“Awareness is descending on Russia that the existence of Ukraine as an independent country is an existential threat to Russia.  The liberation of Donbas does not demilitarize and deNazify Ukraine or replace Ukraine’s puppet government with an independent one.

Will the Russian public and the Russian General Staff permit Putin to agree to end the war simply on the basis of the liberation of Donbas, or will  the Russian public and the General Staff  insist  that Ukraine’s existence is an existential threat to Russia’s existence and insist that the war continue until Ukraine is again a province of Russia?” Empire of Lies Craig Roberts, Paul Best Price: $14.86 Buy New $18.86 (as of 07:36 UTC - Details)

I don’t know John Helmer.  I read about him, or some article written by him, in your website.  Doctor Doctorow (if I had that name, I don’t pursue a PhD), and Mercouris I’m more familiar with, especially the latter.  When the bias only affects conclusions, it can be even funny.  When it affects the “facts”, the “information”, it’s something sick.  These men are in the “Russian tank.”

The Russian Levada Center recently (one to three weeks ago at most) published poll results that show Russians are not reacting like Doctorow and Mercouris might wish they did.  Let’s say Russians are not in the same tank with their govt.  A sizeable percentage is willing to forgo land conquered in order to have peace.

Returning to my opinion, the invasion of Kursk only accentuated their doubts about Putin, who finally recognized that he better recover it soon.  Zelensky is probably the best source for information (I won’t explain why)….He talks to his country almost daily about the war.  When you do that, there are very strict limits on how much you can lie.  He lied that only 30,000 Ukrainians have died, obviously, but that was in response to a question in Europe.  The Russians keep quiet about their own losses. Confronting Russia and... Unz, Ron Buy New $15.99 (as of 07:16 UTC - Details)

Let’s remember that Pepe Escobar was in Moscow a month ago and spilled the beans on Napolitano’s YouTube channel.  I quoted him here.  He said the SMO finds mostly skepticism and disapproval (he said that some don’t know the objective of it, others disagree, most just want it to end) in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  Well, we know what those two cities represent in Russia.  Escobar said that to find support for the SMO one had to travel to the depths of Russia (so to speak), but that was his expectation or hope, really (it’s not where he was or went).

So, we know the facts about how the Russians feel, Dr. Roberts.  Putin is now pressing hard to recover Kusk because he knows the above about the Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg… He has to get soldiers from jails because most Russians are skeptical, like Escobar said in situ.

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