You know the end is nearing in Ukraine when the CIA — i.e., the Director and unnamed US government officials — start dishing on what-we did-in-Ukraine-that-was-so-great. The CIA storyline is simple, this was not our fault. It would be hilarious if this was just a bungled coup where no one died. But that is not the case. There are more than a million dead, mostly Ukrainian, as a result of CIA activities, starting with the Maidan of February 2014.

There has been an enormous cancellation of debate on Ukraine in the mainstream western media. Google does its part too, making it very difficult in the west to search for and find genuinely independent reporting on what is happening. When you search for key issues, such as Ukrainian casualty rates, ultra-nationalism in Ukraine, presidential elections or the state of Ukraine’s economy, the computer will normally say no.

On January 19th, TIME magazine published an astonishing article, amply confirming what dissident, anti-war academics, activists, journalists and researchers have argued for a decade. The US always intended to abandon Ukraine after setting up the country for proxy war with Russia, and never had any desire or intention to assist Kiev in defeating Moscow in the conflict, let alone achieving its maximalist aims of regaining Crimea and restoring the country’s 1991 borders. To have a major mainstream outlet finally corroborate this indubitable reality is a seismic development.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg has plan for ending war, but president will control talks

Ukraine has detained its army’s chief psychiatrist for alleged “illegal enrichment” charges related to earnings of more than $1m (£813,000) accrued since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Two generals and a colonel blamed for the loss of territory in eastern Ukraine to Russian forces last year have been held, the country’s security service said.

Trump may table the idea of an armistice agreement to stop the war but the Russians will likely demand considerably more

KHARKIV REGION/KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 20 (Reuters) – As Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president dawns, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians see a hard road ahead in their war with Russia, and many have come to hope for a ceasefire without expelling Russian forces.

With Russian President Vladimir Putin already putting up unnecessary obstacles to starting talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war, Kyiv is now showing that it too is in no hurry to head to the negotiating table. Ukrainian officials are currently making the case that peace discussions should be postponed until after their country has regained the tactical upper hand in the conflict. However, there is a problem in delaying negotiations until Kyiv enjoys superiority — namely, that it may simply never happen.

The Ukrainian commander in chief General Syrksi seems to have given up. Recent remarks of his suggest that he no longer sees a way to win the war. He is now simply waiting for the politicians to concede.