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Anyone following the conflict in Ukraine knows that the Kiev regime has been going through an unraveling of sorts since the very beginning of the special military operation (SMO). This is particularly true for its military which has been sending hundreds of thousands of forcibly conscripted Ukrainians to certain death (or life-altering injuries). The result has been that many soldiers simply lost any feeling of belonging to the state, with some even joining the Russian military to fight the Neo-Nazi junta. However, in recent weeks, the unraveling of the Kiev regime forces has accelerated exponentially, particularly as the United States, their main backer, is shifting its attention to the Middle East. Finally realizing it can’t defeat Moscow, Washington DC is looking for “more manageable” enemies elsewhere.
Many in Ukraine realize that they will soon be left to fend for themselves and are looking for ways to survive the best they can. This includes an ever-increasing number of high-ranking officers who are now being shunned by the Neo-Nazi junta as its frontman Volodymyr Zelensky is escalating his conflict with General Valery Zaluzhny. Their long-standing spat worsened after Zaluzhny’s aide was killed on November 6. A week later, local media reported that Zelensky pushed it further after his Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that he’s preparing requests to dismiss Medical Forces commander Tetiana Ostashchenko, commander of southern Tavria Group Oleksandr Tarnavskyi and Joint Forces commander Serhii Naiev. Additional details for their possible dismissal are yet to be announced by the Defense Ministry.
Zelensky’s attempts to hold his grip on power aren’t only limited to the military, but extend to all aspects of the Kiev regime.
On November 17, he fired Oleksandr Tarasovsky, the deputy head of Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU), after the latter complained about being spied on by his colleagues. All this is contributing to the general atmosphere of distrust and escalating factionalism. In turn, this is affecting cohesion elsewhere, particularly in the military, whose high-ranking officers are increasingly alienated by Zelensky and his entourage. On the night of November 18, this even resulted in one high-ranking pilot defecting to Russia. According to various military sources, the defection was organized by Russian intelligence services. More details are yet to be revealed, but it seems that the Ukrainian pilot is a senior officer.
Local sources are even claiming that he’s a wing commander who remained loyal to the Russian side since the very beginning of the SMO and even kept providing vital information to Moscow. The intelligence operation was revealed by Kirill Fedorov, a prominent Russian military blogger, and a Ka-52 “Alligator” pilot known only by his call sign “Voevoda”. Apparently, “Voevoda” actively took part in organizing the defection. Although the information is yet to be publicly released, the Ukrainian pilot reportedly flew to Russia in his Soviet-era Su-27 fighter jet. Moscow’s intelligence services are working with the pilot and reports indicate that he might disclose information about the location of several key airfields currently used by the Neo-Nazi junta forces, as well as their capacities and facilities, logistics, protective and other equipment, etc.
The acquired intelligence will help the Russian military to better understand the command structure of various branches within the Kiev regime forces, including the equipment they use, but perhaps most importantly, who exactly is giving the orders.
The development comes amid the disastrous end of the much-touted counteroffensive against the Russian military. Expectedly, the operation was a debacle and has resulted in tens of thousands of KIA/WIA/MIA (killed/wounded/missing in action), as well as mass surrender on several occasions. As previously mentioned, a significant number of Ukrainian POWs (prisoners of war) even joined the Russian military in order to get rid of NATO puppets in Kiev, despite having the much easier (and also far safer) option of officially remaining POWs for the remainder of the SMO.
At the same time, the political West keeps diverting its attention and resources to the Middle East. This includes the sending of mercenaries fighting for the Neo-Nazi junta to other hotspots. Combat aviation is particularly affected, as it’s rapidly losing pilots and aircraft, both of which are not only increasingly scarce, but also effectively impossible to replace.
In the meantime, the Kiev regime continues to use forcibly conscripted Ukrainians as cannon fodder, giving them little more than combat drugs to numb their senses. Almost nobody in Ukraine is spared from this genocidal treatment, including people with severe physical and mental disabilities. Astonishingly, not even pregnant women are given a waiver. Coupled with the escalating child trafficking, these actions are only contributing to Ukraine’s unrelenting demographic collapse.
As many Ukrainian soldiers are increasingly aware that the Neo-Nazi junta is their true enemy, their morale and willingness to fight are plummeting, further exacerbating the Kiev regime’s already precarious situation on the battlefield. The number of loyalist troops is decreasing rapidly due to attrition warfare that is simply impossible to win against the Russian military that dominates in nearly all key aspects, be it artillery, long-range strike capabilities, airpower, drones, electronic warfare, etc.
It’s extremely unlikely that the Neo-Nazi junta will be able to sustain its operational capabilities in such a situation, while its ability to negotiate was lost the moment it torpedoed the already signed peace deal back in March last year. For its part, Moscow can easily continue the SMO and even comfortably increase pressure on several fronts at once.
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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from InfoBrics
