“Europe Is in a Death Trap”: Vladimir Solovyov on War, Escalation, Putin, and Peace
Russia Escalates War On Sea, Iran Smashes US Bases After US Attacks
https://www.rt.com/russia/643135-moscow-200-drones-launched/
Another Anti-Western Coup In Kiev
Today, in addition to another barrage of Russia missiles, Kiev was also struck by a power struggle between the mafia like ‘family’ around acting president Vladimir Zelensky and the western financed ‘grant structures’ around the unconstitutional anti-corruption authorities.
Six month ago Zelensky installed the 35-year old Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defense. Last night, under the guise of a larger cabinet reform, he fired him.
Fedorov is a tech savvy ‘silicon valley’ guy who knows how to promote himself. His job was to reform the draft system and the recruitment offices known for snatching people off the street to feed them as cannon fodder into the assault brigades of the Soviet-trained Commander in Chief General Alexander Syrsky (‘the best general the Russians have’).
Fedorov set out to modernize the Ukrainian army by hyping drone warfare and more effective procurement. This however led to resistance from two important constituencies.
The regular military despised Fedorov for his lack of knowledge about military affairs. Fedorov bought fancy ‘cyber’ weapons and long-range drones while the soldiers said their needs were elsewhere.
Those of the Zelensky ‘family’ who were making billions from military procurements were aghast when Fedorov started to cut into their business:
[A]s Power Point slides were shown to the testosterone-filled room, the generals griped about missile and ammunition procurement. The focus of their criticism, Mykhailo Fedorov, the 35-year-old tech-savvy defence minister who is known—and occasionally mocked—for his Silicon Valley style presentations, responded in kind. If it wasn’t for his emergency drone-purchasing decisions at the beginning of the year, which required borrowing money earmarked for salaries, there would be no Crimean operation to speak of. A witness to the proceedings describes “two different co-ordinate systems” in a clinch: “No common language, even if holding back from direct conflict.”
…
His first six months in the job were characterised by hyperactivity and a pugnacity that put many noses out of joint. From the start, he ordered an audit of the defence ministry and army brigades that uncovered overspending of 300bn-hyrivna ($6.6bn). He subjected ministry officials to lie detectors; those who refused or failed were dismissed. And he moved some procurement to an open-tender system, which he says cut the cost of 155mm artillery shells by 16% almost immediately. At the same time his deep differences with the more traditionalist military leaders, especially its commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, have rarely been far from view. It is widely known the minister angled for the general’s removal, but failed to win the president’s approval or find another way of doing it.
Meanwhile the core job Fedorov was hired to do, the reform of the recruiting system, has made zero progress. Public attacks on recruitment officers and news of draftees dying during the drafting process appear nearly daily.
Fedorov had gained some prominence with western journalist and ‘grant structures’ aligned with EU and U.S. non-government organizations. As soon as it was known that he would be fired they called for demonstrations. This morning a few dozen people turned out for another ‘cardboard Maidan’.
Immediately recruitment officers appeared to check who of those protesters were eligible for military service.
Fedorov has made the big mistake to think that the war should be about winning against Russia. But, as former Commander in Chief Valleri Zalazhny just recently again warned, its is not Russia which is losing the war.
For the higher military and the civilian structures around Zelenski the only purpose of the war has long been their personal enrichment.
Fedorov did not conform with their attitude.
He will be replaced by the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, a former police general with a military background known to be loyal to Zelenski.
The colorless Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko will be replaced by Serhii Koretskyi, the current CEO of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company. Koretski had made Naftogaz ‘profitable’ by hiding enormous losses (in Russian) in one of its subsidiaries.