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Commentary – Aug 26, 2026

Reports are coming in that Putin may be about to order another mass mobilisation. In itself this is significant but to find out why you first have to wade through a swathe of Western media disinformation.

Euronews speaks of “forced recruitment” for Russians, as if many Russians opposed the war in Ukraine. They don’t. It isn’t popular but most Russians view it as an unpleasant necessity and the only side that has employed “forced recruitment” thus far has been Ukraine.

Mobilisation fears grip Russians as Kremlin’s forced recruitment spikes
https://www.euronews.com/2026/08/25/mobilisation-fears-grip-russians-as-kremlins-forced-recruitment-spikes

Meanwhile the Telegraph claims that this might be Putin’s “Afghan War moment”, as if Russia was on the verge of defeat. It is not. Russian forces have been advancing steadily west and will soon be in a position to take Odessa, Ukraine’s sole remaining port.

Putin will soon order a full mobilisation. This may be his ‘Boys in Zinc’ moment
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/putin-soon-order-full-mobilisation-161246738.html

While CNN reports on the expected Russian mobilisation by quoting President Zelensky at length, without questioning his claims about Russian casualties or how he will carry out his threat to kill all of Russia’s newly mobilised troops.

Russia likely to mobilize at least 300,000 more troops to Ukraine war, Zelensky warns
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/23/europe/zelensky-ukraine-russia-mobilization-intl

In all the above reports the Western media is acting as a propaganda mouthpiece for Western intelligence in their efforts to wage a proxy war with Russia, using Ukrainians as cannon fodder.

However, the mainstream western media commentary misses a crucial point, maybe intentionally so.

The Russian advance has continued slowly and deliberately for over a year now. Significantly, Russian forces haven’t taken anything like the number of casualties that Zelensky boasts about.

In fact the Russian Army has gone out of its way to avoid taking unnecessary casualties. As a result its advance has been slower and more methodical than would otherwise be the case. Nonetheless the Russian advance has proceeded and now Odessa, Ukraine’s sole remaining port and a vital artery for Western military supplies is within sight.

It may be some time before Russia seizes Odessa but if and when that happens Kiev will be totally isolated. Then it will only be a matter of time before the regime in Kiev succumbs.

In the midst of its efforts to disparage Putin and portray Russian forces as spent, the Western MSM fails to ask why Putin may be about to order another mass mobilisation. Particularly when, despite what the western media claims, Russian forces continue to advance.


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If it happens, the new Russian mobilization would come in addition to the recent deployment of thousands of North Korean troops in Russia and Ukraine.

The scale of the proposed mobilization and the North Korean troop deployment suggests that Putin may be doing more than preparing to step up the campaign in Ukraine. He may indeed be preparing to directly confront Ukraine’s backers in Europe.

So, this website believes that the prospect of a wider war spreading beyond Ukraine is now a very real possibility.

Finally, another indicator that a broader military escalation is on the cards emerged earlier this week. When CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly arrived in Moscow on an unannounced trip on Tuesday. The last CIA director known to have travelled to Moscow was William Burns in November 2021, only months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.