THREAD: A year after Putin sent a Russian family's son to fight and die in Ukraine, I asked them how they feel about the war now.

Their answers may shock you but they help show how Putin has crushed independent media & is rewriting history. Please read.

https://twitter.com/EJ_Burrows/status/1516517836491046918?s=20

On the walls of a school in a tiny village in western Russia hangs a stone plaque in honour of a soldier who died in battle.

Here, on the Eastern Front, millions of Soviet soldiers died fighting Hitler’s Nazi invasion. But the stone plaque on this school is not for one of them.

THREAD: a short look at a scolding from Putin & what it tells us about modern Russia.

Today Putin slammed head of Ministry of Industry & Trade Denis Manturov for not signing any new contracts for aircraft in 2023.

Putin was pictured dramatically eye-rolling & paper shuffling. Broadcast on state TV, the head of the trade ministry told Putin that things were in place ‘taking into account testing, certification and the import substitution programme.’
Russia is under sanctions for its war in Ukraine meaning it can’t access western tech - inc for planes.

NEW: Western officials say Russia's strategy of bombing Ukraine into cold darkness looks like it might stop working. Time between missile salvos is increasing & no. of missiles dropping as Russia struggles to resupply

'At some point, they'll have to go back to the drawing board' NEW: Western officials say, 'the waves were coming continuously at while the Russians felt they had sufficient stocks. Their ability to do this on an ongoing basis has been severely reduced...their strategy hasn’t worked. The Ukrainian people have shown some real resilience.'

Putin/Lukashenko presser: sounds like a Russian bureaucratic takeover of Belarus. Russia & Belarus will streamline customs/tax systems/will have united air defence system.

Lukashenko: 'Are we able to defend our independence without Russia?'

Doesn't sound like there is much left BREAKING: Putin says Russia & Belarus are joining military forces. 'There will be a Russia-Belarus regional grouping of troops. Right now in Belarus a military harmonization event is taking place, including joining our military units. There will be a united air defence system.'

Near the Georgia border crossing into Russia, protesters are playing the Ukrainian national anthem and trolling the Russians who are leaving.

‘In surveys, most of you support the war. So why now are you leaving?’ reads the sign carried by the man draped in the Ukraine flag. This man’s sign says ‘Putin did not personally set off rockets. Putin and 190,000 of his clones did not come to Ukraine on a tank but 190,000 Russians did.’

‘F*** Putin’ he said. #Georgia #Russia

Russia is putting a military conscription office at Russia-Georgia border. The message: try to leave, you’ll be drafted.

Russian officials say cars heading to Georgia is ‘seriously increasing.’ 115K people have crossed in last week here, 23.3% higher than wk before. @tass_agency NEW: At Georgia-Russia border, Danil gave me this video of Russian soldiers in balaclavas arriving. ‘There are thousands of people standing there. When the referendum in Ukraine is over (today) I think Russia is going to declare all-out war and ban men from leaving the country.’

I am at the Russia-Georgia border. Everyone I’ve spoken to has had a journey of 24hrs+ to cross. Some people have not slept in two days. Lots say the queue was so long they got out of the car & walked. Many crossed on bikes. There are lots of children & everyone seems v tired. At Russia-Georgia border, some Russians have queued/biked/walked/scooted for more than 40 hours to cross ‘into safety.’ People are hugging their pets and sitting on suitcases as they work out what to do next…which includes getting through another traffic jam.

‘Learn how to bandage yourself…people are dying from basic blood loss because someone can’t bandage a wound. You are going to fight after this training, so take this seriously.’

‘Where are we going?’ one man shouts.

Mobilization in eastern Siberia, Russia, 7000km from Ukraine. THREAD: Mobilization began in Russia almost as soon as Putin finished speaking. Some people in far eastern Russia were called at 2am in morning. Many videos come from regions 1000s KM from Ukraine where people are poor & have little choice but to sign up.

https://twitter.com/EJ_Burrows/status/1572993269969059841?s=20&t=fR880-JA9Gkc8Mc051OOnw

PUTIN SPEAKING NOW: They (the west) want to weaken, divide and destroy our country. They have had these plans for some time now and have encouraged armed groups and put NATO structures close to our borders. BREAKING PUTIN: The Donetsk People's Republic has been almost entirely liberated from neo-Nazis. We are trying to help people who have been turned into hostages and human shields by the Kyiv regime.

Russia is introducing 'martial law' & 'mobilization' into law. I was in Moscow in March & remember how afraid Russians were of martial law, of borders being closed, civilians drafted.

Putin said it wouldn't happen. Now, he appears poised to make it law.

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1572163073712046082?s=20&t=-Yj-cfqN_Cdv6Z4_lrNy7w

Separatist regions in Ukraine have ‘unanimously voted’ to hold referenda on joining Russia 23-27 Sept. Putin is expected to address the nation tonight. Add that to expected introduction of ‘martial law’ & it’s all a bit reminiscent of 24 Feb just before Russia invaded Ukraine…

NEW: Deputies from 18 Moscow & Petersburg regions said Putin should resign as he is ‘harming the future of Russia & its citizens.’ It is another rumble of discontent. Yesterday Putin ally Kadyrov criticised Russia’s army for ‘astounding’ losses in Ukraine

https://twitter.com/the_ins_ru/status/1569251382745497602?s=21&t=ExGrNHioo_dxkczaEHq5sw

It’s too early to say whether this poses a real threat to Putin’s power. Most Russians get news from state TV & have no idea what is really going on in Ukraine but will be interesting to see what happens if criticism from Putin allies & opponents continues & living standards fall

https://twitter.com/ej_burrows/status/1569288313269362689

BREAKING: Gazprom will stop flow of gas through Nord Stream pipeline from 31 August - 2 Sept. 'The only working Trent 60 gas compressor unit will be shut down for 3 days for maintenance & scheduled preventive maintenance.' Gazprom statement: @tass_agency
tass.ru/ekonomika/1551… Russia's Gazprom says it is carrying out 'routine maintenance' of Nord Stream gas pipeline with Siemens specialists because 'every 1,000 hours maintenance of the unit is necessary which includes inspecting the casing for cracks, burn spots...leaks.'

NEW: Western intelligence official just told reporters attack on Saky airfield in Crimea by Ukraine 'put more than half of Russia's Black Sea Fleet naval aviation combat jets out of use. The Russian system is busy seeking to allocate blame for the debacle.' NEW: Western intelligence official: 'The real story is about (Russia's) Black Sea Fleet. They've lost their flagship Moskva, they lost Snake Island, they lost half of their naval aviation package and their military headquarters was struck.'

Russian airlines have reportedly asked the Transport Ministry to allow them to legally cannibalise planes, including sharing parts between different airlines. Sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine mean airlines are struggling to service fleets. iz.ru/1378848/anasta… Currently there is no law which regulates Russian airlines taking parts from one aircraft to use in another. The transport Ministry told Izvestia that they are developing draft regulations including those aimed at maintaining the airworthiness of civil aircraft.

THREAD: We travelled 8 hours out of Moscow, almost to Belarus, to a tiny village to interview the parents of a 22yr old Russian soldier killed in Ukraine. I urge you to read this because it helps explain Putin’s Russia & the power that comes from controlling information. @itvnews itv.com/news/2022-04-1…

Moscow right now. Russian government building is on left. On right the building is emblazoned with the Z which is now synonymous with Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. I’ve spoken to so many people here who support it - they believe Ukraine is full of fascists. Russians in Moscow do not necessarily explicitly associate sanctions with the operation in Ukraine. Lots of people here believe that sanctions are designed to weaken Russia because America wants to ‘eat Russia through Ukraine.’

Today the UK has hit oligarchs Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich with sanctions saying it’s now sanctioned 106 oligarchs, family members and associates since Feb. Some Russians, including the family of Putin’s spokesperson, remain unsanctioned. Putin’s spox’s ex-wife and son live in Paris. ‘I don't think it’s a crime. They want to live in France, they live in France, so what?’ Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma told @itvnews

Biden says Putin has committed genocide in Ukraine. A senior Russian lawmaker just told @itvnews this ‘cannot be,’ because if Russia had committed such crimes, it would have done a better job at covering up the evidence. ‘No one would have left [corpses] there,’ Alexey Chepa said Chepa is Deputy Chairman of Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs. He told @itvnews ‘even if this [war crimes] had happened’ Russian forces would have taken the ‘corpses [of Ukrainian civilians] and put them in a van with no difficulty’ to hide the evidence.

After touring President Putin’s spaceport in eastern Russia on Cosmonautics Day, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin’s closest ally in Russia’s attacks against Ukraine says alleged Russian war crimes in Bucha are ‘a special operation which the British organised.’ At a visit to Russia’s in-progress cosmodrome, Putin insisted the goals of Russia’s operation in Ukraine are ‘absolutely clear and noble.’ Russia has been accused of, and has denied, committing war crimes in Ukraine, executing and raping civilians, including children.

EXCLUSIVE: I have been given a copy of document issued today by Russian Ministry of Health. It indicates Russia is anticipating a massive medical emergency & has ordered health organisations to immediately identify medical staff ready to relocate & work. The document from Russian Ministry of Health is signed by deputy health minister and dated today 25 February. It asks medical organisations to be ready ‘to be promptly involved in activities aimed at saving lives & preserving the health of people in Russia.’

I’m in Moscow. I’ve lived in Russia for five years and have been travelling here for more than a decade. I speak Russian and have lots of friends in Russia and Ukraine. This is a snapshot of the horror of Putin’s war in Ukraine. My friends are contacting me asking what is going on. I told my friends I didn’t think Russia would invade Ukraine. Military officials in Ukraine said it wouldn’t happen. Now, my friend from Kharkiv is terrified for her family who heard explosions there. They are in hiding.