Ever since the Caiman died this summer, Pooty has been looking for a new BFF and seems to have found one in Little Kim. The two exchanged rifles recently in a show of fidelity. Putin had to travel much further for this formal ceremony than did Kim which has bemused critics far and wide. After all, Russia is perceived as the stronger nation, yet here is their Czar forced to travel to the outer reaches of his own country to secure a weapons deal that will potentially give Russia more long-range missiles to fire at Ukrainian civil targets.
For Kim it is a diplomatic coup as Putin made all sorts of promises. None of them binding of course. However, the very fact that Kim had to do little more than cross the border from North Korea into Russia in his bullet-proof train firmly suggests who was in control here. It is much like the time Kim forced Trump to meet him on his own terms in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
This is how far Russia has sunk in the last year and a half but you would never know it listening to Russian news. They still believe their Czar has the upper hand against the Imperialistic West.
Meanwhile, the Russian military took another heavy hit when Ukraine wiped out one of its air defense systems in Crimea. Russians have been leaving the contested oblast in droves as they fear a heavy assault at any moment. Ukraine is soon to get a fleet of F-16 fighter jets which will make their air strike capabilities much more formidable. Yet, the perception remains that the counter-offensive promised all summer has bogged down and that the West is getting restless.
It was pretty much the case last summer when it took Ukraine a while to put all its forces in place before finally pushing the Russians out of Kherson in a "planned retreat." Ukraine probably would have made larger gains had not Elon Musk cut Starlink access to Ukrainian forces so that they lost communication. Something Musk refused to admit at the time but has since been bragging about. In his addled mind he saved the world from nuclear war. Pooty made sure to thank his friend.
Putin hid his trip to Vladivostok under the pretense that he was reviewing Russia's space program after its failed landing on the moon in August. This was a big blow to Russian pride as India landed a spaceship the following week, sending back images from their successful lunar mission. I think Putin is hoping to lure Musk's Space X program to Russia.
At the same Economic Forum, Putin also tried to revitalize Trump's campaign by offering all sorts of encouragement. Pooty believes that Trump is being politically persecuted, letting the irony slide right over his botox bald head as he jails thousands for speaking out against him in Russia, including Navalny who was once again poisoned in jail. By comparison, Trump is getting trials in which to defend his actions and is free on bond to continue his presidential campaign.
Yet, if we were to listen to much of the news today it is Biden and Zelenskyy who are corrupt. The House has finally launched an impeachment inquiry over unsubstantiated charges that Biden profited from his son's business deals in Ukraine from 2013 to 2018. Zelenskyy is also battling charges of widespread corruption throughout his government, most notably in the military ranks where commanders have been accused of taking bribes from persons hoping to avoid conscription. Zelenskyy has initiated a major crackdown but still allegations persist.
It is in this swirl of misleading information that we now exist as an election cycle creates chaos in the United States. Mitt Romney says he has had enough and announced he will not be running for re-election. He made sure to spit in everyone's face in the process, which left many of his colleagues angry, notably Mitch McConnell. Like Musk, Romney has a new book out, although I doubt it will fair as well on the market. Romney is pretty much a non-factor these days, as are all fence-straddling Republicans who bemoan Trump on one side but decry Biden on the other, unable to play any major role in their sad old party.
I really don't understand what's going on. It's like the media has to manufacture dissent in order to gain advertising revenue much like Musk at X. Walter Isaacson speculated that one of the reasons Musk bought Twitter last year was that things were going too smoothly at Tesla and Space X and he needed something to get the adrenaline rushing through his veins again. The media seems to have the same fascination with Trump, who is getting all sorts of free airtime to vent his anger at everyone around him, most notably "Crooked Joe." For his part Biden has taken the high road, saying "I have a job to do."
How it all ends remains to be seen. Zelenskyy will be in Washington next week in an effort to shore up support for Ukraine on Capitol Hill. The US has already pledged to train Ukrainian fighter pilots to use the F-16s they will be getting from Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.
It's just too bad this wasn't done sooner as this war could have been wrapped up last Fall and Putin might have found himself behind bars. He barely survived an insurrection attempt earlier this summer. Public frustration has been growing in Russia. As Anatol Lieven described it, "few Russians wanted the war in Ukraine but they won't accept a Russian defeat either."
So Putin is left with little choice but to beg Little Kim for more missiles and possibly ground forces as his ranks are once again thinning along the front line. Given that no active North Korean service man has ever fought in a war, it will be interesting to see how that goes. Kadyrov's vaunted soldiers have been virtually useless in Ukraine, and Wagner is now in complete disarray after the apparent death of Prigozhin.
For now we have a new bromance -- Pooty and Little Kim both grinning ear to ear. Only a war like this could bring two such misshapen persons together.
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