re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

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Minister’s Suicide Highlights Kremlin’s New Definition of Unforgivable Sins

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The apparent suicide of Russia’s recently dismissed transport minister, Roman Starovoit, shortly before his likely arrest on corruption charges was a major shock for the Russian elite. Not only was it an unprecedented event for post-Soviet Russia, it also shone a spotlight on how the Russian political system has changed.

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Since the start of the war in 2022, the number of sins considered “unforgivable” by the Kremlin has broadened to include anything seen as helping the enemy. That includes public statements criticizing the regime (hence the tightening of the laws on “foreign agents” and “undesirable organizations”), profiteering by businesses that harms Russia’s military readiness (hence the wave of recent nationalizations), efforts to move money abroad, and even trying to wear two hats by running both a domestic and international company.

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These sorts of cases look set to become more and more common. Other influential figures—like defense corporation boss Sergei Chemezov, Rosneft head Igor Sechin, and the powerful Kovalchuk brothers—will also likely find themselves forced into ditching those who look to them for protection. They will be unable to save protégés, loyal subordinates, or those who benefit from their patronage from the clutches of Russia’s repressive machine.

The war has made once-influential figures much less powerful, their interests crushed beneath the wheels of a system that sees itself engaged in a battle for survival. Going forward, increasingly senior officials will become vulnerable as offenses deemed “unforgivable” grow in number and scope. The war has unleashed processes within Russia that may end up consuming even the regime’s most powerful figures.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, after watching footage of the Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities late on July 11, Donald Trump called Friedrich Merz by phone and expressed frustration over Putin’s continued aggression against his smaller neighbor.

Merz was surprised but soon realized that Trump had lost patience with Putin. According to officials, Trump said he was now ready to accept an offer Merz had made several days earlier — to use German funds to purchase American weapons for Ukraine.

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Russian State Duma deputy Sergey Mironov stated that inflation in Russia rose to 0.79% in the first week of July, marking one of the highest increases in recent years.

"Prices in Russia are constantly rising — electricity prices have increased by 13%, gas by 13.5%, and water by 14.9%. Such a sharp inflationary spike during this period has never occurred before. This is the steepest increase in recent years."

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Putin would not budge because he is winning.

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The west has very little leverage to stop Putin before he achieves his goals.

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The west skipped on the time to negotiate when Ukraine took all of that territory back in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. Putin would have compromised then.

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The west got greedy and stupid, thought Ukraine could win but never committed the resources needed for a knock out blow to maintain that momentum. Or they didn't really care and were only going to provide enough to punish Russia as Loyd Austin actually said. The west actually forgot about the total disparity of resources in the long run.

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Russian journalist and pro-Z “patriot,” Dmitry Borisenko — host of the internet outlet ??????? ????????? — stated:

"A new phrase has emerged among our troops on the front lines: 'taking a city on credit'. This means a city or settlement hasn’t actually been captured, but reports are sent ‘upstairs’ claiming it has been."

"But credit must be repaid. That’s when the so-called ‘meat assaults’ begin — frontal attacks using expendable infantry, resulting in massive casualties in both manpower and equipment."

"Talk of Ukrainian army demoralization is exaggerated. There are no signs of this within their units — they continue to fight with resilience."

"The Russian army is facing numerous problems, including difficulties with unit replenishment, communication failures, and shortages of drones and military equipment."

"But the army’s biggest problem lies in its command structure. The hierarchy is set up in such a way that what matters most is sending glowing reports to the top — reports that senior leadership wants to hear, regardless of the reality on the ground."

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The longer the war goes the chance of there bring two losers goes up.

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"There’s a reason why we have over 60 F-18s. We just bought 64 F-35s. There’s a reason why we have long-range missiles, air, land and sea. And there’s a reason why we have the biggest artillery in Europe, with Poland.

And the reason is not Sweden."

— Alexander Stubb, President of Finland

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We know Putin hasn't budged off of the June 14 demands. Trump was not willing to accept those. So apparently Putin politely rebuffed Trumps offer. Putin is not going to accept a ceasefire. Why should he? He is winning.

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