Another possible reason for Russia to stage a false-flag drone attack on the Kremlin, blaming Ukraine, is to elevate Western fear that Ukraine might use Western weaponry to attack inside Russia.
This reaction to a ‘purported Ukrainian drone attack’ reminds me of the bully who was brutally pounding a defenseless guy who, when he desperately tried to hit back, was threatened with even worse brutality.
I agree with Professor Snyder that this Russian complaint (and threat) is another of Putin’s atrocious lies. A couple of random drones, even if they avoided Russian anti-missile defenses, were not even a minimal threat to Putin. The entire incident is foo foo dust.
Moreover, what further threat can Putin hurl at Zelensky and Ukraine?. He already has failed to capture or assassinate Zelensky. He is systematically destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure and citizens.
Personally, I would favor a surreptitious Ukrainian response against Russian military units close to Ukraine and a ‘shot across the bow’ of Belarus, Putin’s sycophant in his assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and physical existence.
The Kremlin has a history of utilizing staged events and murders to justify more war.
The Moscow Apartment bombings were used to justify the 2nd Chechen War. But one would have to read a book to know this. When he was poisoned in London by FSB agents, I don’t remember the press explaining why. Which leads me to ask about another agent. Why was Skripol poisoned as well? What do these former FSB officers know, that Putin orders them killed?
Thank You for this simple and very adequate logic. And on top of that, how, for Good's sake, were those drones supposed to kill Putin? They (Ukrainians) couldn't possibly know that he (Putin) is actually spending all his full moon evenings sitting alone on the Kremlin's cupola, palaying balallayka?! ;-)) Seriously though, it makes me fear more for Zelenskyy's life.
Dr. Snyder I just serendipitously stumbled upon the talk you gave on the state of our democracy at Bowdoin College a year or two ago. It addressed so many of the underlying issues we are still dealing with today, including Putin’s penchant for misinformation as well as how this has contributed to the increase in autocratic tendencies in the US as well as internationally. Additionally it amazingly addresses many of the issues we are all having to come to grips with as DJT’s legal troubles are paramount in the news. I wish you would post it here on substack so that your followers can benefit from it and I’d love for Jack Smith to listen carefully to how you trace the historical roots of our current discontent and posit ways our institutions and we, as individuals, need to be more than bystanders apprehensively watching the various ways our democracy is declining.
Besides the war not going well for Russia there seems to be more and more vociferous opinion against them. People are calling for NATO membership, f 16's, etc. and in comment sections those who take any where close to a pro Russian position are answered back (politely) in no uncertain terms. I think more and more people (including myself) are realizing the global falseness that is likely to come from Russian propaganda.
Since the Czars Russia has been a dictatorship propped up by an army of secret police.
I see it as a stunt for internal consumption, to bolster Russian enthusiSm for the ongoing war. Does Putin require justification for attacking Ukrainian schools, hospitals, apartments, shopping centers, or markets? For attempting to decapitate the Ukrainian leadership? No! He has already done it, and continues to do so.
The crudeness of Russian state propaganda has descenddd to USSR levels. Fitting, as their leader was a KGB minor player.
Thank you for this explanation. It will be interesting to see what the signals intelligence has to say, if they tell us. You are surely right that anything that the Russians say is unlikely to be true.
Russia still controls the largest nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is also the largest in Europe, and is in a position to create a serious nuclear "accident", even larger than the Chernobyl disaster. It also controls the huge dam on the Dnipro River, which if breached would cause significant flooding over a wide area and cut off the main water supply to Crimea. I expect Putin would go for this latter option if a Ukrainian counter-offensive enables them to retake control of major parts of the Crimean peninsula. Putin would, of course, blame any such disasters on Ukraine.
The Russian people in the main would continue to believe that Russia is being falsely accused and victimized by "Nazi's" in Ukraine because the West has not been able to effectively breach the tight media control by the Putin regime in all of the Russian Federation and get the truth to the Russian people.
For a Russian to gain access to the facts of the war, they would need to somehow purchase a virtual personal network (VPN) which would potentially give them access to Musk's satellite network and thereby get the information - the facts - being denied to them by Putin and his gangsters. And with a populace frightened by the prospect of being arrested and put for an indefinite period in a forced labor camp, that scenario is unlikely.
No doubt in my mind it is a false flag or internal Russian matter. Even if the Ukrainians did try this, they are way better than that. Also, a drone flying from the east could have hardly come from Ukrainian airspace. By blaming Ukraine, Putin is giving credence to their skill to avoid Russian air defenses, which to any thinking person means the war is not going well.
Thanks for the well-reasoned explanation. The Russian propaganda leaves all concerned folks wondering about the truth. It's good to have someone with your expertise take the time to calmly explain the possibilities.
Dr Snyder, could the same be said about the Russian backed Pro Russian Ukrainian Tartarsky’s ( not his real name) death from the bomb in the statue at an event at St. Petersburg cafe?
Zelenskyy just said it perfectly. He wants Putin and his tribe captured alive and taken before an international tribunal for the crime of aggression as first priority and then for individual war crimes.
I am not a war strategist or practitioner by any leap. But, I have a feeling that if Ukraine had had a battle target objective for the Kremlin, they would have achieved a more successful attack than what happened in this case.
Another possible reason for Russia to stage a false-flag drone attack on the Kremlin, blaming Ukraine, is to elevate Western fear that Ukraine might use Western weaponry to attack inside Russia.
Take Putin’s words with a ‘large shaker of salt’. - SOS Anthony Blinken. #Maskirovka #FalseFlag 🇷🇺
This reaction to a ‘purported Ukrainian drone attack’ reminds me of the bully who was brutally pounding a defenseless guy who, when he desperately tried to hit back, was threatened with even worse brutality.
I agree with Professor Snyder that this Russian complaint (and threat) is another of Putin’s atrocious lies. A couple of random drones, even if they avoided Russian anti-missile defenses, were not even a minimal threat to Putin. The entire incident is foo foo dust.
Moreover, what further threat can Putin hurl at Zelensky and Ukraine?. He already has failed to capture or assassinate Zelensky. He is systematically destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure and citizens.
Personally, I would favor a surreptitious Ukrainian response against Russian military units close to Ukraine and a ‘shot across the bow’ of Belarus, Putin’s sycophant in his assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and physical existence.
The Kremlin has a history of utilizing staged events and murders to justify more war.
The Moscow Apartment bombings were used to justify the 2nd Chechen War. But one would have to read a book to know this. When he was poisoned in London by FSB agents, I don’t remember the press explaining why. Which leads me to ask about another agent. Why was Skripol poisoned as well? What do these former FSB officers know, that Putin orders them killed?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko
Thank You for this simple and very adequate logic. And on top of that, how, for Good's sake, were those drones supposed to kill Putin? They (Ukrainians) couldn't possibly know that he (Putin) is actually spending all his full moon evenings sitting alone on the Kremlin's cupola, palaying balallayka?! ;-)) Seriously though, it makes me fear more for Zelenskyy's life.
Dr. Snyder I just serendipitously stumbled upon the talk you gave on the state of our democracy at Bowdoin College a year or two ago. It addressed so many of the underlying issues we are still dealing with today, including Putin’s penchant for misinformation as well as how this has contributed to the increase in autocratic tendencies in the US as well as internationally. Additionally it amazingly addresses many of the issues we are all having to come to grips with as DJT’s legal troubles are paramount in the news. I wish you would post it here on substack so that your followers can benefit from it and I’d love for Jack Smith to listen carefully to how you trace the historical roots of our current discontent and posit ways our institutions and we, as individuals, need to be more than bystanders apprehensively watching the various ways our democracy is declining.
Besides the war not going well for Russia there seems to be more and more vociferous opinion against them. People are calling for NATO membership, f 16's, etc. and in comment sections those who take any where close to a pro Russian position are answered back (politely) in no uncertain terms. I think more and more people (including myself) are realizing the global falseness that is likely to come from Russian propaganda.
Since the Czars Russia has been a dictatorship propped up by an army of secret police.
I see it as a stunt for internal consumption, to bolster Russian enthusiSm for the ongoing war. Does Putin require justification for attacking Ukrainian schools, hospitals, apartments, shopping centers, or markets? For attempting to decapitate the Ukrainian leadership? No! He has already done it, and continues to do so.
The crudeness of Russian state propaganda has descenddd to USSR levels. Fitting, as their leader was a KGB minor player.
Thank you for this explanation. It will be interesting to see what the signals intelligence has to say, if they tell us. You are surely right that anything that the Russians say is unlikely to be true.
Russia still controls the largest nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is also the largest in Europe, and is in a position to create a serious nuclear "accident", even larger than the Chernobyl disaster. It also controls the huge dam on the Dnipro River, which if breached would cause significant flooding over a wide area and cut off the main water supply to Crimea. I expect Putin would go for this latter option if a Ukrainian counter-offensive enables them to retake control of major parts of the Crimean peninsula. Putin would, of course, blame any such disasters on Ukraine.
The Russian people in the main would continue to believe that Russia is being falsely accused and victimized by "Nazi's" in Ukraine because the West has not been able to effectively breach the tight media control by the Putin regime in all of the Russian Federation and get the truth to the Russian people.
For a Russian to gain access to the facts of the war, they would need to somehow purchase a virtual personal network (VPN) which would potentially give them access to Musk's satellite network and thereby get the information - the facts - being denied to them by Putin and his gangsters. And with a populace frightened by the prospect of being arrested and put for an indefinite period in a forced labor camp, that scenario is unlikely.
No doubt in my mind it is a false flag or internal Russian matter. Even if the Ukrainians did try this, they are way better than that. Also, a drone flying from the east could have hardly come from Ukrainian airspace. By blaming Ukraine, Putin is giving credence to their skill to avoid Russian air defenses, which to any thinking person means the war is not going well.
Thanks for the well-reasoned explanation. The Russian propaganda leaves all concerned folks wondering about the truth. It's good to have someone with your expertise take the time to calmly explain the possibilities.
Dr Snyder, could the same be said about the Russian backed Pro Russian Ukrainian Tartarsky’s ( not his real name) death from the bomb in the statue at an event at St. Petersburg cafe?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/04/30/vladlen-tatarsky-blogger-russia-explosion/
Zelenskyy just said it perfectly. He wants Putin and his tribe captured alive and taken before an international tribunal for the crime of aggression as first priority and then for individual war crimes.
I am not a war strategist or practitioner by any leap. But, I have a feeling that if Ukraine had had a battle target objective for the Kremlin, they would have achieved a more successful attack than what happened in this case.
What I found really odd was that there were apparently two individuals climbing up the roof at the time of the explosion. What was that about?