Do Russians Understand the Conflict that Russia Is In?
Paul Craig Roberts
Russian news sources for the outside world, such as RT and Sputnik, would benefit from thinking about how their reports read to outsiders, especially Americans. Perhaps the editors have thought that by appearing so objective they can gain credibility as non-partisan, thus deflating US claims that they are propaganda organs like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Both RT and Sputnik also use American narrative language that criticism of Israel is anti-semitic and ordinary behaviors are racist, thereby missing the opportunity to point out that Israel’s crimes are whitewashed while ordinary Americans who are not committing genocide are demonized. Russian media has nothing to gain from supporting false narratives.
It is also puzzling that Russian media for the outside world is still under the delusion after so many years that its protests effectively expose Washington’s lies and illegitimate measures against Russia, Europe’s measures against Russia, Washington’s arming and use of Ukraine for a proxy war against Russia, repeated deception in peace negotiations, continued transfer of long range missiles and drones to Ukraine with targeting information provided by Washington of Russian oil refineries, oil storage depots, children’s schools, holiday locations, and residential housing including Putin’s home, and the Russian strategic bombing fleet. These weapons, which American presidents vowed “we will never send to Ukraine,” are being sent along with the targeting data.
Despite many Putin warnings, threats, and vows that those supporting the Ukrainian proxy war against Russia are legitimate targets for Russian military retaliation, no such retaliation has occurred. Therefore, Putin’s vows and threats, as Gilbert Doctorow has often pointed out, have proven to be without teeth and, in fact, have destroyed Western concern about Russia’s response.
If ever there was a Munich, it is Putin pusillanimous response to Western aggression against Russia. My view, as readers know, and, I believe, that of Gilbert Doctorow and John Helmer, but I don’t speak for them, is that Putin’s refusal to win a war is leading to a much wider nuclear war. The West long ago passed the point of being careful in its provocations of Russia. Recently Europeans said they were going to begin seizing Russian cargo ships on the high seas. This is an act of war, but Putin’s mild response was “we will do the same to you.” But Putin won’t. That would be too much aggression for Putin.
Let’s look now at what I think is a good example of the failure of Russian news reporting. It is this RT article “US and Türkiye opening ‘Pandora’s box’ with Ukraine arms deal.” https://www.rt.com/russia/644287-us-turkiye-arms-transfer-to-ukraine/
RT reports Washington’s authorization of Turkey’s re-export of US weapons to Ukraine as Washington has none to send. The US authorized transfer of US weapons in Turkey’s hands to Ukraine consists of 70 M39 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles, 12 M270 multiple-launch rocket systems, more than 2,500 M26 rockets with cluster warheads, and 47,000 203mm cluster artillery shells.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s complaint is that the transfer will “inevitably undermine mutual trust” with Washington and Ankara.
What mutual trust is the Russian Foreign Ministry talking about? Is it the “Anchorage Accord” that Putin in his delusion thinks proves his trust in Trump is valid? Trump, who is in the process of transferring yet more long-range weapons for Ukraine’s attacks deep inside Russia far from the Donbas battlefield, is trusted?
The Kremlin has brought this on itself by refusing to win a war, instead allowing it to continue and widen as more and more became involved. It has resulted in new members of NATO allied against Russia. It has resulted in two formerly neutral countries on Russia’s borders willing to host US nuclear weapons in their countries. Pusillanimous Putin non-response to threats has widened the war beyond Russia’s control.
Moscow complains that the new weapons delivery will “prolong the hostilities.” This is hypocritical, because it is Putin’s refusal to win an easy war that has prolonged the hostilities far into its fifth year.
Kremlin spokesman, Peskov, complained that the Turkish weapons transfer amounted to Washington’s “direct participation in the war against Russia.” Really Peskov, there has been “direct Washington participation” since the day Washington overthrew the Ukrainian government while Putin sat on his butt and failed to respond. If the Kremlin’s endless complaints about Washington’s participation has had no effect since 2014, why continue to repeat the complaints12 years later?
To understand how ineffective the Russian media is, consider this statement:
“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has similarly claimed that NATO military specialists provide Kiev with intelligence and help coordinate precision strikes, including attacks that have hit homes, energy facilities, schools, and hospitals.”
Here we have Russian media saying that a fact known to the Russian Foreign Ministry is merely a claim, an unproved allegation. We see that RT’s “objectivity” reduces known facts to “claims.” If RT says it is a fact, then the question becomes why something is not done about it.
Now let’s analyze the transfer of Turkey’s weapons to Ukraine as a competent Russian reporter would have done:
Israel has identified Turkey as the “next Iran.” Turkey whether with Israel in mind or Iran in mind has just joined a military pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. By doing such a military pact, Turkey must perceive a threat from somewhere. So why is Turkey transferring its defensive and offensive capability to Ukraine? What is a disarmed Turkey worth to its newly joined alliance?
The next part of a proper analysis is: Is there any legitimacy to Putin’s policy of “trust in Trump” when Trump continues to deliver to Ukraine with US targeting information weapons with which to strike inside Russia, causing fuel shortages and civilian casualties far from the Donbas battlefield, which in Putin’s limited mind constitutes the sole location of the conflict. What has become the real war is dismissed by Putin as “terrorist actions.”
A good reporter would then go on to investigate how Putin managed to create the artificial reality in which Russian policy operates. The Russian media reports that Europe is preparing for war with Russia as many European governments proclaim. Yet Putin maintains that the conflict is limited to a special military operation in Donbas.
Here we see descent into fictional understandings that are insane. The leader of Russia is incapable of acknowledging reality. Only disaster can come of this, and the Russian media has no more capability of recognizing the disaster than has the Western media.
A world devoid of a competent media is a doomed world.