Vladimir Putin's authority has long been founded on his image as an uncompromising defender of Russian security. Ukraine is changing that.
  • Ukraine knows how to exploit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s weak spots.
  • Its invasion of Kursk undermined Putin’s image as a strongman protector of Russian security.
  • The attacks have the potential to erode Russians’ support for Putin, an expert said.
  • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    77·
    3 months ago

    It’s hard to overstate just how dangerous this is for Putin. A large part of why Russians tolerate him is because Putin Make Russia Stronk. Take that away and what has he got left?

    • lennybird@lemmy.worldEnglish
      501·
      3 months ago

      This act by Ukraine physically pierced the echo-chamber that is Russian disinformation. The viral media from this event is going to reach pretty far into Russia, and is definitely karma delivery a hefty slap as a wake-up call.

      • qooqie@lemmy.worldEnglish
        151·
        3 months ago

        Idk how many Russians do you think actually know the war jumped borders? If I were Putin that would be very controlled information

        • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          15·
          3 months ago

          That’s not how Russian information control works. As the internet age became a thing they quickly realized that they simply don’t have the resources to prevent people from accessing information. Instead their model is to tell the truth and a lie at the same time. Literally, one state run paper will print a true story, the other will print a totally fabricated version of the same events. What this does is it undermines the idea of “truth” as a meaningful concept. It’s the whole “alternative facts” / “fake news media” thing. You don’t prevent the information existing, you just train people to pick and choose the version of reality they like best.

    • Gsus4English
      15·
      3 months ago

      In appearing to “make russia stronk”, he entrenched himself, so it will take some effort to remove.

      It’s the dictator classic: use lies to get to power and when people discover they were lies all along, it is already too late.

        • ripcord@lemmy.worldEnglish
          32·
          3 months ago

          So “Ukraine’s defensive special operation of Russia” - and it will be clear that this is specifically about the recent push onto Russian soil (which is a big change and a big deal)?

      • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.worldEnglish
        17·
        3 months ago

        The one Russian citizens are legally banned from calling it, a war, the one they started 2 and a half years ago. It’s still the same thing, they are just more clearly losing it now.

        • ripcord@lemmy.worldEnglish
          39·
          3 months ago

          OK, but saying just “the war” would be pretty confusing since it’s missing the specific intended context for the thing/events being discussed.

            • candybrie@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2·
              3 months ago

              I don’t think anyone here is disputing that it’s a war. They just want an acceptable, concise way to say “the part of the war where Ukraine brought the fighting into Russia.”

      • JeeBaiChow@lemmy.worldEnglish
        31·
        3 months ago

        As others have said, to use Russia’s own terminology when they invaded the Ukraine, it’s not an invasion, merely a special military operation. Should be over in 3 days or so.