Julia Davis reports:

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to stall—along with the Kremlin propaganda blitz meant to convince the Russians that supporting the war is their sacred duty. Pro-Kremlin propagandists unanimously agree that Vladimir Putin’s war is here for the long haul, but bristle at the fact that no one seems to know the end goal of the so-called “special operation.”

During Wednesday’s broadcast of NTV’s show Meeting Place, hosts Andrey Norkin and Ivan Trushkin spearheaded a discussion about the effectiveness of homegrown propaganda, complaining about the lack of views and comments on “patriotic” promo reels urging the youth to rush for the front lines.

One guest, Russian rapper Ptakha, whose real name is David Nuriev, didn’t beat around the bush. “As far as the youth is concerned, honestly speaking, I communicate with a lot of them and very few understand what we’re doing there, because they [Ukrainians] didn’t cross our borders. Very few understand,” he said. “Trying to ride the wave of the Soviet ideology, claiming that we’re fighting Germans, is also very questionable.”

Trushkin asked: “Can you produce a clip explaining what we’re doing there, in a language that’s easy to understand?” Ptakha replied: “I don’t quite understand it myself.” Norkin angrily retorted: “I categorically reject what you’re saying right now, young man. Let’s stop butting heads over here.”

Undeterred, Ptakha continued to speak and said the Wagner Group of mercenaries are at war solely “to make money,” and that the rest of Russian troops don’t understand Moscow’s aims. [Continue reading…]