OLENA ROSHCHINA – WEDNESDAY, 4 MAY 2022, 15:25 Most employees of the Russian government, the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and State Duma MPs did not know about Vladimir Putin’s plans to start a war against Ukraine; high-ranking officials did not have a plan of action for this scenario. Source: Media site “Proekt” Quote: “Most government and Kremlin officials knew nothing about the President’s plans to start fully-fledged military operations, and even high-ranking officials did not have time to draw up an action plan – for example, for the economy or propaganda. In addition, many were shocked by the very idea of a war with a neighbouring state. It was then that one of the high-ranking interlocutors of the “Proekt” in the cabinet of ministers, when asked what he thought about the war, could only squeeze out: “F**k.” Those State Duma MPs who, at the beginning of the year, on the instructions of the leadership, signed an appeal to Putin with a request to recognise the independence of the [Luhansk People’s Republic] LPR and [Donetsk People’s Republic] DPR, felt especially stupid, not having realized that this would be a precursor to war. An acquaintance of one of the parliamentarians recalls: on 24 February, the deputy called him almost in tears: he was very worried because his signature on the appeal was used to start hostilities.” Details: According to “Proekt”, those who were dissatisfied were later “addressed.” A few days later, the aforementioned deputy “in the spirit of the Kremlin manuals” spoke of the need to unite in the face of Western sanctions. After a couple of weeks of the war, a roughly similar thing happened with the high-ranking official who had previously described what was happening with a short obscene word. Now he calls everything that was happening a “window of opportunity” for Russia. Even the MPs who initially decided to publicly oppose the war have fallen silent. In the first days of hostilities, five parliamentarians condemned the Russian aggression. But in April, when the “Proekt” correspondent called all the “dissenting” MPs, they refused to discuss their anti-war statements. When asked why the “dissenting” deputies had fallen silent, a federal official sneered: “There are none who are against it. It’s just that someone spoke inaccurately. Otherwise, everyone always supported it.” The interlocutor, close to the leadership of the United Russia party, clarifies: ‘preventive talks’ were held with those who hesitated. During the hostilities, “Proekt” spoke to a dozen interlocutors – officials and contractors of the Kremlin – and they all stated that they do not understand what goals Russia is pursuing in Ukraine. Also, the interlocutors of the journalists admitted: chaos and confusion reign in everything related to the conduct of the so-called “special operation,” from propaganda to sending troops to Ukraine. Background: The American news company “Bloomberg” previously wrote that Vladimir Putin had made the decision to start a war against Ukraine with a handful of people, and as the offensive began, his circle of advisers narrowed even more; he does not listen to the arguments “against.”
