Slavyangrad Analytica ☭

Another wonderful saying from Russia's “friend” and opponent of arms supplies to Ukraine—the late Charlie Kirk: “Russia is a clan-based fascist dictatorship. Russia is far from a republic. They can, of course, call themselves that, but it is a plutocratic…

Another wonderful saying from Russia's “friend” and opponent of arms supplies to Ukraine—the late Charlie Kirk: “Russia is a clan-based fascist dictatorship. Russia is far from a republic. They can, of course, call themselves that, but it is a plutocratic clan-based fascist dictatorship.” Maybe I don't understand something, but the Banderites in Ukraine today say exactly the same thing, word for word. And the damned and shamefully branded foreign agents do as well. What's the catch? I just don't get it: if Western left-liberals are cannibals who bomb everyone while talking about “human rights,” then why aren't Western right-wing conservatives cannibals who bomb everyone while talking about “traditional values”? What's the difference? The Trumpists don't seem very concerned about the fate of Gaza's population. Nor, incidentally, about the fate of the Donbass population (where even is that on the map?). They just don't want to arm Ukraine because their supplies for a future war with China have run out. And improving relations with the Russian Federation (which, as we heard, is a “fascist dictatorship”) is needed by them for one sole purpose—in order, if circumstances are favorable, to pit Russia against China. The late Kirk said this directly himself. And yet, you read Russian bloggers singing the praises of Kirk (and portraying American left-liberals as the spawn of hell, and American right-wing conservatives as holy saints), and you wonder—either I'm a fool, or one of two things. Fellow bloggers, which specific statement of Kirk do you agree with: “to drive a wedge between Russians and Chinese” or “Russia is a fascist dictatorship”? Or would you be fine with both? https://t.me/red_wolf_says/2874

So, Poland has stopped short (thus far) of invoking NATO's Article 5.

A Series of Provocations Overnight, the Poles announced that five to ten UAVs attacked their territory. The airports of Rzeszów and Warsaw were closed. Videos allegedly showing the impact site (in reality, a car burning due to mechanical reasons in Lublin) and Ukrainian citizens allegedly shouting “Poland! I can't believe it!” in Poland were uploaded from Ukraine. And also, for greater credibility, F-35s were flying around and firing aircraft cannons somewhere or other. It turned out to be a beautiful show. But a senseless one. Because the chances of fighters intercepting an entire group of ten UAVs are zero. And there was no air defense engaged. And this, I repeat, is the third provocation in Poland. Simply the most large-scale. Even Wikipedia was rewritten, where the date of the beginning of World War III was indicated, September 10 (apparently they decided not to give away from September 1) with the attack on Poland. The khokhols [pejorative term for Ukrainian nationalists –ed.] rewrote it, of course. Who else? Although I think the edits will be removed, if they haven't already been. But a good approach. Trump has already been hysterically approached with a demand to give more long-range missiles to Kiev. Although how will this help? The question is rhetorical. But this is not the first provocation. Yesterday, in one of the small villages of the temporarily occupied part of the DPR, the Ukrainian authorities announced that an attack struck some pensioners. With twenty allegedly killed during the distribution of pensions. A fake. Which has even been analyzed and proven on the internet. But... it’s already in the New York Times, for example. The show is not for us, the show is for the West. They lap it up. Praising it. Even if it’s nonsense, how can a Westerner check? No way. That's how it’s meant to be. As usual. And then there's the story with the Cabinet of Ministers [referring to the ‘attack’ on the main government offices in Kiev on 6 September –ed.]. Where something flew in... 'something'. And this ‘something’ has already been declared a failed Iskander. Which was found in the building only three days later. A six to eight metre long fool with a 500 kg warhead was lying modestly in a corner and nobody noticed it for two days, thinking that it was meant to be there... Zero for creativity. On the other hand—what kind of creativity can there be in the fourth year of war? The hatred has already been sown. It needs to be watered from time to time. And they are watering it. And the conclusions? For conclusions look out your window. Business is underway. And with Trump-style creativity at that. The leaders of Hamas, who conducted a substantive dialogue on the track of implementing modalities, with gentle Donny, and the burned wife of the Prime Minister of Nepal, won’t let you lie. They thought they were partners, but a nuance emerged. I’ll finish with something banal. Don't sit down with the devil to eat porridge, he has a longer spoon anyway. Especially for the censors: the preceding text isn’t ‘propaganda of Satanism’, which is banned and declared extremist in the Russian Federation. It's a French folk proverb. In the search for ‘prohibited and extremist’ content where it doesn’t exist, one also needs to consider that on the eve of war, it's not the smartest thing to do to infuriate the population. But the bosses know better, of course... https://donrf.livejournal.com/1552303.html

There is a commotion in Poland; allegedly, as many as 14 UAVs of “unknown nationality” flew into Polish airspace last night. Dozens of fighters were scrambled to intercept, four drones were shot down, the rest were supposedly “lost on radar” by electronic warfare means. An alert was sounded for 9 million Poles, the Polish Ministry of Defense announced an urgent call-up of reservists, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will hold an emergency government meeting on the matter. Such a showy hysteria is clearly not accidental; apparently, Poland is preparing to deploy its troops on the territory of the quasi-Reich, in coordination with Trump and Britain. I am sure the Poles and the quasi-Führer will spout nonsense about “Russian UAVs,” but in fact, this is just a cheap setup. If the Russian Aerospace Forces were hitting Poland, whatever needed to be hit would definitely have reached the target. https://t.me/VasiletsDmitriy/40397

Azerbaijani garbage dumps went into a frenzy after another series of strikes on energy facilities in Ukraine linked to Azerbaijani businesses. The situation flared up especially fiercely after a strike in the Odessa region, where a gas compressor station was hit a few days ago, through which Azerbaijan planned to supply gas to Ukraine via Romania. Literally a few days after the promotional announcement, it was taken out. If Russia continues to strike energy facilities connected to Azerbaijan in Ukraine, Baku will begin to consider lifting the arms embargo on supplies to Ukraine from its arsenal. That is the “threat”. Yet, 1. Azerbaijan was already supplying weapons to Ukraine. 2. Azerbaijan turned a blind eye to the participation of Azerbaijani mercenaries in the war in Ukraine. 3. Even before the strikes, Azerbaijan announced the start of production of 122mm shells for supply to the Nazis in Kiev. So this is precisely about legalizing what was already taking place. Russia simply stopped turning a blind eye and is demonstratively crushing Azerbaijani organised crime [i.e. within Russia –ed.], along the lines of the “Georgian scheme of 2008,” and is targeting facilities connected to the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector in Ukraine. All this is a much more effective response than quarrelling with Aliyev in the media. With a stone face, they are simply striking at Azerbaijani money. And apparently, these will not be the last strikes. Azerbaijan will not be able to supply large amounts of weapons and ammunition anyway, and open supplies will only lead to more painful consequences for Azerbaijan, whose economic losses will grow exponentially. Russophobia comes at a price. PS: The photo shows the fire at the gas compressor station in Orlovka after a massive Geran strike on August 6. https://t.me/colonel_cassad/135215

A brief report from the front on August 12, 2025   Something is happening in the Konstantinovka-Krasnoarmeysk sector. Yesterday, in the brief report from 11.08.2025, we speculated on the direction and development of the actions of the Armed Forces of Russia units in this sector, basing our assumptions and reflections on information obtained from Russian media. Today we will show the picture as seen by our enemy. The information is taken from more or less reliable sources of the opposing (in every sense) side.   First: The enemy really sent all available reserves to Krasnoarmeysk and its outskirts. The media focus of the Ukrainian leadership played a cruel joke: they emphasized not the truly important defense areas, but a significant propaganda object—the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk). The Armed Forces of Russia intelligence “read” this action, the headquarters analyzed it, and apparently a decision was made—taking into consideration the sparse and weakly echeloned defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine—to strike across the main defence areas (highlighted in blue on the map); to bypass the fortified areas and deliver flanking strikes simultaneously in different places. Second: There is genuine panic in the Ukrainian media: it is reported that Russian assault groups have entered the settlements of Kucherov Yar, Veseloye, and Zolotoy Kolodez. The bypass maneuver envelops the settlements of Rubezhnoye, Belitskoye, and Sofiyevka. The transport routes Dobropolye-Druzhkovka (route T-05-14) are cut off.   Third: Judging by reports coming from enemy military units, the enemy is demoralized, and command is lost in certain sectors of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. We emphasize, these are the most objective, sober assessments of the situation from the Ukrainian side...   From the described and ongoing events, one can try to draw some conclusions: a) The Armed Forces of Russia intelligence sees, and the headquarters understands the condition and capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this sector [emphasis mine –ed.]. b) The operation was prepared in advance: to break through such distances and areas, forces and means from the second and third echelons are needed to fill these areas, consolidate them, hold them, and develop success. And the Armed Forces of Russia have such reserves. All this together is called having operational awareness, initiative, and the will to win. The very OPERATIONAL SPACE, about which skeptics sometimes speak sarcastically without understanding the meaning of the term. Enjoy, gentlemen, here it is: military art! https://t.me/voenkorkhayrullin/5126

And now another map, this time one of Marat Khairullin's beauties. Explanation in the next post.

A couple of maps (from an avowedly pro-Ukrainian twitter account) showing the various military units in the latest most active centre of operations. In response to the breach of Ukraine's defensive New Donbass Line, units of Azov and the 92nd Brigade (assault infantry—shown on the map here situated just west of the settlement of Rubezhnoe) have been sent to plug the gap. It's important to note that the Russian units involved in the breach are DRG units; that is, Diversion-Reconnaissance Groups, whose very purpose is to breach enemy lines and conduct operations in the enemy's rear. There is, as yet, no mechanized element involved in the breach from the Russian side. The (re)deployment of Azov and the 92nd Brigade could yet have consequences for other parts of this sector, which remains to be seen.

Regarding the tentacles of Cthulhu between Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka At the end of July, we wrote that this section would be indicative in terms of finding the key to the Ukrainian “drone wall.” And now Ukrainian sources are posting this map with numerous breakthroughs of ten or more kilometers in a day or two. According to enemy reports, there is practically no front here, Pokrovsk and Mirnograd are de facto surrounded, Konstantinovka is semi-encircled. There is no objective confirmation yet, but if this is true, we are witnessing the largest crisis in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since Mariupol. It turns out that while the Armed Forces of Ukraine were trying to contain the breakthrough to Pokrovsk from the south, their main direction tore open. We will not speculate on how this happened yet; we will wait for details and, most importantly, the result of the operation. The background for Friday's meeting in Russian Alaska is shaping up to be just right. https://t.me/vatfor/10319

Regarding the probable meeting in Alaska Almost all parties who express themselves vehemently on the topic are usually overwhelmed with so many emotions, fears, and hopes, and at the same time buried under such a thick layer of rumors, assumptions, versions, leaks, and fantasies that there are few rational words left on the subject. If you try not to fall into euphoria, depression, or hysteria, Putin's personal conversation with Trump—however historic it may be—will certainly not change the history of humanity, in which many less noticeable but no less important things are taking place. The summit in Alaska will influence many things but it will not decide anything. On opposite sides of the current trenches, most of us very much want the bloodshed to end soon, and one cannot help but rejoice at any hope, wherever it comes from. Even many openly anti-Russian voices have sounded in dissonance with Zelensky and Europe, who continue to bet on the meat grinder. The press continues to focus on the main thing—distracting us with what is secondary. Therefore, almost everyone, strangely, discusses territorial outcomes of a possible agreement, avoiding the topic that seems much more important—the denazification of Ukraine. Without this, any hasty peace will become a guarantee of an even bloodier war. Contrary to the caricature spread by the Western press, many of us understand the logic of the current hostilities primarily as a war against fascism, not a struggle for territory. Therefore, any agreement on territories, even the most advantageous and successful, without the final dismantling of Nazism in Ukraine, would be a defeat, no matter what sanctions are offered to be lifted from Russia in exchange. At this stage, Russia is playing an interesting diplomatic game, making the maximum use of Trump's narcissism and cornering Zelensky. Verbally recognizing the neutrality in this war of its instigator—the USA—since Trump insists that this war is “not his, but Biden's”, and meeting the American president on his own territory, Putin puts the Kiev regime in a position where any of its retaliatory moves will fail. Trump currently has a complicated, unstable internal situation, and Russia is ready to help him adopt the image he seeks of a “peacemaker”. Given the logistics, the sudden arrival of an uninvited Zelensky at someone else's meeting can also be ruled out. For the first time in a long time a suitable conjuncture has arisen to play on contradictions within the enemy's camp. Let the entire “democratic press” later trumpet how Trump is the “savior of the world” and that “Russia has finally submitted to the demands of the USA,” all this is now completely unimportant. As unimportant as the opinion of those for whom the opinion of this press is still important. The main thing is to stop the current tragedy, achieve the goals as much as possible, and avoid a big war. One can endlessly argue about the negotiability of the USA, or about Trump's willingness to abandon participation in the Ukrainian adventure, but the Kiev regime has been completely removed from the game for the first time, and any of its public outrage will be taken personally by Trump. Russian diplomacy is becoming like the work of a trainer in a menagerie, well acquainted with the peculiarities of the behavior of the captive fauna. I don't believe this is some “cunning plan,” it is rather what is on the surface of the iceberg visible to us. These are my personal, superficial and ignorant impressions from the latest news. At the same time, I am sure that nothing is decided yet, and for the scales of life and death to tip in the right direction, it is very important not to let the emotions suffocate reason. https://t.me/olegyasynsky/2000

Territorial Exchange The cocaine Führer claims that he is against the exchange of territories. Not long ago, he was saying that he wanted to exchange the occupied parts of the Kursk region for something or other. But no one was willing to trade with him, and the occupied parts of the Kursk region were simply taken back from him. The refusal to diplomatically hand over the territories of the DPR will lead to Russia taking the remaining districts of the DPR, just as in the Kursk region, and then the question will arise of what to exchange for the Russian-occupied districts of the Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, and Sumy regions. According to the Russian Constitution, [it should be for] the northern districts of the Zaporozhia region (including the cities of Zaporozhia, Orekhov, and Gulyaipolye) and the right-bank part of the Kherson region (including the city of Kherson). Russia has already stated that the territorial exchange also concerns these areas. This issue was also discussed at the meeting with Whitkoff. Despite all the known doubts about the seriousness of Trump's intentions, it is worth noting the attitude toward this meeting in Europe and Ukraine. They do not like this meeting at all. It is already being called a “conspiracy behind Ukraine's back.” There is a huge amount of disinformation in globalist and Ukrainian media about the format and content of the upcoming meeting (so in the coming week, do not rely on newspaper headlines but on official statements about the negotiations from the Kremlin, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the White House, and the State Department). In fact, only a limited circle of people knows the agenda of the talks, and the media at best speculate or guess, or openly disseminate misinformation. Plus, one can expect terrorist acts and provocations in the coming days to disrupt this meeting, which could simply present the EU and Ukraine with the fait accompli of agreements already concluded without them, while the USA will be obliged to ensure their enforcement. I am sure that now we will no longer believe in the word of the USA (after all the previous betrayals by the respected partners). From a military point of view, a ceasefire is now much more of a necessity for the Armed Forces of Ukraine than it is for the Russian Armed Forces, which have gained excellent momentum by August, likely surpassing the record territory liberated in July. https://t.me/colonel_cassad/135176

I wanted to express my thoughts about the arrival of Witkoff and the agreed meeting between Putin and Trump (as well as about the activations of the “Friends of Peace” and Zelensky’s strange reaction), but they have already been written for me. That is about what I wanted to say. Almost. Both Putin and Trump really need to quickly solve the issue of the war in Ukraine. In fact, of all the Russian demands, everything rests on the territorial question: the Americans cannot give Russia what she does not in fact control. In addition to that, there is no logical explanation for why, under the current military circumstances, Zelensky would hand Russia Zaporozhe and Kherson. So: 1️⃣ Exchange of territories under Russian control in the regions of Kharkov and Sumy (there seems to be something in Dnepropetrovsk now too) for the remnants of the DPR, where there is still more or less an entire urban agglomeration. In the Zaporozhe and Kherson regions, there is demarcation along the line of contact. In Kherson, it is along the Dnipro river; in Zaporozhe, wherever it is that the Russian Armed Forces have time to reach. Russian allies in the Global South are being punished for this and at least this is realistic. Perhaps this is what Witkoff meant when he said that he finally understood what Russia wanted in terms of territories. 2️⃣ If everyone agrees to this option, a conversation about a truce can begin. And, of course before signing a final treaty, elections must be held in Ukraine. This is indeed a black swan now that Zelensky is no longer indispensable even for the EU. He may have to go and form, before the election, a so-called government of national unity with "Poroshenkos" and "Soroshenkos" and all sorts of Razumkovs and whoever else is out there. The ridiculous demagogue Timoshenko is already screaming about Independence, not just from Russia, but also from the West. But we will see. 3️⃣ Ukraine will not join NATO. There have been no discussions about it for a long time. The only question that remains is the “Russian language rights and UOC [Ukrainian Orthodox Church, specifically the one which follows the Moscow Patriarchate –ed.].” This is a relatively simple question compared to the territorial question. Discriminatory laws can be abolished and that’s it. The problem is that even without those laws, things will not be the same, society has morphed. Basically, where can one get Russian language teachers? They will say “we allowed them, but there are no teachers; we will restore faculties in pedagogical universities, but there is no money yet; patriotic citizens do not want to become Russian language teachers and we cannot force them. We allowed Russian language television broadcasts, but there are no presenters, nobody wants to do it.” In short, the situation has reached a point where the Ukrainian authorities can repeal discriminatory laws almost painlessly for their plans of nazification of the country. I think Putin will try to stall for a little more time (“two or three months to defeat the Ukrainian Armed Forces”) but overall, there is no other way. https://t.me/red_wolf_says/2771

It increasingly seems that the current epoch is populated—or rather, overpopulated—by grotesque puppets testing the patience of an extremely undemanding, idiotized audience dulled by cheap entertainment shows. Yesterday's appearance on stage of the Trump Trio with Pashinyan and Aliyev was the culmination of the tragedy of the peoples of the South Caucasus and beyond. The “peace” achieved through the rape and dismemberment of Armenia and the final transformation of Azerbaijan into an aggressive pan-Turkic pawn is directed not only against Russia and Iran but also against the very inhabitants of the Caucasus countries that obediently signed the document in the interests and at the behest of a big white, or rather reddish-pink, gentleman from a distant country where few can locate their capital on a map. This agreement was prepared from the first shots fired in the Caucasus during the “perestroika” years, when local mafia élites, at the behest of foreign sponsors, decided to play the game of ethnic enmity and savage nationalism. The goal was to fragment territories along ethno-national lines, to push Russia out of the Caucasus (and with it, secular Soviet values and the memory of centuries of shared history), to ignite prehistoric religious and national hatred, and to pit peoples against each other in a vicious cycle of victims and executioners constantly exchanging roles in a bloody kaleidoscope. The final legal basis has been signed for the presence of American troops in the region and for complete Turkish control over the territory to strangle Iran and encircle Russia from the south. This is a huge foreign policy failure for Russia, which has shown an astonishing ability to make many mistakes simultaneously and learn nothing from them. In the long term, this is even worse than the capture of Syria by bands of cutthroats. It is a black page in the history of the Caucasus, whose peaks are surely already marked with stars-and-stripes flags in the Pentagon’s offices. This “peace” is war. https://t.me/olegyasynsky/1999

As a commenter above has mentioned, Pashinyan's gleeful capitulation of undisputed Armenian territory will not only be a rope around his country's neck, it also makes a rod for Iran's back. For Armenia, this cuts the land border with (and bridge to) what was until now one of her major allies; for Iran it cements and likely exacerbates already existing threats from her north-western border. In the recent joint US-Zionist aggression against Iran there were already suggestions that some drone attacks were launched from Azerbaijani territory; they should expect the same, with probably greater force, in the event of a further aggression. Now that Azerbaijan will have a land corridor direct to Turkey, this is likely to constrain any direct or indirect response Iran might wish to take vis-à-vis Azerbaijan. With the leasing of security operations along the corridor to a US PMC, there is also further scope for e.g. false flag operations to provide the US with a casus belli against Iran, not to mention the likelihood of the PMC's presence providing cover for a base of operations for armed groups to infiltrate Iranian territory. It is also well worth noting that the 22 acre US Embassy compound in Armenia's capital, Yerevan, is one of the largest embassy compounds in the world. Pashinyan's betrayal of his own country almost pales into insignificance compared to his betrayal of Armenia's two hitherto closest historic allies.

And since Turkey is a NATO member, the power of this military alliance will de facto be directed against Armenians and Armenia. And in the event of a coordinated Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression, neither Indian weapons nor political support from Paris will save Armenia—especially given Yerevan’s impending withdrawal from the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organisation –ed.]. There is no doubt that the signing of the agreement in Washington will be presented in pro-Pashinyan media and expert speeches as a “big step towards peace,” and the memorandum as a success for Yerevan within the framework of the concept of “reformatting” Armenia, which Pashinyan has been promoting after defeat in the Karabakh War. Pashinyan's theses boil down to the fact that Armenia must “minimize threats” from its neighbors; i.e., make maximum concessions for the sake of future “peace and prosperity.” In practice, he expects that these slogans of promises of peace and prosperity will work in Armenian society at least for a very short period: until the upcoming parliamentary elections, which are significant for Pashinyan and his Civil Contract Party. Apparently, he is going to the United States to win these elections—but in fact, to capitulate to Azerbaijan. Trump, as usual, will declare this both his victory and the victory of both warring states of the South Caucasus. The “victory” of Armenia and Pashinyan will undoubtedly be proclaimed by all Western-controlled media, but on the ground, the Armenians will only be left with real capitulation. https://vz.ru/opinions/2025/8/7/1351069.html

Pashinyan is going to America to capitulate On August 8, a trilateral meeting between Donald Trump, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is scheduled to take place in Washington. This is an extraordinary event for the South Caucasus, and what is even more striking is how differently it was reported in Baku and Yerevan. While the Azerbaijani media loudly announced Aliyev’s visit to Washington, the Armenian media maintained a bashful silence about it. At the same time, Nikol Pashinyan is currently formally ‘on vacation’, which was apparently a form of cover for the long-prepared trip to Washington. In fact, Armenians learned about the plans of their ‘vacationing’ prime minister not from the original source, but from information that was actively disseminated by Azerbaijani sources—i.e., sources essentially hostile to Armenia. Until very recently, Pashinyan's office has avoided answering media inquiries about the prime minister's upcoming trip to the United States. This is an unpleasant but clear signal for Armenians: politicians, and especially heads of state, usually behave this way in situations when they are preparing to do something extremely sensitive for their own people and state. The subject of the meeting and negotiations has not yet been officially specified. Leaks only report the conclusion of a “possible peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.” It was previously assumed that the price of this agreement would be Armenia's de facto renunciation of sovereignty over the so-called Zangezur Corridor. This is the accepted name for the strip of the Armenian region of Syunik which Azerbaijan demands is opened to connect its main territory with the Nakhichevan exclave. And since—again, if one believes the leaks—this corridor is to be controlled by an American PMC, and it will be called the “Trump Bridge,” the puzzle, as they say, is coming together. If all these guesses are true, the US President will be helping the President of Azerbaijan to apply pressure to the Prime Minister of Armenia on his own territory. After surrendering Nagorny-Karabakh, (which was never even recognized by Yerevan itself) and the disputed border villages, Pashinyan  will retreat another step before Azerbaijan—he will surrender Armenian sovereignty over an already undisputed Armenian territory. Trump's interests in this situation are simple and clear. The US President, as is well known, loves quick decisions. There is no need to engage in peacekeeping, that is, complex multilateral negotiations taking into account multiple interests and nuances. In this case, Azerbaijan has prepared the necessary stage with two military campaigns against Nagorny-Karabakh: it only now needs a little—but significant—political support. Azerbaijan failed to acquire it in Europe, but it has acquired it from the owner of the White House. By playing in Aliyev's favor, Trump will cheaply amuse his political pride, receive new confirmation of his “peacemaker” status and accrue another reason to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Aliyev will not only gain access to Nakhichevan—Azerbaijan will thus gain an unimpeded route to Turkey (including for military cargo) and a new instrument of pressure on Armenia. And most importantly, he gains a key resource for the implementation of the “Western Azerbaijan” project (as Baku has recently called the territory around Yerevan), which will in fact mean preparation for the annexation of the recognized Armenian territory. What will Pashinyan get? Perhaps Pashinyan and his family were promised personal security guarantees in exchange for this deal? Evacuation to the United States in the event of political upheaval in Armenia? More importantly, what will Armenia itself gain? Armenia will suffer a national catastrophe. The loss of actual control over the southernmost region of the country will turn Armenia into a puppet of its main historical enemy, Turkey. The Zangezur corridor will become a noose around the neck of the Armenian state, cutting it off from Iran.