“It is noteworthy that Russia is very well prepared for this war, including on the economic front…”
Stiff Ukrainian resistance and strong support from the West, including economic sanctions, military supplies, and humanitarian aid, have hampered the Kremlin’s plans. As the conflict drags on, the Kremlin’s strategic objectives in Ukraine could change, and along with them, the narrative surrounding the conflict. The accompanying excerpt from an article in the popular pro-Kremlin source Vzglyad reflects the start of such a transformation. It asserts that Russians now perceive the “special operation” in Ukraine as “a local episode of the war between Russia and the United States” or “as the third Patriotic war, but in a different format.”
As the second source from Youtube indicates the Vzglyad article is actually a synopsis of a video from a pro-Kremlin blogger that has gathered more than 3 million views since its release in early March. The author, Yuri Podolyaka, claims that the so-called “special operation” in Ukraine has resulted in “an unprecedented patriotic upsurge” among Russians, and that “Russia is very well prepared for this war, including on the economic front.” He goes on to assert that “the imposition of sanctions suggests that the West does not understand the Russian mentality and how Russian society lives.” Russians are happy to see that the elite are being punished. The author concludes by repeating Kremlin claims that Russia invaded Ukraine “to protect people from bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime,” and that “Russia prevented the appearance of nuclear weapons at the disposal of the Kiev regime.” This global struggle, the author proclaims, will “result in a new world. The old familiar world will no longer exist.”
Source:
Rafael Fakhrutdinov, “Юрий Подоляка: Россия подготовилась к войне с США за передел мира (Yuri Podolyaka: Russia prepared for war with the United States for the redivision of the world),” Vzglyad (popular, pro-Kremlin source), 10 March 2022. https://vz.ru/news/2022/3/10/1147846.html
“Russians perceive the current Russian special operation in Ukraine as a local episode of the war between Russia and the United States, as the third Patriotic war, but in a different format,” said popular Ukrainian video blogger Yuriy Podolyaka, who is based in Sevastopol. “Events in the information and psychological war are no less important than what is happening now on the fronts in Ukraine…. But what I really see in Russia is an unprecedented patriotic upsurge.”
According to him, many Russians perceive the current special operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine as necessary – to liberate the Ukrainian state from the clique that unleashed the war in 2014. “Ukrainians preferred not to notice the massacre for eight years. And war tends to come to you if you don’t notice it. However, what is happening in Ukraine is only a local moment of the war between Russia and the United States for the redivision of the world. And the main events are yet to come. They will occur after the end of the operation in Ukraine,” the expert is sure.
According to him, the world is waiting for a powerful economic crisis. “It is noteworthy that Russia is very well prepared for this war, including on the economic front…. That is why Russians are not afraid of either the dollar exchange rate or other factors. Yes, the Russians will live financially worse, like the rest of the world. But this is not the effect that the West was counting on,” the analyst emphasized.
The blogger noted: The West expected that the Russians, accustomed to living well, with a deterioration in their financial situation, would begin to fight with the authorities. “The imposition of sanctions suggests that the West does not understand the Russian mentality and how Russian society lives….
“I want all Ukrainians and Russians to understand that the Ukrainian operation is just an episode in the struggle, the result of which will be a new world. The old familiar world will no longer exist…” Podolyaka predicted.
“…Recall that Vladimir Putin, in his address on the morning of February 24, directly outlined one of the main goals of the special operation – to protect people from bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime. In addition, Russia prevented the appearance of nuclear weapons at the disposal of the Kiev regime. The Supreme Commander directly indicated that Moscow would not allow such a development of events.”
Source: Yuri Podolyaka, “Война на Украине: а что в России – переворот, на который рассчитывают в Киеве, он будет или нет? (War in Ukraine: what about in Russia – a coup that Kyiv is counting on, will it happen or not?),” YouTube, 10 March 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWpPW77tvHg
…The Third World War began in 2014, and since then, Russia has been preparing to fight—particularly on the economic front….
…The fight today in Ukraine is not about Ukraine, but rather it’s a fight with the US which will determine how the world is divided….
…Western experts made the fatal mistake of believing that economic sanctions, which will cause Russian people to live poorly, would somehow prompt a revolt against the authorities…. They simply don’t understand the Russian mentality…. They are happy to see the oligarchs punished, happy to see Western companies leave the country… Western economic pressure has forced the Kremlin leadership to make fundamental economic reforms which the people have been clamoring for…
…The only thing Russians worry about are large personnel losses in Ukraine….