Here's the latest from Russia:
Russia has got to be the whiniest warmonger in history. They are constantly "accusing" Ukraine of one thing or another, as if it were somehow unfair that they're fighting back.
It's a war, Vladimir, and you started it. Don't try to act offended because Ukraine is trying to win.
Like dude, maybe commit less war crime if you gonna whine.
I think it's interesting how poorly Putin does at this sort of information warfare. Zelensky is much better at it.
AND, it's also possible that Putin doesn't care about influencing the likes of us. This is probably for internal consumption. He means to fire up Russians, "Those uppity Ukranians dared to fight back! They must be crushed!"
You really want to look at this from a strategic communications perspective, otherwise you're missing a lot about what's going on.
Most of the time when Zelenskyy is speaking to the press, he's talking to an international audience, big cap-tip to the US and other NATO allies, explaining how our interests are aligned.
Most of the time when Vlad is speaking to the press, he's talking to a domestic audience, trying to maintain his power.
True but, in this case Putin was apparently silent and "Russian state TV largely ignored the strikes."
That would indicate that the "accusations" were made for foreign consumption. And of course they emphasized purported foreign support: "Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was relying on foreign help."
The infowar aspect here is real, but it is mostly directed, I think, at dividing opinion in the West as to the advisability of continued support for Ukraine. Russia desperately wants to portray Ukraine as an aggressor, and one that is recklessly risking a nuclear escalation from Russia in "self defense."
This is of course BS, but that it is potentially *effective* BS is indicated by the fact that Ukraine routinely refuses to "claim credit" for attacks on Russian soil--including this one.
Morally (and in terms of international law) they have every right to carry out such strikes (especially as they are directed at military targets). Politically, however, they know that playing these down helps prevent popular opposition to continued support for them from the far right (and to some extent the far left) in Europe and America from gaining more ground. And they are probably right about that.
Yep, and also captured by tweeter @sputnik_not back when the Ukrainians sponsored that cross-border militia raid, saying "Russians upset by strikes in Belgorod say they just wanted to destroy Ukraine in peace". Whole lotta whingeing going on.
(ht Thomas Theiner @noclador for retweeting)
If Russia stops fighting there will be no war.
If Ukraine stops fighting there will be no Ukraine.
It's not very complicated.
Anyone who is making it complicated isn't arguing in good faith.
👍👍👍👍👍
Russia is always the victim, always threatened, always attacked.
Any action they take is purely self-defense. The other side made them do it.
Think of them as MAGAts. Then it becomes easy to understand.
In fact, I'm pretty sure that the chief of MAGA'S picked this up from his mentor, Vlad.
Part of this is also how western media deals with the reality that just because Russia says something doesn't mean it's true. Which is probably a good rule of thumb for statements from many official sources, but especially so with Russia.
So, rather than "Ukraine achieves biggest drone attack yet on Russian soil," the headline "Moscow accuses . . ." is at least an acknowledgement that who the hell knows, Russia could quite possibly have bombed itself (intentionally or incompetently) and publicly blamed its enemies. I mean, Putin has a long and storied history of employing false flag attacks to try to direct Russian ire at whatever flavor-of-the-month foreign threat Putin wants to demonize, as countless Chechnyan widows, widowers, and orphans could attest.
"Whiniest" warmonger? Seems to me that Berlin during WWII would complain bitterly about the bombing in Germany, and not report on the V-1 and V-2, indeed did not report on any raids on Britain at all. That may have been Goebbels, of course. But the idea that the German volk did not have enough *raum* in which to "leben" was pretty whiny.
But then again, Hitler's more "successful" pupil Stalin was a master at picking apart the "containment" of his proud and victorious people (even as he locked them up). Putin is just a student of a student. He's doing what his role models always did.
Cet animal est très méchant,
Quand on l'attaque il se défend.
(This animal is vicious,
When attacked, it defends itself.)
Those complaints are aimed at their domestic audience and Russian sympathizers.
Russia has no answer right now. They're ramping up Shahed factories, but it's obvious Ukraine is expanding its drone abilities with domestic production, too. If this war continues for another year, we'll see additional warfare transformations and further degradation of Russia's military.