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The Kremlin’s Reaction to the Ukrainian Incursion Similar to How Trump Dealt with COVID
The lost and desperate faces we see here don’t differ much from those of the millions in the country, which is a 30-minute drive from where most of these new refugees reside. The Russians living in the Kursk Region share a similar accent with Ukrainians when speaking Russian. Many of them make beet soup (borscht) the same way as their “enemies.” For two years, though, these people were afforded the luxury of watching “that war which wasn’t a war” unfold as if it were just a movie.
But no more.
It is estimated that 76,000 residents have already been evacuated. The most interesting thing about this, though, is that the Kremlin has had almost no hand in the evacuation. Other than offering a few hundred dollars to people who had to “temporarily” leave their homes, the Kremlin has said only that the situation is “well under control.” It has been arresting anyone reporting otherwise.
Two days after the invasion began, an official directive was shared with the Russian media, now controlled by the Kremlin, that there should be no sensationalizing of the situation. There should be no alarming reports of Ukrainians advancing, and all of the news should just report about Ukrainians being killed. Stories about “unity and solidarity” were also permitted — things like blood drives and food drives were to be highlighted to show how unified Russians were in the face of “Nazi aggression.”
When speaking with our mother-in-law this morning, she said our impressions of what was happening were inaccurate. “They admit there was an incursion, but it has already been halted.”
She couldn’t believe it when we told her about the thousands evacuating. For many Russians, the notion that Ukraine could muster the strength and resolve to advance into Russia and actually seize territory is beyond belief. It is not even a matter of whether a person is pro or anti-Putin. The Russian military may have had its struggles in Ukraine, but defending the motherland is their inherent duty. So, any story suggesting anything less than complete victory is just a provocation. We didn’t press the matter…
