Posted on 01/12/2023 3:08:29 PM PST by delta7
A leading Ukrainian government official has admitted that a demilitarized zone (lead image, left) to divide the battlefield, protect the Russian east of the country from the US and NATO long-range assault, and partition Ukraine is in negotiation.
“’We are currently being offered the Korean scenario,” Alexei Danilov (lead image, right) announced on January 8. Danilov, a native of Lugansk, is the deputy chairman of the National Security and Defence Council, and second in rank to President Vladimir Zelensky. “[This is] the so-called conditional ’38th parallel’”, he told local reporters. “Here are Ukrainians, but there Ukrainians are not like that. The Russians will now invent anything. I know for sure that one of the options they can offer us is the ’38th parallel’”. Danilov claimed one of the sources for the proposal is Dmitry Kozak. Officially, he is a deputy head of the presidential staff. In 2020-21 he was the Kremlin’s chief negotiator on the Minsk accords with the Kiev regime and in the Normandy format with Germany and France; for Kozak’s detailed record of those negotiations, read this. Danilov now says Kozak “meets with former politicians in Europe and conveys through them the message that the Russians are ready to make concessions in order to fix the current status quo and force Ukraine to a truce.” Danilov did not say that he, Zelensky and the Ukrainian-US general staff have rejected the idea. Instead, he claimed the Korean DMZ has proven to be a mistake: “Danilov said that during a recent meeting, Korean representatives noted that establishing the division of the Korean peninsula into two parts along the 38th parallel was a mistake as the concessions made in the 1950s after the end of the war between North Korea and South Korea are currently leading to problems.” It is unclear what meeting Danilov was referring to, if any. US press reporting has identified the mistake of Vice President Kamala Harris last September in misnaming the “Republic of North Korea”. Moscow sources suspect Danilov is attempting to relieve the pressure now growing on the Ukrainian generals from the US and the NATO command to consider an armistice before the Russians launch their anticipated general winter offensive. By exposing and trying to sandbag the Americans, Danilov’s remark is a signal that the real US assessment is that a much bigger loss of military capacity, territory and viable economy will be the outcome of the Russian offensive – unless the Ukrainians buy time with a ceasefire and protracted armistice talks to commence. The reaction of the Stavka to that has been President Vladmir Putin’s explicit condemnation of the buying-time tactic after former German chancellor Angela Merkel revealed it last month, and ex-French President Francois Hollande repeated it on December 28. “The West lied to us about peace,” Putin said in his New Year address on December 31, “while preparing for aggression, and today, they no longer hesitate to openly admit it and to cynically use Ukraine and its people as a means to weaken and divide Russia. We have never allowed anyone to do this and we will not allow it now.” Putin also confirmed the message with a Korean gloss. “Russian servicemen, militiamen and volunteers are now fighting for their homeland, for truth and justice, for reliable guarantees of peace and Russia’s security.” The narrow 4-kilometre depth and short 240-km length of the Korean DMZ are not, Putin implied, “reliable guarantees of security.” Danilov’s disclosure has been altogether missed by the mainstream western media, by the alternative media, and by US think-tankers claiming to favour negotiations. Moscow sources believe Danilov’s signal indicates anxiety in Kiev, not only at the collapse of their front at Soledar and Bakhmut, but at the prospect of the following Russian offensive striking simultaneously north from Sumy to Kharkov and Poltava; in the centre around the E50 highway into Dniepropetrovsk; and in the south to blockade Odessa.
“I have not seen a serious discussion in Moscow about a DMZ at all,” according to a Moscow source and Donbass sources. They believe Danilov is reporting what the Americans are telling Kiev. “Kozak has been de-activated in Moscow since last July”, according to another source. “That’s why it makes all the more sense [for the Ukrainians] to refer to him and not to genuine negotiators, not to a credible Russian figure. Danilov is attempting to refuse a proposal from a non-person. He and Zelensky are putting the Pentagon at that level – in other words, they are sending a message to [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken, [Deputy Secretary Wendy] Sherman and [Under Secretary Victoria] Nuland, or whoever the Ukrainians think will save them from the US military pressure now.” The Russian sources note there has been no other public acknowledgement of the change in US thinking; they interpret press reporting of promises of US armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), German and British tank deliveries to mean the reverse of the appearances. “Time will have run out for the delivery of the Strykers and Bradleys, Leopards and Challengers in the east. So these press promises of delivery are for the last-ditch fortification of the western lines defending the regime between Lvov and Kiev. That’s between Zhitomyr and Vinnitsa, then Rivne and Chernopil
A North American veteran source urges patience. “The Bradleys may be rushed, so the question now is whether everything the Ukrainians throw into their fight west of the Artemovsk-Soledar- Seversk line to Dniepropetrovsk, including the press-ganging of civilians in Kharkov city, is just a rearguard action to hold up the Russians and create time for the reinforcements to arrive.” A Canadian military source says that Ontario-made Strykers “have already been delivered to the eastern lines. They know the danger of a breakthrough and are determined to at least stall it. They cannot do that without AFVs.” Russian sources published sighting one on December 31. A Canadian press reporter took a week before acknowledging that 39 Canadian APVs had been delivered, most of them to “rear-area units for training and familiarization”, and then, after they were revealed in the local media, “in thick mud at an unidentified section of the Ukrainian front.” A veteran of NATO tank operations in Afghanistan adds: “By necessity, the tanks come later. It takes much longer to train their crews, let alone maintenance cells. Setting up the logistics will be much harder too. In Afghanistan it took a lot to support tanks – even just a squadron of them.” A Moscow source adds strategy: “The Pentagon might want to fend off a general Russian operation with a DMZ but the Ukrainians, the Germans and the State Department want to see the rearguard action because they believe they can exact a heavy loss of life on the Russians. I’m convinced they don’t want a DMZ until the Russians fight their way to the borders of the regions they have already incorporated. Their perception is that the Russians will be too weak to take any more. They won’t mind another meat-grinder like Bakhmut. It’s not their children dying. At worst, the Ukrainians think a DMZ would be inside or at the limit of the Russian zone. That would free them to start preparing for the next big war in a few years.” The consensus of the Russians sources is: “These are all lose-lose propositions for us and that is why we have not heard this being discussed seriously. What’s needed is Ukrainian capitulation. This is why most Russians see armistice as a Russian surrender because it means none of the stated goals of the operation has been achieved. More than at Minsk in 2015, the Ukraine will be re-armed and prepared for the next big fight.” Danilov’s disclosure puts into quite different context Putin’s Orthodox Christmas truce between January 6 and 7. “Upon consideration of the address from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill,” the president said, “I instruct the Defence Minister of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire along the entire line of contact in Ukraine from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023. As a large number of Orthodox Christians reside in the area of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire to allow them to attend church services on Christmas Eve as well as on Christmas Day.” For the text of Kirill’s message, which avoided a recommendation of this kind, click to read.
In retrospect, the truce was dismissed by Kiev, and the Russian side recorded numerous violations, including the movement of heavy artillery into range of Lugansk and Donetsk region targets. “Pigs have no faith”, Dmitry Medvedev, the ex-president and now deputy head of the Security Council, responded. “and no innate sense of gratitude. They understand only brute force.” Following the fall of Soledar on the evening of January 10, there are signs that the Ukrainian General Staff will not continue following the orders from either Washington or Zelensky and Danilov to continue the meat-grinder defence of the eastern front, at least not until a “second line of defence” can be formed, according to the leak.
The evidence of the battlefield map is that the Russian General Staff has decided to leave open the corridors for NATO troops and arms to be resupplied from Poland, and to let Ukrainian refugees leave. However, the rail and road junctions, warehouses, vehicle lagers, electric grid units, and fuel and other storages are being hit repeatedly, west and east of Kiev.
When Russian and western analysts map the economic and military capabilities of the Ukrainian territory which would lie to the west of the Dnieper River demilitarized zone (UMZ) it becomes clear the rump state will have lost the capacity to feed itself; and will lack the river or sea ports to export corn, wheat, sunflower products or rapeseed without Russian and Turkish agreement. Lacking seaports and airfields, the western Ukrainian territory, without the farms, mines and smelters to produce food or metals for trade, will be reduced to a gun platform dependent on imported cash and arms for the state’s sole remaining export – permanent war against Russia.
To date, US, Canadian, German, and British politicians have been emphatic that they have the parliament votes and will neutralize domestic opposition to their whatever-the-cost war policy. Russian sources add there is no evidence that in planning the conversion of the special military operation to the general military operation, the Kremlin, the Stavka, and the General Staff are not taking this into account. What this means, said one source, is that the de-Nazification objective of February 24, 2022, is now practically impossible. “The DMZ is impossible for us because it will leave the Ukrainian nazis to keep rearming, exactly as Merkel and Hollande have said. This means there can be no demilitarized zone – there must be Ukrainian capitulation and surrender.” A NATO source speculates about the mentality of his counterparts in Washington: “The DMZ needs to be big and deep no matter what the structure of the forces that create and maintain it. The question that looms larger in my mind is how to get the US and NATO to understand that continuing to push their Ukrainian checker will come at a cost on the checkerboard they aren’t prepared to pay?” The evidence from the daily reports of the Polish Border Guard confirms the Russian strategy is to leave the corridor open for the exit of Ukrainian civilians and then strike after the incoming foreign troops and their equipment are deployed at their rear assembly areas.
The highlighted figures for Ukrainian movement to Poland indicate refugees responding to the Russian electric war and the onset of winter. The corresponding, highlighted figures of movement from Poland to the Ukraine include Polish and other foreign troops moving under civilian shield. Moscow sources comment. “The Russians will not tolerate half-measures. Not like the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, not like Yeltsin in Serbia. Not like Nord Stream or the Crimean Bridge. Not now. Read Putin’s lips.” This is a reference to Putin’s speech to the enlarged Defence Ministry and military staffs on December 21. “We will not repeat the mistakes of the past, when we harmed our economy to boost our defence capabilities, regardless of whether it was warranted or not. We are not going to militarise our country or militarise the economy, primarily because we have no need to do it at the current level of development and with the structure of the economy that we have. Again – we do not intend to, and we will not do things we do not really need, to the detriment of our people and the economy, the social sphere. We will improve the Russian Armed Forces and the entire military component. We will do it calmly, routinely and consistently, without haste. We will attain our objectives to strengthen our defence capability in general as well as meeting the goals of the special military operation”. “The big part of the NATO equation,” comments the North American veteran, “ought to be the Russian message – ‘keep on coming. You will all be destroyed.”
What support specifically can the Russian Orthodox Church provide other than to tell its members to pray for mother Russia? The Church poses no material threat to Ukraine, this is just an action done out of pure spite,similar to the other
spiteful actions that were taken out against Russian speakers prior to the start of this war, like removing Russian as an official language, or otherwise blotting out any vestiges of Russian culture. Just like BLM was trying to do with taking down Confederate related statues. It’s nothing more than a despicable act of religious and cultural hate.
You are condoning the burning of churches if you deem them to belong on the wrong side of your morals/politics. Go ahead, ping the moderator like a good little narc. Drop a dime on me you dirty little informer because I don’t think that you will get much sympathy.
Zeepers are scum.
“You are condoning the burning of churches if you deem them to belong on the wrong side of your morals/politics.”
That’s a lie and you know it. Prove your claim, kid.
Sorry but the German-American Bund was not and is not a religion.
Try again you totalitarian mess.
You call me kid because you are at least 20 years older than me however that does not make me a “iid” or immature - especially in comparison to you. Your are just so fossilized that anyone that can make a cogent argument looks like a genius to you. FYI, exercise helps with brain function.
Where is your daddy Admin Moderator that leftist snitches always turn to? Make sure that you complain that I hurt your feelings and that you need a “safe space.”
“What domestic terrorism do I condone”
***************************************
Burning down churches within your own country could very well be considered a form of domestic terrorism. What evidence has Zelensky provided that the Russian Orthodox Church has provided material support to Russia? None, this action was solely done to demoralize Ukrainian citizens of Russian ancestry.
How can you supposedly despise Biden so much yet support his dirty war to protect his grifting money pot? The Ukrainian national, Colonel Vindman, who was the “whistleblower” that started the impeachment of President Trump over his call with Saint George Washington Zelenskyy is one of the reasons that we are in this stupid war.
Your thoughts on the connection?
“spiteful actions that were taken out against Russian speakers prior to the start of this war, like removing Russian as an official language.”
The law said that Ukrainian is the OFFICIAL language of the country, and legal documents, official notices, government edicts, school subjects, etc. are to be in Ukrainian, but available for translation into other languages.
The main cohesion of a country is that its people be able to speak the same language. Nothing is more unifying for a country than that its people share a common language; conversely, nothing divides a country more than the fact its people have no language in common, as that leads to tribalism and Balkanization, and is a sure recipe for the collapse and destruction of that country.
Hell, even here in the US — where we DO NOT have an official language on the federal level, ALL official documents and announcements, etc. must be in English, but can be made available in other languages, as well. That is one of the reasons we here in the US have lost our sense of unity (probably by design from the left and the Democrats).
You’re an ***hole.
L
“Burning down churches within your own country could very well be considered a form of domestic terrorism.”
So, Sparky, where did I condone burning down churches?
“Your are just so fossilized that anyone that can make a cogent argument looks like a genius to you.”
Well, we know that YOU can’t make a cogent argument.
BTW: I’m still waiting on your proof that I condone domestic terrorism. Trot it out, kid; or issue a public apology on FR.
“You call me kid because you are at least 20 years older than me however that does not make me a “iid” or immature...”
No, your actions and adolescent behavior do that for you.
You’ve certainly got your talking points down, but as amazing as it may be to you, not everyone accepts your premises, and therefore, not everyone is bound to come to the same conclusions that you have.
You can’t compare the US to Ukraine, Ukraine has a long history of being an integral part of Russia, many of it’s leaders hailed from there, the two countries were once one, politically, culturally and linguistically. Quit playing games, just admit you hate Russia because you foolishly think they are still scary commies who want to take over Europe, so now that greedy little globohomo puppet Zelensky is your hero. You Ukie supporters are going to look like major fools once this war is finally over.
They are not my "talking points." It is just my use of logic and classical argument.l - something sorely lacking in today's debased world. It is simple, just take whatever a jackass says and put it in a different context to see if it holds up. Totalitarian freaks cheering the burning of a church is easy to tear apart because it is indefensible.
“You can’t compare the US to Ukraine, Ukraine has a long history of being an integral part of Russia, many of it’s leaders hailed from there, the two countries were once one, politically, culturally and linguistically.”
You need to read some history, son. Ukraine shared some commonality with Russia, as it was part of the Russian Empire (and the USSR which replaced it), but it always saw itself as something distinct from Russia, with its own identity. That was never more apparent than during the 1930s and the Holodomor. Are you aware that when the Germans first invaded the USSR in June, 1941, the people of Ukraine welcomed the Germans as liberators? There is a very long animosity between Russia and Ukraine, and it goes back multiple generations.
“Quit playing games, just admit you hate Russia...”
You are jumping to conclusions and are assuming facts not in evidence, because I do NOT hate Russia. There are several things I admire about the Russian people; and, conversely, there are several things I criticize them for. In a nutshell, I think the Russian people, as a whole, have been screwed by their leaders over many centuries, and that they have never been free. Because of that, they are insular, and suspicious, and insecure, and paranoid; all the classic traits of a bully, which they have become. I’ve said before on FR that if the Russian people were ever to be free the world would be better for it.
“...because you foolishly think they are still scary commies who want to take over Europe...”
Actually, today they are more fascist than communist.
“...so now that greedy little globohomo puppet Zelensky is your hero.”
Another lie. I support the Ukrainian people fighting against an existential threat from a larger and stronger neighbor, REGARDLESS who their president is.
“You Ukie supporters are going to look like major fools once this war is finally over.”
Or YOU will.
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