The Kremlin’s propaganda machine has told Russians for years that victory in Ukraine is “existential.” With that in mind, President Vladimir Putin will attend Friday’s summit with President Donald Trump in Alaska to dissuade him from supporting Ukraine and thereby decide the country’s fate off the battlefield.
The situation on the front is dire: Russia has advanced swiftly in the Donbas region. This week, 100,000 Russian troops advanced to the strategically important Kramatorsk-Dobropillia road in the Donetsk region. Just on Wednesday night, there were 56 engagements on the 700-mile-long front. Ukrainians are severely outnumbered and attacked by Russia’s seemingly endless supply of drones. The war’s effects on Ukraine are terrifying: More than 6 million Ukrainians are refugees, and more than 40,000 civilians have been killed, including more than 2,500 children, according to a United Nations report.
The Daily Beast asked Ukrainian politicians, members of the media, and business leaders how Putin will play his cards.
The post This Is the Propaganda Barrage Putin Will Use to Snow Trump appeared first on The Daily Beast