Notices by Maria Popova (popovaprof@russiaukraine.world)

@JapanProf @ja_herre yes, interesting that so far Meloni fits the model of "radical comes to power and moderates to stay in power". I wonder why she went that route and how longer she'll stay on it.

@ja_herre @JapanProf Very interesting take! (and perfectly worded in English too ? Thanks

@JapanProf Indeed. I saw an article in passing that talked precisely about Le Pen taking very careful notes. For one, Le Pen should reassess her pro-Putin stance

Ru propaganda portrays the Ru army as heirs to WWII soldiers who defended the motherland. And Russians supposedly buy the propaganda and think they are the good guys. That's what some trying to explain the lack of antiwar protests claim.

However, the recruitment messages the Ru state is putting out are totally different. The pitch is "you'll make money and get respect as a man".

Russians *know* the war isn't defensive. Otherwise, they'd be signing up to defend, not to pay off their debts.

France backs proposal to create criminal tribunal for Ru officials! Might seem like a small step on a long road, but it is very significant politically.

1) It indicates France/EU realize negotiating w Pu is a fool's errand. 9mo have made it clear that Ru wants to destroy Ukr and is unwilling to scale back goals.

2) It signals to Pu that Europeans aren't the weak-link/US-puppets he takes them for. US leads on military aid, but Eu plan to lead on punishing war criminals

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/01/france-backs-plans-for-tribunal-for-russian-officials-over-ukraine-war