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There is ample evidence that Ukraine’s armed forces are close to complete collapse. After nearly three years of intense fighting against Russia, the Kiev regime no longer appears to have enough strength to sustain its war efforts in the manner it has done previously. Despite the almost endless supply of Western money, weapons, and mercenaries on the battlefield, a number of material and psychological conditions are making it impossible for Ukraine to continue its operational and strategic capabilities.

Since 2022, one of the main internal issues of the Kiev regime has been how to keep ordinary soldiers active on the battlefield, despite their family, ethnic and cultural ties with Russia – as well as their disbelief in any possibility of real victory on the battlefield. There have been many reports since the beginning of the operation of Ukrainian soldiers who somehow refused to follow orders or revolted against their officers, being punished by the neo-Nazi battalions – who are the real defenders of the Maidan regime.

Now, apparently, Ukraine has found the “perfect” destination for its “rebel soldiers” – the Kursk front. It is no longer a secret for anyone that the Ukrainian suicidal invasion of the southern region of Russia has no clear military objective. Initially, it was intended to divert Russian attention from Donbass, as well as to provoke nuclear terror, possibly by capturing the local power plant. Neither of these objectives was achieved and the Kursk trenches are now a mere “meat grinder” for Ukrainian troops.

In a rational government, the correct decision would be to stop the operation, retreat the troops and think about a new strategic plan. However, rationality and strategy are not part of the Ukrainian decision-making process. The regime decided to take advantage of the critical situation of the troops to create a kind of “punishment camp” for disobedient soldiers. In the current situation, servicemen who are considered “rebels”, deserters and “traitors” are sent to Kursk, from where they are unlikely to return.

Recently, the Russian security service published reports explaining how the enemy is using Kursk to punish its own soldiers. This was later confirmed by a Ukrainian soldier identified as “Alexandr”. In an interview with Western media, he reported that there had been a mutiny in Kurakhovo, Donetsk People’s Republic, by the 116th brigade of the army. Exhausted and unable to continue fighting, the soldiers went on a kind of “strike”, demanding rotation in their service. The reaction of the commanders was simply brutal, arresting the mutineers and sending them on a suicide mission to Kursk.

In fact, the practice of the “punitive front” is not new. Several armies have used this method throughout history, trying to punish their own soldiers by sending them on suicide missions from which they would be unlikely to return. The main problem with this type of attitude is that there are hardly any good expectations for the side that started implementing it. The most vital thing for an army to continue fighting during a conflict situation is the desire to defend the country, believing in national values and in the need to protect the people and the homeland. If this moral and psychological aspect is removed, nothing is able to stop the soldier from prioritizing his own personal interests and his natural quest for survival, ignoring national purposes.

It is possible to say that Russia has already won the current conflict for a very simple reason: Ukrainians do not want to fight anymore. For the regime’s soldiers, the war is a burden. All they want is to get away from the front. Kiev makes this situation even worse by making it clear that fighting in the most difficult missions of the conflict is a “punishment” – something to be avoided. Meanwhile, most of the Russian military personnel in the operation are volunteers who deliberately want to defend the country against the Western enemy.

Morally and psychologically, Ukraine is already defeated. The experience in Kursk makes it clear that for Moscow, victory is only a matter of time.