A noteworthy clip for two reasons. First, it proves that even Russian media stooges can’t take seriously the Kremlin’s claim that the Moskva sank due to a fire aboard the ship rather than a Ukrainian attack. These cretins are in full “national humiliation” mode, demanding revenge.

Second, relatedly, the propaganda keeps turning more bloodthirsty. There’s a call below for full mobilization of the population, which would transform the, ahem, “special military operation” into a proper war.

Why, the Russian Wilford Brimley here sounds like he’s ready to suit up himself.

Kyiv sank 'Moscow' and the Russians are furious. In response to the sinking of the warship 'Moskva,' state TV pundits and hosts propose bombing Kyiv, destroying Ukraine's railways and making it impossible for any world leaders to visit in the future. pic.twitter.com/OekII2fbPe

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 15, 2022

Hours after the Moskva sank, a factory in Kiev that produces anti-ship missiles was hit with three powerful blasts. That was evidently Putin’s response to the ship’s demise, a tacit admission that the Ukrainians really were responsible for it.

On Monday I wondered how desperate Russia might get to save face in Ukraine as its sense of humiliation deepens. The sinking of their Black Sea flagship makes the question that much more urgent. “Beyond the rhetoric the *feeling* this propaganda is meant to impart to viewers is that Russia is being attacked, Russia is under siege, Russia has no choice but to escalate,” said one Twitter pal of the clip above. Right — and it’s actually fairly tame by current Russian standards. As I noted in my post, some of the rhetoric lately has turned overtly genocidal. WaPo has examples:

On state television, a military analyst doubled down on Russia’s need to win and called for concentration camps for Ukrainians opposed to the invasion.

Two days later, the head of the defense committee in the lower house of parliament said it would take 30 to 40 years to “reeducate” Ukrainians…

“It’s no accident we call them Nazis,” said Margarita Simonyan, who also heads the Kremlin-backed media group that operates the Sputnik and RIA Novosti news agencies. “What makes you a Nazi is your bestial nature, your bestial hatred and your bestial willingness to tear out the eyes of children on the basis of nationality.”…

Less than two weeks before the invasion, Putin used a crude reference to express his determination to force Kyiv to accept Russia’s terms for peaceful coexistence: “Like it or not, put up with it, my beauty,” a term associated with rape for many Russians. Ukraine’s resistance has only toughened the Kremlin’s mood.

Russian prestige has been deeply wounded by the fact that the Ukrainians not only insist on defending themselves but continue to do a fine job of it. How dare they sink a Russian ship that’s brutalizing their homeland? What’s next, denying that Russia and Ukraine are brothers bonded by fraternal love?

That is indeed next, in fact:

In #Kyiv, the Square of "Friendship between Kyiv and #Moscow" will be renamed into the Square of Heroes of #Mariupol. It is also announced that some streets and subway stations will be renamed. pic.twitter.com/F1XgWYSolg

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 15, 2022

I continue to believe there’s a chance Putin will go nuclear before this is over, especially if the Ukrainians begin to advance in the east and it suddenly looks like Russia’s army is unlikely to hold the Donbas. These barbaric lunatics are high on their own propaganda supply about Ukrainian “Nazis” and frantic about how much stature they’ve lost as a formidable power and so they simply will not cede the field without dealing the enemy a crushing blow. And if they can’t deal it conventionally, they’ll deal it by other means. No less than the head of the CIA, William Burns, has warned of the possibility. Due to “the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons,” he said in a speech yesterday.

I’ll leave you with the rumor of the day, involving the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Reportedly he personally inspected the Moskva a few months ago to ensure that it was ready to repel missile strikes. Given the other purges that are reportedly going on as the war goes sideways, it’d be surprising if this guy wasn’t under arrest.

Claim that after the sinking of Flagship Moskva, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Igor Osipov, was violently arrested.
Needs to be confirmed. https://t.co/thVNdhRBdd

— Anders Åslund (@anders_aslund) April 14, 2022