"Russian television starts reporting destruction of Ukrainian forces in Kursk"
by Gilbert Doctorow, gilbertdoctorow.com (August 16, 2024)
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/08/16/russian-television-starts-reporting-destruction-of-ukrainian-forces-in-kursk/

In my interviews of the past two days which have been widely seen, I maintained that Russian television coverage of the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk province (oblast) has been almost entirely devoted to the humanitarian relief efforts of governmental agencies and civil society to provide for the needs of the 140,000 or so displaced residents of the territory now held by Ukrainian forces. Roughly half of these evacuees are now living in hastily built tent cities near the capital; the other half has been sent onward by train and bus to central Russia. It is said that their time as displaced persons may be lengthy because the occupiers were damaging critical infrastructure such as water and electricity supply which will take time to restore. As for the military operations in Kursk, Russian television has been mostly silent, only putting up images of some artillery and missile strikes on Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers, and of the rather spectacular destruction by drones and missiles of a big fuel storage center on the Ukrainian side of the border.

Yesterday what I saw on the authoritative talk show ‘The Great Game’was a very different picture: the panelists were speaking of the Ukrainian expedition in Kursk as an abject failure which is bound to end in the total destruction of the 10,000 or more men that Kiev has deployed, and that is hastening the advance of the main Russian forces in Donetsk province now that the Ukrainian defenders have been drawn down to serve in Kursk.

It would appear that this change in the situation on the ground and shift to Russian confidence of victory is directly related to the successful attack on Ukrainian fuel dumps.

Napoleon’s invasion force in 1812 was seriously disabled by Russian peasants and noblemen setting fire to their properties and depriving the critically important French cavalry of forage. Horses died and their riders were left to fend for themselves. What we are apparently watching now is an updated version of the same scenario.

The Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel vehicles inside Kursk need refueling and failing that they are being abandoned by the Ukrainian troops whom they have sheltered, as we were told on ‘The Great Game’ yesterday.

This means that the NATO heavy equipment which brought the Ukrainians into Kursk is now stalled in place, becoming an easy target for Russian forces. The Ukrainian infantry is left to withdraw as best it can on foot, which is a formula for disaster.

See ‘The Great Game’ part 1, 15 August

https://rutube.ru/video/f4bdd3882ea23e9343e5283e37f8c09d/

The same panelists also discussed the war of words now going on between Kiev and Washington over the extent of American and NATO involvement in the planning and execution of the raid into Kursk. They saw in Washington’s denials of involvement in the planning an attempt to insure themselves against being considered co-belligerents by Russia. Of course, official Russia takes these denials with a grain of salt. Nikolai Patrushev, President Putin’s closest aid in security matters, is quoted in today’s news as saying these denials ‘do not correspond to reality.’

As a separate but related matter, panelists on ‘The Great Game,’ also noted the exquisite timing of newly announced results of the German investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, wherein a Ukrainian national, recently returned to Kiev from a safe haven in Poland, is now wanted on a European arrest order for his role in setting the explosives on the pipeline. It is further announced in Germany that the operation had the personal approval of President Zelensky. This matter, in combination with U.S. and German assertions that they were ‘surprised’ by Ukraine’s attack on Kursk in which they allegedly had no role, all point to the coming removal of Zelensky from power and his replacement by some new puppet of the West.

Under internationally recognized rules of war, American involvement in an act of aggression against the Russian Federation’s traditional borders would be a casus belli and Russia has the right, if not the obligation to declare war on Washington at any time.

This heightening of the East-West tensions is accompanied, ominously, by discussion on Russian talk shows, including last night’s ‘Great Game,’ of changes being made to Russia’s doctrine on use of tactical nuclear weapons. Note that the issue is not whether such weapons could or should be used in Ukraine. No, what is at issue is the use of tactical nuclear weapons against any and all NATO nations that are providing attack weapons like tanks, personnel carriers and missiles to Kiev for use on Russian homeland territory.

Without question the Ukraine war is entering the end game phase. The Russians are as of yesterday ever more confident of victory, of a Ukrainian capitulation. They are also preparing themselves for a showdown with NATO that may well have a nuclear dimension.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2024