![]() “A significant part of the population is horrified, and even those who support the war are in a permanent psychological militant state of a perpetual nightmare,” said political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov in a recent commentary. Only 6% of those concerned by the war said they were bothered by the alleged presence of “Nazis” and “fascists” in Ukraine. The vast majority of them – 47% – are worried about the deaths of civilians and Russian soldiers in the war, along with the devastation and suffering. Popular support in Russia for the war in Ukraine is difficult to gauge in a country that has seen a steady crackdown on journalists in recent years, with independent media outlets shut down and state-controlled television providing a pervasive influence.Ī recent poll by the respected independent Levada Centre found that 82% of Russians remain concerned by the military campaign in Ukraine. Ukraine, which has a democratically elected Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust, and the West have condemned the remarks as a fictitious cover for a blunt act of aggression.īut many Russians fed a steady diet of the official narrative have cheered on their troops, comparing them to “our grandfathers” who fought the Germans. ![]() Members of a military club train prior to a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade which will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St Petersburg (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP) In announcing the February 24 military operation, Mr Putin declared it was aimed at the “demilitarisation” of Ukraine to remove a perceived military threat to Russia by “neo-Nazis”.Ī recent TV commentary said Mr Putin’s words were “not an abstract thing and not a slogan” and praised Russia’s success in Ukraine, even though Moscow’s troops have got bogged down, making only minor gains in recent weeks. Russian state TV has ramped up the patriotic rhetoric. “Questions about who can be called up and how have started to flow on a mass scale through our hotline about the rights of conscripts and the military,” said Pavel Chikov, founder of the Agora legal aid group, on the messaging app Telegram. Still, human rights groups reported a spike in calls from people asking about laws concerning mobilisation and their rights in case of being ordered to join the military. The Kremlin denied having such plans, calling the reports “untrue” and “nonsense”.Īsked by the Associated Press on Friday whether mobilisation rumours could dampen the Victory Day mood, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “nothing will cast a shadow” over “the sacred day, the most important day” for Russians. Russian warplanes fly over Red Square leaving trails of smoke in the colours of the national flag during a dress rehearsal for Victory Day (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Moscow was covertly preparing such a plan.īritish Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio that Mr Putin was “laying the ground for being able to say, ‘Look, this is now a war against Nazis, and what I need is more people'”. “I can’t remember a time when the May 9 holiday was anticipated with such anxiety,” historian Ivan Kurilla wrote on Facebook. Some Russians fear that President Vladimir Putin will use it to declare that what the Kremlin has previously called a “special military operation” in Ukraine will now be a full-fledged war – bringing with it a broad mobilisation of troops to bolster Russia’s forces. It certainly earned the mockery as a result.But the mood this year is very different, because Russian troops are fighting and dying again.Īnd this battle, now in its 11th week, is going on in neighbouring Ukraine, against what the government has falsely called a campaign against “Nazis”. ![]() As a result, Tuesday's Victory Parade resembled what one might expect at a large-sized military vehicle show in Western Europe or the United States. The issue could be that in addition to the loss of tanks in Ukraine, Russia has lost significant numbers of tank crews. The Kremlin famously had gone to great efforts to acquire the vehicles for use in parades and patriotic-themed movies, even purchasing around 20 antique tanks from Laos in 2019. Yet, a question that wasn't asked on social media is why Russia didn't deploy more of its World War II-era T-34s. Russia likely had no "modern" tanks to spare. ![]() In addition, videos have circulated on social media in recent months showing the deployment of older hardware from the Cold War, including T-54/55 and T-62 tanks – most older than the crews operating them – being sent on railcars to the front. Russia was almost certainly forced to scale back the display of tanks and other armored vehicles due to the fact that it has lost significant numbers of modern equipment in the fighting in Ukraine. ![]()
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