How Far is Too Far?

You don’t know you’ve gone too far until the balance tips.

Preamble.

For all the platitudes uttered by western governments regarding Russia’s Special Operation in the Ukraine, this conflict was both born and cultured by the West. This article will investigate the efforts being made by the western world to keep Kiev’s hopes alive, the Ukraine as a country today approaching its dying days.

Promises.

Ever since Nuland et al were handing out cookies in Maidan Square, there were clouds on the horizon, yet as with every color revolution, the US was aware that any consequences its actions may cause were not going to be felt at home. With Russia still suffering the effects of a US-led government from twenty years before and sanctions intended to send it into the global wilderness, Washington and its allies wasted no time in bolstering their presence under a Ukrainian administration that was absolutely under their control. With money and military training, the US, UK, Canada led the way in ensuring that the country’s armed forces could be used to best effect as well as Washington’s advantage should circumstances dictate.

Pledges.

As the effects of continued western malfeasance eventually caused Russia to threaten action, not only did the measures taken against Moscow rise, but so did the assistance given to the Ukraine from the West. In something akin to pennies from heaven, money, weapons, munitions and training were literally thrown at Kiev. It is no secret that as a country, ever since independence the Ukraine has faced the most serious of difficulties paying the bills, yet against the backdrop of near-bankruptcy, western nations were falling over themselves to supply Kiev with everything it wanted with no consideration as to how any of it would be paid for. As the storms of war drew ever nearer, the world was told of the Ukraine’s heroic stance against a belligerent Bear, yet more than one observer commented that this was mere window dressing before the West sold Kiev down the river. In spite of Washington, Brussels and London giving what they did, the aid given was mere pocket change in relation to the stakes involved.

Proxy.

As Russia launched its Special Operation, the scale of military deployments proved that this was not just a minor operation to protect the Donbass. A full scale war was under way, the Ukrainian Army and its nazi tagalongs on the back foot from day one. Washington and its vassals went into overdrive, offering everything they had in order that the Ukraine could stave off the Russian onslaught. Meetings were hastily convened in capital cities, and the UN in New York was soon abuzz as nations attempted to throw as many measures at Moscow as they could weapons at Kiev. Western nations were apoplectic, yet for all the gifts they lavished upon Kiev, the one thing that failed to materialize was boots on the ground. As the nightmare of war was again present, the West was living a dream. The war it had wanted for so long against Russia was now under way, yet through decades of interference and underhanded deals, it had got a useful idiot to do the fighting.

Package.

The press has gone to immense pains to inform the world of the aid being given to Kiev, yet as mentioned, this is the war that the West wanted, and to that end, it will give as much as it sees necessary, but rather than wanting the Ukraine to win, it is the ruination of Russia that the West craves the most. To this end, other than the weapons and munitions which continue to flood the country, other help, material and otherwise is being afforded to Kiev in order to prolong its agony. In spite of spiraling fuel prices, this has not deterred Europe from sending countless trainloads to the west of the country for forward distribution. Uniforms, medical equipment, radios as well as a whole gamut of other kit has been forwarded, yet there are two elements of western assistance, satellites and expertise, that will later be viewed apart.

Payment.

As previously mentioned, the plethora of presents being given to Zelenskiy are not for free. With a collapsed economy prior to the conflict, the decimated debris of what will remain of the Ukraine once Russia has finished will be immeasurably worse placed to pay for everything, irrespective of the fact that most of it appears to end up in the hands of Russian forces. On the flip side, the fact that the West was able to temporarily crash the ruble is well known, but what has not yet been mentioned is the fact that with the country in freefall, the Hryvnia has not followed suit. Although the Ukrainian economy is hardly the largest or most robust to be found in international finance, a good deal of manipulation has been needed in order to ensure that it did not crash in the same way that the West hoped the ruble would.

The Ghosts of Kiev.

Rather than some fantastic (and probably fanatical) Ukrainian apparently single-handedly taking on the Russian war machine and winning, these are the band of western experts in Kiev rendering the tech-heavy and specialist services that certain operations require. It would be expected that the interpretation of satellite imagery and training would be of great value, yet the intensive use of drones, most pointedly when used against objectives far within Russian borders that is most interesting. This not only requires skilled operators (who may or not be present in the Ukraine), but the use of satellite communications to not only reach their targets, but also register the damage that they are effecting. With this, there is direct American involvement in attacks upon the Russian Federation, bringing an already tense diplomatic situation very close to the bounds of war. Furthermore, the number of arson attacks against installations, both civil and military are hardly likely to be the actions of lone wolves.

Empty Shelves.

The fact that the West has been so magnanimous with its arms shipments has raised a laugh with the Russians, yet a very serious worry in some quarters in the West. It has been widely reported that the deliveries have left NATO’s shelves empty, but the CEO of Raytheon recently stated that due to a semiconductor shortage, it may take years before stocks can be replenished. This may cause mirth amongst the Russians, yet with this conflict only taking place in one country and without NATO member states officially being involved, how on earth could the many nations of the Atlantic Alliance hope to fight for months if just one nation can deplete its armories in a matter of weeks?

Unseen Expenses.

The fact that those who have given weapons to Kiev will never be paid goes without saying. Other losses are being sustained however, yet with the spotlight being focused on Ukrainian propaganda rather than unseen problems, the western public is being kept in the dark in a number of ways. The deaths of numerous mercenaries in Yavoriv came only a few days after certain western leaders had tacitly given the green light for their civilians go to the Ukraine and volunteer to fight. Those soldiers of fortune had very bad fortunes once there, yet reports are now surfacing that up to sixty SAS instructors and more than five hundred Ukrainian soldiers may have been killed in similar circumstances at a disguised academy in an aluminum plant near Zaporozhye. This has not been confirmed, yet even if UK soldiers were not amongst the victims, the work they carried out ended up for nothing.

Tipping Point.

With all this in mind, this brings us to the crux of the matter. There has to be a point where the malfeasance behind the scenes reaches center stage and the proxy war turns into a real one. The Ukrainian government would not have even started the war were it not for manipulation on the part of Washington, and moreover, its defense would have collapsed but for the copious weapons and munitions that have been handed out like candy. That however only accounts for the operations being conducted in the Ukraine. With there having been numerous artillery and helicopter strikes in the Belgorod region, whilst not attacks by the Americans, they were doubtlessly passed under the noses of US officers prior to their execution. The last few days have seen an increase in Ukrainian drone operations, some extending as far as Voronezh. These can neither be planned nor carried out without both meticulous preparation and live connections to satellites, meaning that the US is actively participating in attacks on Russian soil. For all the assistance rendered to date in the Ukraine, this has not attacked sovereign Russian territory, but as drones begin to assail Russia with the help of Washington’s satellites, the Kremlin may now feel it is time to take the fight back to those who started it. Another most noteworthy incident was that of the sinking of the missile cruiser Moskva. The Ukrainians claim two of their Neptune anti-ship missiles were used and the West claims to have no knowledge of what happened, yet the Russian authorities are still investigating. It may have been a mine, yet there are a number of very informed individuals who claim the damage could only have been caused by torpedos launched by persons unknown.

Summary.

Warmongering has been the be all and end all of US foreign policy for decades, and with others so desperate to fight the war that Washington so dearly wanted, immeasurable help has been given. The assistance rendered speaks for itself, yet the fact that relatively speaking, so little fighting has resulted in such depletion of arms stocks says much for NATO’s showboating. The brutal truth is that many of the critical systems that are now in short supply cannot be readily replaced and an operation designed to weaken Russia is actually demonstrating western weaknesses. Be that as it is, the fact that western pressure has neither stopped Russia nor saved the Ukraine has in turn forced the western hand into adopting increasingly desperate measures. With the conflict now two months long, an increasingly destitute Ukraine now appears to have equipment, tactics and abilities like never before, yet closer inspection reveals an ever-more intimate association with US interests in the area.

That can only reach a certain point, one step more being one step too far, US-assisted attacks becoming US attacks and thereafter US attacks on Russia itself. After all the sadness that has gone before, this will be where the fun really starts; a party that the US started now has guests trying to dance in next door’s garden, but that next move could really make Russia move. NATO has managed to clear out its own stocks, yet with only a small fraction of Russia’s arsenal being expended and it having the resources and industry to replace, perhaps the West ought to step back before made to backtrack by a very angry Bear…