Corruption, the dominant feature of Russia’s military. Putin is surrounded by viscous men who can assassinate him. Ukraine smashed through Russian defenses in 24hrs. Likely because the contractors doing fortifications pocketed the money

 Russians displaced by Ukraine’s invasion need to ask relatives to put them up & news of the invasion gets by censorship to ordinary people. 

Putin’s warlords and oligarchs threaten coup as Ruble craters | Diane Francis

TIMES RADIO

“A former Russian lawmaker self-exiled in Ukraine is seeking to establish a new political power base right under the nose of Vladimir Putin in Russian territory seized by Kyiv’s forces.

Ilya Ponomarev, a 49-year-old ex-politician now on Russia’s list of terrorists and extremists, says the stunning cross-border incursion launched by Kyiv’s forces on Aug. 6 presents a new “political opportunity.”

“I’ve been telling Ukrainian authorities for two years that Putin’s power is weak, that nobody is defending the border much,” Ponomarev tells the Daily Beast. “I have been preparing for this particular moment to begin building a new platform, assemble the new power on the Russian territory—I am ready to lead and risk my life, in any case Russian drones are already targeting me.”

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THE DAILY BEAST

Kremlin Nemesis Plans to Create Putin’s Nightmare in Captured Russian Territory

By Anna Nemtsova 

August 19, 2024