Putin Using the Winter as a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction,' Zelensky Says
Recent Russian missile strikes have knocked the power out in large sections of the country
NOTE TO READERS: Each week, The Trends Journal magazine provides its subscribers with news analysis and trend forecasts without any corporate influence. We answer only to our subscribers. Please consider signing up here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is attempting to weaponize the looming winter as a weapon of mass destruction.
We note in this week’s issue that Russia’s missile strikes resulted in about half of Ukraine’s energy system being disabled and the risk that Kyiv could face a total shutdown of its power grid.
Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of Ukrainian energy company Ukrenegro, told reporters that roughly 100 Russian missiles were launched at substations and the damage is colossal.
“Now, on the eve of winter, we are facing one of the greatest threats since the beginning of all-out war,” Zelensky said. “The Kremlin has set the task of continuing the attacks on energy facilities — to turn the cold of winter into a weapon of mass destruction.”
Also:
Top Putin Ally Calls for Zelensky to Face War Crimes Charges
TRENDPOST: We have long noted that Putin wants to inflict as much harm as possible on Ukrainians still in the country so they demand Kyiv to begin peace talks to end the war.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters Monday that Russia is not seeking regime change in Ukraine and will achieve all of its goals in its war.
Patrick Buchanan published an article today that said without electric power, “there will be no light or heat in Ukrainian homes, hospitals, offices or schools. Without electricity, food cannot be preserved, stoves do not work, water cannot be pumped.”
He continued, “Without power, light and heat, Putin's expectation is that the Ukrainian people, who have patriotically supported their army, will, in the tens of thousands this winter, be at risk of freezing to death in the dark.”
The war shows no sign of slowing and we are no closer to a resolution than we were in late February. The common theme in the West is that we will not stop until Kyiv emerges victorious in the face of the Russian aggressors, but it seems few people can define what a victory would look like.
In June, Putin told the Russian parliament that “by and large” his military “hasn’t started anything seriously yet.”
Putin announced in September that he authorized a partial mobilization of his military after reports indicated that his forces lost ground in Ukraine.
Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that it is unlikely that Ukraine will defeat Russian forces in the near future.
“The probability of a Ukrainian military victory defined as kicking the Russians out of all of Ukraine to include what they define or what the claim is Crimea, the probability of that happening anytime soon is not high, militarily,” he said.
Milley pointed out that despite recent gains by Ukraine, Russia still controls about 20 percent of the country.
The World Health Organization said millions in the country were at risk due to the power grid issues.
"This winter will be about survival," Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said.
Zellenskyy should have honored the Minsk Agreements and not kept killing Russians and, the goddamned US neoCONs who helped him should be tried with Zellenskyy for war crimes.
"TRENDPOST: We have long noted that Putin wants to inflict as much harm as possible on Ukrainians still in the country so they demand Kyiv to begin peace talks to end the war. "
I think you're way off the mark here. The energy infrastructure is massively dual-purpose, and is a vital piece of Ukraine's ability to continue waging war. This has little or nothing to do with inflicting harm on the civilian population in the hopes of pressuring the Zelensky regime. In general, Russians feel a great affinity for the people of Ukraine, and if there were a way to destroy Ukraine's ability to wage war without causing so much grief to the civilian population, I think Russia would be doing it.
This conflict will end at some point, and it does not serve Russia's purpose to have it end with a nation on its very border that is consumed with hate for it.
Besides, from what we've seen so far, it's doubtful that the opinions of most of the Ukrainian population is of much concern to Zelensky. His main motives are appeasing the Nazis that threaten him physically, and making sure he makes his escape at the end of this with his sack of money intact.