‘Next month could decide Ukraine conflict – Macron’ and ‘Ex-Nato chief proposes Ukraine joins without Russian-occupied territories’ HWA on the ‘King of the Medes’

Ukraine and Russian-occupied/annexed territories as of 11 November 2023
(From Viewsridge via Wikipedia)

There may be changes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict soon:

Next month could decide Ukraine conflict – Macron

November 11, 2023

The Ukraine conflict could reach a turning point by the end of this year, French President Emmanuel Macron has predicted, several months into Kiev’s counteroffensive, which has so far failed to make significant gains. However, he ruled out the possibility of Ukraine opening talks with Russia in the foreseeable future. …

Regarding a possible cessation of hostilities, Macron suggested that it is “not yet” time for Ukraine to come to the negotiating table with Russia, and that a decision on the matter should be made by Kiev independently. However, he said that at some point it might be possible to “have fair and good negotiations, and to come back to the table and find a solution with Russia”.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has been underway since early June, but the frontline remains largely unchanged. …

US network NBC News reported last week that Western officials were engaged in “delicate” talks with Kiev to see whether it could consider some concessions to Russia to end the fighting. According to the article, the calls were driven by fears in the West that the hostilities have “reached a stalemate,” and that Ukraine is “running out of forces.”

Russia has repeatedly said it is open to talks with Kiev. Last autumn, however, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree banning all negotiations with the current leadership in Moscow after four former Ukrainian regions overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in public referendums. https://www.rt.com/news/587058-macron-ukraine-december-conflict/

Without more money and weapons from the USA and Europe, Ukraine has little hope to beat back Russia.

Officially losing Donbas, Luhansk, and Crimea is not what Ukraine’s President Zelensky wants. But a negotiated settlement would tend to mean that Russia would hold on to Crimea and much of the Donbas as Russian territory. The Kyiv regime has not wanted that to be seriously considered, but may find that as its best course of action.

But Ukraine may conclude that it has little choice.

Notice the following related to USA support of Ukraine:

Funding delays have forced the US to begin restricting the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has only $1 billion left to replenish stocks of weapons that were sent to the country, according to a spokeswoman. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-09/pentagon-says-it-s-throttling-ukraine-aid-as-funding-push-stalls#xj4y7vzkg

DOD used 95% of the initial $62.3 billion that it had in Ukraine supplemental resources, from when the full-scale invasion by Russia into Ukraine occurred in February 2022.

All of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding has been expended, she said. A small amount of presidential drawdown authority funding is available, but packages to Ukraine have been getting smaller and smaller, she said. 11/09/23 https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3585998/dod-implores-congress-to-provide-ukraine-defense-funding/

Furthermore, if USA funding and weapons stop (and right now it has been slowed down), this may embolden Russia to go for even more territory. This is something that the Zelensky regime may wish to consider–and this may also get it to consider negotiations soon.

As long time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, for many years I have written that at least part of the territory that Ukraine claims would ultimately be supportive of Russia. We have seen some of that already, and perhaps we will see Ukraine officially accept at least some territorial loss.

Specifically in 2013, I warned that Russia would end up with territory claimed by Ukraine well before it happened in Crimea. Furthermore, on February 22, 2022, two days before Russia’s ‘special military operation’ into Ukraine began, I posted: “I expect that Donetsk and Luhansk will either be annexed by Russia and/or join its Eurasian Economic Union.” That happened in 2022.

As far as Crimea goes, last April, it was reported that, Ukraine ‘Ready’ To Give Up Crimea, Says Zelensky Advisor.

The following also looked like a hint to Ukraine to abandon retaking various territories:

Ex-Nato chief proposes Ukraine joins without Russian-occupied territories

11 November 2023

A former Nato secretary general has put forward a proposal for Ukraine to join the military alliance but stripped of the territories occupied by Russia.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen has long worked alongside Andriy Yermak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, particularly ahead of the last Nato summit in Vilnius this year that ended with no invitation for Ukraine to join. …

Those advocating for Ukraine’s Nato membership have been hamstrung by the near-impossibility of a country at war being offered membership, since under Nato’s article 5 clause of collective self-defence, all Nato member states are required to come to the active defence of the country in conflict. Nato membership for all of Ukraine now would in effect be a notice to Russia by Nato that it was about to go to war with Moscow.

By excluding from Nato territory held by Russia, the threat of a Russia-Nato conflict would be reduced, Rasmussen argues.

Rasmussen denied the move would freeze the conflict, ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia. He said: “The absolute credibility of article 5 guarantees would deter Russia from mounting attacks inside the Ukrainian territory inside Nato and so free up Ukrainian forces to go to the frontline.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/11/ex-nato-chief-proposes-ukraine-joins-without-russian-occupied-territories

Despite Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s denial, such a move would in essence cede territory to Russia and, furthermore, may not stop Russia from launching attacks into the ‘Nato’ Ukrainian territory, unless Ukraine stopped attacking Russian controlled territory.

Consider also that Russia reportedly hit Kiev today:

November 11, 2023

Two loud explosions have been heard in the centre of Kyiv shortly before air alert sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital, regularly targeted by Russian missiles.

“According to preliminary information, air defence worked against ballistic weapons. Alert continues, stay in shelters,” city mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.

“No casualties have been reported so far,” he added.

AFP journalists saw two lines of white smoke in the sky, probably left by two Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence missiles, just before the two explosions. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/11/ukraines-kyiv-comes-under-attack-for-first-time-in-months-mayor-says

Declaring part of Ukraine as in NATO and parts not in NATO would not seem to be an effective strategy to deter Russia. Most NATO leaders, I suspect, realize this and likely prefer a negotiated settlement of the conflict before allowing Ukraine to join.

Furthermore, do not think that one day, Russia will not be involved in a major attack against Europe.

Russia is the biblical “king of the Medes.”

The Bible prophesies that the ‘kings of the Medes’ will one day turn against the final end time Babylon power, which will be based in Europe:

1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw…

17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Isaiah 13:1, 17-19)

11 Make the arrows bright!
Gather the shields!
The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the Lord,
The vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)

This will ultimately not end well for Europe, but is not to occur until nearly 3 1/2 years after the start of the Great Tribulation. Notice that this will involve a people from the north (Russia is the only major power north of much of Europe):

50:41 “Behold, a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings
Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth.
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance;
They are cruel and shall not show mercy.
Their voice shall roar like the sea;
They shall ride on horses,
Set in array, like a man for the battle,
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

43 “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands grow feeble;
Anguish has taken hold of him,
Pangs as of a woman in childbirth…”(Jeremiah 50:41-43).

8 O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us! 9 Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock! (Psalms 137:8-9)

Yes, a Russian-led power will destroy end-time, European Babylon.

The late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, concurred with this as he stated:

Russia to Destroy This Babylon

Now, God is going to use Russia to destroy this Babylon; we’ve been seeing that, we’ve been going through a lot of the prophecies about it.

Now let’s see, let’s get back here right to the place where we were winding up in the preceding program, in verse twenty-five, I think that’s the last verse we had, let me just read that one verse over again:

“I strike at you, says the Eternal, you volcano, ruining the world! I will lay hands on you and level you, and leave you all extinct; (Jeremiah 51:25 Moffatt).

Now the ancient city Babylon has been extinct. Of course Babylon was a city that ruled as an empire over a number of other peoples; it ruled over the Medes and the Persians and the Assyrians and a number of other people — in fact the whole world at that time. Actually it ruled pretty much over Egypt at that time, and it ruled over the world. And the city Babylon was destroyed and has not existed.

But now Babylon becomes this whole dictatorship that is coming up, a combined dictatorship of ten dictators, probably all in Europe …

“Raise your standard [God says of ancient Babylon, raise your… or this modern daughter of Babylon really…] raise your standard on the earth, blow the trumpet among the nations, open the campaign against her, summon the realms — Armenia, Mannai, Ashkenaz; muster your troops against her, cavalry swarming like locusts. Open the campaign against her with Media’s king, his satraps and his regents, and all his domain.” (Jeremiah 51:27, Moffatt).

Media’s King

Now, who’s He talking about? Media’s king — his satraps, his regents and all his domain. Who is that? It’s a number of nations. Well I’ve been showing you my friends that Media in prophecy refers today, where it’s mentioned, to USSR, the Soviet Communist Russia. Now we read back here in verse eleven:

“Polish your arrows, scour your armor — the Eternal is stirring {2} up Media’s king, planning to ruin Babylon. This is the Eternal’s vengeance…” (Jeremiah 51:11, Moffatt). …

Now verse nine;

“…For here I am rousing against Babylon a horde of nations from the North, to battle with her mightily until they master her, shooting like expert archers, who never go empty handed;” (Jeremiah 50:9 Moffatt)

Now they were not any horde of nations that came against the ancient Babylon 600 years before Christ, but this is talking of the time now. (Armstrong HW. Prophecies for the Future. Radio broadcast. https://www.hwalibrary.com/cgi-bin/get/hwa.cgi?action=getbroadcast&InfoID=1393256340)

Let me add that until I was finishing this post today, I had not seen that from Herbert Armstrong. But shared his comments here to show all that what I have been warning is consistent with how he viewed some of the same scriptures I referred to related to Russia and the King of the Medes.

That said, Russia has held Crimea for close to a decade.

Furthermore, after holding referendums, Russia annexed additional parts of eastern Ukraine:

On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. The boundaries of the areas to be annexed and their borders were not defined; Russian officials stated that they would be defined later. …

On 20 September, the authorities of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Luhansk People’s Republic, as well as the occupation administrations of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast, announced referendums on joining Russia on 23–27 September.^[18]

On 27 September, Russian officials claimed that the accession “referendum” in Zaporizhzhia Oblast passed, with 93.11% of voters in favour of joining the Russian Federation.^[19]

… On 30 September, Putin signed accession treaties with the four pro-Russian leaders of the regions, Leonid Pasechnik, Head of the Luhansk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Volodymyr Saldo, governor of the Kherson Oblast.^[26] The exact boundaries of the territories declared annexed were however not legally defined, with the drafts of final annexation documents recursively referring to territories “on the day of the admission to the Russian Federation” and on the day of “the formation of a new constituent entity within the Russian Federation”, both being prospective future events.^[26] (Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. Wikipedia, accessed 04/06/23)