July 22, 2023

1. The President has instructed Russian special services to closely monitor the developments.

Responding to Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin’s information that officials in Warsaw are beginning to understand that Ukraine will be defeated in only the matter of time, and they are getting more intent on taking the western parts of Ukraine under control by deploying their troops there by the Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian security initiative, the so-called Lublin Triangle, President Putin made critical remarks to such idea at the recent national Security Council.

Amongst other points he outlined are the following considerations.

It is clear today that the Western curators of the Kiev regime are certainly disappointed with the results of the counteroffensive that the current Ukrainian authorities announced in previous months. There are no results, at least for now. The colossal resources that were pumped into the Kiev regime, the supply of Western weapons, such as tanks, artillery, armored vehicles and missiles, and the deployment of thousands of foreign mercenaries and advisers, who were most actively used in attempts to break through the front of our army, are not helping.

Meanwhile, the commanders of the Special Military Operation are acting professionally. Our soldiers, officers and units are fulfilling their duty to the Motherland courageously, steadfastly and heroically. At the same time, the whole world sees that the vaunted Western, supposedly invulnerable, military equipment is on fire, and is often even inferior to some of the Soviet-made weapons in terms of its tactical and technical characteristics.

Yes, of course, more Western weapons can be supplied and thrown into battle. This, of course, causes us some damage and prolongs the conflict.

The main thing is that formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffered huge losses as a result of self-destructive attacks: tens of thousands of people.

And, despite the constant raids and the incessant waves of total mobilisation in Ukrainian cities and villages, it is increasingly difficult for the current regime to send new soldiers to the front. The country’s mobilisation resource is being depleted.

People in Ukraine are asking a legitimate question more often: for what, for the sake of whose selfish interests, are their relatives and friends dying. Gradually, slowly, but clarity comes.

We can see the public opinion changing in Europe, too. Both the Europeans and European elites see that support for Ukraine is, in fact, a dead end, an empty, endless waste of money and effort, and in fact, serving someone else’s interests, which are far from European: the interests of the overseas global hegemon, which benefits from the weakening of Europe. The endless prolongation of the Ukrainian conflict is also beneficial to it.

Judging by the actual state of affairs, this is exactly what today’s US ruling elites are doing. Anyways, this is the logic they follow. It is largely questionable whether such a policy is in line with the American people’s true, vital interests; this is a rhetorical question, and it is up to them to decide.

However, massive efforts are being taken to stoke the fire of war – including by exploiting the ambitions of certain East European leaders, who have long turned their hatred for Russia and Russophobia into their key export commodity and a tool of their domestic policy. And now they want to capitalise on the Ukrainian tragedy.

In this regard, I cannot refrain from commenting on what has just been said and on media reports that have come out about plans to establish some sort of the so-called Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian unit. This is not about a group of mercenaries – there are plenty of them there and they are being destroyed [author’s note: nearly 5,000 have been killed] – but about a well-organised, equipped regular military unit to be used for operations in Ukraine, including to allegedly ensure the security of today’s Western Ukraine – actually, to call things by their true name, for the subsequent occupation of these territories. The outlook is clear: in the event Polish forces enter, say, Lvov or other Ukrainian territories, they will stay there, and they will stay there for good.

And we will actually see nothing new. Just to remind you, following WWI, after the defeat of Germany and its allies, Polish units occupied Lvov and adjacent territories that had been part of Austria-Hungary.

With its actions incited by the West, Poland took advantage of the tragedy of the Civil War in Russia and annexed certain historical Russian provinces. In dire straits, our country had to sign the Treaty of Riga in 1921 and recognise the annexation of its territories.

Even earlier, back in 1920, Poland captured part of Lithuania – the Vilnius region, a territory surrounding the present-day Vilnius. So they claimed that they fought together with the Lithuanians against so-called Russian imperialism, but then immediately snatched a piece of land from their neighbour as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

As is well known, Poland also took part in the partition of Czechoslovakia following the Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler in 1938, by fully occupying Cieszyn Silesia.

In the 1920-1930s, Poland’s Eastern Borderlands (Kresy) – a territory that comprises present-day Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and part of Lithuania – witnessed a tough policy of Polonisation and assimilation of local residents, with efforts to suppress local culture and Orthodoxy.

I would also like to remind you what Poland’s aggressive policy led to. It led to the national tragedy of 1939, when Poland’s Western allies threw it to the German wolf, the German miliary machine. Poland actually lost its independence and statehood, which were only restored thanks in a large measure to the Soviet Union. It was also thanks to the Soviet Union and thanks to Stalin’s position that Poland acquired substantial territory in the west, German territory. It is a fact that Poland’s western lands are a gift from Stalin.

Have our Warsaw friends forgotten this? We will remind them.

They are ready to sell anything, including people and land, just like their ideological forefathers led by Petlyura, who signed the so-called secret conventions with Poland in 1920 under which they ceded Galicia and Western Volhynia to Poland in return for military support. Traitors like them are ready now to open the gate to their foreign handlers and to sell Ukraine again.

As for the Polish leaders, they probably hope to form a coalition under the NATO umbrella in order to directly intervene in the conflict in Ukraine and to bite off as much as possible, to “regain,” as they see it, their historical territories, that is, modern-day Western Ukraine. It is also common knowledge that they dream about Belarusian land.

Regarding the policy of the Ukrainian regime, it is none of our business. If they want to relinquish or sell off something in order to pay their bosses, as traitors usually do, that’s their business. We will not interfere.

But Belarus is part of the Union State, and launching an aggression against Belarus would mean launching an aggression against the Russian Federation. We will respond to that with all the resources available to us.

The Polish authorities, who are nurturing their revanchist ambitions, hide the truth from their people. The truth is that the Ukrainian cannon fodder is no longer enough for the West. That is why it is planning to use other expendables – Poles, Lithuanians and everyone else they do not care about.

I can tell you that this is an extremely dangerous game, and the authors of such plans should think about the consequences.

Mr Naryshkin, I hope that your service, just as the other special services, will closely monitor the developments.

2. MoD reveals details of deadly Ukrainian strike on Russian reporters

One journalist was killed and four others wounded in the attack in Zaporozhye Region, the Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed on July 22.  Ukraine used cluster munitions in the shelling of a group of Russian journalists in Zaporozhye Region, killing RIA Novosti news agency correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev, the Russian Defense Ministry has said the same day.

The attack, which targeted crews from RIA Novosti and Izvestia media outlets, took place at around noon. According to the statement, RIA Novosti and Izvestia news crews arrived in the area “to prepare reports on the shelling of settlements in Zaporozhye Region with cluster munitions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

The US announced the delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine earlier this month, saying the move was necessary due to a shortage of regular artillery rounds among Kiev’s Western backers. The controversial shells, which contain multiple bomblets that are dispersed over a large area and put civilians at risk, have been banned in more than 100 countries. However, Ukraine, the US and Russia aren’t among the signatories of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM).

Washington claimed that Kiev had promised to deploy cluster munitions responsibly and steer clear of densely populated areas. On July 20, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that the Ukrainian forces had begun using US-supplied cluster rounds in its operations.

Russian Foreign Ministry has warned that those who were involved in the brutal attack on Russian journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev will be held accountable, and responsibility will also be shared by the suppliers of cluster bombs to Kiev, namely the USA.

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3. Ukraine also attacked Russia's Belgorod Region with cluster munitions

A village in Belgorod Region was targeted with cluster munitions Vyacheslav Gladkov, local Governor, said on July 22.

At least three cluster munitions were employed by Kiev's forces during a large-scale attack on the settlement of Zhuravlevka. According to him, 21 artillery shells and ten mortar rounds were also fired at the village. It was also targeted by a kamikaze drone.

No casualties or damage were repoted in Zhuravlevka as a result of the shelling, Gladkov said.

So, up to now it was the third recent cluster munitions attack made by Ukraine.

Previously, in 2022 it shelled heavily Donbass by using them. Russia never responded to such earlier attacks.

4. Moscow listed seven conditions for grain deal resumption

Restrictions on Russia’s agricultural exports and supporting infrastructure should be lifted, Dmitry Polyansky, the Russian Deputy UN envoy said on July 21. Russia is ready to rejoin the grain deal brokered by the UN and Türkiye, but only on the condition that Western nations and Ukraine meet their long-standing obligations, he added.

Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the Black Sea Initiative, he noted that Russia’s decision to withdraw from the pact, which sought to unblock agricultural exports, “should not have come as a surprise to anyone” given that nothing has been done to address Moscow’s grievances.

The diplomat stressed that Russia recognizes the importance of the grain deal for global food supplies and is “ready to consider returning to it, but only… if all the previously agreed principles of Russia’s participation in this deal are fully taken on board and… implemented without exception.”

In his words, while all obstacles to Russian financial institutions involved in the sector must also be removed, including their reconnection to the SWIFT payment system. Russia should once again enjoy an uninterrupted supply of spare parts and components for agricultural machinery, the diplomat said, adding that all issues related to vessel freight and insurance of Russian food exports must also be resolved. Another requirement, Polyansky continued, is that there should be no impediments to expanding Russian exports of fertilizer materials, including the restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, which was seriously damaged last month by Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, all Russian assets related to the agricultural sector must be released.

And as a seventh and final condition, the grain deal itself “must recover its initial humanitarian nature” and serve to alleviate food issues in developing countries rather than making rich countries even richer.

Moscow withdrew from the grain deal on Monday, with Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov describing the arrangement as a “one-sided game” and noting that none of Russia’s long-standing demands had been met.

On July 19, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that effective at midnight Moscow time on July 20, Russia, in connection with the termination of the grain deal, will consider all ships destined for Ukrainian ports traversing the Black Sea to be carriers of military cargo.

Russian MFA announced that it has the right to inspect ships in Black Sea if necessary. "Now there is no maritime humanitarian corridor; there are already zones of increased military danger," Sergey Vershinin, the Deputy Foreign Minister, said. "This means an inquiry, an inspection, if necessary, to make sure whether this is true or not," stressed. He called this approach "completely logical, especially after the attacks that took place." "Now there is no maritime humanitarian corridor; there are already zones of increased military danger," he clarified.

In its turn, Kiev threatened to sink civilian ships bound for Russia.