1 January, 11:22
๐ญ Another act of the Kremlin's theater of the absurd played out on Sunday, December 30. Just as Volodymyr Zelensky emerged from Mar-a-Lago negotiations with cautious optimism, just as Donald Trump declared the war's end was "closer than ever before" โ the chief director of Moscow's drama of death took the stage.
๐ฃ Vladimir Putin once again chose lies, hatred, and death over peace. The Kremlin claimed Ukrainian drones had allegedly attacked one of the dictator's many lavish residences. Of course, without any evidence โ instead, spokesman Dmitry Peskov begged journalists to "take the Kremlin's word for it." Yes, exactly: trust the word of a regime that has turned lying into a state religion.
๐ช The result of this farce was predictable: Moscow declared it would now be "more rigid" in negotiations. What a convenient excuse to sabotage the peace process! What an exquisite justification for continuing the war!
โก The cynicism of this performance is staggering even by Putin's usual standards. The dictator who has waged a brutal war for nearly four years, who sent 131 drones to bomb Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Christmas, killing seven civilians, suddenly demands sympathy for an alleged attack on himself. Moscow deliberately bombs apartment buildings and power plants, kidnaps children, tortures and executes prisoners, has repeatedly attempted to assassinate Zelensky โ but any threat to the tsar himself supposedly warrants special outrage.
๐ฌ Zelensky vigorously denied any involvement in the attack. Peskov admitted they couldn't provide evidence. Common sense points to the obvious: this is an invented or embellished narrative to give Russia a pretext to reject Trump's progress.
๐ต๏ธ And on Wednesday, December 31, came official confirmation of the obvious. U.S. intelligence released its findings: Ukraine did not carry out any attack on Putin or his residences. The Central Intelligence Agency determined that no attempted attack had occurred at all. Even Trump publicly played down the significance of Russian claims about the "attack."
The Kremlin got caught lying again. Another performance flopped. Just as in the Alaska negotiations, Putin was offered peace โ and he spat in America's face.
๐ Look beyond Ukraine. Russia continues to support Iran โ this week launching three communications satellites for the Islamic regime. It urged "restraint" when Trump again threatened to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Putin backs the corrupt, drug-smuggling Nicolรกs Maduro regime in Venezuela and opposes Trump's operations there. A recent report found that a "shadow fleet" Russian freighter that sank off Spain last year was likely smuggling nuclear parts to North Korea.
๐ฅ Across the world, Russia is opposing Trump's agenda. And the answer should not be more concessions, but a bigger stick. Kyiv has done its part. The burden is now on Putin โ either he takes serious steps, or he faces the strictest sanctions and the deadliest weapons in Ukraine.
๐ Despite all his defiance, Putin's actions betray a deteriorating internal situation. His economy is stagnating. Propaganda is failing as soldiers return without limbs. His victory is neither imminent nor inevitable. So spare us your crocodile tears, Mr. Putin, and prepare for increased pressure.
๐ฏ The Kremlin's theater of the absurd continues. But the world has learned to recognize this performance. And the longer Moscow plays these games, the higher the price for a ticket to this exhibition of death will be.
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