Russian frustration in Ukraine leads to more oppression in Russia
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The Kremlin reportedly accused three hypersonic missile scientists of treason. Employees of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mathematics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science published an open letter on May 15 in defense of three of their scientists — Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk, and Valery Zvegintsev — whom Russian authorities reportedly arrested in the past year under suspicion of committing “high treason.”[10] The open letter also noted that these arrests deter the younger generation from pursuing careers in science, which contributes to a decrease in the quality of scientific research. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that the Kremlin was aware of the open letter and that Russian security services are involved.[11]
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Russian authorities continue to crack down against domestic anti-war dissent in an effort to strengthen domestic repressions and prepare Russian society for a long-term war effort. BBC’s Russia service reported on May 17, citing anonymous interlocutors, that the Russian General Prosecutor’s office and the Federal Service for the Supervision of Education and Science (Rosobrnadzor) conducted an unscheduled inspection at the European University in St. Petersburg as part of counterterror and counter-extremism measures.[20] BBC noted that the investigators investigated the dissertation topics and personal files of undergraduate and graduate students as well as the publications and classes of faculty in at least four departments: anthropology, history, sociology, and political science. BBC stated that the investigation affected several dozen faculty members and hundreds of students. BBC reported that Russian authorities have been conducting similar inspections at three other Moscow universities since 2021. One of the interlocutors stated that Russian authorities regularly conduct these inspections, resulting in faculty and curricula changes.
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Russian authorities are likely forcefully integrating Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) dioceses in occupied Zaporizhia Oblast as part of a wider religious persecution campaign in occupied Ukraine. Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) announced the adoption of the Berdyansk and Prymorsk UOC dioceses into the ROC on May 16.[24] [25] The ROC claimed that Berdyansk and Prymorsk dioceses, clergy, and parishioners voted to join the ROC after UOC leadership “abandoned” the dioceses.[26] [27] ISW has previously reported on Russia’s religious oppression occupied Ukraine, including the detention or assassinations of at least 29 Ukrainian clergy or religious leaders since the start of the war.[28] [29]
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The longer the war goes on the more oppressive the Russian leadership becomes. It is as if they blame dissenters for their failures in achieving their objectives. Russia has become a more totalitarian country since the war began. I suspect they are doing this because they fear that allowing dissent will impact their domestic political support.
See, also:
Three scientists involved in the development of Russia's "unstoppable" Kinzhal missiles have been jailed on charges of treason, in a case that has spread alarm among Russian researchers.
In an open letter Monday, members of Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch, which is based in Novosibirsk, said the arrests were having a chilling effect on research.
The cases showed that "any article or report can lead to accusations of high treason", the open letter said.
"In this situation, we are not only afraid for the fate of our colleagues. We just do not understand how to continue to do our job."
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American Patriots nailed Putin’s hypersonic Kinzhal missile. The world has changed
There’s much excitement around the world following the events of Monday night, in which Ukrainian air defences armed with US-made weapons reportedly neutralised a heavy Russian missile attack against Kyiv.
In particular the attack apparently included six KH-47M2 Kinzhal (“Dagger”) air-launched missiles, which are often described as “hypersonic”, frequently with the added assertion that there is no defence against such weapons. All six were reportedly stopped by US-made Patriot air defence interceptors, though a Patriot installation was apparently damaged – perhaps by debris from a downed Russian weapon.
Another Kinzhal (referred to by Nato organisations, including the British defence ministry, using the reporting code name “Killjoy”) was also shot down by a Patriot earlier this month. Monday’s interceptions would seem to have confirmed that this was not simply a lucky shot, and the Patriot does indeed offer a strong defence against the Kinzhal and similar weapons.
So, is the world different today? Can any nation in possession of Patriots or similar interceptors rest easy, unworried by the thought of hypersonic weapons – perhaps even, hypersonic nuclear weapons – in enemy hands?
The answer is yes and no: yes, the world is a little different today; and no, even if you have Patriot or similar you are not safe from enemy nukes or true hypersonics.
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Putin has banned top officials from resigning as Russian casualties mount in Ukraine, report says
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The ban was imposed after a number of top government officials expressed a desire to resign after the start of the Ukraine war, four sources speaking to Russian independent investigative outlet iStories said.
Those who do try to leave are threatened with prosecution, according to the report.
"There are many who want [to leave] after the start of the war. If everyone leaves, control will be lost," said one source, who was described as an acquaintance of an official in the Kremlin's Presidential Administrations.
According to the source, the Kremlin sees the desire to quit as a sign of betrayal and officials have been tasked with demonstrating unity by preventing an exodus of civil servants.
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“We want to tell lawmaker Sobolev–if you, motherfucker, stick your nose in, and Russia loses the war because of motherfuckers like you, we will have to come to Red Square to protect our people and fuck you and people like you in the ass. So fucking come here, you old fucker.”
The threat comes after Sobolev, a member of the State Duma’s defense committee, vowed to have military draftees who join Wagner jailed for up to 15 years, calling the mercenary group an “illegal” military formation.
Prigozhin reacted with outrage, cursing out Sobolev and challenging him to come to the frontline to “show what he’s capable of.”
Though Prigozhin has been railing against military officials for months, his attacks have recently hit a fever pitch, with the Wagner founder publicly admitting in a video last week that the mercenary group was “wasting ammo” executing Russian troops who retreat from the battlefield.
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Gangsters like Putin can never again be allowed to hold the world hostage
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In the UK, we moved decisively to end all imports of Russian gas, with the British government covering half a typical household’s energy bills over the winter.
But the clear and present threat to the security of our nation – and that of our friends and allies – was clear. Gangsters like Putin must never again be allowed to hold the world hostage. We are fighting back, and we are winning. By bolstering our own energy independence, we are neutralising Putin’s blackmail.
But greater energy independence does not involve severing our links with the rest of the world – it involves working more closely with our international allies. And that is why I am in the United States this week, first Washington DC and then California, to forge closer energy links with our closest and most important friend.
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Rather than a costly ground offensive to liberate Crimea from Russian control, there may be an easier way: Use unmanned boats to attack Russian forces and blockade the peninsula, argue two American experts.
Ukraine does not "need to drive occupying forces out of Crimea to render it less hospitable to Russia's purposes," William Courtney and Scott Savitz, two researchers at the RAND Corporation think tank, wrote in an essay published by The Moscow Times in April.
Defending the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014, has historically presented a quandary. A land invasion from the northwest — the direct route — must cross the narrow and easily defended Perekop isthmus between the peninsula and the mainland.
On the other hand, a hostile army can just as easily block communications between Crimea and the mainland. This would force Russia to supply the peninsula either by sea or by road and rail using the 11-mile Kerch Strait bridge on the eastern side of the peninsula, which connects Crimea with the Taman peninsula in southern Russia.
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Ukraine is gaining momentum and reclaiming territory in Bakhmut after months of brutal and bloody fighting in the country's east that left thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers dead.
Ukraine looked to shake up the essentially stalemated frontline near the one-time mining town this month, which has been left a decimated shell of a city after months of attrition warfare so ruthless it has become known as "the meat grinder."
Last week, Ukraine launched multiple surprise counterattacks, reclaiming several miles of territory around Bakhmut in the country's largest land gain since its autumn offensive in Kherson.
Russia fought back and has managed to maintain uneasy control over most of the destroyed city despite Ukraine's advances. Still, Ukrainian officials are touting the gains as proof of purchase of their monthslong approach to Russia's attacks in Bakhmut — defend the city as long as necessary to exhaust and deplete Russian troops ahead of Ukraine's much-anticipated counter-offensive.
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