1. Yesterday, Chancellor Scholz of Germany had a full hour-long chat with Putin. Focus wrote up the best description of this.
The two went back and forth....with Scholz describing the events, then Putin coming back to say that there were Russian 'requirements', and when they were met...the invasion would halt.
Putin did insist that no Ukrainian cities were being bombed, and it just sounded like he believed that. I would offer that maybe his propaganda unit is so successful.....that he watches his own news pieces, and believes entirely in their BS. It would be funny, but you just have to wonder about that.
The repeat of the magic words "demilitarization" and "denazification"? Well, yeah....these come up repeated by Putin once again.This happens often with Russian news pieces. It would seem like they are consumed about Nazis....day and night. It's like they watch these WW II movies and have posters over their bed of Soviet soldiers fighting evil Nazis.
2. Russia shut down Facebook/Twitter. The simplicity of this....you can't have different versions of reality floating around to contaminate the minds of people.
Now, if you were the average Russian....educated to some degree, you'd stand there and ask....just how bad is it when Facebook/Twitter are turned off? I would imagine half of society is huddled around in groups on the street, or safely behind doors....discussing what the real story is all about.
3. Edward Steiner wrote up a piece for WELT (the German newspaper) and basically suggested (sarcastically, I think) that Russia will now go down a path to become very much like North Korea.
He listed out the companies (VW, Disney, etc) which aren't going to make their products available in Russia.
He has a valid point, but it would probably take a full year for this to dawn on the typical Russian that they've been reduced North Korea-status. They won't starve like North Korea, but you'd kinda notice a standard of living which just isn't like the 'old' days (2021).
4. Retail experts now talk about a rate hike appearing on the German consumer, because of logistics cost increasing. Amount? Left to your imagination.
5. Migration experts openly discuss the idea that ten-million refugees from the Ukraine will be residing throughout Europe in the coming weeks.
6. Poland arrested a Spanish national, who claimed some status as a news journalist. Enough evidence in their mind that he is a agent (GRU) of Russia. There might be literally hundreds of these guys roaming around Europe at present.
7. It would appear most of the western press are packing up in Russia and leaving (CNN, Bloomberg, BBC). You get the impression that they expect to be deported any day now.
8. ARD brought up the topic of Russian hyperinflation today....where the rate exceeds 50-percent.
I would anticipate the Kremlin answer would be to simply 'print' more money.
9. If someone were to ask me if Putin and his insiders had contemplated the mess they'd created....I would suggest they anticipated a 72-hour mini-invasion, and none of these western actions would have occurred. Most of the Kremlin team are probably sitting there and trying to imagine all the pieces and parts of what they've created, and some marginalized 'plan-B' environment.
Once you get to the average Russian on the street....he has to be asking questions, and in some daze. Maybe he believes the Nazi-talk. But that whole discussion would go back to some North Korean fantasy (the bogey-man is always out to get you).
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