Friday, June 20, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Significant Russian advances in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 2 May 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Many analysts have been arguing for months (if not years) that Ukraine will not be able to win the war.
3 minute read

Since the beginning of the year, Russia has been consolidating and expanding its positions with the largest territorial advance since the beginning of the war. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling on the US and its allies to step up arms deliveries.

Russia has intensified its offensive along the frontlines in Ukraine in recent months, securing its largest territorial gains since 2022.

The ongoing expansion, including concerns about Russia’s upcoming summer offensive, has set off alarm bells in Kiev and among its Western allies. A coalition that now fears for Ukraine’s very existence, as well as the overall geopolitical stability of the region.

According to Ukrainian military analysts, the ongoing Russian offensive has created a critical situation for Ukraine, where the support of the United States and Western countries, according to those in power in Kiev, plays a crucial role in the country’s continued defense capability and survival.

A US Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) during the failed Ukrainian counter-offensive in 2023 is seen here burned out on the battlefield. Photo: Telegram/facsimile

Collapse in Avdiyivka

After a long wait for US military aid that was finally approved – via what critics say was a major betrayal by Republican congressional spokesman Mike Johnson (R) – Ukraine is now facing an increased Russian military presence along the front lines.

Something that has seriously tested the country’s defense capabilities. Not least its air defense and air force, which are more or less non-existent on some front lines. Add to this the staggering and deeply disturbing loss of some half a million Ukrainian soldiers, dead, wounded and missing.

Russian forces have taken advantage of the artillery shortage that has plagued Ukraine’s defenses since December 2023 to advance along the eastern front, with particular success near the heavily fortified and logistically important town of Avdiyivka, located in the center of the Donetsk region.

This tactical advance has seriously alarmed Ukrainian military leaders, who are now warning of the threat to key supply lines and strategic areas in eastern Ukraine.

According to the latest reports from the front, Russian forces have taken control of their initial positions in the village of Arkhanhelske (Kherson Oblast), leading Ukrainian troops to encircle the area between Arkhanhelske and Keramik. According to reliable sources, Russian forces have also captured the village of Paraskoviivka.

There is also a high level of activity in Chasiv Yar, where several houses have reportedly been secured by Russian forces. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops have launched a counterattack east of Yampolivka and managed to regain lost positions along the edge of the forest.

Despite international calls and Ukrainian appeals for additional military and economic assistance, Russia has continued to advance toward Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar, for example, further weakening Ukraine’s defensive position.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has pledged that Sweden will support Ukraine “as long as it takes”. Photo: Magnus Liljegren/Swedish Government

Kharkov next?

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued an urgent appeal to Western countries for a sharp increase in military supplies to bolster Ukraine’s defenses. He has stressed the urgency of the situation and sounded the alarm about the growing risk of what he sees as further Russian invasion or territorial expansion.

For example, there are indications that the Russian army is currently building up troops and materiel on the border northeast of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv.

This possible army corps (approximately two to four divisions), according to several sources, would be under the Northern Army Group, designated “N”, under the presumed command of Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin.

As Ukraine struggles to reinforce its fortifications along the front lines, not to mention desperately trying to find men to fill its severely depleted manpower lines, the country now faces an uncertain future in the face of what is believed to be an imminent Russian summer offensive, where Russian advances threaten to fundamentally change the geopolitical dynamics in the region.

If the Russian army does advance into Ukraine through the Kharkiv-Sumy border, Volodymyr Zelenskyi will likely face his greatest challenge since the war began on February 22, 2022.

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Russia: Kiev and London planning false flag attacks

The war in Ukraine

Published 17 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with Volodymyr Zelensky.
2 minute read

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accuses Ukraine and the UK of jointly planning sabotage operations and false flag attacks with the aim of escalating the Ukraine conflict and making continued dialogue between Moscow and Washington impossible.

In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed that Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and Military Intelligence (GUR) are increasingly coordinating their efforts with British intelligence, as a result of what the SVR describes as Kiev’s “mounting battlefield setbacks and deepening moral exhaustion”.

According to the SVR, these sabotage operations and false flag attacks follow a recurring pattern, with the UK responsible for planning and coordination while Ukrainian agents carry out the attacks. The agency pointed to the railway sabotage in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which Moscow describes as Ukrainian terrorist attacks, as well as drone attacks on Russian air bases on June 1, as examples of this tactic.

The intelligence service is now warning that the “Anglo-Ukrainian terrorist tandem” is preparing more false flag attacks. The aim is said to be to escalate the conflict, sabotage the dialogue between Moscow and Washington, and influence the US to continue its military support for Kiev.

Planted sea mines and torpedoes

One scenario described is an attack in which a Russian torpedo attack on a US Navy ship in the Baltic Sea is staged. According to the SVR, Ukraine has already delivered Soviet-made torpedoes to the UK. Some of these are intended to detonate at a safe distance, while one is to be left undetonated “as evidence of Moscow’s malicious activity”.

The SVR also points to a possible scenario in which British, Ukrainian, and Northern European actors plan to “accidentally” find Russian sea mines in the Baltic Sea in order to claim that Russia is trying to sabotage international shipping – another type of false flag attack.

“Kiev has become the perfect executor of vile provocations and terrorist acts for perfidious Albion (England)”, the SVR concluded.

The head of intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, has previously warned of similar British attacks and says that Russian intelligence is well aware of London’s covert hostile activities against Russia.

Hockey legend Ovechkin added to Ukrainian “kill list”

The war in Ukraine

Published 11 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Alexander Ovechkin is an outspoken supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
2 minute read

Russian hockey legend Alexander Ovechkin, who recently became the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, has been added to Ukraine’s notorious “enemy list” on the website Mirotvorets (Peacemaker).

Mirotvorets is a database that publishes personal information about individuals who allegedly threaten Ukraine’s security, but has been condemned by human rights groups and described as a “kill list”, as several people listed there have been assassinated or died under unclear circumstances shortly after.

According to Mirotvorets, Washington Capitals star Ovechkin has been included for allegedly working to “whitewash Russia’s reputation” in front of the international community through his participation in international sporting events, as well as for justifying “aggression against Ukraine among foreign audiences”.

The 39-year-old forward is also accused of “deliberately violating” Ukraine’s border, which likely refers to his vacation on the Crimean Peninsula in 2015 – a year after the region voted in a referendum to reunite with Russia.

It is now easier to find people who are not included on the Mirotvorets database, so there is really nothing to discuss, commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Founded “Putin Team”

Russian MP and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in speed skating Svetlana Zhurova expressed surprise on the news channel VseProSport that Ovechkin’s name was only added now.

– It is strange that they did not add Ovechkin to the Mirotvorets database earlier. Alex created the Putin Team (movement in support of Vladimir Putin’s candidacy in the 2018 presidential election in Russia), and for that alone he should have already been on the list.

Zhurova added that she does not believe the listing will have any major consequences for Ovechkin:

– He will not face any restrictions in his daily life or experience problems with entering the US, where he plays for the NHL team Washington Capitals.

Linked to several assassinations

In April, Ovechkin scored his 895th goal in the NHL regular season, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s previous record of 894 goals. Since then, he has added to his tally and now stands at 897 goals.

Ovechkin’s contract with the Washington Capitals runs until the summer of 2026. Earlier this year, he mentioned that he was considering returning to Russian club Dynamo Moscow, where his professional career began.

The website Mirotvorets has been described by critics as a “kill list”,  as several people who have appeared on it have later been murdered. Yulia Gorbunova, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, warns that the list poses a real threat to the lives of those on it. In April 2015, for example, the website published the home addresses of Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina and former member of parliament Oleg Kalashnikov – just days before both were killed in separate attacks.

Ukraine’s ex-prime minister: US has given the go-ahead to oust Zelensky

The war in Ukraine

Published 10 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ukraine's former prime minister believes that Zelensky will be "forced out" if he does not resign himself.
2 minute read

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is convinced that President Volodymyr Zelensky will soon resign and leave the country, stating that the powers that be in Washington have already given the go-ahead to remove the Ukrainian leader.

In a post on the Telegram on June 9, Azarov wrote that the decision to remove Zelensky “has already been made in the United States” and that Washington has given the “go-ahead” for the process. He added that while Zelensky has some support in Europe, it is unlikely to affect the outcome and “hardly helps” him.

Azarov, who was prime minister under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, argues that Zelensky will resign because his five-year term expired in May 2024. In such a scenario, according to Azarov, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk would step in as acting president and start shaping “a new political landscape” in Ukraine.

I don’t think Zelensky will remain in Ukraine after this”, Azarov said. “He will request protection, most likely from special forces, but they will not make such sacrifices for him. The options for his future may vary”, he added.

“The process of removing Zelensky has begun”

Already the week before his latest statement, Azarov made a similar prediction, claiming that the US has “written off” Zelensky and started a multi-step process to remove him. As an example, he cited the arrest of Leonid Mindich – described as a financial associate of both Zelensky and presidential chief of staff Andrei Yermak – which Azarov sees as a sign of an ongoing power shift.

He stressed that the arrest was not carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office, but by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office – institutions he described as “created by the US, staffed by the US, and reporting only to the Americans“.

This is a serious signal that the process of removing Zelensky has begun”, Azarov wrote. He also hinted that if the president does not resign voluntarily, he will be “forced out“. Furthermore, he claimed that US auditors had recently arrived in Kiev to review how US tax money was spent – an initiative he attributed to instructions from the White House.

Potential obstacle to peace deal

Skeptics argue that Azarov’s statements should be seen in light of his political background, as a former prime minister under the ousted president Yanukovych, pointing out that the ex-prime minister has long been a vocal critic of Zelensky and has repeatedly called for his ouster.

Zelensky’s term of office formally expired on May 20, 2024, but presidential elections have not been held due to the state of emergency in Ukraine. Moscow therefore claims that Zelensky lacks legitimacy as the country’s leader.

Despite this, the Russian government has stated that it is open to negotiations with the current administration in Kiev. At the same time, it has warned that Zelensky’s status could be an obstacle to signing a binding peace agreement, as documents approved by a president with questionable legitimacy could be invalidated by a successor.

Nikolai Azarov (born December 17, 1947) was Prime Minister of Ukraine between 2010 and 2014, under President Viktor Yanukovych. He was previously Minister of Finance and one of the founders of the pro-Russian Party of Regions. Azarov resigned in January 2014 in the wake of the Western-backed Euromaidan protests and left the country shortly afterwards.

Since then, he has been living in exile in Russia and is wanted in Ukraine on suspicion of abuse of power. Since then, he has repeatedly criticized Zelensky and the current Ukrainian government.

Trump: Zelensky gave Putin reason to bomb Ukraine to pieces

The war in Ukraine

Published 9 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Images from Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian air bases and parts of the country's nuclear bomber fleet.
2 minute read

US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized Ukraine’s latest drone attacks on Russian long-range bombers. According to Trump, these attacks have given Russia valid reason to strike back with full force and have drastically increased the risk of escalation of the conflict.

In statements to reporters on Friday, Trump commented on the Ukrainian attacks on Russian air bases that house strategic bombers with nuclear capabilities. He said that these attacks, along with sabotage against Russian railways, have given Moscow reason to escalate its military efforts.

They gave Putin a reason to go in and bomb the hell out of them last night, Trump said. “That’s something I didn’t like about it. When I saw it, I said, ‘Here we go… now it’s going to be striking’”.

Trump’s comments came after Russia carried out extensive missile strikes against Ukrainian targets on Friday night in retaliation for what Moscow calls “terrorist acts” by Kiev.

Putin’s warning in conversation with Trump

According to reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the attacks in a phone call with Trump on Wednesday. Putin is said to have warned that Moscow’s inevitable response is justified.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday night’s attacks were aimed at targets linked to Ukraine’s defense industry, including “design bureaus, weapons production and repair facilities, drone assembly workshops, flight training centres and Armed Forces of Ukraine storage facilities”.

 

Accusations of sabotage against peace talks

Moscow has accused Kiev of escalating its attacks in an attempt to undermine the US-backed peace talks. Russia has also claimed that Trump is receiving “filtered” information about the conflict from people who are pushing Washington to support Ukraine.

The situation remains tense, with the risk of further escalation if diplomatic solutions cannot be reached.

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