Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today that withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is a recognition of American failure in Afghanistan.
Lavrov hasn’t ever enjoyed a reputation of skillful diplomat, at least in Washington. Now his career came to a point when it is impossible to take him serious. Lavrov is leading the list of Putin’s United Russia party in the coming parliamentary election, so he is more about propaganda than foreign relations.
He was never instrumental or influential in Russian foreign policy. These remarks about withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan indicate his inability or unwillingness to stay in touch with reality.
It is another game which is beyond Lavrov's abilities. Compare him with Jake Sullivan. Anyway, he did enough for a high-ranked position in Russian parliament. Lavrov will fit very well with sportsmen and actors.
Lavrov hasn’t ever enjoyed a reputation of skillful diplomat, at least in Washington. Now his career came to a point when it is impossible to take him serious. Lavrov is leading the list of Putin’s United Russia party in the coming parliamentary election, so he is more about propaganda than foreign relations.
He was never instrumental or influential in Russian foreign policy. These remarks about withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan indicate his inability or unwillingness to stay in touch with reality.
It is another game which is beyond Lavrov's abilities. Compare him with Jake Sullivan. Anyway, he did enough for a high-ranked position in Russian parliament. Lavrov will fit very well with sportsmen and actors.
Taliban delegation is in Moscow (although Taliban is designated by Russia as a terrorist movement), Tajikistan requested Russian help. That’s how, according to Russian state media and Sergei Lavrov, American defeat looks like. And it hasn’t even started yet.
Talks With Terrorists
Interesting feature of Russia’s talks with Taliban is that the latter is banned in Russia as a terrorist organization. Lavrov yesterday was literally talking with terrorists under the Russian law.
Even the favorite Russian argument "Americans are even worse" doesn't work in this case because Taliban is not designated by the US.
At the same time Kremlin punishes Russians for all kinds of alleged “support” of terrorism and extremism, imposing disproportionate restrictions of fundamental rights and freedoms of people and constantly introducing new oppressive amendments and bills.
Why are Russians jailed for “supporting” terrorism in social networks if Kremlin is officially involved in a business with terrorists? It is nothing but a rhetoric question. That’s how Russia is being run by its feudal lords.
Interesting feature of Russia’s talks with Taliban is that the latter is banned in Russia as a terrorist organization. Lavrov yesterday was literally talking with terrorists under the Russian law.
Even the favorite Russian argument "Americans are even worse" doesn't work in this case because Taliban is not designated by the US.
At the same time Kremlin punishes Russians for all kinds of alleged “support” of terrorism and extremism, imposing disproportionate restrictions of fundamental rights and freedoms of people and constantly introducing new oppressive amendments and bills.
Why are Russians jailed for “supporting” terrorism in social networks if Kremlin is officially involved in a business with terrorists? It is nothing but a rhetoric question. That’s how Russia is being run by its feudal lords.
The Hand of Americans
Kremlin’s telegram major Nezygar says that Taliban’s activities are coordinated by American instructors and PMCs. Would be silly to think that the withdrawal of troops will lead to a complete withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan.
We are in, although CIA’s William Burns has already stated that it would be much harder now to collect intelligence in Afghanistan. Anyway, the American capability to anticipate and to contest any actions in the region is still the same.
Pakistan’s role will be more or less crucial now. It’s on Biden’s Administration now to establish productive relationships with Imran Khan. Jake Sullivan made a promising statement regarding discussions with Pakistan.
William Burns has made a secret visit to Pakistan a month ago to hold meetings with the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency Faiz Hamid and Army Chief Javed Bajwa. British infrastructure will also be helpful in achieving Washington’s goals in the region.
Tajikistan could be the first one to fall. It is a very poor country with very young population, corrupted regime and potentially strong Islamic movement. Every opportunity will be evaluated and tested.
Taliban knows very well that US and China are strong, while Russia is weak. Yesterday’s agreements with Moscow do not matter much.
Kremlin’s telegram major Nezygar says that Taliban’s activities are coordinated by American instructors and PMCs. Would be silly to think that the withdrawal of troops will lead to a complete withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan.
We are in, although CIA’s William Burns has already stated that it would be much harder now to collect intelligence in Afghanistan. Anyway, the American capability to anticipate and to contest any actions in the region is still the same.
Pakistan’s role will be more or less crucial now. It’s on Biden’s Administration now to establish productive relationships with Imran Khan. Jake Sullivan made a promising statement regarding discussions with Pakistan.
William Burns has made a secret visit to Pakistan a month ago to hold meetings with the head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency Faiz Hamid and Army Chief Javed Bajwa. British infrastructure will also be helpful in achieving Washington’s goals in the region.
Tajikistan could be the first one to fall. It is a very poor country with very young population, corrupted regime and potentially strong Islamic movement. Every opportunity will be evaluated and tested.
Taliban knows very well that US and China are strong, while Russia is weak. Yesterday’s agreements with Moscow do not matter much.
Russian media and telegram are ridiculously confused about the Russia-Taliban contacts. It suddenly appeared that talibs actually asked Russia to help them with lifting sanctions imposed on their organization.
Talibs deserve credit for their sense of humor, as they asked for help Russia which is heavily sanctioned itself. Anyway, the Russian approach to the coming problems in Central Asia is indeed mixed, as Mark Episkopos points out in his National Interest article.
One thing is obvious: aging Russian leaders struggle to follow the rapid changes in the modern world. When Taliban starts to pressure its neighboring Russian allies, it could be too much for Russia. Russian positions are indeed weak, but it is not that simple.
The real question is whether Russia itself is slowly falling out of history.
Talibs deserve credit for their sense of humor, as they asked for help Russia which is heavily sanctioned itself. Anyway, the Russian approach to the coming problems in Central Asia is indeed mixed, as Mark Episkopos points out in his National Interest article.
One thing is obvious: aging Russian leaders struggle to follow the rapid changes in the modern world. When Taliban starts to pressure its neighboring Russian allies, it could be too much for Russia. Russian positions are indeed weak, but it is not that simple.
The real question is whether Russia itself is slowly falling out of history.
Kremlin has published Vladimir Putin's article on Russia and Ukraine. It openly promotes Russian nationalism and even chauvinism. We will elaborate on its details later, but there is no doubt that not only Ukranians understand Putin's nationalist aggressive sentiment and its possible consequences.
Belarusians first of all.
The more Putin uses openly nationalist language, the less chances Russia has to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours. Biden should give his junior partner a call and thank him on behalf the US. Good job.
Belarusians first of all.
The more Putin uses openly nationalist language, the less chances Russia has to maintain friendly relations with its neighbours. Biden should give his junior partner a call and thank him on behalf the US. Good job.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin-Galkovsky
Russian nationalist sentiment denies the very existence of Ukranian and Belarusian identities, and that’s what Putin claimed in his article. Nonetheless, the aging president is being widely ridiculed in Telegram.
The article is basically an aggressive territorial claim against Ukraine and all post-Soviet states. The funniest parts of Putin's text are the ideas of once popular Russian pop-conspiracy chauvinist blogger Dmitry Galkovsky.
Putin single-handedly proved right all the Western media and politicians, who make their living of the „aggressive Russia’’ narrative. He is well out of time, though. Putin could be viewed as a protector of Russians in 2014, after the takeover of Crimea.
It is 2021 now, and Putin is an aging corrupted leader of a declining country with no cultural attractiveness whatsoever. The article was written for poor Russians only, because there is hardly anyone in Ukraine or Belarus who wants to be a Russian.
The aging president could as well cry about it, with all this chauvinist Galkovsky-like nonsense. He just doesn’t have an adequate language to understand and describe the reality.
Russian nationalist sentiment denies the very existence of Ukranian and Belarusian identities, and that’s what Putin claimed in his article. Nonetheless, the aging president is being widely ridiculed in Telegram.
The article is basically an aggressive territorial claim against Ukraine and all post-Soviet states. The funniest parts of Putin's text are the ideas of once popular Russian pop-conspiracy chauvinist blogger Dmitry Galkovsky.
Putin single-handedly proved right all the Western media and politicians, who make their living of the „aggressive Russia’’ narrative. He is well out of time, though. Putin could be viewed as a protector of Russians in 2014, after the takeover of Crimea.
It is 2021 now, and Putin is an aging corrupted leader of a declining country with no cultural attractiveness whatsoever. The article was written for poor Russians only, because there is hardly anyone in Ukraine or Belarus who wants to be a Russian.
The aging president could as well cry about it, with all this chauvinist Galkovsky-like nonsense. He just doesn’t have an adequate language to understand and describe the reality.
Club of Pariahs
International pariah Alexander Lukashenko is visiting to Russia right after Taliban delegation. He is supposed to hold talks with his Russian counterpart on Saturday.
Taliban, Lukashenko, narcos in Venezuela – that’s how “superpower” goes.
Meanwhile pro-European party of Maia Sandu has won the majority in the parliament of Moldova, defeating pro-Russian communists and socialists. It is another failure of Kremlin and FSB, which once again showed that they are effective only in corruption and oppression of Russians.
Moldova’s move toward the West is inevitable not only because of its current pro-Western elites, it is clearly people’s choice.
Nobody wants to live like Russians, people always look for better, which is the West. The cultural war is lost.
International pariah Alexander Lukashenko is visiting to Russia right after Taliban delegation. He is supposed to hold talks with his Russian counterpart on Saturday.
Taliban, Lukashenko, narcos in Venezuela – that’s how “superpower” goes.
Meanwhile pro-European party of Maia Sandu has won the majority in the parliament of Moldova, defeating pro-Russian communists and socialists. It is another failure of Kremlin and FSB, which once again showed that they are effective only in corruption and oppression of Russians.
Moldova’s move toward the West is inevitable not only because of its current pro-Western elites, it is clearly people’s choice.
Nobody wants to live like Russians, people always look for better, which is the West. The cultural war is lost.
Russian Vaccination Crisis
Reuters reports that the developers of Sputnik V vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process. According to Reuters, European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s review of the drug’s safety was delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data on the vaccine's clinical trials was missed.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI) denied these reports as attempts to prevent Sputnik V from getting an access to the European market. As usual, Russians referred to the attack of Western lobby.
Vaccination adventures of Russia strongly resemble tragicomedy. Failed delivery to Guatemala, incident with Slovakia, now this.
It’s not that Russian officials are usually lying, and RFPI’s Kirill Dmitriev, whose wife is a close friend of Putin’s daughter, is of course de-facto a very high-ranked official. It is the incompetence of the whole Russia public administration system.
They could fail to meet European requirements just because of their sheer incompetence. Reuter’s information perfectly explains why Putin and Russian state media promote Sputnik V out of all three Russian vaccines. Business as usual.
Reuters reports that the developers of Sputnik V vaccine have repeatedly failed to provide data that regulators deem to be standard requirements of the drug approval process. According to Reuters, European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s review of the drug’s safety was delayed because a June 10 deadline to submit data on the vaccine's clinical trials was missed.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RFPI) denied these reports as attempts to prevent Sputnik V from getting an access to the European market. As usual, Russians referred to the attack of Western lobby.
Vaccination adventures of Russia strongly resemble tragicomedy. Failed delivery to Guatemala, incident with Slovakia, now this.
It’s not that Russian officials are usually lying, and RFPI’s Kirill Dmitriev, whose wife is a close friend of Putin’s daughter, is of course de-facto a very high-ranked official. It is the incompetence of the whole Russia public administration system.
They could fail to meet European requirements just because of their sheer incompetence. Reuter’s information perfectly explains why Putin and Russian state media promote Sputnik V out of all three Russian vaccines. Business as usual.
The latest UNICEF report reflects the striking poverty in Russia. According to official sources, 9 mln Russians belong to the category of moderately of severely food insecure people.
The latest Rosstat (Federal Stat Agency) data, published yesterday, shows that 75% of Russian households fail to satisfy their basic needs.
Kremlin’s spokesman Peskov said that he cannot give any comment on this issue. Fairly so, because Russian public administration is about anything but the people.
What is Putin doing while Russians are literally surviving? Discussing Ukraine, glorifying Stalin’s approach to national policies and denying Ukranian and Belarusian identities the same way one German leader denied Austrian identity or Saddam Hussein denied Kuwaitis.
Those are the priorities of the regime.
The latest Rosstat (Federal Stat Agency) data, published yesterday, shows that 75% of Russian households fail to satisfy their basic needs.
Kremlin’s spokesman Peskov said that he cannot give any comment on this issue. Fairly so, because Russian public administration is about anything but the people.
What is Putin doing while Russians are literally surviving? Discussing Ukraine, glorifying Stalin’s approach to national policies and denying Ukranian and Belarusian identities the same way one German leader denied Austrian identity or Saddam Hussein denied Kuwaitis.
Those are the priorities of the regime.
Ukraine’s powerful Interior Minister Arsen Avakov resigned from his office. The case is quite obvious, and although Avakov resigned, he is not going anywhere. The interesting thing about his resignation is the enormous attention it drew in Russia.
Moscow’s Ukranian ressentiment is sometimes funny. “The Third Rome” is almost obsessed with Ukranian strongman. Russian telegram has been commenting on him non-stop.
Russian much ado is really about nothing. The whole excitement is the best showcase of Russia's provincial state of mind. It tries to be big dangerous, but is just a little vicious.
Moscow’s Ukranian ressentiment is sometimes funny. “The Third Rome” is almost obsessed with Ukranian strongman. Russian telegram has been commenting on him non-stop.
Russian much ado is really about nothing. The whole excitement is the best showcase of Russia's provincial state of mind. It tries to be big dangerous, but is just a little vicious.
The Russian authorities have banned the investigative outlet Proekt Media as an “undesirable organization” and blacklisted its journalists as “foreign agents.”
Looks like the latest investigation of Proekt on the wealth of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and his contacts with notorious Izmailovsky criminal group was too much for Kremlin, so it decided to act the only way it really can – to ban, to cancel, to blacklist.
Anti-corruption investigations pose a threat only to corrupted regimes. Journalism is indeed not a crime. Corruption is. Proekt Media, stay strong.
Looks like the latest investigation of Proekt on the wealth of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and his contacts with notorious Izmailovsky criminal group was too much for Kremlin, so it decided to act the only way it really can – to ban, to cancel, to blacklist.
Anti-corruption investigations pose a threat only to corrupted regimes. Journalism is indeed not a crime. Corruption is. Proekt Media, stay strong.
Dreams of Anschluss
Vladimir Putin’s text on Russians, Ukranians and Belarusians being one Russian nation has been added to the Russian military’s curriculum on Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s personal order.
Russia indeed resembles late Soviet Union. Its aging feudal rulers surely dream of Ukraine’s Anschluss, but Russia isn’t capable even of avoiding humiliations from Lukashenko.
Using Putin’s own words, “stupid and funny”.
Vladimir Putin’s text on Russians, Ukranians and Belarusians being one Russian nation has been added to the Russian military’s curriculum on Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s personal order.
Russia indeed resembles late Soviet Union. Its aging feudal rulers surely dream of Ukraine’s Anschluss, but Russia isn’t capable even of avoiding humiliations from Lukashenko.
Using Putin’s own words, “stupid and funny”.
A brilliant piece of writing on Biden’s antitrust executive order which could change the track of American economy and welfare for years to come. It went largely unnoticed in Russia.
Biden looks for a fair competition in order to make economy more healthy and drive the prices down. Russia is moving the opposite way with its state oligarchs and unwillingness to raise wages and maintain some kind of social equality in the country.
It’s not clear whether Biden’s competition policy will be successful, but the way of thinking of his team is rather obvious. It strongly differs from Russian neo-feudalism.
Biden looks for a fair competition in order to make economy more healthy and drive the prices down. Russia is moving the opposite way with its state oligarchs and unwillingness to raise wages and maintain some kind of social equality in the country.
It’s not clear whether Biden’s competition policy will be successful, but the way of thinking of his team is rather obvious. It strongly differs from Russian neo-feudalism.
Russian Vaccination Crisis: Kirill Dmitriev
Moscow Times revealed a resale scheme of Sputnik V with Emirati royal middleman Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum being involved in it. Al-Maktoum resold the Russian vaccines to governments and private sector buyers at up to twice Russia’s official price.
The scheme would be impossible without the producer of Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Direct Investment Fund. Kirill Dmitriev and his management along with several Russian high-ranked officials got their shares of Emirati profits.
Dmitriev has very high-ranked contacts in Arab world. In 2013 RDIF and Dubai’s crown prince Mohammad Bin Zayed's Mubadala Company launched a $2 billion co-investment fund. Now Dmitriev is making money with other Emirati sheikh.
Everything in Russia is about money.
Moscow Times revealed a resale scheme of Sputnik V with Emirati royal middleman Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum being involved in it. Al-Maktoum resold the Russian vaccines to governments and private sector buyers at up to twice Russia’s official price.
The scheme would be impossible without the producer of Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Direct Investment Fund. Kirill Dmitriev and his management along with several Russian high-ranked officials got their shares of Emirati profits.
Dmitriev has very high-ranked contacts in Arab world. In 2013 RDIF and Dubai’s crown prince Mohammad Bin Zayed's Mubadala Company launched a $2 billion co-investment fund. Now Dmitriev is making money with other Emirati sheikh.
Everything in Russia is about money.
Kremlin should stop killing Russian regions. They are already dead.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has assigned supervisory responsibilities over Russia’s federal districts to his deputies. Each one of them will be responsible for one federal district.
Russian regions are already almost dead, but Kremlin keeps on working on centralizing an overcentralized country and creating new levels of bureaucracy for the regions. Coronavirus pandemic has been used to push this process further and completely destroy Russian federalism.
As for now, Russia is everything but a federation. Regions have absolutely no place to make any economic or political moves with regard to local ways of life, interests and circumstances. They are completely stripped of responsibilities, resources and actual rights to elect governors.
To proceed with its current ways Kremlin must keep Russian regions poor and irrelevant. That’s the strategy.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has assigned supervisory responsibilities over Russia’s federal districts to his deputies. Each one of them will be responsible for one federal district.
Russian regions are already almost dead, but Kremlin keeps on working on centralizing an overcentralized country and creating new levels of bureaucracy for the regions. Coronavirus pandemic has been used to push this process further and completely destroy Russian federalism.
As for now, Russia is everything but a federation. Regions have absolutely no place to make any economic or political moves with regard to local ways of life, interests and circumstances. They are completely stripped of responsibilities, resources and actual rights to elect governors.
To proceed with its current ways Kremlin must keep Russian regions poor and irrelevant. That’s the strategy.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has published a list of military information that is off-limits to foreigners, including nearly every aspect of state space agency Roscosmos of Dmitry Rogozin.
Roskosmos has been plagued by enormous corruption for years, with billion dollars frauds and public scandals with Vostochny cosmodrom that seemed to be too much even for Russia. Nonetheless, Dmitry Rogozin hasn’t lost his job: he belongs to the group of people that cannot be touched no matter what.
Corruption in Roskosmos is officially under protection of FSB now.
Roskosmos has been plagued by enormous corruption for years, with billion dollars frauds and public scandals with Vostochny cosmodrom that seemed to be too much even for Russia. Nonetheless, Dmitry Rogozin hasn’t lost his job: he belongs to the group of people that cannot be touched no matter what.
Corruption in Roskosmos is officially under protection of FSB now.
Vladimir Putin has introduced to the State Duma a bill allowing top military officers to remain in their posts past the age of 70 in case they have the military rank of Marshal of the Russian Federation, General of the Army, or Admiral of the Fleet.
Sergei Shoigu is 66 now, so, first, this bill actually means that one day he will become the second Marshall of Russia in history. Second, it means that 68 years old Putin plans to rule Russia until he is alive.
Third, it means that Putin’s inner circle is becoming more and more tight. The aging President doesn’t trust anyone except for his long-time friends. It’s strange to assume that Russia with its decorated military tradition doesn’t have officers to fill in the position of Defense Minister other than Shoigu.
This move is welcome in the US, as it makes every Russian move predictable for years to come. Putin, Shoigu and other irreplaceable old men have been in office forever and are an open book for Washington.
Russia under these people is less and less dangerous every year.
Sergei Shoigu is 66 now, so, first, this bill actually means that one day he will become the second Marshall of Russia in history. Second, it means that 68 years old Putin plans to rule Russia until he is alive.
Third, it means that Putin’s inner circle is becoming more and more tight. The aging President doesn’t trust anyone except for his long-time friends. It’s strange to assume that Russia with its decorated military tradition doesn’t have officers to fill in the position of Defense Minister other than Shoigu.
This move is welcome in the US, as it makes every Russian move predictable for years to come. Putin, Shoigu and other irreplaceable old men have been in office forever and are an open book for Washington.
Russia under these people is less and less dangerous every year.
Russia in one picture.
At the picture in the left - The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the developer of Sputnik V vaccine.
At the picture in the right – the mansion of Alexei Safonov, traffic enforcement officer in Russian Stavropol province, who was arrested yesterday.
One more time, Safonov isn’t even close to being a member of Russian elite, he was only the head of regional traffic enforcement.
At the picture in the left - The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the developer of Sputnik V vaccine.
At the picture in the right – the mansion of Alexei Safonov, traffic enforcement officer in Russian Stavropol province, who was arrested yesterday.
One more time, Safonov isn’t even close to being a member of Russian elite, he was only the head of regional traffic enforcement.
Russia will help Tajikistan build an outpost on the border with Afghanistan amidst Taliban offensive against official Kabul. The border with Tajikistan is already under full control of Taliban.
Russia has two major problems now. First, the Tajik-Afghan border is very lengthy, so it is practically difficult to maintain control over it, especially against swarming tactics. Second, the danger comes not only from Taliban.
Lost in all of this are terrorists from Islamic State and Al Qaeda that are also present in Afghanistan. Taliban seeks international legitimacy, so it will surely avoid any unnecessary trouble with Americans and international community. Which means that Afghanistan won’t be a haven for ISIS or Al Qaeda.
There won’t be any ISIS or Al Qaeda reboot in Afghanistan. Taliban will be pushing them out, so where do they have to go and how much will it cost Russia?
Russia has two major problems now. First, the Tajik-Afghan border is very lengthy, so it is practically difficult to maintain control over it, especially against swarming tactics. Second, the danger comes not only from Taliban.
Lost in all of this are terrorists from Islamic State and Al Qaeda that are also present in Afghanistan. Taliban seeks international legitimacy, so it will surely avoid any unnecessary trouble with Americans and international community. Which means that Afghanistan won’t be a haven for ISIS or Al Qaeda.
There won’t be any ISIS or Al Qaeda reboot in Afghanistan. Taliban will be pushing them out, so where do they have to go and how much will it cost Russia?
Russia has failed another Sputnik V vaccine delivery abroad, this time to Argentina.
According to Argentinian media, the country has found itself in a critical position because Russian Direct Investment Fund has failed to fulfill its delivery commitments. The government of Argentina has confirmed the media report.
Russia owes Argentina about 18mln doses of vaccine, most of them are the second-component doses. The vaccination rate in Argentina is very low because of the vaccine shortages. Argentina is on the verge of canceling the contract.
Buenos Aires gambled on Russia as a reliable partner and lost. At the same time, Kirill Dmitriev from RDIF and his associates are making money on shipping the vaccine to their Arab royal friends who resell it to the third countries.
You just cannot rely on declining Russia. Let’s see what shameful explanation Kremlin’s propagandists will invent this time though.
According to Argentinian media, the country has found itself in a critical position because Russian Direct Investment Fund has failed to fulfill its delivery commitments. The government of Argentina has confirmed the media report.
Russia owes Argentina about 18mln doses of vaccine, most of them are the second-component doses. The vaccination rate in Argentina is very low because of the vaccine shortages. Argentina is on the verge of canceling the contract.
Buenos Aires gambled on Russia as a reliable partner and lost. At the same time, Kirill Dmitriev from RDIF and his associates are making money on shipping the vaccine to their Arab royal friends who resell it to the third countries.
You just cannot rely on declining Russia. Let’s see what shameful explanation Kremlin’s propagandists will invent this time though.