Dead Drop: May 5

KREMLIN SPIN:  Putin and company may be trying to put a brave face on the success of their “Special Military Operation” publicly – but behind the scenes they are working to lower expectations. The Russian news outlet “Meduza,” which is currently operating in exile in Latvia, got their hands on guidelines sent by the Putin regime to Russia’s propaganda outfits instructing them on how to handle the expected imminent Ukrainian spring offensive. They were instructed “not to downplay expectations” for Ukrainian success…and to play up the fact that those successes (if they happened) would be the result of Western countries providing military assistance.  The propaganda guide also told recipients not to play up the upcoming May 9 Victory Day parades around Russia for security reasons.  In Moscow, organizers reportedly plan to skip a traditional part of the procession where marchers carry portraits of their relatives who died in past wars. According to the Daily Beast, some say that’s because they fear people will show up with too many portraits of troops who fell in Ukraine over the past year. The Daily Beast also reported that a Ukrainian banker offered a $545,000 reward to anyone who could land a drone in Red Square during the parade with the words “Glory to Ukraine!” painted on it. Maybe those drones allegedly shot down last Wednesday, were just trial runs.

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: Leave it to the tabloids to put a dark (mushroom) cloud on things. The publication The Sun carried a report recently speculating that due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mishandling of the Ukraine situation, he might be killed and Russia “may break up into potentially nuclear armed warring mini-states.” The Sun found Paul Goble, a former CIA and State Department analyst, who made those comments. When the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, it became 15 new states.  Some of the folks The Sun talked to suggested that what is now Russia, could end up being 32 separate mini-states. Goble speculated that there could be “well over a hundred.”  If you work at the Pentagon – that’s a nightmare to consider.  On the other hand, if you work at the State Department – your chances of becoming an ambassador might go up dramatically.