Besides not being bluffed, Putin doesn't act in ways that other people think he has been bluffed into. Notice that the sanctions have benefited Russia greatly. They are strengthening BRICS faster than ever. The West playing games with Russia seems to be the West against itself.
Rickards: Putin Doesn't BluffBut that hiatus is coming to an end as Russia prepares its next move. Today, we're looking ahead to what's coming next.
And here's a hint: We could be entering a very dangerous period.
First off, the situation on the ground in Ukraine is best understood as a competition between the narrative and reality.
The narrative consists of what you hear from mainstream media, the White House, the Pentagon, and official sources in the U.K., France, Germany and both EU and NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The narrative says that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, AFU, have beaten back Russian forces and reoccupied Kherson, which lies strategically on the Dnipro River, Kyiv's main access to the Black Sea.
Based on these advances, the narrative says that Russia is in retreat, Russian troops are demoralized, Putin is in jeopardy of being replaced and complete victory for Ukraine is just a matter of time.
The narrative is then used as a basis for increased financial aid from the United States (over $60 billion and growing) and increased weapons shipments from NATO members.
Narrative vs. Reality
But as I've explained recently, the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine is almost completely at odds with the Western narrative.
It's true that Ukraine made recent advances in the east, but they were against lightly defended Russian positions on or near open terrain.
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Once again, Col. Macgregor:
The coming offensive phase of the conflict will provide a glimpse of the new Russian force that is emerging and its future capabilities…The numbers continue to grow, but the numbers already include 1,000 rocket artillery systems, thousands of tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, plus 5,000 armored fighting vehicles, including at least 1,500 tanks, hundreds of manned fixed-wing attack aircraft, helicopters and bombers. This new force has little in common with the Russian army that intervened nine months ago on Feb. 24, 2022.
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