The Duran Podcast - Zelensky desperation. Morale plummets. Sabotage fears

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

Zelensky desperation. Morale plummets. Sabotage fears

All right, Alexander, let's talk about what is happening in Ukraine, the military situation. And perhaps we can also discuss what is happening in Kiev with Zelensky. He's going after his opponents, Poroshenko, a lot of panic in Kiev. Klitschko also came out with a statement saying that things are not going to end well. So we have the call between Trump and Putin. We discussed this in a previous video. and we're going to have meetings and they're going to work towards

some sort of a negotiation, some sort of a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Does the fighting in Ukraine stop? Will there be a ceasefire eventually and will there be a pause in the fighting? What are your thoughts on that? The morale.

Also talk about what this means for morale for both sides, actually. Well, I think first of all, let's talk about morale, because now Ukrainian soldiers, and they are the most, they are the ones who are already under pressure, who've been retreating, taking heavy losses, who are continuing to retreat and take heavy losses. They now know that the Americans, the Russians of the Russians are talking to each other, that the American president and the Russian president are talking

to each other as friends, or at least in a friendly way, that they're going to meet, that the Americans are ending their support for Ukraine and that the Americans have said that the project of Ukraine retaking its lost territory is unrealistic. And remember, for all the things that Zelensky has been saying, that still remains Zelensky's and Ukraine's official objective to recapture Crimea, Dombas, and Zaborosier, and breakthrough to the Black Sea and all of that. So that really begs the question, given that you already have problems with morale in the Ukrainian army, mass desertions, people reluctant to fight. I mean, there was a whole brigade, Anna of Kiev, which had been expensively trained in

France, which is deployed to the front lines, and immediately disintegrated. Will Ukrainian soldiers still be prepared to man the trenches and defend against the Russians, with the same energy that they have been doing up to now. I think this is a very good question. I am not somebody who knows very much about how soldiers respond to these things, but I would have thought that this would have a significant effect on morale. The fact that American support for them is no longer there, I think is going to undoubtedly,

over time, probably not a very long time, undermine morale in Ukraine amongst the army, and is going to make them feel that if they continue fighting, they're putting their lives at risk for nothing. With the Russians, it's the opposite. They see that their president is now talking to the American president. they will no doubt sense that American support for Ukraine is wavering or going to reduce. I would have thought that Russian soldiers on the contrary, their morale will rise. They will say to themselves, we're clearly winning the war, we've pushed the Ukrainians back,

the Americans are losing interest in this. So in that kind of situation, the Russians will be feeling incredibly. increasingly confident and that is going to make them push harder. So that I would have thought is the most likely dynamic. Again, I want to stress this isn't something that I know a huge amount about, but I'm guessing that that is how the militaries on each side will react. And in the case of the Ukrainian military, there's already been something that Zelensky has done, which is apparently upset many of the veteran soldiers because he's been very, very reluctant

to extend mobilization to young people of 18 to 25. Remember, the Biden administration was pushing very hard for that. The British were pushing very hard for that. There was a shocking article by the former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who was insisting that the Ukrainians must do that. Boris Johnson was wheeling out, talking about the same thing. Anyway, Zelensky's been very, very nervous about doing it. He's now set out a package where young people of 18 to 25 will be paid benefits if they do decide to sign up and fight. And of course, all those veteran soldiers

have been fighting for three years. They say, well, what about us? Why? Why? Why? Why are we not being paid the same? We are the people who have been sacrificing and fighting. And why should, you know, boys of 19 be getting all of these benefits when they've been happy to be in the rear up to now, and they're not happy to be conscripted? And we who were conscripted and volunteered to fight for Ukraine, we're being forgotten.

And I understand that there's been widespread unhappiness across Ukraine about this. And so already you see that morale is sagging, people are becoming increasingly doubtful and skeptical. We've had lots of criticisms with people like Bezuglia and Butusuf about the rationality of the command decisions and of Zelensky's leadership and Assyrinsky's leadership. And I would have thought all of this now is going to grow. So that is, that is, my guess about the morale situation with the Ukrainian army. As I said, the Russians probably spring in their step, the Ukrainian's morale is probably going to sag.

And in the meantime, the military situation anyway was already very bad for Ukraine, and it is going to get worse. Now, the Ukraine has launched these counterattacks in Costa region. Zelensky gave a crazy interview to the Guardian in Britain in which he said that he needs to hold on to Kusk, territory in Kusk, because he's going to swap it for territory that the Russians now control, which is madness. I mean, the Russians will never agree to that. And the Kremlin immediately said that that's not happening, which of course it won't happen.

But what people overlook is Zelensky is saying that means that he's never going to. going to willingly withdraw Ukrainian troops from Kusk region. Now, if you follow what's happening in Kusk region, the Russians are now very close to the main supply road. We are looking at a potential cauldron, in other words, a trap for the thousands, some say tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops in Kusk if they are not withdrawn soon. Zelensky taking this stance is dooming them to precisely that outcome. He won't withdraw them. The counterattacks that the Ukrainians have launched have been disastrous failures. They've suffered in heavy losses, heavy losses in men and equipment. The Russians are very, very strong in Kuzk region and getting stronger. They are close to cutting the supply

roads. And Doleski says they must never withdraw because this is his ace in the hole. You're going to trade suja for the Zaporosia nuclear power plant or whatever crazy idea that he has in mind. So things are disastrous there, and everywhere else, they're getting worse and worse. So the Russians have apparently almost completed the capture of the town of Volchansk in Kharkov region, which potentially opens the road to Kharkov, if that is where the Russians do intend to go. Nobody quite knows. The Russians have now established big bridgeheads across the Oswald and Jerobet's rivers. So it looks like they're poised to launch an offensive here in the spring to surround, basically, Slaviansk, Kramatoz, from the north.

The Russians have just completed the capture of the important fortified city of Toretsk, a huge, big, heavily fortified conurbation, which formed. key part of the front lines, Chassevya looks as if it's just a few weeks behind. It too looks likely to fall fairly soon. And elsewhere, everywhere else, Pachrosk, lots of talk recently. Probably you've heard it that the Ukrainians are about to cut off the Russians in a particular area to the southwest of Pachrovsk. I mean, encounter battles have happened. the time, I'm sure that the Russians will have the situation that under control, everywhere else around Pekroos, to the south, to the east of Pagros, the Russians continue to advance, and further south still, towards NEPRO region, the Russian advances are remorseless, and there

is already another cauldron being created south of Kouragovu, and the Russian advances are remorseless, and north of the town of Velika, Nova Silka, which the Russians have just captured. And in the meantime, the Russians launch every day now. Missile strikes right across Ukraine. They just launched another big one with missiles against Kiev. This happens every day now. And it's become so routine that it's hardly commented about. And the Russian energy minister Novak has just discussed the Ukraine.

drone attacks on the Russian energy system. And he said that it has not affected volumes of refined oil in any way at all. I've always been saying these are mosquito bites and that is all they are. So an already catastrophic military situation. And now with news that the Americans and the Russians are talking about a deal over Ukraine, likely to become even more catastrophic. catastrophic, American aid is going to stop. Ukraine is not going to get guarantees from the United State. The soldiers on the front lines are going to start asking, what are they fighting for? Yeah. Let's see here. I've got a whole bunch of questions lined up. But let's start with this one. In 2022 in March, oh, by the way, on the gas stuff, the Ukraine, gas storage and

and the gas facilities are in just, yeah. Yeah. In 2022, March, March, April, there was a deal in the works that would have put it end to the conflict. And Boris Johnson flew into Kiev, sabotaged the deal. But as a goodwill gesture, there was a ceasefire. Russia pulled back its forces from the areas around Kiev and Odessa. as a show of goodwill

as they were getting close to a deal. The deal was actually initialed by the negotiators. And then the deal was thrown away by Zelensky at the urging of Boris Johnson. And then you got the whole narrative of Russia said they're going to take Kiev in three days and they didn't and Ukraine is now winning. And you had that whole media narrative

that was formed on the back of this Russian goodwill gesture in 2022, a month into the conflict to the special military operation. Will Russia, do you think there's a possibility that something like that could happen again? Do you think that Russia will agree to a ceasefire? If negotiations really start to gain momentum, do you think that Russia may pull forces back from certain areas in order to show good faith to Trump. I think that is so unlikely as to be all but inconceivable.

In the hours after the Trump-Putin call, the media in London were talking about Trump and Putin negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine. If you look at the Kremlin readout, if you look at Trump's messages on true social, The word ceasefire nowhere appears. I don't think the Russians are going to give anything. I don't think they prepare to give any ground at all. And I don't think they're interested in a ceasefire.

They've repeatedly said that they're not. They've repeatedly said that they're not interested in a freeze. I don't think it's going to happen. Do you think they can be convinced into it? For example, Trump saying, look, you got to give me something. I went on in a limb. I said no NATO. I said we need to get this war ended.

You've got to give me something to show that we're making progress. Well, it's not impossible, but it is going to be very difficult indeed to persuade the Russians to do that again. Already, even after the Putin-Trump calls, we've had statements from Russian officials saying that there's not going to be another Minsk, they're not going to go down that route again, that they were burned very badly before. I think that the Russians, obviously, are aware that Trump is taking a different stance, but they see what the Europeans for the moment, for example, are not. And I think that for the moment, at least, the Russians aren't just going to continue doing what they're doing and continuing to advance.

advance incrementally. What they might do is that they might slow the temper of their advance in some places. They might, instead of, say, marching into Dniepera region, they might focus on capturing Slavians Kramatosk and Konstantinovka. They might focus more on Dombas, just to help Trump in that kind of way. But I can't see them making any substantive concessions. I think that they're most unlikely to do that. Yeah. What's going on with Zelensky? What's going on with Poroshenko? He obviously understands that there's going to be elections. Zelensky understands that he's on his way out. Is he trying to prevent that? Is he going after his opposition now in order to create the scenario where he approaches Trump and says, look,

You want elections. You want me to leave, but I'm the only I'm the only game in town. Well, that's exactly what he's doing. I mean, he's in absolute, I think, first of all, I mean, we are seeing lots of signs of panic in Kiev now. I mean, this was for them the nightmare scenario. Very mind, the Biden administration had repeatedly said that there would be no negotiations of any kind without Ukraine. Everything must be done with Ukraine. That, in effect, gave Zelensky a veto over any negotiation.

He then passed an idiotic decree on the 2nd of October 2022, actually prohibiting negotiations, a decree that he continues to refuse to rescind. He unveiled a peace plan, which is for the Russians to withdraw completely from all of Ukraine before any kind of negotiations, serious negotiations can begin. I mean, crazy stuff. Now, all of that has collapsed around him. I mean, he's in a position where he is now completely exposed because his entire strategy developed over the last three years

has basically failed. He doesn't want to give up power. He probably realizes that it will be very dangerous for him to do so. He is probably also aware that if there is a deal done, that would also be extremely dangerous for himself, both politically and physically. And by the way, his former foreign minister, Kuleba, has actually said that, that it will be physically dangerous for anyone in Ukraine to sign off on any kind of peace deal now. And we know Kulebis referred to you. I mean Kalevis, by the way, an extreme hardliner already in Ukrainian terms. But basically he's threatening anybody who's interested in peace with the band of rights and people of that kind.

And they are a real problem. So Zelensky, in light of this, he's now desperately trying to shore up his position in Kiev by arresting and charging all of his potential opponents. So he's going after Klitschko. He's had one of Klitschko's major supporters arrested. It looks likely that he's going to have Klitschko himself arrested. Klitsko is an ex-boxer for a time he was the nominal leader of the Maidan movement in 2013 and 2014. I don't think anybody really took that very seriously.

Newland, passed him up. It went with Yattsin Yuc. Exactly. We'll go with Kitchko. No, let's go with Yatzen Yatine Yass is our guy. Exactly. That's Klichko. Exactly. Anyway, he's the mayor of Kiev. And that was the sort of plum that he was given. There's been allegations of corruption against him now, which are probably true, by the way, given that we're talking about Ukraine. Always easy to find evidence of corruption against anybody in Ukraine. So anyway, so Klitsko is being targeted. There's reports that Poroshenka is going to be arrested today and charged with treason.

You can see that there is a roundup going on. Zelensky still controls the security police, the SBU and people of that kind, and he's using them to try and shore up his position. Ultimately, what this is going to do is deepen the crisis in Kiev in Ukraine, because obviously what Zelensky wants is he wants elections in which he's the only candidate. That's basically the kind of scenario that he's probably in his old fiefen mind trying to think of. All that will do is provoke a much bigger crisis in Kiev in the end, which will probably result in the whole Maidan structure finally collapsing. Yeah, the whole thing's coming done.

But it could be complicated and violent in the process. the whole thing is coming undone. No. Yeah, it's, you know, it's amazing that the Biden administration and the Europeans gave Zelensky 350 billion according to Trump and 100 billion from the Europeans. These are Trump's numbers. But it's amazing that they entrusted this guy that they gave this guy, $450 billion if you go by Trump's numbers.

Amazing. I mean, you know, Trump is right to ask for that money back. I mean, really, it's what a mess, what a mess created by the previous administrations. It is the worst failure of policy of any administration, any U.S. administration, in U.S. history. I mean, you know, I've been thinking of other supposedly unsuccessful presidents of the past. You know, Patrick Buchanan, who was the president on the eve of the Civil War, and people have always criticized him. Nothing has been as bad as this. Everybody, all the people at the moment who are talking about the fact that Trump is preparing to make impossible, you know, terrible concessions to the Russians should consider where we are now.

We are in a situation which the Biden administration have created. They launched this wall. They supported Ukraine. They gave Zelensky veto power over negotiation. Biden refused to talk to Putin. He made sure that the Europeans didn't talk to Putin either. There were no discussions about ending the war. There was endless sanctions which led nowhere. And what has happened as a result is that the collective West has been brought to the brink of defeat. Now, the Trump people have to come in and they have to deal with that. But the

defeat, which is what we're looking at, has been entirely authored by the mess, the disastrous policies that the Biden administration inflicted upon America, the collective West, Russia, Ukraine and the world. It is a defeat. Absolutely. I would say it is a defeat. And I believe that whatever they do sign, whatever agreements they come up, with Trump and Putin. It is Ukraine. It is Zelensky. It is NATO that is going to be signing

the capitulation. It may not be a physical signature. They may not actually sign something, but NATO and NATO's proxy have been defeated. Absolutely. In all aspects, militarily, economically, all of it. That needs to be understood. It's not a defeat that Trump has brought about. There's already some journalists talking about. The betrayal of Ukraine. This is absolute nonsense. Ukraine has lost. It lost the war.

This is why we are where we are. If what the Viking devil had wanted to happen had happened, we would be in a completely different place now. It was because their policy was completely wrong, entirely ill-conceived, completely misconceived. It was bonkers that we are in the disaster that we are. And what the Trump people are trying to do is to try to contain the damage. Yeah, I mean, if it was Harris that had won the election, it would have been a decisive and conclusive military defeat. Absolutely.

Absolutely. We would eventually have had the Russians cross through the Dnieper. Kyr besieged again. We would have had advanced probably the Russians marching on the revolt eventually. And, of course, a lot of talk about sending European troops and even American troops. We would have seen the situation escalate to the point of, well, I don't even want to imagine what levels of crisis. So that was the scenario that we were facing. The current team have the realism to understand that that would have been an utter disaster.

And they're trying to put a stop to it and contain the damage and protect the remaining the real interests of the United States, which were never really engaged in this war. What do you say to the argument, a final question, what do you say to the argument that it was in Trump's first term that he actually armed Ukraine to the teeth? He began the process of javelins. He began the process of really arming Ukraine. In other words, the continuity of administrations. Yes, there was continuity, but was that really Trump?

I mean, Trump, his platform. He was president, but his platform in the 2016 election, which is the platform that was agreed by the Republicans, and by the way, was by the Democrats, was that there would be no arming of Ukraine. And then there was Russiagate launched against him, and he was accused of cluelessing. including with Putin, which is nonsense, as was amply demonstrated.

But they plugged Russiagate for years. His position was severely undermined. He ended up having to appoint people like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo to senior cabinet posts. And of course, that was what brought us to the point where the decision was made to arm Ukraine. The people who wanted to arm Ukraine was the American deep state, not Donald Trump. And they were basically in the driver's seat during Trump's first term. And if you really want to point your finger to blame, you must look to them. I understand that the actual decision

to arm Ukraine was made by John Bolton. Of course. Of course it was made by John Bolton. All right, We will add the video there. The durand.locals.com. We are on Rumble Odyssey, Bitchie, Telegraph, and X. Go to the Duran Shoppick of some merch like what we are wearing in this video update today. The link is in the description box down below. Take care.