism”. and 8% believe Russia’s intention is to take over all of Ukraine and absorb it into Russia. Rather than helping Putin’s regime, the angry rant by state media propagandists only underscores the absurdity of a conflict that even Russia’s own population is struggling to understand. The cartoonish promises of world takeover fail to overshadow the fact that Russia’s economy is descending into the abyss. No territorial gain could ever justify excruciating human death.
