Hello everyone, welcome to “Current Affairs Scan.” I am Jin Ran. We have made significant changes to our production process recently. Starting now, the webcast schedule will be as follows: the show will be aired on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time (New York time), which means it will also be aired at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays in China and Taiwan.
Today’s focus: Zelensky mocks Putin, reveals attack strategy on Russia; Polish military prepares for war, Lukashenko suddenly announces resignation; Putin visits Azerbaijan to discuss strategy, Turkish “accidentally” delivers drones to Ukraine.
Without the support of our viewers, it is difficult for us to continue to progress. Please subscribe to our channel, support us, like, comment, and share our content. Your direct financial support would be greatly appreciated.
After Ukrainian forces breached into Russian territory, Zelensky remained low-key, although he mentioned plans for substantial support for the offensive. However, he did not disclose the purpose and significance of this strategic counterattack. Now, 13 days after entering Russia, Zelensky has finally spoken out.
On August 18, Zelensky made a speech, finally discussing the strategic intent of the incursion into Russia. It is noteworthy that this is the first time since World War II that Russia has been invaded by a foreign military. Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk Oblast of Russia on August 6 from multiple directions, surprisingly encountering little resistance. They swiftly seized and controlled thousands of square kilometers of Russian territory within a few weeks.
Zelensky stated: “The Ukrainian military has achieved good and much-needed results.” “Our primary goal in our overall defensive operation is to destroy Russia’s war potential as much as possible and take maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes establishing a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory as we have done in the Kursk region.”
It seems that Zelensky is intentionally taunting Putin, as two years ago, one of Putin’s purposes for launching a “special military operation” against Ukraine was also to establish a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border. Zelensky’s implication is clear: as brotherly nations, there should be no need to be polite about boundaries, and if you consider us family, then no need to rush, I’ll establish this buffer zone, don’t be hasty!
Additionally, Zelensky’s inadvertent remark revealed Ukraine’s strategic plans behind the military operations. He stated, “We are doing everything possible to make Ukraine stronger this autumn. Continuously targeting the Russian army, defense industry, and economy. Kursk Oblast is just the beginning; you will see more battles like this in other regions.”
Currently, Zelensky appears ambitious, and even his forklift driver counterpart in Wuhan is starting to support him.
Su Ziyun, Director of the Institute for Military Strategy and Industry at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, also praised Ukraine’s current counteroffensive actions on August 18. He stated that from both political and military perspectives, Ukraine’s strategic counterattack has high strategic value. It not only proves to NATO and the world that it is capable of infiltrating Russian territory but also plays an unforeseen role: allaying NATO’s concerns about whether its weapons can withstand the torrent of steel from Russia in the event of an attack.
As Ukraine’s significant neighbor in NATO’s rear, Poland recently made a shocking move.
Looking at the geographical relationship between Poland and Ukraine, it is evident that Poland is indeed Ukraine’s significant rear area, correct?
On August 19, the Polish President publicly announced that the Polish military is preparing for war against Russia. Meanwhile, the Polish Prime Minister Tuszk declared, “Every day, we strive to ensure that Poland, the Polish military, and the Polish people no longer need to rely on miracles.” On August 18, in the streets of Warsaw, numerous main battle tanks and armored vehicles were captured being loaded onto transport trucks and heading towards the border, creating a spectacular scene.
Belarus, another neighbor of Ukraine and Russia’s strategic partner, witnessed dramatic changes within two days.
President Lukashenko of Belarus recently stated on August 17 that Ukraine stationed over 120,000 troops along the border regions adjacent to Belarus, deploying almost a third of its armed forces across the entire border region. In an interview with Russian state television, Lukashenko stated, “If a war breaks out, these locations will form defensive formations—our troops will defend along the entire border.” However, on August 18, Lukashenko suddenly announced that he is preparing to step down as President, hoping “that no one will be disappointed or upset.”
This sudden announcement raises suspicions about what setback Lukashenko may have encountered within a day. The abrupt resignation move, could it be a prelude to fleeing early? Moreover, on the 19th, Lukashenko softened his tone, stating, “If Russia or we use tactical nuclear weapons, we may have almost no allies left.”
One might wonder: while Zelensky and Lukashenko are openly making statements, where is Putin? At this moment, Putin paid a two-day visit to Azerbaijan, arriving late at night.
While Ukrainian troops breached into Russian territory and continued to expand their areas of control, Putin visited Azerbaijan to meet his allies at this critical juncture. Analysts believe that this move signifies that, with China and North Korea showing signs of selective amnesia, refusing to send troops to Russia as per the recently signed “Strategic Partnership Agreement,” Russia is facing shortages in military supplies and manpower, compelling Putin to seek assistance from his usual allies to address the urgent situation.
The current situation can be quite harsh—when you are strong, numerous “relatives” and “friends” will appear out of nowhere, but when you are down or losing power, all you see is a scattering of monkeys as the tree falls.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs just announced that Prime Minister Modi will visit Ukraine and Poland this month, marking Modi’s first visit to Ukraine after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. In July, just hours before Modi visited Moscow, Russian artillery struck several Ukrainian towns, destroying a children’s hospital in Kyiv, resulting in dozens of deaths. The embrace between Modi and Putin at the time infuriated Zelensky.
Analysts suggest that besides commercial interests, Modi’s visit to Moscow aimed to achieve a certain balance with China in terms of diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region. Now, within a month, not only has India shifted its stance, but China has also changed its attitude.
According to a report by “Business Insider” on August 14, in June this year, China had just opened five banks in the northeastern region to handle Russia’s payment transactions. However, presently, the vast majority of Chinese banks, even small local banks, have started refusing to accept payments from Russia. It seems that the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s rhetoric about endless, limitless, and unrestricted strategic cooperation between China and Russia is nothing but empty talk, just like all the other historical claims made by China.
The most surprising turn of events comes from Turkey. Turkey recently announced that due to an error by its international transport company, 31 reconnaissance attack drones and their matching missiles, intended for a third country, were mistakenly shipped to Ukraine. What’s frustrating is that Turkey subsequently stated that Ukraine must return these drones and missiles by 2030 and advised against retaining or using these weapons; otherwise, a $7,000 fine would be imposed.
Turkey seems too mischievous; delivering weapons to Ukraine is one thing, but the subsequent recommendations and the significant fine are clearly meant to frustrate Russian military leaders, only serving to stoke tensions. It’s getting out of hand.
I have always believed that in addition to the concrete aspects of attack and defense on the battlefield, warfare is about momentum. It is apparent that when Ukrainian forces entered Russian territory, the morale of the Ukrainian military has significantly improved, and even in their propaganda, they are starting to adopt a more assertive and flamboyant approach.
That concludes this edition of “Current Affairs Scan.” We need your support, so please subscribe to our channel, support us, like, comment, and share our content. Your direct financial support would be greatly appreciated. Until next time.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: [link]
Subscribe to “Clean World” channel: [link]