Monday, October 31, 2022

Winding out our "Virtual Route 66" For October 2022: Some Final #RandomThoughts

 

 



As we finished our Virtual Route 66 journey for the month of October, our team pulled together additional thoughts and updates as US Elections Loom, Brazil Elections loom, the War in Ukraine drags on and the World is witness to Revolution in Iran, yet again with thoughts courtesy Politico, The Financial Times, The Economist of London, real Clear Politics and Helen Cox Richardson:

Biden and Dems About to Reap Electoral Whirlwind

James Antle, DC Examiner

Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas speaks during an interview.

“This is why I’m saying that the breaking point might be close: the people around Putin are also feeling the consequences of this war, and they are not happy with the results,” Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. | Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo

 

Russia is reaching its “breaking point,” according to Estonia’s prime minister, as allies of Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN wobble in their support for the war in Ukraine.

The political, economic and military pressure is taking an increasingly large toll on Moscow, Estonian PM KAJA KALLAS told NatSec Daily in a Zoom interview Wednesday. It’s already known that some of Putin’s friends, including Wagner Group founder YEVGENIY PRIGOZHIN , have privately vented their frustrations to the Kremlin boss. Kallas hinted, though didn’t explicitly say, that Tallinn has intelligence of other angry oligarchs. And there’s public evidence of mounting disappointment on nationalist Telegram channels and state-run television .

The military isn’t happy either, Kallas said, noting that troops don’t have the requisite gear or weapons to hold territory against Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

“This is why I’m saying that the breaking point might be close: the people around Putin are also feeling the consequences of this war, and they are not happy with the results,” the prime minister said.

Kallas has long been one of Europe’s most hardline advocates for tightening the vise around Putin. The 45-year-old premier grew up in the Soviet Union , which annexed Estonia after World War II. She heard family stories about how her mother and grandmother were deported to Siberia in an effort to eradicate the Estonian elite.

It explains why Kallas, alongside her Baltic colleagues , continues to push Europe to increase support for Ukraine and thwart Russia’s aims.

“I encourage other leaders to send all the military [equipment] that they have,” she told NatSec Daily. “We have definitely done it on our side.” She noted that Estonia provided Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank missiles a week before the invasion started.