If Europe’s goal was to ruin Donald Trump’s chances of brokering a practical diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, they may have succeeded. France and Britain are both openly suggesting that they will deploy troops to the region to “help secure a peace deal” in the near term – There are very few other takers, largely because the move will undoubtedly trigger WWIII.
In fact, this is likely the intention.
With Russia making the largest territorial gains year-over-year since 2022 and Ukraine’s troop strength dwindling, the end of the war looms. Either Kyiv will be forced to surrender or Trump will score a rudimentary peace agreement and a ceasefire. The best case scenario for Ukraine at present is a separation of the Donbas into Russia (one of the original reasons for the war), and a demilitarized zone with a solidified border. Ukraine has no chance of reclaiming these territories through strength of arms.
Case in point: Vladimir Putin has initiated the largest troop call-up since 2011, mobilizing over 160,000 men with no signs of slowing Russia’s recruitment efforts. The spring call-up for military service came several months after Putin said Russia should increase the overall size of its military to almost 2.39 million and its number of active servicemen to 1.5 million.
That is a rise of another 180,000 over the next three years at the current rate. The Kremlin states that the new troops are not expected to enter Ukraine, and will more likely be used to secure the western border. This move comes as Poland and other NATO countries within ground invasion proximity to Russia engage in a build up on pretenses of defense.
Whether or not this is true is difficult to determine because of French and British plans for troop deployments to Ukraine. Even if calls for boots on the ground turn out to be pure bluster, the buildup in Poland and the troop increases in Russia might be enough to trigger an escalation. Furthermore, new troops are traditionally called up right before a major offensive so that fresh soldiers can be deployed to fill expected losses after six months to a year.
The fact is, the powers-that-be intend for tensions with Russia to continue no matter what happens in Ukraine. And, Russia my be getting ready to preempt the arrival of European forces.
Russia calls up conscripts in the spring and autumn but the latest draft of 160,000 young men is 10,000 higher than the same period in 2024.
Since the start of last year, the pool of young men available for the draft has been increased by raising the maximum age from 27 to 30 (to put this in perspective, the average age of conscripts in Ukraine is now 43).
Though the long running narrative in the establishment media has been that Russian forces are “tapped out” and shattered after unprecedented losses on the front lines, ongoing gains in Eastern Ukraine along with growing troop strength show that this was nothing more than propaganda.
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