With 700,000 Russian troops under pressure, this was not an ordinary force movement, but Russia’s most oppressive military declaration since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Just as this torrent of steel rolled towards the front line, a large number of arms from the West were quietly crossing the border to Kiev.
The rhythm of the battlefield has changed. Whether it is the Russian army's troop dispatch or the speed of Western military aid, they are accelerating significantly. NATO has publicly increased its support, and Ukraine is no longer just a defensive response. Both the front and rear lines are heating up simultaneously.
And at this crucial moment, Putin’s most important old partner suddenly resigned, which was not a simple personal change.
Troops, military aid, and personnel seem to be in charge of each other, but in fact they are like three strands of rope, tightening in the same direction. What is the plan behind this?
700,000 Russian troops under pressure: from “limited war” to “total bet”
This time, Putin no longer embraced the scale of the war in vague language, and he personally admitted that more than 700,000 Russian troops have been deployed in the direction of Ukraine.
And this number, which accounts for almost three-quarters of the Russian army's active force, is so heavy that it is evident that it is not only for strengthening the eastern positions, but for a "decisive" psychological and resource battle on the battlefield.
In the past few months, the Russian army's tactical operations have changed significantly. Instead of gnawing city by city, it has begun to accurately attack the rear lifeline of Ukraine.
Railways, power stations, logistics warehouses became the “preferred targets” for Russian missiles and drones, and in mid-September, a high-speed hypersonic missile destroyed a newly arrived NATO weapons train.
This tactic of "turning back, cutting off supply" has already begun to show effect, the Ukrainian army was embroiled in the Redman direction almost unmovable, and Kupyansk was also caught in extreme passivity.
The logistics line was cut off, the troops lacked food and ammunition, and the front line naturally could not withstand. And behind this round of tactical changes is the support of the 700,000 troops. Russia wants to use its size to crush and strike preciselyThe Ukrainian army was dragged into a two-line collapse of "bloody front and exhausted back".
But more notably, this is not a simple tactical escalation, but a Russian redefinition of the nature of war: it is not a continuation of “special military operations” but a systematic concentration of resources and a comprehensive bet.
Western military assistance: NATO crosses the red line, Russia reacts more fiercely
Almost simultaneously with the upgrading of the Russian military force, a new channel for military assistance was officially opened.
In the face of the US Congress's delay in approving aid to Ukraine, Europe no longer waits, NATO launched a new mechanism called the "Ukrainian Priority List" (PURL), no longer relying on the US Congress's allocation process, but collectively funded by European countries, directly purchasing U.S. products or owned equipment, and quickly transferring Ukraine.
As soon as this mechanism was launched, the first batch of US $1 billion in military aid was finalized, including the "Patriot" air defense system and the "Haimas" long-range rocket launcher, all going straight to Kiev.
Zelensky, of course, was pleased with this, but Moscow’s reaction was extremely angry, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said directly: all Western weapons entering Ukraine are legitimate targets.
Whether it is in transport, or just arrived, or is being loaded, it will be destroyed priority.
The latest Russian air strike targets have shifted from the battlefront to the transportation hubs and material scattered in western Ukraine.
Particularly in cities close to the border, which are successively hit, this method is not complicated and the purpose is no longer concealed – that is, to block the “garlic” of aid materials.
The West continues to send in arms, and the Russian army "cuts" transportation lines everywhere. Before you send them to the front line, let them "disappear" halfway.
This is not a trick, but a gesture: how do you help, how do I fight, see who can't use it first, behind this, is the pace of war, who first let go, who loses first.
And this race of military aid and strikes is pushing Ukraine to a more dangerous critical point.
Putin's resignation: the "unified calibre" signal inside the palace
If 700,000 Russian and NATO troops are hard on the battlefield, the “silent earthquake” at the top of the palace is a deeper signal of power.
Dmitry Kozak, who has followed Putin for more than 20 years, resigned from the post of deputy head of the presidential office on the day of the military’s announcement, which was too coincidental.
Kozak is not an unknown man, he was the general coordinator of Russia’s energy policy and regional affairs, and worse yet, he was one of the Kremlin’s few opponents of war.
As early as the conflict broke out, he had suggested a negotiated solution, and earlier this year, he was still internally advocating a ceasefire and peace talks.
His departure can almost be regarded as a symbolic act of "de-compromise" within the Kremlin. Putin cleared out dissent voices and unified wartime command ideas, in order to stop the policy swing and make full preparations for a protracted war.
Kozak’s resignation also meant that Russia’s upper ranks were forming a closer and more consistent decision-making circle.
Meanwhile, reports revealed that there were several personnel adjustments in the presidential office, and a group of young generals from the Federal Security Conference and the Ministry of Defense were promoted quickly to the core level.
This is not a pure “blood-change,” but a strategic reconstruction of the bureaucratic system—set for war, moved for war.
Behind this adjustment is Russia's prediction of the deepening and long-term future wars, and Kozak's departure reminds us that even the veteran ministers most familiar with Putin may not be able to accept the abyss that this conflict will lead to.
Impasse and Future under Multiple Variables
The displacement of 700,000 Russian troops, the launch of the NATO military aid mechanism, and Putin’s departure from office, these three things seem to be independent of each other, and the reality overlap at the same time, sparking a turning point in the situation.
The battlefield is escalating, diplomacy is freezing, the internal is tightening, Ukraine is being plunged into more and more weapons, and Russia is constantly increasing its military force, and both sides are heading to the extreme state of "either victory or collapse", and the departure of Kozak is just a signal: not even the palace has left a place to "negotiate".
The future direction does not depend on who shouts louder, but on who carries it longer. Can Western military aid penetrate the Russian army's firepower blockade and turn it into victory on the front line?
There are no answers to two questions about whether Russia can maintain the social operation under huge military expenditures, but they determine where the end of a war is.
Putin revealed: the total number of Russian troops on the Ukrainian front exceeds 700,000
2025-09-19 14:45 · Global Network
Zelensky visited the Donetsk front, saying the Ukrainian army recovered 160 square kilometers of land
2025-09-19 16: 53 · Daily Economic News