Thursday, 8 December 2022 — The van says…

With up to a thousand casualties a day, and survivors being treated in conditions such as this, the Ukrainian defense of Artemovsk cannot last for long

Preamble

A recent article covered the unraveling situation for Ukrainian forces in Artemovsk, (Bakhmut) mounting casualties beginning to bleed Kiev’s war machine white over recent weeks. Two days ago, this matter was examined by Newsweek, the article going further than any other mainstream Western piece over the last year in its criticism of both the Ukrainian military as well as its government. Whilst the dilemma facing Zelenskiy is hardly any surprise, the fact that a stalwart of the US media has published a story such as this is news indeed. This article will not only look at the possible Ukrainian withdrawal from Artemovsk, but also the shift being seen in America as Kiev’s predicament now becomes so desperate that not even the US media can ignore the obvious truths of the situation.

Losing the Linchpin

Eighty Four years after it did the same with Hitler, Time magazine has voted another Nazi nutjob as its Person of the Year

With Kiev and its Western handlers having given the battle for Artemovsk the importance they have, the tame media have synchronized their reporting of events in order to give the Ukrainian defenders of the region the same aura as those at the Alamo. During the same week as Time Magazine has, just as it did with Hitler, named Zelenskiy as ‘Person of the Year’, the constant Russian onslaught as well as the start of winter proper has meant that ‘Kiev’s Last Stand’ is now looking more and more like it will be a great step back over coming days.

Facing Facts

The fact that both the Ukraine and the West have attached such importance to this action presents certain problems. On one hand, the current battle is quickly draining Ukrainian resources, Kiev now becoming fraught as more men and machines are being destroyed and disabled with every day that passes. The other issue is that if the Ukrainians retreat, this will not only make Russia the winner, but make the Ukraine a potentially big loser in terms of public support and assistance from the West. In short, unless Kiev’s men win (which is out of the question), Zelenskiy will lose territory, reputation and to a degree the support he needs to continue the conflict.

Western Worries

It is known that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have corralled every spare body into the defense of the town, and many of those present are there in an irregular capacity. Apart from the Instagram Rambos who are just looking for Ukrainian blondes and an opportunity to show off their tattoos, there are others in-theater who could be a liability to their governments should they be killed or taken prisoner. There are undoubtedly thousands of Poles in the town, yet how they got there and under whom they serve is a very delicate matter indeed. Even more troubling for some capitals are other combatants whose role in the region would be embarrassing and likely dangerous for their administrations should they fall into Russian hands. As Moscow’s men move forwards at the same time as so many defenders are on their back foot or even their back, a military evacuation of the region may be favorable to many who are bankrolling Kiev’s campaign.

Backing out of Battle

When the inevitable time comes, finding reverse gear may be easier said than done. Russian forces have over the last two weeks largely encircled the region around Artemovsk and with the Ukrainian Air Force’s helicopter assets being all but non-existent, there is no easy way for either troops or materiel to leave the area. Some may attempt to flee, yet with Russian snipers, artillery and drones controlling the region, any attempted flight will likely end up a duckshoot.

Abandon the Arena

This is also a possibility from a Ukrainian standpoint. We must not forget that over the last month, innumerable photos have appeared on the internet showing the corpses of abandoned Ukrainian soldiers, Kiev not giving a damn about those who have paid the ultimate price for Zelenskiy’s Western dreams. That the Ukrainian government would just forsake its forces is doubtless, yet with there being so many Western assets in the area, Washington and others may twist Kiev’s arm into attempting some evacuation of at least the NATO ‘mercenaries’ from the town.

With the retreat covered, it is now interesting to see how a previously rabid Atlanticist outlet is covering the Ukrainian situation.

About Face

An article such as this simply would not have been published three months ago.

The US media have been a crucial element of the Western campaign to support Kiev, yet whilst not a turning point, Tuesday’s article does look at the situation from a markedly different perspective to stories that were being published only a couple of months ago.

Among the many revelations being voiced, the first striking point is the comparison between Russian president Putin and Abraham Lincoln. For many stateside, that is tantamount to blasphemy, yet as good leadership is recognized by anyone with their eyes open, Americans can only look at the situation as is and wonder why Russia has got Putin and the US of A is stuck with a senile grandfather as leader.

Surovikin as Sherman

The next surprise is that Sergei Surovikin (the recently-appointed general in command of the Russian Special Military Operation) is spoken of in the same manner as Sherman, and with that, some US patriots will probably by now be tearing out their own hair. The fact is that from a Russian standpoint, the Ukrainian War needed the same kickstart as the Union Army did during the American Civil War, yet unlike Lincoln who waited three years before allowing Sherman to put matters in high gear, Putin only took six months to appoint the ideal commander for the conflict. Furthermore, Sherman’s maxim that ‘War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it’ is just as relevant today as it was 160 years ago; guns will fire and people will die, yet the US is now realizing that good tactics on Russia’s part are stymying all efforts from the West to sustain Washington’s proxy war thousands of miles from America.

Cold War Calculations

Just as everyone with a brain has said since the start of summer, when the weather goes cold, Russia’s Cold War will go hot. This blatantly obvious fact is now appearing to gain traction on both sides of the Atlantic, this meaning that in spite of over $100 billion this year going eastwards, Moscow’s push westwards will send Western investments south. Newsweek starkly states that:

‘Once Ukraine’s rich black soil has firmly frozen, a massive Russian onslaught will commence. In fact, it has already begun at the important transportation hub of Bakhmut, which has become something of a Ukrainian Verdun. We expect Bakhmut to fall and predict that without much more Western support, Russia will recapture Kharkov, Kherson, and the remainder of the Donbas by next summer.’

For a Western news outlet to frankly print words like this last summer was unthinkable, and the fact that a battle as decisive as this be described as a ‘Verdun’ is giving the American audience a previously unbelievable insight concerning the true fortunes of their government’s puppet in Eastern Europe. Furthermore, it says that:

‘Western defense contractors are already maintaining Ukrainian military equipment and operating the HIMAR missile systems. Active-duty American military personnel are now in Ukraine to monitor weapons deliveries.’

Whilst the article states that ‘active-duty personnel’ are allegedly monitoring weapons deliveries, anyone with any nous knows full well that the Pentagon has got hundreds more men in-country, many of them on the frontlines.

Terrible Truths

Regarding the current war, the last point of note is that of the insidious corruption, hatred and authoritarianism that has become the norm in the Ukraine today. To again quote Newsweek, it stated that:

‘It is an impoverished, corrupt, one-party state with extensive censorship, where opposition newspapers and political parties have been shut down. Before the war, far right Ukrainian nationalist groups like the Azov Brigade were soundly condemned by the U.S. Congress. Kiev’s determined campaign against the Russian language is analogous to the Canadian government trying to ban French in Quebec. Ukrainian shells have killed hundreds of civilians in the Donbas and there are emerging reports of Ukrainian war crimes.’

These again are strong words from a pillar of the Western media establishment, harsh criticism of a regime which to many embodies the spirit of current US foreign policy. The fact that all these truths are being printed at the very time that Kiev is suffering the worst battlefield drubbing of the conflict to date may be indicative of waning support amongst a media that does not want egg on its face when the Ukraine finally does collapse.

Fleeing the Failure

As things stand today, as desperate as the West is for Ukrainian victory, Western intervention would spell even more mayhem for an already chaotic situation in political and economic circles. Russia has ensured that Washington’s wet dream in Eastern Europe is now a nightmare, yet with the US and its allies having invested so much in their Drang nach Osten, Russians heading West will have dire consequences when voters head to the polls, political parties having to work furiously in order to remain credible when election day next comes around.

Summary

There are two matters in hand, a battle that may turn the tide of a war as well as a realization that may turn the tide of public opinion regarding those who started this conflict in the first place.

Artemovsk has turned into the fulcrum around which this conflict revolves, yet as it turns, it is slowly grinding Ukrainian interests into the ground. Moreover, notwithstanding the defeat of Kiev’s men, the fact that there are so many others on the battlefield who should not even be in the country may prove an absolute liability to some of Zelenskiy’s staunchest supporters.

Looking at the war from inside the Beltway, after trying to present Moscow with insurmountable hurdles, Washington’s attempts to use the Ukraine to nobble Russia have only turned the country into a lame horse; that said, after the US has backed Kiev with hundreds of billions of dollars, there will be a number of red faces, the US establishment facing the biggest domestic defeat since Vietnam and losing immeasurable power in global affairs.

From the Western public standpoint, millions are now suffering the effects of a recession, and once they come to terms with the fact that subsequent administrations have blown a fortune on a foreign nation that was known to be riddled with corruption, fascism and hatred, this will come as an immense blow to numerous capitals in the West. It is current politicians who engineered and then bankrolled a war in Eastern Europe, and today it is their peoples who will pay the price.

The Donbass War in the aftermath of the Maidan coup is seen as the end of the beginning of the Ukraine War, but eight years later, Artemovsk is the beginning of the end, and when Artemovsk falls, so will the Ukraine as we know it. With the failure of Kiev and victory by Moscow, the esteem, power and global standing of those who have spent so long creating this war will also fall; a decades-long Western project gone wrong will see the West going wrong for decades to come…