Compared with the momentum at the beginning, the Russian army did not gain an advantage enough to determine the direction of the war in the tug-of-war for a long time afterward. With the help of the United States and Europe, Ukraine has now gained a firm foothold, and it is indeed very difficult for the Russian army to force Ukraine to surrender or recognize the four places in eastern Ukraine into Russia.
At this moment, something happened that gave Putin a headache.
On November 29, Russian media revealed that Russian Major General Zavatsky had been killed and was on the front line. As for where Zavatsky is ***, it is still unknown for the time being, some say that it is in Kherson, and some say that it is in Kharkov Izyum. But one way or another, Zavatsky's death is bad news for Russia. This means that the Russian army has lost another high-ranking general who has been awarded many medals.
Of course, in the past year or so, similar incidents have occurred without incidents. In the matter of "beheading", the Ukrainian army has reaped significantly more results than the Russian armyThis has to do with NATO's support for Ukraine — many times, Ukraine's ability to accurately behead Russian generals is likely due to classified intelligence provided by the United States and its allies. Otherwise, it will be difficult for Ukraine to continuously hit the command post of the Russian army by relying on its own strength.
But then again, in the case of Ukraine hinting at the intention to assassinate Putin, the continuous deaths of Russian generals have also reminded Russia that it has to be guarded against, and Putin must be more careful.
At present, although Russia has released a friendly signal, saying that Russia has never rejected peace talks, anyone with a discerning eye knows that it will be difficult to draw an end to this war within a while and a half. At the critical moment, Putin made 3 important decisions.
The first thing is a large-scale military build-up and an increase in defense spending. On December 1, Russia revealed that Putin had decided to increase the armed forces of the Russian Federation by 170,000 people, bringing the total number to more than 2.2 million, including 1.32 million soldiers. Prior to this, Putin had decided to increase Russia's military spending by 70% in 2024. At that time, 30% of Russia's fiscal spending will be spent on defense.
These two moves by Russia mean that in the future, Russia is likely to expand its military operation in Ukraine, at least to hold strategic points. The Russian side will not accept the result of the defeat of Ukraine, and Putin seems to be laying out for a new round of military operationsIt is likely that the war will continue for a long time.
The second thing, the threat of war with NATO. Russia said that the possibility of an armed conflict between Russia and NATO cannot be ruled out, and it all depends on NATO's actions. Russia believes that after Finland and Sweden ask to join NATO, NATO is likely to continue its eastward expansion, but Russia will use all means to defend its national interests.
In short, in Russia's view, NATO is testing Russia's bottom line, and if one day Russia goes to war with NATO, the culprit must be NATO.
Russia has said a lot of similar cruel words, and the US-led NATO may not take it to heart. As a matter of fact, the United States and Russia are well aware that once Russia and NATO go to war, the United States and Russia should not want to stay out of the situation, and the result will inevitably be a defeat for both sides, and Britain, France, and Germany will also suffer, and may even cause a world war.
Russia threatens NATO, most likely in order to scare its opponentsAs a last resort, Russia will not really show its sword against NATO.
The third thing is to give Iran a big gift. Iran has confirmed that next, Iran will buy Su-35 fighters and Mi-28 fighters from Russia*** At the moment when the US aircraft carrier is docked at Iran's doorstep and Israel and Iran are talking harshly to each other, Russia's export of fighter jets to Iran will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the United States.
Of course, Russia is happy to do so. On the one hand, the ** order handed by Iran to Russia can help Russia alleviate its urgent needs. The stronger Iran's strength, the more military power the United States will invest in the Middle East, and the less pressure Russia will face in Eastern Europe.
All along, Russia wants to open a gap in the Middle East, to some extentTo help Iran and Syria is to help Russia itself. It is to be expected that if the United States is serious about Iran, Russia will not sit idly by.
The real storm may be yet to come. Loomingly, the moment to change the situation in the world is accelerating.