Putin’s Face Betrays Russian ‘Panic’ Over Ukrainian Invasion Shock

Ukraine’s audacious incursion into Kursk caught Russia completely off-guard, and the propagandists who popped the bubbly to celebrate their country’s invasion against their neighbors in 2022 are far from elated to meet the boomerang of war.

Host Sergey Mardan described the initial reactions of Russian bloggers and commentators as “panicked” and “apocalyptic,” cautiously mentioning the unusually tense expression on the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin as “meaningful.” He complained about the lack of official information and advised nervous viewers to simply turn off their TV sets and uninstall social media apps from their phones—at least until this unsettling episode is over.

Appearing on Mardan’s eponymous show on Thursday, seasoned military expert Mikhail Khodaryonok marveled at Ukraine’s ability to keep the impending offensive under wraps and angrily pondered, “How could this happen? How?” He warned that everyday citizens will start asking questions as to how Russia’s extensive intelligence apparatus could have missed the clues about the impending retaliatory invasion of their country.

Read more at The Daily Beast.