The Guardian: A ‘nervousness never seen before’ hits Moscow before Victory Day parades
Paranoia following the drone attacks on the Kremlin and a weakened military dog the event Putin views as deeply symbolic
When Vladimir Putin takes to the stage on Tuesday to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, his speech on Red Square will have been preceded by a turbulent week in which drones attacked the Kremlin and one of his top war leaders threatened mutiny.
The dramatic footage early last Wednesday of two drones flying over the walls of the Kremlin, its historical seat of power, exposed vulnerabilities in the heart of the Russian capital, putting Moscow on edge.
The authorities have banned the use of drones and started jamming GPS signals, leading to taxis appearing to be in the Moscow River on ride-hailing apps. Binoculars have hastily been handed out to police to spot incoming drones.
“There is a nervousness that I have never seen before,” said one official at the Moscow mayor’s office. “But Victory Day has to go ahead, there is no other option,” he added, speaking on conditions of anonymity.
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WNU Editor: What I read and see in Russia, coupled with all the news that I get from my family, friends, and contacts in Russia .... it is always the opposite of what I read and see in the Western media.
Of course there is a nervousness/apprehension in Russia on what is happening. But paranoia?!?!?!? I am not getting that mood at all.
Almost all Russians know that this is an existential war that must be won regardless of the cost because the alternative would be worse. WNU has done a number of posts in the past few months of Western think tanks and pundits openly calling for the dismemberment/fracture of Russia into 5 or 6 different parts, and the removal of its political system.
Russians are also well aware of the Western media and its pundits discussing how the West can exploit Russia's vast natural resources as compensation for this war, which for most Russians essentially means the stripping of Russian resources to the benefit of Western corporations. You can take this to the bank. That type of talk is not going down well in Russia.
As for Russia's real mood. After last weeks drone strike on the Kremlin, the mood in Russia is now one of anger. And even though the Western media is trying to create/project an atmosphere of panic in Russia .... Ukraine says whole of Russia will ‘panic’ when counteroffensive begins: ‘They will suffer the consequences’ (The Independent), the reality on the ground from what I see and hear is the opposite.
If there is a place where paranoia, panic, and fear rule it is in Kyiv. The casualties and destruction this war has caused has been astronomical for the Ukrainian people, and all signs show that it is going to get worse. Everyone there knows that being deployed to the eastern front-lines will mean death or being severely wounded, and most males are trying their best to avoid the press gangs. I just learned this weekend that my cousins' 58 year-old brother-in-law has been conscripted and deployed, and last we heard he was in the Zaporizhzhia region. He is not a soldier. He is a mechanic. My guess (and hope) is that he is far away from the front-lines servicing broken vehicles.
To say this war has impacted Russia and Ukraine differently is an understatement.
While my relatives and friends in Moscow and Saint Petersburg can still go out to restaurants, cafes, and shop at stores filled with goods, my few remaining relatives and friends in Kyiv cannot.
And while the Zelensky government always talks about victory and even driving Russia out of Crimea regardless of the cost, the people I know in Ukraine do not share that optimism. They are all afraid on where this war is going, and are even more afraid to voice any opinion that may be interpreted as opposing the government. Everyone knows that opposition to the Zelensky government means imprisonment, or being immediately shipped to the front-lines. If that is not paranoia, then I do not know what is.
10 comments:
I feel bad for the Ukrainian people. They are being ruled over by a hardline Nazi-like government that doesn’t even represent them. If it can happen to them, it can happen to us.
It's the west that is Paranoid. Just look at the news, schizophrenia and paranoia all over the place.
yep from Russian reports, there is anger, lots and lots of anger. Paranoia? That is ukie/US propaganda
Not so much different than
YES!! We are winning in Afghanistan.
all the comments thus far are pro russian. Evidence that the Ukraine govt is as corrupt and bad as one comment has it? in fact Z. is a hero to his people and thus the comment is nonsense.
No not pro Russian.
Pro fact.
If the Russians were paranoid, I would concur.
Why
Facts are more important that any nationality, unless you want to live in a fantasy land.
Show me where the people are paranoid or backing down? No , but I will tell you a lot of them are like Girkin.
Pissed that the war is not being fought harder, Pissed that the Ukies have not been bombed to smithereens. Yes, like I said a lot of anger and frustration, Paranoia? Not hardly.
I'm certainly not pro russian. I was pro "US" for most of my life tho.
Now I'm hoping Vivek will save us all.
"Everyone knows that opposition to the Zelensky government means imprisonment, or being immediately shipped to the front-lines. If that is not paranoia, then I do not know what is."
And yet, Russia does exactly this, and we hear it being done from their own sources, never mind western sources.
The kettle calling the pot black.
My government doesn’t completely prop up Russia and pay for its every breath. Not my place to get outraged at what a country does within its own borders if I’m not paying for it or apologizing for it. Can you comprehend the difference?
So good on talking and denying.
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