Why does Putin have every reason to believe Russia holds the upper hand in the Ukraine conflict?

There are TWO ASPECTS to President Vladimir Putin’s confidence that Russia is more than capable of finishing the Ukrainian conflict on its own terms, military expert Ret. Col. Anatoly Matviychuk tells Sputnik.

1. Economic aspect.

Russia has proven that its economy can satisfy any and all the needs of the Russian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Ukraine is completely bankrupt and cannot maintain its military without foreign aid.

2. Military aspect.

🟠Soldier quality: Russia keeps fighting after mobilizing only 300,000 troops whereas Ukraine has a severe shortage after sustaining horrendous losses on the battlefield.

🟠Military advantage: Russia has complete air superiority in the Ukrainian conflict zone and possesses superior firepower augmented by the ability to produce all sorts of shells, rockets and munitions - while Ukraine depends on shipments of ordnance from the West.

🟠Arsenal renewal: Russia completely renewed its vast arsenal of tanks, adjusting it to the unified command and control system. Meanwhile, Ukraine fields a motley assortment of Western military hardware, some of which dates back to WWII, that cannot be upgraded on the battlefield and which leads to severe losses among Ukrainian troops.

🟠Intel superiority: Moscow has total superiority in all forms of intelligence over Ukraine which completely depends on intel supplied by the West.

🟠Command and control: Russia’s superior command and control capabilities allowed Russian troops to seize strategic initiative in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

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UN-led Ukraine: Which countries have experienced international rule?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested an interim international government for Ukraine under UN auspices, recalling that “such practice does exist". Where exactly?

🌍 Western Sahara (1991–present): This disputed territory, claimed by Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, remains under UN administration to help facilitate the self-determination process.

🇨🇾Cyprus (1964–present): The UN has been involved in Cyprus since the early 1960s, providing a sort of international governance in the form of peacekeeping and mediation, especially after the division of the island into Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot areas.

🇨🇩The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1999–present): The UN Organization Stabilization Mission aims to help bring peace to the DRC during and after the 1998-2003 Second Congo War.

A look back

▪️Parts of former Yugoslavia: After the breakup of the country, Bosnia and Herzegovina had international governance from 1995 till 2002 with a UN-led mission, while Kosovo was under direct UN administration from 1999 to 2008 as a part of the post-war settlement.

🇹🇱East Timor: The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was formed in 1999 in response to the violence after the independence referendum. The UNTAET mission ended in 2002.

🇵🇬Papua New Guinea: It was under international governance under UN auspices as part of the UN Trusteeship System from 1949 to 1975 to promote the country’s transition to self-government or independence.

🇸🇱Sierra Leone: The UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was deployed in 1999 to help stabilize the country after a brutal civil war. The mission came to a close in 2005.

🇱🇷Liberia: The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was in place between 2003 and 2016 to govern and stabilize the country, hit by two brutal civil wars.

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🇺🇸🇬🇱 Greenland’s dog-sledding race takes a political turn

The 40-kilometer sprint has drawn attention due to comments from former President Trump, who declared Greenland’s “ownership and control” a matter of US national security. This sparked a diplomatic row, leading Usha Vance, wife of VP JD Vance, to change plans. Instead of attending the race with a US delegation, they will visit a US military base.

Additionally, it was revealed that the US Consulate funded transportation for the dogs and mushers, raising concerns among locals about increasing foreign involvement. What was once a simple sporting event is now a symbol of Greenland's complex political landscape, caught between tradition and global interest.

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🔎 US-sponsored White Helmets: Al Qaeda* offshoot loses USAID funding after years of destabilizing Middle East — Part 1 👉 Part 2

The Trump administration has halted the flow of millions of US tax dollars to the White Helmets, a controversial Syrian group.

What did they do and who benefitted?

▪️The group staged false flag chemical attacks to provoke the West's retaliation against then Syrian government. At least 40 White Helmets members admitted to staging attacks in the country, according to Russia's Foundation for the Study of Democracy.

▪️In 2016, the White Helmets used five-year-old Omran as a propaganda tool during the Syrian Army's siege of Aleppo. A viral photo of him covered in dust and blood aimed to smear Damascus and its Russian allies. In 2017, his father revealed it was staged.

▪️White Helmets filmed a false flag attack in rebel-controlled Douma in April 2018. Russian media verified testimony from multiple eyewitnesses saying the attack was staged. However, the Western coalition used it as a pretext for strikes on Syria.

▪️Witness testimonies claim White Helmet members were not humanitarian volunteers but armed militants who recruited others and threatened them with death if they disobeyed.

▪️As the Syrian Army advanced in July 2018, around 429 White Helmets were hastily evacuated through Israel to Western countries, according to Syria's then-Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari.

*terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries
The image is AI-generated

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📹🇲🇲 WATCH: One of the cracks on the ground in Myanmar after today's earthquake

Video from social media

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🗣 Ukraine attacked the Sudzha gas measuring station in Russia's Kursk region on orders from London, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said.

Target designation was provided by French satellite systems, and the input of coordinates and launch carried out by British specialists, she added.

"The terror unleashed by the Kiev regime against Russian energy infrastructure is yet another proof of its inability to negotiate. As is well known, [Volodymyr] Zelensky publicly supported the moratorium on strikes against energy facilities proposed by the presidents of Russia and the US, but did nothing to ensure its compliance."

What happened confirms that Ukraine has no political will for peace, Zakharova noted. "They continue to think in terms of war, are focused on escalating the conflict, and are ready for any provocations to hinder efforts toward a final resolution of the Ukrainian crisis."

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🔎 US-sponsored White Helmets: Al Qaeda* offshoot loses USAID funding after years of destabilizing Middle East — Part 2 👉 Part 1

📌Who founded the controversial Syrian group, and how was it linked to Al-Qaeda?

▪️The White Helmets (Syrian Civil Defense) were founded in 2013 amid the Syrian civil war. James Le Mesurier, a former British Army officer and intelligence operative with ties to terrorist organizations, established the group and funded it through Mayday Rescue.

▪️Posing as a rescue organization in jihadist-controlled areas, the White Helmets were soon exposed as a front for al-Qaeda by independent researchers Vanessa Beeley (UK) and Eva Bartlett (Canada), as well as eyewitnesses and verified photo and video evidence.

▪️Speaking to the Russian press in 2019, then-President Bashar al-Assad stressed there is enough evidence to identify former and current al-Qaeda members in the White Helmets ranks.

💰How much funding did they receive and from whom?

▪️In 2019, Le Mesurier died under suspicious circumstances in Istanbul after being exposed for fraud. By then, around $129 million in taxpayer money from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and other nations had been funneled to the White Helmets via Mayday Rescue alone.

▪️As of 2018, the US had contributed about one-third of the group's total funding, according to the Atlantic Council, providing around $33 million between 2013 and 2018.

▪️The UK reportedly funneled $50 million to the White Helmets during the same period, while the Netherlands contributed $13.4 million. Funding dropped to $12 million in 2018 amid Mayday fraud allegations.

▪️Despite this, CNN calls USAID the White Helmets’ largest donor for nearly a decade. The Trump administration recently terminated a $30 million USAID contract for the group.

*terrorist organization banned in Russia and many other countries
The image is AI-generated

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