With John Varoli: Kiev goes rogue in Nuclear Gambit in Kursk

Early on Tuesday August 6, Ukrainian regime forces invaded Russia’s Kursk region, firing indiscriminately at civilian buildings, residential houses, cars, and ambulances, even murdering a mother and child at close range. Such war crimes are the hallmark of the Ukrainian regime, which glorifies Nazis who fought with Hitler’s armies.

I opened the New York Times that day but couldn’t find any mention of the Kursk invasion. How odd. I was certain there’d be a coordinated western media blitz screaming about another Ukrainian ‘victory’ and gloating over Russia’s ‘defeat’. But there was none of that. Just silence.

Then, on the morning of August 7, the first articles came out, but they weren’t what I expected. The New York Times and Washington Post, both mouthpieces of the current White House, were unhappy with Kiev’s reckless invasion, chastising Zelensky’s regime for wasting precious men and U.S. weapons needed in Donbass.

“Operationally and strategically, this attack makes absolutely zero sense. This seems like a gross waste of men and resources badly needed elsewhere,” wrote the New York Times, quoting one of its preferred western ‘experts’.

The western media’s irritation and discontent indicated that Kiev’s invasion hadn’t been approved by Washington. Clearly, the Americans were not happy.

For the first two days of the invasion, Kiev didn’t even comment publicly. On August 7, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. needed to contact Kiev for information about the situation in Kursk.

“We are, as you’d expect, reaching out to our Ukrainian counterparts to get a little bit better understanding,” said a clueless Kirby.

Finally, only a few hours ago (today, August 8), Zelensky briefed several U.S. congressmen about the situation in Kursk. Details haven’t yet been released.

Kiev wants to seize the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

Some analysts point out that Kiev wouldn’t act without Washington’s consent. While that is often true, Kiev is now desperate, well aware that many Americans are sick of Ukraine. Donald Trump could win in November, and even a Kamala Harris victory won’t guarantee continued support for Kiev. Apparently, she has a personal distaste for the arrogant Ukrainian dictator.

If the Americans were kept in the dark for two days, then what is Kiev’s game plan in Kursk? As of this morning, Ukrainian troops have been spotted trying to reach the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, and are only 20 miles away.

This 50-year old nuclear plant has four operational reactors and two new ones under construction. Kiev might want to blow it up and cause a nuclear disaster, or simply hold it hostage. Would the White House sanction such an evil act? I’m split on this, and have two opinions — 1) The White House could benefit from such an extreme geopolitical event to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election. Or 2) Kiev has entirely gone rogue, and is no longer under U.S. control. At the moment, I lean towards the second option.

If Kiev succeeds in its nefarious plan, this would force Russia into taking a very strong response that would ignite a major war in Europe and drag NATO directly into the conflict. The Kiev regime is collapsing and in the agony of defeat it seeks to set the entire continent on fire.

Ukrainian tank with Nazi symbols during training

When I first heard the news about the Kursk invasion on August 6, my reaction was: “This has to be a trap”. Why did I think that? Because for over a month the Russians have had a close eye on this border region, and were bombing the Ukrainian side. Anyway, modern surveillance technology and satellites don’t allow an army to make a surprise attack. Moscow certainly knew the Ukrainians were coming.

“As far as I understand, the preparation for the breakthrough was discovered by the Russian military that was eagerly waiting for the ‘guests’ from Kiev. Hence a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles was burned near the village of Nizhny Klin,” said leading Russian analyst, Andrei Vadzhra, who lived in Ukraine before the radical nationalist regime seized power in 2014.

“Ukraine’s attack in the Kursk region can be described with one phrase: ‘mental retardation and daring’! I’d even put this phrase on Ukraine’s state emblem,” added Vadzhra. “Zelensky set the task of penetrating 30 km into Russia and gaining a foothold. Kiev thought it had the element of surprise and expected ‘an intense victory’ to give its foreign masters some hope for success.”

The video below was made on August 6 near Nizhny Klin, and we see the Russians were ready and waiting, closely following the movements of Kiev’s forces. (The video link below will take you to John’s substack where you can see the action – ASH)

However, this doesn’t mean the battle for Kursk will be easy for the Russians. As always, Kiev can count on vast amounts of NATO equipment, unlimited manpower thanks to forced conscription and real-time battlefield intelligence from U.S. satellites. Also, Kiev uses punitive battalions that shoot their own troops if they try to fall back. The Russians will have to eliminate every invader.

Also, as of this publishing, there are reports that Kiev is concentrating its forces in other areas of the Russian border, along the Kursk and Belgorod regions. If another invasion is launched then this will lead to a protracted battle that could drag on for weeks and months.

Eventually, however, the Ukrainians will be defeated, destroyed and pushed back over the border. Russia will carve out a ‘buffer zone’ on the Ukrainian side, in the Sumy Region. Moscow has no other choice — it must protect its border and defend its people from NATO/ Ukrainian terror attacks.

Instead of the stellar victory that Kiev had envisioned, it will soon be in a far worse position. This reckless adventure might help to convince the White House and Pentagon that the Kiev regime can’t be trusted and that its military officers are reckless and a liability. This could hasten the regime’s collapse since the next U.S. president will want to distance herself/ himself from Biden’s failed war against Russia.

Of course, that does not change the general vector of U.S. foreign policy. Western elites still retain their deep-rooted goal to defeat and destroy Russia. But for now, it’s clear that Russia has the upper hand. Hopefully, the days of NATO’s rabid puppet regime in Kiev are numbered. Destroying that regime must be a top priority for the global community, to prevent Kiev from igniting a world war.

My take on this:

It appears that the Ukrainians have had some success in this incursion. It may be more appropriate to call it an invasion or at least a clearly-defined military operation. For me, incursion sounds like it is a little annoying pinprick, but Alexander Mercouris reported yesterday that a brigade – some 4000 troops – is involved in this action. My guess is that given the success the Ukrainians have had thus far, there is probably more than a brigade involved, and I hate to say it, but it caught the Russians flat-footed.

Further, recent news from Russia featured the arrest of a couple military officers, Vladimir Vladimirovic Pavlov and a General Bulgakov (first name not given by @polk105, from whom this information comes), on the charges of corruption and gouging money layouts for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Things like this are what make the Russian State and its forces look very weak. While Ukraine has far greater corruption and has had it for a long time, Russia is not white as snow in this area and this occasional display of self-interest over the interest of that nation’s defenses is embarassing at best and demoralizing at worst.

I suspect that the rally of Russian forces to drive out the invaders from the Kursk Region is going to be slower than many people want, and, due to the “special military operation” status of the overall Special Military Operation, the focus will be on attrition warfare which will only slowly push the Ukrainians out. This may not look very encouraging, especially for the people in the occupied zone in Kursk.

While the overall outcome will certainly be Russian victory, this episode is, to my assessment, the most severe loss the Russian side has seen in this war. How it gets resolved is going to have a great impact on Russian morale, and we are just going to have to wait and see how it gets taken care of.

The good news in this though is that the slavish adoration of Ukraine and all things Zelensky is wearing off, and the United States government is coming to realize they have been gypped. I wish the realization would be sudden and total, but politicians lie and save face, and they will be very slow to let this narrative turn to “we were wrong.”

Especially this year.