Stop saying that the war in Ukraine is being waged by Russia and the Russian people. It's a war of Putin and his regime. The narrative that Russia as a whole is at war benefits Putin and is not true. A thread 1/8
Russian people by no means benefit from this war. Even though a lot of brainwashed TV-viewers cheer on the invasion, only a very small proportion of them are willing to sacrifice their lives for the success of the so-called “special military operation” 2/8
The first wave of mobilization was the direct consequence of Putin's failure to recruit enough people for military contracts. Despite offering salaries of up to $6500/month (far above the officially average $700/month), they still couldn't find enough men willing to serve 3/8
Russia saw a huge number of contracted military personnel who, upon returning from deployment, refused to do another tour of duty due to newly developed pacifist beliefs. Rights activist Sergey Krivenko, a "Memorial" board member, says there are thousands of them 4/8
In light of this in September, despite multiple assurances to the public, Putin issued an open-ended, half-secretive decree allowing military to draft pretty much anyone they wanted. He also banned contracted soldiers from ending their service — direct response to a new trend 5/8
This is not what the national war looks like. People may repeat the propaganda talking points under the threat of imprisonment or because they don’t know any better, but they clearly do not feel like this is their war. Nor do they see it as a just war 6/8
Propaganda TV ratings are declining and people are growing tired of the official narrative. This trend should be supported by everyone opposed to the war. Framing Putin’s war as a national war is not that 7/8
Therefore: while Ukrainian experience in the context of war should absolutely be central, we must push back against Putin's portrayal of Russia as a besieged fortress and expose how he is also harming his own people by making them poorer and more isolated 8/8
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