The NY Times haedlines says the Russian leader ‘Quietly’ wants a Cease -Fire…..
One COULD think this IS deliberate ….
Why?
Any ‘Deal’ that freezes things where it is right now would give Russia the Donetsk and Luhansk araea’s along with the Crimea…..
Putin might not get everything he wanted ….
But?
He could say he got something…..
And declare VICTORY going into a election for another term…..
It would also play into the fatigue in the conflict in the West which IS getting antsy on sending more money to a Ukraine that seems stuck in efforts to claw back more of it’s teritory….
All this IF the NY Times piece is FOR REAL or just a Russian plant….
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President Vladimir V. Putin’s confidence seems to know no bounds.
Buoyed by Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive and flagging Western support, Mr. Putin says that Russia’s war goals have not changed. Addressing his generals on Tuesday, he boasted that Ukraine was so beleaguered that Russia’s invading troops were doing “what we want.”
“We won’t give up what’s ours,” he pledged, adding dismissively, “If they want to negotiate, let them negotiate.”
But in a recent push of back-channel diplomacy, Mr. Putin has been sending a different message: He is ready to make a deal.
Mr. Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is open to a cease-fire that freezes the fighting along the current lines, far short of his ambitions to dominate Ukraine, two former senior Russian officials close to the Kremlin and American and international officials who have received the message from Mr. Putin’s envoys say….
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Mr. Putin’s repeated interest in a cease-fire is an example of how opportunism and improvisation have defined his approach to the war behind closed doors. Dozens of interviews with Russians who have long known him and with international officials with insight into the Kremlin’s inner workings show a leader maneuvering to reduce risks and keep his options open in a war that has lasted longer than he expected. While deploying fiery public rhetoric, Mr. Putin privately telegraphs a desire to declare victory and move on.
“They say, ‘We are ready to have negotiations on a cease-fire,’” said one senior international official who met with top Russian officials this fall. “They want to stay where they are on the battlefield.”….
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Kherson gets shelled by the Russians….
Christmas comes on Dec. 25 in the Ukraine vs the Russian Jan. 7 date….
One effort ot run against Putin in the March Presidential election has been dashed by the Russian top court…
Another is a 75 year old…
Ukraine oldtimes in Estonia maybe sent home for the Russian conflict….
The Wall Street Jouranla reports the take out of Wagner head WAS cleared by a Putin ally….
Poland truckers give up their blockade at the Ukraine border….
Rats and mice are problems for soliders of the Ukraine and Russia on the battlefield….
…
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Waves of Russian shelling and drone attacks struck the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Saturday, killing one person and injuring seven, officials in the region said. Russian forces also shelled a power station closer to the front lines in eastern Ukraine, injuring five workers and knocking out electricity to the town of Kurakhovo.
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Many Ukrainians will on Monday celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December for the first time, after the government changed the date from the Orthodox Church observance of 7 January in a snub to Russia, Agence France-Presse reports. The law signed by president Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted that Ukrainians wanted to “live their own life with their own traditions and holidays”. It allows them to “abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7”, it added. Christianity is the largest religion in Ukraine, with the Russian Orthodox Church dominating religious life until recently.
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Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova has said she will challenge in the supreme court the decision to disqualify herfrom running in the Russian presidential election next year, calling it unjustified and undemocratic.
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Poland’s new foreign minister has called on European countries to boostlong-term plans for military production after returning from his first foreign visit, to neighbouring Ukraine. “Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve,” said Radosław Sikorski, in an interview in Warsaw, a few hours after returning from Kyiv on Saturday.
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Financial institutions that support the Russian military-industrial complex are to be blacklisted in the US after president Joe Biden signed an executive order yesterday to deny banks under sanctions access to the American financial system.
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Fighting age Ukrainian men in Estonia could be extradited to their home country and forced to join the war effort amid a shortage of soldiers.Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR reports that the Baltic nation stands ready to support Ukraine in its proposals to conscript Ukrainian men abroad for military service.
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The Communist party of Russia, the second largest party in parliament, has selected a 75-year-old candidate, Nikolai Kharitonov, who won just under 14% of the national vote when he stood against Putin in 2004, to stand in the presidential polls.
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The assassination of the Wagner mercenary army chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was approved by a close ally of Vladimir Putin, the Wall Street Journal has reported after conversations with western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence officer.
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Protesting Polish truckers have unblocked the key border crossing of Shehyni-Medyka between Poland and Ukraine, Kyiv’s economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced, hailing an “important improvement”.
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Both Ukrainian and Russian troops are suffering from “exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation” in some sectors of the frontline, according to UK intelligence. The Ministry of Defence says rodent populations have risen due to milder temperatures in recent months and plenty of food.
Dec 23, 2023 – ISW Press
The New York Times (NYT) – citing former and current senior Russian, US, and international officials – reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using back channels and intermediaries to signal his interest in a ceasefire, despite Putin’s recent public statements to the contrary. NYT reported that Western officials have been picking up renewed signals through backchannels since September 2023 that Putin is interested in a ceasefire that freezes the current frontlines, but noted that Western officials warned the backchannels could be “Kremlin misdirection” and may not reflect a “genuine willingness” to negotiate. NYT suggested several possible motivations Putin may have for his reported interest in a ceasefire: the upcoming March 2024 Russian presidential election, a desire to “keep his options open” regarding the war’s resolution and take advantage of perceived waning Western support for Ukraine, and the “distraction” of the Israel-Hamas war. All these motivations reflect temporary reasons why Putin might pursue a temporary ceasefire that would benefit Russia by allowing Russia the time to prepare for renewed aggression against Ukraine, as ISW has routinely assessed. The NYT noted that Putin’s public rhetoric, which has recently reasserted Russia’s maximalist objectives that are tantamount to full Ukrainian and Western surrender, is at odds with Putin’s reported private desire to “declare victory and move on.” Neither the NYT nor its sources offered any reason to believe Putin’s backchannel communications would be more reflective of his goals than his public speeches addressing domestic, Ukrainian, and international audiences. The NYT report also failed to make clear whether Putin’s alleged interest in a ceasefire is for a temporary pause or a permanent end to the war.