That, in the header, is the claim of Russian ultranationalist Igor Girkin. He's pessimistic about the war so far, thinks Putin's been lying to the Russian people about some problems, and wants more of a total war. And, per this piece, he's far from alone among Russian nationalists.
This all makes me laugh, because on Substack, Twitter and elsewhere, I've run into Russian apologist stable genyuses who claim that Generalissimo Putin is also a stable genyus as leader of the war effort. In reality, it's just another bit of twosiderism and tribalism. One can, like Pope Francis, talk about NATO barking at Russia while not endorsing Putin's invasion. One can oppose Warmonger Joe Biden's arms bazaar for Volodymir Zelenskky while also rejecting the idea that Putin knew what the fuck he was doing even before Ukraine got US-NATO resupply.
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Of course, Putin has now ordered a partial mobilization. And, outside of Putin Tankies (which I have never been one of) he's screwed the pooch on his referendums. Just Luhansk and Donetsk might pass half muster. But, the other two sites? Adding Kherson and Zaporizhzhia? Laughable. And, given international parsing of what Xi Jinping said at Samarkand, it looks stupid for that reason. Also, given recent Russian fighting efforts, trying to bite off referendum lands you can't chew also looks stupid.
So, Putin Tankies, like the "Volkish" idiot I blocked on Twitter, or others I've seen on Substack? Stupid is as stupid does.
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Speaking of? Zelenskyy wants Warmonger Joe to give him some long-range missiles. So far, Biden has said nyet. Will that stay the same after the election? Next spring in Ukraine, after the thaw ends and the mud dries, assuming fighting is still lingering? Or, will Putin's partial mobilization change his mind? If so, will Zelenskyy then ask for tactical nukes or something?
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Will General Winter, exported westward, lead to an eventual Russian victory, as this author claims? I think he's being overly optimistic; at the same time, as I noted last week, Biden's plan to import liquified natural gas eastward to Europe also sounds overly optimistic.
