Is fear beginning to consume Putin?

To what lengths will a person go to fly in the face of the factual evidence about the recent Moscow concert hall attack?

Step forward Putin, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Head of Russia's FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov.

As reported by Paul Kirby,

"[Putin] acknowledged during a televised meeting on Monday: "We know the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists... we want to know who ordered it."

He argued that many questions remained unanswered, repeating an unfounded claim that the attackers had tried to flee south to Ukraine." (BBC News: 27 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Al Jazeera : 27 March 2024 : YouTube

And Patruschev, "when he was asked whether IS or Ukraine was behind the attack: "Of course, Ukraine."" (ibid Paul Kirby)

Bortnikov went even further, arguing that, "We believe the action was prepared both by the radical Islamists themselves and, obviously, facilitated by Western special services. Ukraine's special services themselves have a direct connection to this."" (ibid Paul Kirby)

As reported by Dominique Vidalon (et al),

"President Emmanuel Macron (left) said on Monday that the gunmen who killed 137 people in a concert hall outside Moscow were part of an Islamic State branch that was behind foiled attempts to attack France over the past few months.
This explains why the French government on Sunday increased the country's security alert to its highest level.." (Reuters : 25 March 2024) (my emphasis)

 Could this 'flying in the face of' the truth about the recent Moscow concert hall attack by Putin and members of his 'siloviki' have anything to do with the fact, as reported by Mia Jankowicz (right), that,

"Citing a person with knowledge of the situation, the outlet reported that Putin was in a meeting where officials agreed that Ukraine had no connection to the attack.

Even so, Putin was committed to the idea that it would help mobilize support for the war there, the person reportedly said.

Putin loyalists have continued to advance the theory without presenting any evidence." (Business Insider : 27 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Let us also recall Putin's recent threat of 'nuclear war' immediately after the sham presidential elections which he won with 88% of the votes cast.

The Independent : 18 March 2024 : YouTube

And whilst having shaken his 'nuclear' fist once again against the world, David Averre (left) reports that,

"Russia will shoot down any F-16 fighter jets that Western countries supply to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin declared today, before mocking the Czech Republic for being 'scared' of a Russian invasion he says will never come.  
...
'We have no aggressive intentions towards these states [NATO countries Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs] ,' Putin said, according to a Kremlin transcript released on Thursday.
,,,
But Putin quickly contradicted himself, adding that any F-16 flying in Ukraine would be 'legitimate targets', even if they are based in NATO countries.

'Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.' (Mail Online : 28 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Times and the Sunday Times : 28 March 2024 : YouTube

According to Simon Tisdall (left),

"If Putin is incapable of telling, or at least of accepting, the difference between reality and make-believe, it’s because he himself squats atop an edifice of lies.
...
With Putin, it’s always all about him, about his own insecurity, his need for absolute power, his delusions of revived Russian imperial grandeur. It’s never about other people, let alone “the people”.
...
Putin has remade the Russian state in his own image: brutal, incompetent, ignorant, distrustful, delusional and isolated. It is fundamentally weak, as is he. Incrementally, as one calamity succeeds another, his grip slips, his authority weakens and fear of him dissipates." (The Guardian : 25 March 2024) (my emphasis)

Underscoring Putin's fear about his authority being weakened, Illia Novikov reports that, 

"Russia fired drones and missiles overnight at southern and eastern regions of Ukraine, authorities said, injuring more than a dozen people as the Kremlin’s forces persevered with attritional attacks designed to wear down Ukrainian defenses....

The regular bombardment of Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces during the war has recently gained momentum, with missile barrages of the capital Kyiv and strikes on energy facilities across the country. The attacks also aim to weaken Ukrainian morale and act as retribution for Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian soil." (The Independent on Microsoft Start: 28 March 2024) (my emphasis)

The Independent on Microsoft Start: 28 March 2024

Are Putin's accellerated bombings of Ukraine, and his increasingly contradictory statements, a sign that he is now so far removed from reality that 'fear' is beginning to consume him.?

 

(to be continued)