Fake News and Other Fallacies

Фейк: fake I have been remiss. Although I have mentioned the “Russian” word фейк in many columns, I’ve never really focused on it. I suppose it’s because, well, what’s there to say? Фейк is the standard Russian insult for anything purported to be false, particularly factual information from non-Russian sources. There are plenty of official…

Russia Adds ‘LGBT Movement’ to ‘Terrorists and Extremists’ List

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added the so-called “international LGBT public movement” to its list of terrorists and extremists. Being added to the registry allows the authorities to freeze designees’ bank accounts without a court order. It was not immediately clear how Rosfinmonitoring planned to enforce its rules against the vaguely defined “LGBT movement,”…

Kremlin Planning New Mobilization for Kharkiv Offensive – Vyorstka

Updated with comments from source close to Russia’s Defense Ministry. Russia is planning to recruit 300,000 soldiers for a renewed offensive to seize the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the investigative news outlet Vyorstka reported Friday, citing sources in the Kremlin, Defense Ministry and regional governments. “We’re 300,000 snouts short, that’s why everything’s ready for ‘mobilization…

Kremlin Says Russia in a ‘State of War’

Updated with Peskov’s remarks during Friday’s press briefing. Russia has found itself in a “state of war” with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the pro-government newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published on Friday.  Moscow officially refers to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation,” seeking to downplay the impact of the two-year…