Vladimir Putin may or may not be aware of the planned punishment announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if Russia loses this war because it sounds like he doesn’t want to know anything. He has been more visible lately after Zelensky’s proof of life call, but apparently, the Russian president has bunker fever in a bad way and has done everything possible to shield himself from threats, perceived or legitimate. Gotta keep ahold of those pickles after all, and given that Putin is the subject of an international arrest warrant, the walls might truly be closing in around him.
This is the case despite planned propaganda-laden visits to parts of Russia-occupied Ukraine. According to an ex-Russian intelligence officer and Federal Guard Service captain, Gleb Karakulov, things are very dire in Putin’s mind. Via Business Insider, Karakulov spoke with the Dossier Center for Investigative Journalism and expressed his observation that Putin is “pathologically afraid for his life.” Further, the Russian president reportedly hides away in his various palaces and doesn’t trust the Internet and won’t use a cell phone:
“In all my years of service, I haven’t seen him once with a mobile phone,” Karakulov said, per the Dossier Center.
“He doesn’t use the internet or a mobile phone,” Karakulov added. “He only receives information from his closest circle, which means that he lives in an information vacuum.” Putin generally gathers information from secret service intelligence reports, as well as Russian TV news channels, according to Karakulov. “The President insists on having Russian television in every venue he stays in,” he said.
In other words, Putin is content to shelter himself from reality and only watch Russian State-approved news broadcasts. This sounds like the ideal way for him to live, honestly, at least until Russia runs out of available troops after losing an untold number of soldiers and cycling through massive drafts. Russians elites are angry, and life in the nation is no walk in the park these days. It’s no wonder that Putin doesn’t want to look.
(Via Business Insider)