Yawn. Come on, man.
The media — starting with the lapdog, captive Russian media — breathlessly reported that Putin survived a vicious attempt to assassinate him a couple of nights ago at 2:00 AM local time.
First of two Putin-seeking attack drones explodes on roof of building across the street.
Get a grip, man. Are you really this stupid?
1. Putin doesn’t sleep anywhere near where the “assassination attempt” occurred. Sorry. He never has.
He lives in a massive, elaborate Tsarist palace south of Moscow that is protected by top shelf Russian anti-air weaponry.
2. The “assassination attempt” was caught on video and appeared to be two modest, little drones — one at 2:00 AM and the other twelve minutes later — that struck the tip of a building inside the Kremlin complex nowhere near where the Presidential apartment is — again, Putin was sleeping at his “man-of-the-people” palace south of Moscow under the anti-air cover.
3. Somebody was, apparently, awake across the street on a top floor of a government (Presidential admin building) at the exact instant of the attack and had the presence of mind to start video taping a few seconds before the drones arrived to smote the roof of the building across the street. Sigh.
Incredibly fortuitous.
4. The magnitude of the explosions was tiny. They didn’t even substantially damage that building.
So, why did this happen, Big Red Car?
Ahhh, that is a good question, dear reader.
1. Putin wants to do something out of the norm and will use the assassination attempt as justification for “taking the gloves off?” Go nuclear in retaliation? Assassinate Zelenskyy?
2. Putin continues to message that the war was forced upon Russia. The west, NATO, and the United States are really the aggressors in Ukraine. Yes, of course, Vlad.
3. Putin has cancelled the 9th of May Victory Day Parade and attendant Immortal Regiment Assembly.
Why, Big Red Car?
Well, Russia is getting its butt kicked in Ukraine and most of the Russian army and its gear are committed to that illegal invasion and nobody in the Russian army has a stomach for a parade in Moscow plus most of the gear is committed anyway.
The military doesn’t have any bandwidth to be planning a victory parade.
So, no Victory Day Parade.
The Immortal Regiment Assembly
The Immortal Regiment Assembly is a throng of people who march behind the Victory Day Parade holding framed portraits of their loved ones killed or who served and are now dead from the Great Patriotic War.
Putin is afraid that with more than 150,000 Russians KIA in Ukraine and as many as 2X that number WIA, people are going to carry pictures of their dead sons, brothers, fathers, uncles, husbands, and friends.
This would expose the magnitude of the deaths and cause a bloody riot. Putin exerts complete and total control on all dissidence and opposition in Russia and he will not allow such an assembly to exist.
How does Putin get away with this, Big Red Car?
Have you been paying attention? Putin kills his opponents and dissidents. The guy is totally unencumbered by any consideration of truth.
With the horrific assassination attempt a couple of nights ago, Putin has cancelled the 9 May World War II Victory Day celebration and the attendant Immortal Regiment Assembly.
Boom!
Bottom line it, Big Red Car
I think Putin continues to win the messaging game inside Russia; hopelessly lost outside of Russia.
The cancellation of the Victory Day Parade and the attendant Immortal Regiment Assembly is a huge thing. The military was supposed to deliver Bakhmut to Putin by the 9th of May.
That is not going to happen.
We are approaching a witching hour — the Russians are clearly losing their ass, the Ukrainians are poised to strike with as many as three fresh, trained, well-equipped new corps (3-4 divisions per corps, 12-15,000 men per division) in a violent Summer Offensive with a high probability of success.
I predict the Russian army breaks and is forced to flee which may lead to the overthrow of Putin.
Russian public opinion right now is OK, but showing the first signs of growing opposition and an emerging recognition that Russia simply cannot win in Ukraine.
I hope Putin doesn’t sleep well tonight, or ever again. I pray for his immortal sleep.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.