The war in Ukraine is grinding on - with the Russians advancing from east to west. There are no "10,000 North Korean troops" fighting in the Ukraine war. Russia has 700,000 troops on the ground in Ukraine.
As of 2024, Russia's reserve forces are estimated to be around 2,000,000.Russia has 1.32 million active military personnel and 250,000 paramilitary forces
That is 3.57 million troops in all. Where do 10,000 North Korean troops fit in?
In the past month Russian troops have captured over 1,000 sq km of territory in Ukraine. The core areas of the Donetsk are almost completely over run by Russian forces.
Mr Putin wants a comprehensive or broad peace settlement to this war. If Russia completely overruns Ukraine there may be less likelihood of that - the western sanctions against Russia will continue.
But if enough Ukraine territory remains unoccupied by Russia (thus also preserving the lives of Russian troops) enough to maintain a viable Ukrainian state, the West may be more willing to negotiate terms. Mr Putin wants those sanctions against Russia to be lifted. Especially selling gas to Germany.
Mr Putin also has two other major factors in his favour. The Republican victory in the US and the new Donald Trump administration are not in favour of this war. Meaning they are NOT anti Russia. Come January 20th 2025 Donald Trump is going to make major changes.
The second factor is the German elections due on 28th September, 2025. That is only 10 months away. Olaf Quisling Scholz will be most certainly kicked out. If all the winds blow in the right direction, who knows the ultra-right wing AfD (Alternative for Germany) party may just win the elections. But most certainly there is going to be a sea change in German politics. The German people are getting fed up with all this NATO, EU and Ursula van der Lyin bullshit. There will be less animosity towards Russia.
Time and the progress of the war are in Mr Putin's favour.
