By David Sole, September 26, 2026 – https://fighting-words.net/
The U.S. proxy war using Ukraine to fight Russia began in February 2014 with a U.S. sponsored coup in the capital of Kiev. For eight years the U.S. and its NATO allies built up the Ukraine military which was the expansion of neo-Nazi Ukrainian militias. Ethnic Russian areas in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine refused to accept the right-wing coup regime and declared their independence. These areas declared themselves as the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics. Russia also took control of the Crimean Peninsula.
The year 2014 can therefore be properly cited as the start of the war. With Ukraine’s military buildup, the infusion of U.S. military personnel, CIA facilities and tens of billions of heavy weaponry, and the threat of Ukraine entering NATO, Russia launched its Special Military Operation in February 2022. There was no way Russia was going to allow US/NATO bases and nuclear weapons on its 1000-mile border with Ukraine.
Now into its fifth year, the Special Military Operation is steadily crushing the Ukrainian proxy armies. The northern front currently has significant Ukrainian army units completely encircled, with no prospects of breaking out. These are in the north of the Kharkov province. The Ukraine government regularly denies Russian claims, until they are forced to acknowledge defeat. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not announced victories until well after victory has been established.
In the southern front of Zaporizhzhia province, Russian forces are fighting Ukrainian military inside their strongly fortified city of Orekhov.
In the central Donetsk region Russia has steadily moved to drive out the Ukrainians. Over the past two years fortified cities have fallen, one by one, with heavy losses by the Ukrainians. Only the fortress cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk stand in Russia’s way of complete control of the Donetsk People’s Republic. In this battle even Western media are being forced to admit Ukraine’s prospects are grim. The BBC reported on September 10, 2026
It is so dangerous now in Slovyansk and Kramatorsk that police say it is time for civilians to get out. These neighboring cities are the biggest still under full Ukrainian control in the eastern Donbas region….Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka, to the south, form part of what is known as Ukraine’s “fortress belt” – a system of heavily reinforced defense lines in the east.
However, Kostyantynivka only has a limited presence of Ukrainian troops left, reports say, while Russia claims to be in full control of it.
The Russian army already controls almost all of Luhansk region and is now in control of almost 80% of Donetsk region too, where all three fortress cities lie.
For the past few months, the territory near Kramatorsk and Slovyansk has been the main focus of Russian ground assaults. Capturing them would potentially make it much easier for Russia to advance to the west. https://www.bbc.com/news/
Ukraine also has no anti-aircraft defenses left, giving Russia complete control of the skies. On every battle front this is weakening Ukrainian resistance. But it also has given the Russian the ability to destroy Ukraine’s economy and war making capabilities. Russia has effectively closed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, including the maritime trade through Odessa, a city of over one million people. This one port city handles more than 60% of Ukraine’s total merchandise exports and up to 90% of its grain shipments.
Russian bombing is also systematically destroying Ukraine’s railways, data centers, and recently forced the shutdown of Ukraine’ss largest steel factory. In August another Ukrainian steel maker suspended all operations due to Russian missile attacks.
Europe and the U.S. continue to finance this proxy war. Even if it now seems clear Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, they hope it will still weaken that nation. According to the New York Times of September 9, “The European Union, a key backer, had earlier this year finalized a loan of more than $100 billion for [Ukraine]. But Ukraine now faced an unexpectedly large defense budget shortfall, President Volodymyr Zelensky told allies. To get through the year, he would need $27 billion more.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/
Meeting these demands is made more difficult for European leaders because of the well known and continuing corruption in the Ukraine government. A September 9 New York Times report said it all in a headline: “In Ukraine, Fraud and Waste Are Rewarded With More Weapons Contracts. Secret military audits reveal a military procurement system riddled with mismanagement. In 2024 alone, Ukraine lost $1.2 billion to fraud and waste.
The Europeans have been willing agents of U.S. imperialism and taken on more of the funding of the proxy war while the Trump regime has pivoted toward greater confrontation with the People’s Republic of China. But no one should believe that the U.S. has given up its part in the proxy war. This became clear in August when “The US Department of State has notified Congress of a proposed Turkish transfer to Ukraine of 12 M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System launchers and 70 M39 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, along with M26 rockets and 203mm artillery rounds.
Because the weapons are US-origin, Turkey requires Washington’s approval to re-export them to a third country.” https://thedefensepost.com/
Trump also made a big show of calling on Ukraine’s President Zelensky to halt drone attacks on Russian diesel gas refineries. Those attacks supposedly have led Russia to halt export of diesel fuel, driving up world diesel prices. This was done as a public relations show directed to U.S. truckers and farmers who are suffering from high fuel costs. What the media have ignored is that the Ukrainian drone flights deep into Ukraine require U.S. military satellite targeting to proceed.
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