In the case of Putin it is obvious that, together with his health problems now forcing members of his 'inner-circle siloviki' to emerge from the shadows onto the international stage, Putin is having to employ the full force of his propaganda machine to stir up public hatred against Ukraine in the wake of the recent deadly ISIS assault on a concert venue in Moscow that left at least 137 people dead.
In the case of Donald Trump, his attempts to disguise his illegal paying off of a porn star to keep quiet about their affair during his first US presidential election campaign in 2016, a US presidential campaign aided and abbeted throughout by Putin himself, is now coming up for trial on April 15th.
As Marc Champion (left) explains,
"So it’s no surprise that conspiracy theories are multiplying just five days after terrorists murdered at least 139 people at a Moscow concert hall.
What’s different this time is the role of the state in spreading this nonsense, because the reality is so much more banal and .... so much harder to explain: A spectacular level of incompetence married, as I’ve written previously, to a destructive paranoia at the pinnacle of the Russian state." (Bloomberg UK : 28 March 2024) (my emphasis)
As Bloomberg UK reports,
"While Vladimir Putin continues to argue that Ukraine may have had a role in the Moscow attack that killed 139 people, some of the Russian president’s own inner circle disagree with him.
.....
Putin was present at discussions where officials agreed there’s no link to Kyiv, but remains determined to use the tragedy to try to rally Russians behind the war in Ukraine, according to one person with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive." (Bloomberg UK : 26 March 2024) (my emphasis)
It is also no wonder that, as reported by Guy Faulconbridge,
"The North Atlantic Alliance is de-facto a party to the Ukrainian conflict and is actively involved in organising the shelling of Russian territories," Patrushev (right) told the Argumenty I Fakty newspaper." (Reuters : 2 April 2024) (my emphasis)
whilst Associated Press (AP) reports that,
"Russia’s defense minister warned his French counterpart against deploying troops to Ukraine in a rare phone call Wednesday and noted that Moscow is ready to take part in talks to end the conflict.
Sergei Shoigu (left) told French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu that if Paris follows up on its statements about the possibility of sending a French military contingent to Ukraine, “it will create problems for France itself,” according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry. It didn’t elaborate." (Associated Press:3 April 2024) (my emphasis)
What is rather interesting is that Shoigu is stating that, "Moscow is ready to take part in talks to end the conflict.".
Could this inernationally public 'political boldness' of Shoigu have anything to do with the fact that, as reported by Charlie Bradley,
"A former MI6 boss said of Putin that "something [is] fundamentally wrong with him medically" as rumours of cancer and Parkinson's continue to spread.
Vladimir Putin's health has been the subject of speculation for years, with rumours suggesting he may have cancer, Parkinson's or some other health complication.
Independent Russian media outlets have even reported that Putin travels with a large group of health professionals, including oncologists." (Express : 31 March 2024) (my emphasis)And whilst Shoigu is stating that Moscow is ready to talk peace to end Putin's war with Ukraine, Maxim Rodionov reports that,
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting out the routine spring conscription campaign, calling up 150,000 citizens for statutory military service, a document posted on the Kremlin's website showed on Sunday.
...
In July Russia's lower house of parliament voted to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted to 30 from 27. The new legislation came into effect on Jan. 1, 2024." (Reuters : 31 March 2024) (my emphasis)
Charlie Bradley (left) further reports that,
"Russia is on the verge of turning against Vladimir Putin as the country's economy is running out of ways to fend off crippling Western sanctions, experts have warned.
...
Putin has managed to minimise the damage to Russia's economy so far by burning through his cash reserves.
But Yales researchers and economists Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian warned the lives of Russian citizens will soon get a lot more difficult." (Daily Express : 1 April 2024) (my emphasis)
Info Flow : 2 April 2024 : YouTube
WION : 29 March 2024 : YouTube
How the growing economic difficulties of the people of Russia, brought about by Putin's war with Ukraine, will affect the 2024 military call-up of Russian men now remains to be seen.
Let us remind ourselves that thousands of potential Russian conscripts fled the country during a previous military call-up and are now languishing in foreign countries, too afraid to return back to Putin's Russia.
The fact that the age limit of compulsory conscription has been raised by Putin from 27 to 30 signals that his supply of cannon fodder for his war with Ukraine is precarious.
Added to which, and as reported by Cameron Henderson,
"Kyiv will destroy the Kerch bridge connecting Russian to occupied Crimea “in the first half of 2024”, a senior official in Ukraine’s military intelligence service has said.
Razing the bridge is “inevitable”, the unnamed source told the Guardian, adding that Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the military intelligence, already had “most of the means to carry out this goal”.
Officials believe that permanently damaging the bridge would significantly impair the Kremlin’s ability to carry out a spring offensive as Moscow would be forced to transport military supplies by road through occupied southern Ukraine, or via a new 450-mile railway line that is under construction." (The Telegraph : 3 April 2024) (my emphasis)
CRUX : 4 April 2024 : YouTube
One can only begin to imagine what effect the destruction of the Kerch Bridge, Putin's legacy of physically joining Russia to Crimea, will have on Putin's state of mind.
Indeed, one should now consider what the destruction of the Kerch Bridge will have on Patruschev and Shoigu, members of Putin's inner-inner circle who already seem to be eyeing the reigns of power as Putin's health continues to deteriorate.
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