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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
State TV DEFIES President Putin's propaganda edict and broadcasts criticism of the war in Ukraine - with guests describing the shambolic invasion as 'like Afghanistan, but even WORSE'
2022-03-12
[Daily Mail UK]
  • Putin's war on freedom of expression in Russia appeared to be fraying at the edges on Thursday

  • Guests on Kremlin-backed television defied Moscow and openly criticised the ongoing war in Ukraine

  • Some said the invasion was worse than the Afghanistan operation in the 1980s which ended in failure

  • Putin has intensified a crackdown on media and individuals who fail to hew to the Kremlin line on the war

Russians were given a glimpse of the truth about the war on Ukraine last night as guests on one of the country's most-popular state TV broadcasts risked the wrath of Vladimir Putin to denounce the invasion as 'worse' than the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which helped bring down the Soviet Union.

Semyond Bagdasarov, an academic, used an appearance on Russia 1's prime time talk show 'An Evening with Vladimir Soloviev' - a man referred to as Putin's propagandist-in-chief - to call on the Russian president to end the attack, while warning allies like China and India could soon turn their backs on Moscow.

'Do we need to get into another Afghanistan, but even worse? There are more people and they're more advanced in their weapon handling', he said, 'We don't need that. Enough already.'

He then added: 'If this picture starts to transform into an absolute humanitarian disaster, even our close allies like China and India will be forced to distance themselves from us. 'This public opinion, with which they're saturating the entire world, can play out badly for us... Ending this operation will stabilise things within the country.'

Karen Shakhnazarov, a filmmaker and state pundit, also sought to bust the Kremlin's narrative that it is conducting a limited 'special operation' in the Donbass region by referencing attacks on the capital of Kyiv - which is located hundreds of miles away.

'I have a hard time imagining taking cities such as Kyiv. I can't imagine how that would look,' he said, even as Putin's troops close in on the capital and launch attacks into the outskirts.

The pair spoke out despite the Russian government last week passing laws that threaten 15 years in jail for anyone publishing 'fake news' about the war - though the definition of 'fake' is set by the Russian government itself, meaning any an all criticism of the Kremlin's actions is likely to be classed as such.

Almost all independent media in Russia have closed down since the bill became law, fearing a crackdown on dissent. It means citizens looking for information on the war are forced to turn to state-controlled media, which has been pumping out disinformation about it being a 'special military operation' to 'de-Nazify' Ukraine.

It came as...

Russian troops in Ukraine have been issued gas masks as chemical warfare equipment is seized from captured troops amid warnings from the West that Putin will launch a gas attack

A 40-mile Russian 'death convoy' that had been stalled to the north of Kyiv has begun moving towards the capital, satellite images reveal, with rocket artillery taking up firing positions as what is sure to be a long and bloody battle for control of the city enters its early stages


The information war escalated on Thursday, with Moscow shifting its stance over the bombing of a hospital in the city of Mariupol with a mix of statements on Thursday that veered between aggressive denials and a call by the Kremlin to establish clear facts.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked for comment in the immediate aftermath, told Reuters on Wednesday: 'Russian forces do not fire on civilian targets.' On Thursday he said the Kremlin would look into the incident.

Other Russian officials took a more aggressive line, rejecting the hospital bombing as fake news. 'This is information terrorism,' foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

The Defence Ministry later denied having bombed the hospital, accusing Ukraine of staging the incident. It said Russian forces at the time had been respecting an agreement to hold fire to allow the evacuation of civilians.
Posted by:Angaiper Ulavins1210

#5  ...seems to be a pattern.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2022-03-12 20:34  

#4  I'm reminded of the WWI expression "How you going to keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree". Conscript Russian soldiers are perhaps less of the hardy stock than their predecessors in WWII?
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2022-03-12 11:40  

#3  ^^ ding ding ding
Posted by: Chris   2022-03-12 09:59  

#2  ..now Made in China
Posted by: Procopius2k   2022-03-12 08:00  

#1  Our Military Industrial Complex (MIC) can hardly find these events encouraging. If the invincibility of the mighty Russian military juggernaut is debunked, what becomes of the "threat?"
Posted by: Besoeker   2022-03-12 06:07  

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