A blow to the Gremlin in the Kremlin
The first casualty of war is always the truth. So, the important Russian Black Sea Flagship, missile cruiser Moskva 121, was not only severely damaged but has now sunk completely. This is a fact. And then, speculations begin. Russia talked about a mishap, an explosion of munitions, crew evacuated, ship towed to Sebastopol, urging that she was still afloat until her sinking could no longer be denied. The Ukrainians have claimed to have attacked the Moskva with two Neptune sea-skimming missiles.
Which statement is true, I don’t know. It could be either one of them. The Ukrainians do possess those missiles and apparently a TB-2 drone circled overhead, either as a decoy or as a targeting device. No drone images forthcoming, which I would expect when Ukraine wants to boast this victory and improve morale boost by plastering such images all over the mass and social media. For all I care the ship had an accident. Internally, or it ran on one of the many Russian-laid mines in the Black Sea.
Be all that as it may, the loss of the Moskva is an incredible blow to Putin’s Russia. No matter the cause. Now at this stage, what I hope for is that this, combined with the war absolutely NOT going the way the Gremlin in the Kremlin wants, will have severe repercussions on him as the undisputed leader of Russia in the long run. Having been the greatest political chess player for twenty years, this just may be Putin’s Waterloo. He may have overplayed his hand this time. The guy may fall shortly.
The heralded Moskva was commissioned in 1979 and had since then barely seen any updates on any level. So, this ship, as probably with all of Russia’s Navy, was heavily outdated. Stuffed with missiles and other armament, she was a sort of derelict floating bomb. An accident waiting to happen. What the Ukrainian war is teaching us is that not only the West but Russia as well has consumed way to much what is called the “Peace Dividend” since the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain fell back in 1989.
Add to this a dictator who has advisors who are unable to advise him. Because one does not “advise” Vladimir Putin. So, as with just about every despot, he is beginning to believe in his own unrealistic myth. And that, on average, is the start of a downfall, possibly ending up with the literal fall and demise, by death, escape, exile or capture. I am convinced that this Ukrainian adventure will be the axe on Putin’s root. Let’s hope that this tree will fall and Russia will take its place as a civilized nation again.
