This is an important point. It also underscores the absence of a “playbook” that we’ve heard so much about in recent weeks. In 2014, Moscow only had to twist reality in constructing narratives. This time, they’re just making things up. Thread 1/8
https://twitter.com/eliothiggins/status/1494685665702957057
In 2014, there was a revolution led by an armed far-right nationalist vanguard that ousted a democratically elected (though repressive and autocratic) govt dominated by pols from the south and east. 2/8
They actually had a banner of Bandera’s portrait on the Maidan. Really. Clearly there was a *lot* more to the Maidan Rev than that, but those images provided ample material for Russian TV. 3/8
Today, the president of Ukraine is a native Russian speaker of Jewish descent from the east. Most Russians know him from TV sit coms. Hard to make him out to be fascist. 4/8
The Ukrainian military has been observing the ceasefire for weeks. Ze has presided over the calmest period on the LoC. 5/8
Etc. So the narratives being constructed today are whole-cloth manufactured baloney made up from thin air, to mix my metaphors. 6/8
I don’t think this really matters in terms of Russian operational decision-making, but it could well limit the extent of intl support for its actions. 7/8
Domestic opinion will also be harder to sway with this stuff. But given the repression of organized opposition in Russia that probably matters less. 8/8
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