Inside Russia – Western governments, including the United States, immediately condemned what they described as “Vladimir Putin’s war.” Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin called it “special military operations.”
In response to the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have called for a visa ban for all Russian passport holders, with an exception for people whose safety is at risk or who are vulnerable to political persecution.
According to Zelensky:
“The most important sanctions are to close the borders—because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land” and Russians should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy.”
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin didn’t wait to throw weight behind Zelensky’s sentiment, as he dropped his cent for an EU ban on tourist visas.
“It’s not right that at the same time as Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war of aggression in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists. It’s not right.” Marin said in mid-August.
In Russia – ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, old friends have fallen out; parents and children are no longer on speaking terms; long-married couples no longer trust each another; and teachers and students are denouncing each other.
Survey evidence suggests that a majority of Russian citizens support Vladimir Putin’s decision to use military force in Ukraine.
It is like this because Russia government maintains the means to brainwash its people through media censorship, state propaganda, and disinformation through which manipulation of public opinion is assured.
State control of the media has grown for many years under Putin, a process sharply accelerated in recent months.
For instance, a new law means that journalists providing military information deemed false by the state could face jail sentences up to 15 years.
Many international news corporations outside Russian government like CNN and the BBC have suspended operations, and the remaining independent media outlets in Russia, like the newspaper Novaya Gazeta and the independent TV channel Dozhd, have been shuttered.
