RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP

DEBALTSEVO. The Kiev forces abandoned the "cauldron” leaving enormous quantities of equipment behind (including the last of the 3 counter mortar radars the US supplied) and many corpses. Poroshenko is completely delusional ("betrayal” is a good word) and his delusion is shared by Washington – read it and watch it; for reality, here are the words of the people trapped there. There's nothing more that can be said – the Kiev forces were fully surrounded before Minsk, Poroshenko refused to believe it, the WMSM believed him (Again. Why?) and, of course Washington and its megaphones are pretending that it was some sort of violation. Supplying more weapons to the side that started with most of the heavy weapons and all of the air is supposed to do what, exactly? (Well, Kiev is fresh out of US counter-mortar radars). Debaltsevo short film, long film. There's lots out there: take the time you would otherwise waste watching "the news” to look at them; it's also perfectly obvious that these are not Russian soldiers but locals who want to get out of the freak show.

CEASEFIRE. After the Kiev forces retreated in a so-called "orderly fashion”, Debaltsevo has been cleared out. Gradually, grudgingly, heavy weapons are being pulled back to locations where they will be out of range. Another shattering defeat for Kiev – the Western sources blame it all on Russia but they are wrong. Sending unwilling, untrained conscripts and crazed neo-nazi fanatics, led by incompetents, up against defenders of their kith and kin is not a winning combination in any place or time. Read what a British Army "volunteer” had to say but forget the "poor kit stuff” – the militias had exactly the same weapons – the very same in many cases. I doubt this is the end, if for no other reason than the neo-nazis don't want to give up: Yarosh's own words. Protest in Kiev yesterday.

FOOLS, LIARS AND HYSTERIA. Chaos in Libya is nothing to do with NATO. John Kerry says "Ukrainians are coming together to define their own future”. Existential threat to the military alliance that spends 56% of the world's total! Russian Latvian aircraft attack. Must spend more money because RT is winning the propaganda battle (the USA outspends RT 3 to 1 and then there's the BBC to add on.) Can't get Russian weapons on e-Bay (get them here or Ukrainian Lend-Lease, repair them here). Will this bubble of hysteria get bigger and louder until it pops? Or will it lead us into war with Russia? "American foreign policy is controlled by fools.”

FAKES. First a US Senator and then a German TV channel caught using old photos as "proof” of Russian invasions. Trees and mountains, people, it's a clue. And the Brits too: don't you know that photos handed to you by some guy in an alley can be sourced? Guardian backtracks on pseudo-analysis; yes, crater analysis works, sort of, but not from satellite photos. I though the MSM prided itself on its layers of fact checkers. The only rational conclusion remains: if there were real evidence, you'd see it; fake evidence is evidence that there is no evidence. QED.

OOPS. A Lithuanian TV station asked viewers if they had noticed increasing Russian propaganda; 82% responded that it wasn't "propaganda”, it was true. Truth, not big money, is why Russian "propaganda” is winning. Falsehood is why Western propaganda is losing. That and absurdities.

DE-DOLLARISATION. A few more steps: given the occasional threats that Russia will be kicked out of SWIFT, it has begun to set up its own process. The Duma ratified the BRICS development bank. Russia unloaded more US securities in December(and so did Japan and China).

UKRAINE. Money collapsed, currency controls, rationing, defeats, corpses, destruction. Worse to come. Many many people warned of this 18 months ago. None of its new friends will pour more money down the hole. All they're going to get are more guns to produce more defeats. Another failure following Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya. There are those who think chaos isthe aim. If so, another success.

MAIDAN SNIPERS. Probably not a coincidence that just after the BBC actually questions the Party Line, Poroshenko"discovers” that Putindunnit.

IRAN. Russia went along with sanctions and stopped the sale of S-300 SAMs to Iran. It has just offered a more modern system. Washington objects; I doubt Moscow cares any more what Washington thinks. I'll bet Victoria Nuland told her bosses there was nothing Moscow could do.

SAAKASHVILI. Saakashvili was appointed an advisor to Poroshenko. Tbilisi wants Saakashvili on trial; it's not amused that Kiev won't extradite him. Ah! the troubles of Washington's quondam democratic heroes.