Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has been speaking on television almost daily since he launched the bloody and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine — and what he has said has grown more and more disturbing.
In Wednesday’s speech, Putin shocked the world by hinting at a coming purge of dissidents, at the expense of Ukraine’s sovereignty and ordinary Russians’ finances.
Putin said:
The collective West is trying to split our society, speculating on military losses, on socioeconomic consequences of sanctions to provoke a civil confrontation in Russia and, using its fifth column, strives to achieve its goal. And the goal is one, I have already said this, the destruction of Russia…
But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish the true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a fly that accidentally flew into the mouth, spit them out. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary cleansing of society will only strengthen our country… The new realities will require deep structural changes in our economy, and — I will not hide it — they will not be easy. They will lead to a temporary increase in inflation and unemployment. Our task in this situation is to minimize such risks.
Amid the war and the fallout, Putin has been experiencing popularity problems. Only 58 percent of Russians reportedly support the war, according to The Washington Post‘s telephone survey of 1,640 randomly selected Russians. 58 percent seems low for a dictatorship.
The value of the Russian ruble has crashed in the face of Western sanctions. And many global companies, such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, withdrew suddenly from the country. Protesters, facing up to 15 years in prison, have taken to the streets in St. Petersberg and Moscow.
And in Ukraine, the once-feared Russian Warmachine has “stalled on all fronts” and resorted to bombing civilians in the face of fierce resistance, logistical issues, and staggering casualties.
Sure enough, Putin appears to have grown paranoid amid the growing opposition.
“Access to information is being restricted, and people are being fed a huge number of fakes, propaganda, and manipulation,” he claimed in a speech.
“An unprecedented information campaign has been unleashed. Global social networks and all the Western media are taking part. Their objectivity and independence turned out to be just a myth.”
The speech appeared to be a warning that his authoritarian rule, which had already grown tighter since the invasion began on Feb. 24, shutting down Russian news outlets and arresting protesters, will likely grow even more repressive.
In a sign of that, Russian law enforcement announced the first known criminal cases under a new law that allows for 15-year prison terms for posting what is deemed to be “false information” about the Ukraine war. Among those charged was Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and blogger living abroad.
However, Putin’s paranoid remarks also reflect the remarkable strength of Ukraine’s resistance. Just this week, Ukrainian officials were holding productive talks with their Russian counterparts.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Tuesday’s meeting that a neutral military status for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russia’s demands for an end to their invasion were becoming “more realistic.”
Wednesday’s talks, held by video, appeared to wade more deeply into technicalities.
Watch Putin’s speech here, with English subtitles provided by Bloomberg and NBC News —
The Horn News and The Associated Press contributed to this article.