The state-controlled media in Moscow struck a triumphant tone in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognise the Donetsk and Luhansk republics as sovereign states.
Broadcasts stuck to the Kremlin playbook that Ukraine had been launching an invasion of the Donbas while a political analyst on Channel 1’s Vremya Pokazhet show, Nikita Danyuk, insisted Ukraine was not a real state.
Channel 1 TV said Russians were “witness to an important historic event”.
Putin’s move was “true historic”, echoed Rossiya 1, where host Olga Skabeyeva declared: “From the bottom of my heart, I congratulate the people of Donbas. You are genuine, genuine heroes. You have paid with your blood for these eight years of torment and waiting.”
She told viewers that the Russians would “force” the Ukrainian armed forces to “make peace”.
“This myth which it created for itself…is now collapsing,” he said, also ridiculing the impact of Western sanctions.
Yet some media outlets expressed fears over the consequences of the actions of the “emperor who was carried away by history”, as Putin was mocked by independent Rain TV.
Ekho Moscow radio pointed out that the wealth of the 23 richest businessmen in Russia had sunk by $32 billion due to the crisis. Several reports bemoaned the collapse of the stock market and rouble.
Kommersant analyst Maxim Yusin predicted that “if everything stops here”, Moscow will not suffer acute damage from sanctions. But if Putin goes further in invading Ukraine it could be “ruinous” for Russia, he said.
He likened it to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, adding that just as the “unmanageable load” triggered the USSR’s demise, a similar prospect could face Russia. He warned: “I fear that my beloved motherland, Russia, may buckle if it goes too far into Ukraine.”
