Josh Morgerman

Russia has once again demanded that Ukraine surrender Donbas territory to begin negotiations. Peskov said: "President Zelenskyy must order the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease fire and withdraw from the Russian regions. Only then will a ceasefire take effect, allowing the parties to engage in negotiations." The Kremlin continues to insist on a "surrender first, dialogue later" format for negotiations. Peskov’s statement implies that Russia is demanding the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces not just from Donbas but also from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - territories that Putin has illegally added to the Russian constitution. In reality, the Russian army is advancing extremely slowly, while the Ukrainian military is expanding the "kill zone" and maintaining control over the skies. This raises a logical question: on what grounds does Putin believe he can issue such demands? One likely assumption is that Putin, isolated in his bunker with very limited communication, is receiving distorted information regarding the actual situation at the front. A prime example of this is the case of Kupiansk. Similarly, Putin is being lied to about the true state of the Russian economy. I will post a ridiculous video about this below. Essentially, Putin has long since become a victim of his own propaganda.