RUSSIA NEWS & INFORMATION – Johnson’s Russia List contents & links :: JRL 2022-#69:: Friday, 1 April 2022

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2021-#69 :: Friday, 1 April 2022
A project sponsored through the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. The contents do not necessarily represent the views of IERES or The George Washington University.
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1. Twitter: Michael McFaul, Evil vs. Good.

2. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, ‘Scum and traitors’: Hostile environs for Russia’s anti-war activists. The atmosphere inside Russia has turned cold to anyone critical of the country’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. But some, especially youth, are still standing up for their values.

3. TASS: Kommersant: Russia, Ukraine try to understand results of Istanbul meeting.

4. The Conversation: Stefan Wolff, Ukraine peace negotiations: how far are the two sides from a settlement that could stick?

5. The National Interest: Gerald Hyman, Finding an Off-Ramp in Ukraine. The United States and its NATO allies need to address the reality as it is and take several steps to help resolve the conflict.

6. Russia Matters: Latest Poll Shows Sharp Rise in Russian Government Approval Amid Ukraine War, With Caveats.

7. New York Times: Faced with foreign pressure, Russians rally around Putin, poll shows.

8. Intellinews: Ben Aris, An energy embargo on Russia would hurt Europe as much as Russia. Europe is thinking about cutting off Russian gas, but can it afford to?

9. Washington Post: Jeanne Whalen, Despite Western sanctions, Russian ruble and banks are recovering. Lucrative oil and gas exports, and strict currency controls, are behind the stabilization.

10. Asia Times: Andrew Salmon, Putin returns threatening fire on Western sanctions. Moscow demands ruble payment for gas and reaches out to Beijing and New Delhi but long-term economic pain looks inevitable.

11. Wall Street Journal: Ukraine Strikes Inside Russian Territory, Russians Say. Offensive maneuver comes as Russian forces regroup and Ukrainian troops press forward around Kyiv.

12. Wall Street Journal: Samir Puri, Russia Could Still Salvage Victory in Ukraine. Putin may follow a crucial tenet of war: Modify your strategic goals; don’t stick to unachievable ones.

13. Dances With Bears/Vzglyad: THE RUSSIAN ARMY IS PREPARING ITS LARGEST OPERATION SINCE WORLD WAR II.

14. Bloomberg: Mariupol’s Splintering Loyalties May Be Enough for Vladimir Putin. While they did not invite the war from Russia, some residents of the besieged city are now more interested in ending it than in defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.

15. www.rt.com: Ukraine says its defense industry has been almost destroyed. Kiev’s official accused Moscow of trying to reduce Ukraine to a “destroyed territory” in which “no one would be interested”

16. Moscow Times: Mark Galeotti, Echoes of Afghanistan in Russian Soldiers’ Poor Discipline in Ukraine. Poor discipline among the troops can be a sign of an army that has lost sight of its goal.

17. Politico: The influencers behind the Ukrainian PR machine. Lobbyists, lawyers and public relations pros have blitzed Capitol Hill and the media to push Ukraine aid.

18. Creators.com: Patrick Buchanan, Insult Diplomacy: Does Biden’s Vilification of Putin Help?

19. Russian & Eurasian Politics: Gordon Hahn, We’re All Authoritarian Now

20. Intellinews: Moscow warns Islamist militant infiltration of Central Asia could ‘export instability to Russia’. Sergey Lavrov, anxious about developments in Russia’s Central Asian backyard.

21. Russian International Affairs Council: Andrey Kortunov, Moscow’s Painful Adjustment to the Post-Soviet Space.

22. New Cold War: Ukrainian Forces Want to Surrender and Azov Forces Started Shooting At Them – They Are At War With Each Other.

23. Human Rights Watch: Ukraine: Apparent POW Abuse Would Be War Crime. Video Appears to Show Fighters Shooting Russian POWs.

24. www.rt.com: Kiev seeks Western help to whitewash mistreatment of captured Russian troops – Moscow. Ukraine does not want foreign aid groups to inspect Russian POWs after the leak of a torture video, Russian intelligence claims

25. Washington Post: Michael Gerson, How long will the West stay aligned against Putin?