Faced with war losses, Russian propagandists retreat to anger and patriotism

Russian state television pundits and officials for months painted Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine as a well-oiled “special military operation” that is methodically achieving its goals of “demilitarizing” and “denazifying” the Kyiv “regime.”

But the embarrassing rout of Russian forces from northeastern Ukraine in recent days sent a normally harmonious choir of Kremlin-friendly television shows and newspapers into a frenzy, struggling to explain to the audiences that they had been assuring of victory why Ukraine had recaptured more land than Russia took since April.

The result was the broadcast of unusually tense scenes to millions of Russian households, with some uncharacteristically blunt concessions.

Read the full story here.

Bloomberg: Russia has secretly funneled more than $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates since 2014 in an effort to influence elections in more than two dozen countries.

Putin’s bridge of dreams explodes in flames

It was a media extravaganza, Putin-style. At the lead of a small truck convoy, Russian President Vladimir Putin drove an orange dump truck flying Russian flags across a portion of the Crimean Bridge in 2018, proudly inaugurating a 12-mile colossus of steel and concrete connecting the Crimean Peninsula he illegally annexed from Ukraine to mainland Russia. At the end of the ride, he was met with cheers and applause.

Even during the reign of the Czars, “people dreamed of building this bridge,” Putin boasted. “Finally, thanks to your hard work and talents, this project, this miracle, has come true.”

Early Saturday, a giant explosion sent a fireball rolling across Putin’s crown jewel thanks, it could be said, to Putin’s own hard work in launching an invasion of Ukraine in February. Portions of the bridge, among the longest in Europe, could be seen sinking in the water.

Read the full story here.

Russia is grabbing men off the street to fight in Ukraine

Police and military officers swooped down on a Moscow business center this week unannounced. They were looking for men to fight in Ukraine — and they seized nearly every one they saw. Some musicians, rehearsing. A courier there to deliver a parcel. A man from a Moscow service agency, very drunk, in his mid-50s, with a walking disability.

“I have no idea why they took him,” said Alexei, who, like dozens of others in the office complex, was rounded up and taken to the nearest military enlistment office, part of a harsh new phase in the Russian drive.

In cities and towns across Russia, men of fighting age are going into hiding to avoid the officials who are seizing them and sending them to fight in Ukraine.

Police and military press-gangs in recent days have snatched men off the streets and outside Metro stations. They’ve lurked in apartment building lobbies to hand out military summonses. They’ve raided office blocks.

Read the full story here.

🤖 Не ленитесь, регистрируйтесь на разных биржах, чтобы в случае, если одна накроется медным тазом, то у вас будет, на всякий случай, другая. Даю ссылку для регистрации на ХуЁби, интерфейс там практически такой же как и на Банане и там у них много розыгрышей всякой крипто-халявы 🤑

https://www.huobi.com/en-us/v/register/double-invite/?inviter_id=11346560&invite_code=vpeg6223

Wow, isn't Huobi Exchange awesome! It offers 100,000 USDT airdrops daily, a chance to win from the 50 BTC prize pool monthly, and safe Huobi Earn products with 40%+ APY. Scan the QR code and sign up now to get the 5672 USDT welcome bonus for newcomers!