WILL THE US DITCH UKRAINE LIKE IT DID AFGHANISTAN? CLUES ABOUND / Air strike update for Aug 3, 2023
Clues: Fewer arms sent to Ukraine, Ukraine-earmarked funds re-routed to Taiwan, US criticism of Zelensky, and more.
Here’s your daily air strike update for August 3, 2023
Below you will find a translation with my notes in bold typeface and in [brackets]. You can consult the map linked here, and also read my explanation of possible motives for these strikes.
On Oct 10, 2022, the first day of the current missile strike campaign, I started chronicling the daily Russian air strikes on Ukraine infrastructure in an attempt to debunk the lies of the Western press, which had falsely claimed starting in March of 2022 that Russia was running out of missiles. I knew that Russia would not have been foolish enough to invade Ukraine if it was not 100% certain that it had enough armaments to prosecute a war of indefinite duration.
So far, I have seen that Russia is hitting Ukrainian infrastructure not just regularly, not just often, but in fact every day, and the strikes have all been multiple, targeting more than one oblast or city every day. Countries running out of ammo can’t do that.
https://ria.ru/20230803/trevoga-1888042533.html
03.08.2023
Ukrainian authorities announced an air alert in Kharkiv and two other oblasts
MOSCOW, August 3 - RIA Novosti. An air raid alert has been issued in the Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk and Poltava oblasts of Ukraine, as well as in the Kyiv-controlled part of the Zaporozhye oblast, according to the data of the online map of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation.
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Vanessa Beeley
Syria military escalation as U.S. increases pressure and the Niger coup
My two sections on UK Column News yesterday.
In section one I cover the recent military coup in Niger and the emergence of a new Pan-Africanist movement led by the Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali with a combined population of 60 million. It is the 7th military coup to overthrow governments in thrall to French neocolonialism since 2020. The developing partnerships with Russia and China are strengthening African resolve to throw off the chains of colonialism.
With Ibrhaim Traore we see a similar ideology to the assassinated Thomas Sankara, one of the most inspirational leaders of all time.
Watch:
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https://www.corbettreport.com/macfarlane-oppenheimer/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
The murderous Robert Oppenheimer
https://vitaldissent.com/oppenheimer
As the Director of the Los Alamos facility, Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer is the man most popularly credited for the atom bomb’s creation. Lesser known is his checkered past.
During his first year of graduate study at the UK’s Cambridge University, Oppenheimer was diagnosed with “profound schizophrenia that psychoanalysis would not benefit” after an acute deterioration of his mental state that began in the Fall of 1925. This decline would see Oppenheimer muttering repeated phrases to himself, and collapsing in a heap to the laboratory floors to roll around.
Oppenheimer’s diagnosis came in the fall of 1925 after he attempted to poison his supervising professor with a chemical–reportedly cyanide–obtained from a University laboratory. Oppenheimer’s wealthy parents intervened to save his career by convincing Cambridge not to expel him and to recommend the dismissal of criminal charges. Oppenheimer was instead placed on academic probation, which required he submit to mandatory psych evals. (Martino-Taylor at 5-6).
During the winter of 1925-1926, Oppenheimer’s continued to struggle emotionally. According to close friend and Harvard classmate, Francis Fergusson, Oppenheimer confided an incident where he became angry at a couple kissing on the train. After the male left the carriage, Oppenheimer reportedly kissed the woman and immediately fell to his knees, apologizing and crying. However, after Oppenheimer and the couple had departed the train and were descending the station steps, he threw his suitcase at the woman’s head, and missed, or so he told Fergusson.
Despite these measures, Oppenheimer again attempted murder in January 1926 when he began to strangle Fergusson with a leather trunk strap. Thankfully for Oppenheimer, this event did not occur on university grounds. Instead, it occurred in Paris where Oppenheimer’s parents had taken him for the Winter term while he was on the brink of expulsion. Aside from Fergusson, there were no witnesses. Fergusson was a close friend that understood his fevered mental state, which according to Fergusson, bordered on the suicidal. Oppenheimer later admitted this event happened and apologized to Fergusson.
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Biden’s fanatical pursuit of Israeli-Saudi normalization is a dangerous delusion
The Biden administration's reported efforts to broker a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel are cause for genuine alarm and could make the already horrifying situation for Palestinians much worse.
BY MITCHELL PLITNICK AUGUST 2, 2023 5
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Translation:
https://ria.ru/20230803/poteri-1887963762.html
03.08.2023
Ukrainian Armed Forces lost almost 400 soldiers in Donetsk direction in a day
Ministry of Defense: Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 380 Ukrainian soldiers in the Donetsk direction in a day
MOSCOW, August 3 - RIA Novosti. Over the past day, units of the Southern Group of Russian troops in the Donetsk direction repelled eight attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said.
"After repulsing the attacks, the Russian troops counterattacked the retreating enemy and improved the position along the front line in the areas of the settlements of Berestovoe, Krasnogorovka and Maryinka of the Donetsk People's Republic," the report says.
Wounded Ukrainian soldiers - RIA Novosti, 1920, 08/03/2023
Armed forces of Ukraine suffer heavy losses near Kleshcheevka, reported in the LNR
09:06
The loss of Ukrainian troops there amounted to about 380 servicemen, one tank, five armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, two Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery mounts and a Rapira anti-tank gun.
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https://tsargrad.tv/news/zelenskogo-gotovjatsja-spisat-v-chjom-podvoh_838358
PREPARING TO DITCH ZELENSKY. WHAT'S THE CATCH?
Volodymyr Zelensky is an ordinary product of Western propaganda and ideological warfare. Already, the Ukrainian leader is gradually getting out of control and leading the world to a massive catastrophe - NATO does not want such a development of events. Ukraine and America already have a plan in case of the "death" of the president, Poland is preparing to take over part of the lands of western Ukraine.
Who will sit in the presidential chair?
Konstantin Sivkov, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences for Information Policy, during a conversation with Pravda.Ru expressed his opinion on the further development of the deteriorating relations between Ukraine and Poland. The expert noted that the West did not miss the opportunity and has already begun to prepare a moral and psychological operation to sent Vladimir Zelensky "to the scrap heap" - the Ukrainian leader knows too much and demands a lot, ruining his political colleagues. This development of events is also confirmed by the fact that a potential replacement has already been found in his place - it may be the speaker of the Rada (parliament), Ruslan Stefanchuk, or a group of "influential persons." Influential persons means Andrey Yermak, Dmitry Kuleba, Alexei Reznikov and Valery Zaluzhny.
Poland is looking forward to the collapse the most
Sivkov also suggested that there is every chance that Poland will not miss the opportunity and make attempts to organize an invasion of the territory of Western Ukraine. True, as the expert notes, this will happen only if Russia allows Warsaw to implement this. However, while there is an active armed conflict, the Poles will not dare to act decisively. It is also noteworthy that if Warsaw does not receive support from NATO, then there will be no direct action either - there is no military resource.
The Poles, unlike other European states, do not have “deep feelings of gratitude” for Ukraine, Warsaw is hypocritically waiting for the collapse of the Kiev regime and the liquidation of Vladimir Zelensky in order to finally take over part of the Ukrainian lands, suggested a military observer, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin in an interview with URA.RU. The expert noted that Polish colleagues use Kyiv only for their own benefit - and if now they are still holding back their animus, they will soon stop hiding their discontent.
Litovkin also explained that the Poles are not fighting for the victory of Kyiv, they are simply fulfilling the desire of the West to destroy Russia's military potential as much as possible. Another controversial factor is that Zelensky signed a law that the rights of Poles in Ukraine are the same as those of the Ukrainian population, but the Polish side to this day remains unhappy that Ukraine shows insufficient gratitude. Warsaw would like the Ukrainian people to "kiss their hands," but Zelenskiy takes for granted the gratuitous financial sponsorship.
"Time will pass, and the Poles will present serious claims to Ukraine for the Volyn massacre. This will gradually happen," Litovkin assured.
Volodymyr Zelensky is a common product of Western propaganda and ideological warfare. Already, the Ukrainian leader is gradually getting out of control and leading the world to a massive catastrophe - NATO does not want such a development of events. Ukraine and America already have a plan in case of the "death" of the president, Poland is preparing to take over part of the lands of the western part.
Who will sit in the presidential chair?
Konstantin Sivkov, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences for Information Policy, during a conversation with Pravda.Ru expressed his opinion on the further development of the deteriorating relations between Ukraine and Poland. The expert noted that the West did not miss the opportunity and has already begun to prepare a moral and psychological operation to write off Vladimir Zelensky "to the scrap" - the Ukrainian leader knows too much and demands a lot, ruining his political colleagues. This development of events is also confirmed by the fact that a potential replacement has already been found in his place - it may be the speaker of the parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, or a group of "influential persons." Influential persons mean Andrey Yermak, Dmitry Kuleba, Alexei Reznikov and Valery Zaluzhny.
Poland is waiting for the collapse of the most
Sivkov also suggested that there is every chance that Poland will not miss the opportunity and make attempts to organize an invasion of the territory of Western Ukraine. True, as the expert notes, this will happen only if Russia allows Warsaw to implement this. However, while there is an active armed conflict, the Poles will not dare to act decisively. It is also noteworthy that if Warsaw does not receive support from NATO, then there will be no direct action either - there is no military resource.
The Poles, unlike other European states, do not have “irid feelings of gratitude” for Ukraine, Warsaw is hypocritically waiting for the collapse of the Kiev regime and the liquidation of Vladimir Zelensky in order to finally take over part of the Ukrainian lands, suggested a military observer, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin in an interview with URA.RU. The expert noted that Polish colleagues use Kyiv only for their own well-being - and if now they are still holding back their ardor, they will soon stop hiding their discontent.
Litovkin also explained that the Poles are not fighting for the victory of Kyiv, they are simply fulfilling the desire of the West to destroy Russia's military potential as much as possible. Another controversial factor is that Zelensky signed a law that the rights of Poles in Ukraine are the same as those of the Ukrainian population, but the Polish side to this day remains unhappy that Ukraine shows insufficient gratitude. Warsaw would like the Ukrainian people to "kiss their hands," but Zelenskiy takes for granted the gratuitous financial sponsorship.
"Time will pass, and the Poles will present serious claims to Ukraine for the Volyn massacre. This will gradually happen," Litovkin assured. [The Volyn massacre, described here https://en.topwar.ru/3116-volynskaya-reznya.html, killed many ethnic Poles. It was led by the ultranationalist Nazi group under Stepan Bandera, whose birthday is celebrated on Jan 1 in Ukraine! It is therefore amazing that the Poles offer to help Ukraine to fight the Russians, although Poland’s ambition to seize territory after the war helps explain it]
Hints from the West are not accidental
Foreign media implicitly hinted to the whole world that the West is tired of Zelensky, who is always demanding money. The 360 edition talked to Ukrainian political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak, who explained how to take the high-profile news headlines about the imminent collapse of the Kyiv regime. The expert assured that the world community and the Ukrainians themselves are already mentally prepared for the fact that Zelensky can be "written off" - all this is no accident.
"There will be no popular indignation and crying - everyone understands perfectly well the meaning of the phrase “one is just as good as the other”, especially in today’s situation. Rearranging the bed in a brothel does not change the essence - there is no need to change the sign,” explains the expert.
Dudchak acknowledged that the President of Ukraine is indeed in a stalemate - for foreign colleagues, he is an ideal candidate for a "sacred sacrifice", because he knows too much that he should not know. It is possible that Zelensky himself is well aware of the difficulty of his position, but does not broadcast it in public, so as not to lose face.
“A simple peasant is absolutely indifferent to which leader will be in power, be it Zelensky or Stefanchuk. Therefore, when the head of state changes, there will hardly be any shocks. If the plan [of the West] turns into reality, then the military may also come to power. The Ukrainians can fill his chair, for example, with the much touted [Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery] Zaluzhny," the expert notes.
The political scientist also noted that if the Western media write something good about Russia, then you should not take it literally - if the praise comes from the lips of the enemy, then something is wrong.
"We know what they are worth. We have our own tasks and goals. We need the West to react to our actions, not words. That would be more interesting," Alexander Dudchak said in conclusion.
Hints from the West are not accidental
Foreign media implicitly hinted to the whole world that the West is tired of Zelensky, who is always demanding money. The 360 edition talked to Ukrainian political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak, who explained how to take the high-profile news headlines about the imminent collapse of the Kyiv regime. The expert assured that the world community and the Ukrainians themselves are already mentally prepared for the fact that Zelensky can be "written off" - all this is not an accident.
"There will be no popular indignation and crying - everyone understands perfectly well the meaning of the phrase" an sew on soap, especially in modern conditions. Rearranging the bed in a brothel does not change the essence - there is no need to change the sign, "explains the expert.
Dudchak acknowledged that the President of Ukraine is indeed in a stalemate - for foreign colleagues, he is an ideal candidate for a "sacred sacrifice", because he knows too much that he should not know. It is possible that Zelensky himself is well aware of the difficulty of his position, but does not broadcast it in public, so as not to lose face.
“A simple peasant is absolutely indifferent to which leader will be in power, be it Zelensky or Stefanchuk. Therefore, when the head of state changes, there will hardly be any shocks. If the plan [of the West] turns into reality, then the military may also come to power. Ukrainians they can hoist on this chair, for example, the promoted [Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery] Zaluzhny," the expert notes.
The political scientist also noted that if the Western media write something good towards Russia, then you should not take it literally - if the praise comes from the lips of the enemy, then something is wrong with you.
"We know what they are worth. We have our own tasks and goals. We need the West to react to our actions, not words. That would be more interesting," Alexander Dudchak said in conclusion.
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https://donbasstoday.ru/na-ukraine-pojmali-bandu-kotoraya-torgovala-grudnymi-detmi/
A baby-trafficking ring was caught in Ukraine
08/03/2023
A high-profile case was solved in Ukraine, where a gang that trafficked in children was caught, a Donbass Today correspondent reports.
Ukrainian investigators exposed a criminal organization that sold babies to foreigners. The scheme was organized by the heads of medical institutions, and in total 12 people were involved in it.
“Criminals were looking for women in a difficult situation who agreed to become surrogate mothers. For this they were promised 12,000 euros. After giving birth, the women were forced to provide false information when registering a child, to refuse him in favor of a foreigner and to allow him to be taken abroad,” the border guards report details.
It is noted that for the baby the bandits received from 50 to 70 thousand euros. Now they face 8 to 15 years in prison.
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Translation. I was unable to match this article up with a corresponding English-language report.
https://dzen.ru/a/ZMumRc5H4V1ze669
Why is Russia still standing? American professor gave a cynical answer
Aug 3, 2023
American professor of political science John Mearsheimer gave a cynical answer to the question of why Russia is still standing, despite sanctions and NATO assistance to Ukraine.
The professor believes that the West made several serious mistakes after the start of the Russian SMO (special military operation). First, it relied too much on sanctions, thinking they would help destroy the Russian economy. In fact, the economy not only survived, but continued to grow, adapting to new conditions. Russia has rich natural resources for which there is always a demand. Having lost European consumers, it simply redirected its supplies to Asia.
Secondly, the United States believed that Ukraine could defeat Russia on the battlefield if it was well armed. That Moscow would not stand against all the technical might of NATO. This, too, turned out to be a fantasy, far from the truth. The Russians successfully contain the Ukrainian offensive, and NATO equipment plays no role here. [Not only that, but if you read or listen to Andrei Martyanov, a military expert with two advanced degrees in military affairs from a Soviet university, who has written several books on US military failures, he insists that even if NATO sent boots on the ground and got physically involved in a war against Russia, it would lose badly. The Wagner group may in fact attempt to seize the strategically important Suwalki Gap – in NATO territory – and if that happens, Wagner and Russia expect that NATO would not dare get involved. This would be a major step Could they be waiting until the US abandons Ukraine in favor of war with China take this step?]
But most importantly, the professor believes, the West itself provoked this conflict. [Meersheimer bases this on the fact that NATO moved its membership up to Russia’s border, in violation of promises made by the US in the 90s. However, I showed that it goes farther than that, and namely, that the war was provoked by a Ukrainian genocidal action against russophone Donbass that has lasted, so far, 9 years]
It amazes me that the US and the West did nothing to prevent it. On the contrary, they only egged on the Russians, said the expert. [If Meersheimer knew US military strategy and the written opinions of influential and governmental Russophobic strategists, such as Zbigniev Brzezinski, Paul Wolfowitz and the founders of the Project for the New American Century, he would understand the simple fact that US military strategy is based on an irrational visceral hatred of all things Russian (and also of other non-aligned nations), not on any sort of coherent, cogent, rational, or logical system. Which is precisely why US strategic doctrine is so hard to understand. To state it briefly, It is not written by adults]
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Our thanks to rwm for this:
I love your work. Thank you for huge efforts re lies and stupidity of the western MSM and crass corrupt western politicians with little to no Common Sense morals principles or honesty.
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UNMISTAKABLE CLUES THAT WEST IS ABOUT TO WALK AWAY FROM UKRAINE LIKE IT DID FROM AFGHANISTAN
Less and less arms are being sent to Ukraine:
Military expert explained the decline in the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine
Reserve Colonel Khatylev: The West has reduced the supply of weapons due to Kyiv's inability to use them
Evgeny Bugrov
April 7, 2023
The former head of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command of the Russian Air Force, Sergei Khatylev, said that Western countries have reduced the supply of military equipment to Ukraine. Kyiv constantly requires more and more weapons, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) do not know how to use them, the reserve colonel explained in an interview with URA.RU.
The realization came that no matter how much you supply, it is never enough where Ukraine is concerned. Secondly, no matter how much you supply, we will destroy everything,” said the military expert.
He added that Kyiv was supplied with weapons of "incomprehensible quality." The United States is sending equipment to Ukraine that the US Army has not used for a long time. Khatylev called the Americans practical people who "collect and give away all their rubbish." For this they receive money as for scrap metal.
Washington also puts pressure on the countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact. Demands to donate all their Soviet weapons. Later, the United States promises to compensate them for losses of equipment. The trouble is, it will already be supplied at a different price - "a thousand times more expensive," Khatylev concluded.
Earlier, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the European Union is ready to break taboos if necessary, which is noticeable in the supply of lethal military equipment to Ukraine. He stressed that since the beginning of the SMO, the European Union hasdemonstrated it they understands how much is “at stake”, and now the EU countries are working on the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian side.
The West doesn’t know the fate of weapons sent, suggesting that the US is only interested in weapons trade, not in helping Ukraine defend itself
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/19/politics/us-weapons-ukraine-intelligence/index.html
Biden is dropping Ukraine for Taiwan, sending Taiwan arms earmarked for Ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230803/is-biden-preparing-to-dump-ukraine-for-taiwan-1112361859.html
Deliveries of Western arms to Ukraine are dwindling https://sputnikglobe.com/20230803/donbass-official-reports-dwindling-deliveries-of-western-military-equipment-to-ukraine-1112364201.html
The US is criticizing Zelensky so it can blame him for the Biden regime’s colossal and very stupid mistake of picking a fight with Russia
Translation:
https://ria.ru/20230803/ukraina-1887881214.html
From words to deeds: the United States is ready to close down the Ukrainian project
Irina Alksnis
Yesterday was a tense day for the Kyiv propaganda, which had to urgently explain to its audience that the West did not abandon Ukraine at all. A nervous reaction there was caused by an insider from the Financial Times, according to which Joe Biden intends to pass arms funding for Taiwan through Congress as part of an additional budget for Ukraine.
Ukrainian fears are quite understandable: how, within the framework of the general budget, will the States begin to transfer funds intended for Kiev to Taipei, and in the end they will completely leave Ukraine to its fate, to be devoured by Moscow.
It should be noted that the assurances of the CISO that everything is completely different, that Western and specifically American support for Ukraine is unshakable, were supported by a number of quite sound arguments. They boil down to the idea that this combination of the White House to (partially) combine the Ukrainian and Taiwanese financial projects, in fact, is tactical and mostly domestic in nature.
The fact is that the House of Representatives is controlled by the Republicans, for whom the US policy towards Ukraine (or rather, its increasingly obvious failure, threatening to turn into a geopolitical catastrophe) is one of the main objects of criticism against the current administration. Moreover, the closer to the elections (there is less than a year left), the more furious and irreconcilable in relation to Biden and his Ukrainian course the position of opponents becomes. The torpedoing of relevant decisions in Congress, of course, is included in the package, and the most important argument is the reference to China as the main threat to America, and instead of effectively countering it, the United States is bogged down in a futile head butt with Russia in Ukraine. [In the real world, however, China is not only NOT an enemy, it is a vital trading partner and part of a delicate balance of power in the world. The best illustration of what fools the Sinophobic Washington warmongers are who ignore this fact is that China is now counter-sanctioning the US by suspending the exportation of vital elements such as germanium and gallium to the US, thereby threatening US semiconductor industry. Aside from being just plain stupid, US politicians routinely blunder into punishments for disobedient countries, and ignore, for example, the many options that Russia and China have to punish the US for its sanctions. Remember that the explosion of US sanctions on non-aligned countries, especially Russia, since the start of its Ukraine incursion last Feb 24, has led so far to a concerted effort on the part of many of the countries slapped with sanctions to join the BRICS in order to undermine the US dollar. Could this de-dollarization effort perhaps be one of the reasons driving Fitch’s downgrade of the US rating?]
Joining the Taiwan issue to the Ukrainian issue is really reasonable from the point of view of apparatus-bureaucratic games: you, the Republican congressmen, wanted more active support for Taiwan - here you are, but in the same package with Ukraine. In such a configuration, withdrawing support for the initiative becomes difficult for even Biden's toughest opponents.
So the soothing mantras of Kyiv look quite convincing at first glance. On the second, the situation is much more complicated. After all, if Biden's plans voiced by journalists are considered a tactical step, then within the framework of what strategy was it made?
But from a strategic point of view, Ukraine has absolutely nothing to rejoice at.
China is indeed the number one enemy as far as the Americans are concerned. The fact that the United States was drawn into the Ukrainian crisis much more than planned only complicates the situation for them, but does not change the essence of the matter. And they will have to fully switch to the Asian direction, because they simply do not physically have the strength and resources to participate in two large-scale conflicts.
At the same time, Washington found itself trapped in its own policy. State systems, especially such gigantic ones as this, have colossal inertia. They are very slow and clumsy when the question arises of a radical change in strategy and direction. Their initial plans for Russia called for the rapid collapse of our country, and with relatively little effort and expense. Instead, over a year and a half, they gradually plunged into the conflict much deeper than they planned and wanted.
In addition, we must not forget about the great American corruption. Over the past time, a whole conglomerate of bureaucratic and business structures has formed in Washington, sawing astronomical sums in Ukraine. They have successfully stuck to the relevant financial flows and, of course, are not at all interested in changing state policy, even if this runs counter to national interests and plans prescribed in numerous foreign policy strategies. And we have learned a lot in recent years about the power of lobbying and the notorious deep state in the United States.
The plan to combine the Ukrainian and Taiwanese budgets allows, among other things, to gracefully resolve the conflict that has arisen: the “necessary” people will be able to switch their activity to the Asian direction while maintaining their financial interest, and thereby lose interest in continuing and lobbying for the Kiev adventure.
As a result, the White House initiative has a serious chance of killing a lot more than two birds with one stone and becoming a solid mound that will allow the United States to get out of the Ukrainian swamp. It is worth noting that this "bump" is far from the first: the media campaign to drain Ukraine is already in full swing.