Summer Potpourri 2023

SitRep of Ukraine war, end of July

Military performance

Both fighting parties (Russia vs. proxy AFU) have continued various air strikes on their rear areas.

Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), targeting mainly “optics”, use drones and British Storm Shadow missiles but also in limited quantities some old Soviet S-200 air defense missiles converted/ upgraded into ground-to-ground missiles.

Russia has continued its massive air strikes, targeting high-value military objects around Ukraine. Russian Forces use wide range of tools: aircrafts, different missiles, drones, guided bombs, rockets, also hypersonic missiles.

I have analyzed frequently the military situation in article of July 23, article of July 4 and many articles in May – June 2023.

AFU have continued the “counteroffensive”, being started since June 4. The summary data of cumulative AFU losses have amounted up to complete gigantic level in June – July: troop losses up to 45,000 servicemen (average daily rate still a battalion per day), tanks & IFVs & APCs up to 1700, MLRS up to 40, artillery pieces up to 700, military motor vehicles up to 1400 as well as UAVs up to nearly 1000 units.

It is somehow “funny” that Kiev regime asks more and more equipment blaming the western patrons being late in their shipments. The western mainstream media (MSM) has been singing the same false song all year. However, they all fail to realize and recognize the simple fact: Russian Forces have destroyed the majority of all military equipment supplied by the western patrons to Ukraine. Why is it so difficult to admit this fact, although it is for everyone to see?

Kiev forces are about to conclude the eighth week of their counteroffensive without making any meaningful gains in any direction. “Tiny victories but massive losses”, is the common conclusion of prominent military analysts worldwide, regarding AFU performance since June 4.

A very professional assessment can be found in the recent article of Scott Ritter, link here below:

Scott Ritter: Ukrainian Counteroffensive Keeps Repeating Same ‘Insane’ Mistakes

posted by INTEL-DROP July 28, 2023

NATO support to the proxy AFU

The AFU, supporting paramilitaries and especially NATO advisors, have tried to escalate offensives against Russian positions in Eastern Ukraine during the last week, according to reports from both Russian and Western sources. The Washington-based Institute of Study of War reported on July 26 the beginning of “a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation” in the west of the Zaporizhzhia region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin himself highlighted that “hostilities have intensified significantly.” “All attempts at counter-offensive have been rebuffed, and the enemy sustained great losses and was repelled,” the president stated. “The enemy was not successful in any of the directions of firefight,” he added.

Ukraine’s lack of air power and the serious limitations of its now much depleted air defenses, however, have been widely highlighted by analysts on both sides as a major factor undermining potential efforts of AFU to gain ground on the frontlines.

Russian Air Forces have practically shifted to systematic combat actions in the entire Russian special military operation zone, that is, conducting a so-called active defense to weaken the enemy by launching continuous heavy attacks along the frontline. 

Regarding the presence of Western advisors and combatants, specifically from the United Kingdom, the most interesting thing is currently that there are many English-speaking military personnel in the AFU troops being spotted in the frontline area. Ukrainian surrendered servicemen and Russia’s own special forces have noted dozens of British advisers, instructors and even the UK army’s SAS and other special combatant troops, which have been deployed near the frontlines.

Combatants from across the Western world have played major roles in the Ukrainian war effort, including ideologically motivated volunteers such as the Georgian Legion and the Polish Volunteer Corps, private military contractors from security firms particularly in Poland and active service members in Western militaries such as the British Royal Marines and the British Special Air Service. 

There is an interesting rumor going on: US General Killed in Ukraine, Pentagon Coverup Fails

posted by INTEL-DROP July 30, 2023. This odd “coincidence” happened recently and has drawn attention… also in Twitter.

Glimpses of the endgame

A problem with the war in Ukraine has been from the very beginning that there is no clear and common understanding of the parties to the war, as strange as it may sound. Step by step, the perception that the war is actually between Russia and NATO is getting stronger and that Ukraine had ceased to be a sovereign country since 2014, when the CIA and sister western agencies (from Germany, the UK, and France) installed a puppet regime in Kiev. The AFU have been the proxy for the US and the NATO since the very start of the war in February 2022.

Certainly, President Vladimir Putin’s videoconference with the permanent members of the Russian Security Council in Moscow on Friday (July 21) and his meeting with Belarus President Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg on Sunday (July 23) will, highly likely, prove to be the decisive moments. The two transcripts of these meetings need to be read together, available here and here. 

There is no question that the two events were carefully choreographed by the Kremlin officials and intended to convey multiple messages. Russia believes that it has achieved dominance on the battle front and is near to “finalize” its Special Military Operation. But Moscow anticipates that the Biden administration may be having an even bigger war plan in mind.

At the Security council meeting, Putin “de-classified” the intelligence reports from various sources indicating moves to insert a Polish expeditionary force into Western Ukraine. Putin called it “a well-organized, equipped regular military unit to be used for operations” in Western Ukraine “for the subsequent occupation of these territories.” Indeed, there is a long history of Polish revanchism.

But, Putin added, “Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launchingan aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.” Putin warned that what is afoot “is an extremely dangerous game, and the authors of such plans should think about the consequences.”  

On Sunday, at the meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg, Lukashenko picked up the thread of discussion. He briefed Putin about new Polish deployments close to Belarus border and other preparations under way. Lukashenko said: “This is unacceptable to us. The alienation of western Ukraine, the dismemberment of Ukraine and the transfer of its lands to Poland are unacceptable.” He also frankly said that “This is supported by the Americans.” Interestingly, he also sought the deployment of Wagner fighters to counter the threat to Belarus. The bottom line is that Putin and Lukashenko held such a discussion publicly. Clearly, both spoke on the basis of intelligence inputs. They anticipate an inflection point ahead.  

The saber-rattling by Lukashenko and Putin’s lesson on European history can be taken as more of a forewarning to the West with a view to modulate an endgame in Ukraine that is optimal for Russian interests. The Kremlin leadership understands that Washington desperately needs to save face from a humiliating defeat in the proxy war. It may leave no choice to the Russian forces but to cross the Dnieper and advance all the way to Poland’s border to prevent an occupation of Western Ukraine by the so-called Lublin Triangle, a regional alliance comprising Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, formed in July 2020 and promoted by Washington. 

Putin’s back-to-back meetings in Moscow and St. Petersburg throw light on the Russian thinking as to three key elements of the endgame in Ukraine.

First, Russia has no intentions of territorial conquest of Western Ukraine but will insist on having a say on how the new boundaries of the country and the future regime will look and act like. 

Second, Russia will not hesitate to counter any continued attempt by the US and NATO to use Ukrainian territory as a springboard to wage a renewed proxy war, which means that Ukraine’s absorption into NATO will remain a fantasy. 

Third, most important, the battle-hardened Russian army backed by a powerful defense industry and a robust economy will not hesitate to confront NATO member countries bordering Ukraine if they trespass on Russia’s core interests. 

There are rumors of new Russian mobilization, even a half a million soldiers totaling the size of Russian Army up to 1,2 million servicemen. This new addition is not intended for the current operation (SMO) but for a possible wider military action between Russia and NATO. Recent movements of Wagner Group in Belarus can and should be seen in this same context.

An interesting, professional assessment by American Col. Douglas Macgregor regarding the recent and coming situation:

Douglas Macgregor – 400,000 Troops Advancing Straight to Kyiv

Douglas Macgregor Col , July 30, 2023

NATO Summit in Vilnius, July 11-12

I have analyzed this event in my article “NATO summit and Ukraine crisis, July 2023”.    

There are some excellent professional analyses available on this subject, links here below:

SCOTT RITTER: NATO Summit, a Theater of the Absurd

Consortiumnews.com, July 10, 2023

SCOTT RITTER: Requiem for NATO’s Nightmare

Consortiumnews.com, July 28, 2023

Col. Douglas Macgregor: NATO is an Appendage of Globalist Foreign Policy

By Geopolitics & Empire July 21, 2023, incl. also the link to video interview.

Russia – Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, July 27-28

Typically, the western mainstream media (MSM) completely ignored this event, although this was one of the most important and comprehensive international meetings in this year. Therefore, I’m giving this meeting a lot of weight and covering it a bit more, since many readers have heard almost nothing about it.

Before the summit

A delegation of African leaders seeking “a road to peace” met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 15 in Saint Petersburg, one day after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.

The African mission was made up with leaders from seven African countries, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who also currently heads the African Union. Leaders and representatives from Egypt, Republic of Congo, and Uganda are also in the visiting group.

Chinese analysts hailed the concerted efforts made by the African continent on the world stage, even though they pointed out there is very little chance that either side would accept the proposals from the African delegation, given the complexity of the current situations of the conflict. Russian analysts saw this effort as a possible starting point to a peace process.

Second Russia-Africa Summit Forum

The actual summit was held in St. Petersburg, July 27-28. An economic and humanitarian conferences are planned to run in parallel to the event. Like the previous forum, the event will be held under the motto For Peace, Security and Development. Delegations from 49 African countries, including 17 led by heads of state, 5 by vice presidents, 4 by prime ministers, 1 by chairman of parliament, 17 by deputy prime minister or minister, rest by ambassadors, were set to attend the summit.

Russian President Putin, at a reception in honor of the participants of the Russia-Africa summit, said the following opening:

“Russia and African countries are now jointly calling for the formation of a just multipolar world order based on the principles of sovereign equality of countries, non-interference in their internal affairs, respect for the right of peoples to determine their own fate.”

He added:

“I would like to note right before our eyes the African continent is becoming a new center of power, its political and economic role is growing exponentially.”

“Russia’s attention to Africa is consistently growing, and our plans to increase diplomatic presence on the continent show it. We are ready to open and reopen diplomatic missions and increase staff in a number of existing embassies.”

“Russia is taking part in debt relief efforts for African countries. At the moment, we have written off a total of $23 billion in debt. On recent requests of African countries, we will allocate over $90 million more for these development purposes.”

In the summit, special emphasis was being placed on the food security of African countries and their economic prospects. Russia will provide up to metric 50,000 tons of grain to a number of African countries for free. Russia’s president added that with “certain agricultural technologies” Africa will not only ensure its own food security but also be able to start exporting different kinds of goods. Food sovereignty is not the only vital issue of Russo-African cooperation – Russia is taking part in more than 30 energy projects in 16 African states.

Russian and African political and business leaders discussed economic partnership including trade settlements in national currencies, defense and security cooperation, humanitarian cooperation and the establishment of free media, youth politics and other pressing issues.

Participants of the summit also discussed the challenges affecting cooperation in the wake of sanctions against Russian economy and paid attention to the Ukrainian crisis, stressing that Kiev is obviously not interested in a peaceful solution. Commenting on Ukrainian crisis, Putin said that Russia treats Africa’s plans on conflict resolution in Ukraine with respect.

INSTC

Addressing a plenary session of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, Putin explained that Moscow is “actively engaged in reorienting transport and cargo flows towards the states of the Global South, including, of course, Africa.” The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) could provide Russian goods with a shorter route to Africa than the Suez Canal, President Putin said. The INSTC, touted as an alternative to the Suez Canal, is a planned 7,200km multi-mode transit system that will connect ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, India, and Central Asia.  

The construction of the INSTC began in the early 2000s but developing it further has taken on a new impetus in light of Western sanctions, which have forced Russia to shift its trade flows from Europe to Asia and the Middle East. The total cargo flow along the INSTC was 14.5 million tons in 2022, and the projection for this year is 17.6 million tons, according to Russia’s Transport Ministry. By 2030, the volume is expected to reach 41 million tons.

Outcome of Russia-Africa Summit

The final declaration commits to the development of Russian-African cooperation and efforts in the international arena. The summit also yielded a plan of action of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum for 2023-2026 and a number of other documents. Apart from that, a range of agreements, contracts and other documents on cooperation between Russia and African countries were inked on the sidelines of the summit.

The African leaders spoke about the importance of cooperation in security, food security included, while Russia shared its plans to increase its presence on the continent. Here are the key events and statements of the Summit.

Moscow writes off debts. Russia will allocate more than $90 million for lowering the debt burden of African countries, with their indebtedness written off by Moscow totaling $23 billion.

Colonialism heritage. Africa’s allies, including Russia, India and China buy more finished products from Africa instead of raw materials, so that added value for finished goods is being produced inside African territory.

Cooperation on security. The new permanent Russian-African security mechanism will be established and this will work on combating terrorism and extremism, ensuring food security and non-deployment of weapons in space. The Russian delegation pointed out that Russia offers aid in countering all mentioned threats. In particular, Russia will continue training African servicemen and law enforcement officers in its education facilities. In addition, Moscow supplies a “wide array of weapons and vehicles” to African nations.

Search for peace in Ukraine. A number of African leaders advocated searching for ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that “negotiations and dialogue, as well as commitment to the UN Charter are necessary for a peaceful and fair resolution of conflicts.” President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso said that “The African initiative deserves the greatest attention and it should not be underestimated”. Putin pointed out that Russia has repeatedly stated its readiness for negotiations but negotiations with Russia are being rejected. Russia received about 30 peace initiatives for a settlement in Ukraine through official and unofficial channels.

Via diplomatic channels. Russia’s attention to Africa keeps growing steadily. Moscow will build up its diplomatic presence on the continent, by expanding its network of Russian centers of science and culture, and will help African states to open their embassies and consulates in Russia. Moscow seeks to reopen embassies in those countries, where embassies were shut down in the 1990s. Russia will also work on cancelling visa regime with African states.

The agreements. Four declarations were adopted, including one on prevention of arms race in space, one on cooperation in informational security and one on strengthening of cooperation in combating terrorism, as well as the action plan of the Russia-Africa Partnership, which will implement the decisions of the summit. In addition, the Russian government signed memorandums of understanding with the African Development Organization and the Economic Community of Central African States.

The sides agreed on a number of new dialogue formats between summits, which will be held once in every three years. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chairman of the African Union plan to regularly hold political consultations. A permanent mechanism is expected to be created at the highest level, which is supposed to help in coordinating combating terrorism and extremism, as well as in solving ecological problems. In addition, a Russia-Africa parliamentary forum will be held annually.

Post evaluation of the summit

The participation of African statesmen was wide, the summit welcomed no less than 49 African delegations. President Putin announced that a comprehensive declaration and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan all the way to 2026 will be adopted.

Madaraka Nyerere, the son of Tanzania’s legendary first President, Julius Nyerere, set the context by telling, that the only “realistic” way for Africa to develop is to unite and stop being an agent for foreign exploitative powers. The path towards cooperation goes through BRICS – starting with the crucial upcoming summit in South Africa and the incorporation of more African nations into BRICS+.Nyerere’s father was a very important force behind the Organization of African Unity, which later became the African Union. Now, what matters is what Africa brings to BRICS: “Markets and a young, educated population.”

South Africa’s Julius Malema succinctly expanded the geoeconomic concept of a united Africa: “The neocolonial powers thrive on the division of the African continent. Can you imagine the minerals of the DRC combined with the minerals of South Africa, and with a new currency based on the minerals? What can we do to the dollar? If we become a United States of Africa, with our minerals alone, we can defeat the dollar.”

Special emphasis was put on the recently collapsed grain deal involving the UN, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine. Many speakers stressed how “Ukraine, Washington and NATO were interested in the grain corridor for sabotage”. President Putin explained how, “for almost a year, a total of 32.8 million tons of cargo were exported from Ukraine under this deal, of which more than 70% went to high-and middle-income countries, including the European Union, while countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan accounted for less than 3% of the total volume.” So, that was one of the key reasons for Russia to leave the grain deal. Moscow published a list of requirements, which would need to be fulfilled for Russia to reinstate it.

Because, the West will not agree on those Russian requirements, Russia, by itself, will offer grain and fertilizers free of charge for the poorest nations and contracts for grain supply at normal commercial terms for the others. Supply is guaranteed: Moscow had the biggest grain harvest ever during this season.

Despite Western economic sanctions, Russia has managed to export over 11 million tonnes of wheat and other grains to African countries last year. Putin assured that this supply of food staples would continue to African markets. The Russian president also announced major additional exports of grain free of charge to several African nations acutely at risk of food insecurity. Top of the agenda at the summit was food sovereignty. Russia has vowed to ensure the supply of grains to Africa regardless of shortfalls in Ukrainian exports.

Russia is promoting and ensuring that Africa acts as one of the powers of the multipolar world”, as “a member of the G20 and present in the UN Security Council.” Moreover, Moscow is interested to expand Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) free trade deals towards Africa. This all spells out a common theme in the Russia-Africa summit: “multi-vector cooperation”.

The Russia-Africa summit this week could not have been held at a timelier juncture in international relations. The event symbolizes that radical global change, which is materializing right now on the international scene. Amid the NATO-fueled proxy war in Ukraine with Russia, leaders of nearly 50 African nations attended the two-day forum in St Petersburg, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow’s advocacy of multipolar world relations and respect for national sovereignty is deeply resonant with African nations. African Union chairman Azali Assoumani, who shared the podium with Putin this week, said the continent greatly appreciates Russia’s solidarity and commitment to full independence and sovereignty.

Africa’s huge potential as a global power has yet to be realized largely because of ongoing colonialist legacies. However, the world is rapidly changing whereby Western hegemonic dominance is unraveling and with that, African nations can look forward to new possibilities of development. The robust attendance of African nations at the summit in St Petersburg is testimony to a desire and determination to embrace a new multipolar world. Western powers tried hard to pressure the continent to boycott the summit but they failed to stop the tide of history.

With the proper partnership of a multipolar world, Africa’s natural wealth will be for its own people’s development. The main topic of the Russia-Africa summit was the national sovereignty and food sovereignty. Those aims can be achieved without the reliance on Western powers.

Besides, a much more significant, bigger picture is emerging. The agricultural potential of Africa, if properly harnessed, could see the continent becoming not only food sufficient but a powerful exporter of food to the rest of the world. Africa’s full assumption of that vision is righteous and an indication that Africa is on the right side of history as well.

China and Indo-Pacific affair

Besides the increasing tension between China and the US, including a “chip war”, which the recent Blinken’s visit in Beijing tried to calm down, new threats are emerging on the Pacific theater.

The strategic collusion between NATO and Japan has become normalized in recent years, spelling new uncertainties in the Asia-Pacific region. Not long ago, NATO signed an agreement known as an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme with Japan for strengthening bilateral cooperation and Japan has been enthusiastically colluding with the so-called defensive alliance to intervene in the regional affairs of the Asia-Pacific.

The Japanese government released, in July, a defense white paper, The Defense of Japan for 2023, which labels China as “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” and says that China has significantly increased defense spending, accelerated military development and “unilaterally changed the status quo” in the East and South China Seas.

It also mentions the joint operations by Chinese and Russian militaries in the sea and airspace around Japan, and claims that China’s military activities threaten the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

When commenting on the above-mentioned contents, Defense Spokesperson Tan pointed out that Japan’s newly released defense white paper continues its erroneous recognition of China, intentionally hypes up the so-called “China military threat” and smears China’s regular military development and activities.

“Japan’s newly released defense white paper grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs and provokes regional tensions. China is firmly opposed to this and has lodged stern representations with the Japanese side,” said Spokesperson Tan in a written statement.

Spokesperson Tan continued that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. The one-China principle, which matters the political foundation of China-Japan relations, is a red line that shall not be crossed. Japan bears grave historical responsibility for the Chinese people on the Taiwan question.

In recent years, instead of reflecting on its mistakes, Japan has repeatedly interfered in China’s internal affairs, violated the basic norms governing international relations and the spirit of China-Japan four political documents, undermined the political foundation of China-Japan relations and escalated tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

I have analyzed the current great power relations in my article “Great Power relations heating up, June 2023”, June 27. Here below also the link to an interesting discussion video by top experts.

NATO failed in Ukraine against Russia. Now it’s targeting China

Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar to discuss how NATO has shifted from its proxy war against Russia in Ukraine to targeting China in the Pacific. By Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson Published July 28. Video link here .

World Order is changing – Revolution by Global South

The global world order is on the verge of a radical transformation. The Western powers 30 years ago saw in the collapse of the Soviet Union, which resulted from its internal weaknesses and mistakes, an unprecedented opportunity to dominate the world by way of deterring possible competitors by any means.

Perhaps one of the most important features dawning on the countries of the Global South: they understand that the instruments of this deterrence have been “demonization, isolation, interference, political sabotage, development of provocations and crises, sanctions, flagrant violations of international law, including overt military invasions.” These words were recently spoken by the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, who was also a prominent figure in the recent summit in St. Petersburg.

Another obvious example of a more independent role of the states of the Global South is their refusal to join the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the West. It is noteworthy that not a single Muslim-majority country, despite Washington’s pressure, has agreed to support the restrictive measures of the Western powers against Moscow. Since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Russia’s trade with China, India, Brazil, Iran and many other developing countries has grown noticeably.

The Egyptian press reported that as part of the movement towards a multipolar world, a number of non-aligned states decided to create their own association, the Transactional-25 (T25): they decided to remain neutral in relation to Ukraine and not enter into an alliance with either the United States, China, or Russia and they emphasize that they give priority to their own national interests and worries. The most prominent members of the T25 are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

The second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, should be seen as a milestone in terms of Global South integration and the concerted drive by the Global Majority towards a more equal and fair multipolar order.

The US strategy, which was designed to confirm and strengthen Washington’s hegemony, has failed and is rejected by the majority of the world’s population. More and more developing countries are openly rebelling against the dictates of the West, particularly regarding the aid packages of the International Monetary Fund, which usually demands hard restructuring of national administrations and abolish subsidies for essential goods. The solidarity mechanism of developing countries is starting to work more actively: soft loans and other financial measures have been allocated by New Development Bank (BRICS Bank), the African Export-Import Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and some other finance institutions.

The non-aligned countries have limited confidence in the institutions of the post-WWII US-led international order, such as the IMF. Brazilian President Lula da Silva is promoting his “peace club” to end the war in Ukraine, to show the growing importance of non-aligned countries. India also wants to use its G20 presidency this year to promote the agenda of the Global South.

Washington exerted enormous pressure on the Arab states, demanding that they not allow the return of Syria to the League of Arab States. Nevertheless, the normalization of relations with Damascus is steadily gaining traction. The Arab states, like other countries of the Arab South, understand that they should defend their security and their interests themselves without regard to Washington – hence the reconciliation of Iran and Saudi Arabia and the beginning of discussions on security systems in the Gulf without the United States.

The growing cooperation and converging relations between China and Saudi Arabia are a convincing example of that huge transformation of “political tectonics”, which is currently taking place in MENA area.

The recent meeting of OPEC+ once again demonstrated that the pressure of the West does not bring the expected results: they failed to put Russia and Saudi Arabia at odds. Moreover, it was decided to maintain the level of oil production until the end of 2024. In a survey conducted in 2022 by the Arab Research Center in Doha, 78% of respondents in 14 Arab countries said that the US is the biggest source of threats and instability in the region.

However, perhaps the best new trends in the modern world order are manifested in the desire of many developing countries to join BRICS or to agree with this association on joint actions. At the same time, the most attractive idea is the de-dollarization of the modern world, i.e. the transition to international trade settlements in national currencies. The idea of creating a new joint currency is being discussed more and more actively among the members of BRICS. The next BRICS summit in August in South Africa may show a surprising new currency solution.

Almost every day now brings new evidence of a more independent policy of developing countries. Recently, the 42nd ASEAN Summit, held in Indonesia, emphasized the region’s intention not to become a mediator in settling tensions between the US and China: the summit’s decision to resist Washington’s pressure aimed at containing China in the Indo-Pacific region means that ASEAN will not be a pawn in US geopolitics.

Some opposing voices are also beginning to sound more energetically even in Western Europe, although West European vassal states generally have so far been obedient to their American Master.

Epilogue

The Biden administration looks set to become even more warlike than it already was, with virulent Russia hawk Victoria Nuland and virulent China hawk, General Charles Q Brown now being elevated to top-level positions by the White House. This important article is available here:

More Warmongers Elevated In The Biden Administration

ZeroHedge by Tyler Durden, Tuesday, Aug 01, 2023

The West is not playing the classical Russian roulette – it has developed its own version: Ukrainian roulette, compulsive apocalyptic vabanque.

The Dynamics of War Insanity: NATO’s Ukraine Roulette

By  Jonas E. Alexis, Senior Editor , July 31, 2023

Summer Operations | Modernization Of Weapons Based On The SMO Experience. Military Summary 2023.7.31

This professional video on Ukraine war, tells well how Russian Forces and Military Industry have been developing and improving weapons and military capability during the wartime, on a continuous base.

These three references above speak harsh language about the near future that awaits humanity, more and more serious turbulence, crisis and finally a conflagration worldwide.