Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is entering a new phase. President Vladimir Putin lifted the fog of war and hinted at what can be expected going forward in a landmark speech at the National Defence Control Centre while addressing a meeting of the Russian Defence Ministry Board on December 19.

The war in Ukraine is about to enter its 3rd year with no signs of ending, meaning more deaths and destruction for this unfortunate country. It was provoked by those in the U.S. who decided to use Ukrainians for their geopolitical gains which is sort of innovation in military affairs contrary to the U.S. wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries where American soldiers were sent to the battlefields.

A pair of new reports suggest that ceasefire discussions are more achievable than previously thought

Although Washington, D.C. is empty at the moment, with key policy makers on holiday, the work of shaping a new narrative goes on. Two new articles this week, one in the New York Times and one in Politico, provide a road map to the Biden Administration’s desperate attempt to prevent the collapse of its Ukraine policy. The New York Times piece is an op-ed from an geriatric former editor, Serge Schmemann — Ukraine Doesn’t Need All Its Territory to Defeat Putin. Serge, despite a long career as a journalist specialized in foreign affairs, has forgotten the meaning of “defeat.” Michael Hirsh, writing in The Politco, echoes Schmemann’s message — The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine.

Unwilling to engage in negotiations with Russia, president’s a candidate for a coup d’etat

We’re quietly losing interest in this conflict — I include myself — because it’s not satisfying our fictional appetites

At the start of 2023, hopes were high that a much-vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive — expected to be launched in the spring — would change the dial in the war against Russia.

Ukraine war turning in Moscow’s favor as Western equipment and manpower in dangerously short supply

Were Biden to indicate a desire for compromise, Putin might judge that his best bet lies with the current administration.

Over the weekend, border-policy negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans fell apart. The talks were meant to firm up Republican support for the president’s massive $105 billion military support proposal ahead of Wednesday’s vote by including additional funds for border security in the spending package. Now, with no imminent approval of further aid to Ukraine, hawks in government and the media are trying to stoke panic about what will happen if Kyiv is cut off from US support.