What Russian Officials Think of the Invasion of Ukraine

A senior banker is “in mourning.” Some members of parliament are thinking of giving up their seats. A translation of Farida Rustamova’s insider report.

 
Conducting sudden, top-secret special operations is the main pattern of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s behavior. As a former chekist [security official], he always wants to catch everyone off guard, in order to frighten them and to impress on them that he can do whatever he wants. We witnessed this once again during the emergency meeting of the Security Council three days before the war. The stammering of foreign intelligence head Sergei Naryshkin, the confusion of deputy Kremlin administration head Dmitry Kozak, and the worried face of Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin were evidence enough. The most influential people in Russia sat before Putin like schoolchildren before a teacher who had suddenly announced an exam. And this meeting wasn’t even about a war — they were only discussing the recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.”

Συνέχεια εδώ

Πηγή: ilyalozovsky.substack.com

 
Plus

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What’s happening and what you can do: the humanitarian crisis.

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How the war may impact energy prices and the energy transition.

What we know about the over 1 million women and children who have fled.

And what Ukraine’s neighbors are doing to help them.