As previously reported, the march on Moscow was called off about 125 miles shy of the capital city. An agreement was brokered by Belarusian President and key ally to Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko. Prigozhin would be banished, or something like that, to Belarus in exchange for the Kremin not prosecuting him or his mercenary fighters for what Putin had called betrayal and treason.

This agreement was purported to be a celebrated outcome in lieu of Russian bloodshed. And, while Prigozhin had made demands that two military leaders be ousted, alleging Russian troops attacked a Wagner installation killing a “huge amount” of his fighters. Russia’s Ministry of Defense has refuted these claims, dismissing them as an “informational provocation.” Putin said that there would be no changes made in defense leadership.

Elusive Truth

So, that’s the story, folks. But, what we have been told ever since the Russia, Russia, Russia fake dossier hoax is that the state media-run nation is a bunch of propagandist liars. And, undoubtedly that has some truth; a significant portion of Americans would say the same of our mainstream media.

Finding good information on the conflict requires discernment and wading through versions of events spun by Russia, Ukraine, the American press, internet trolls, and governments. As a writer, I’ll inform you that it’s been one of the most difficult things to cover because every single piece of information must be scrutinized from all angles. We just haven’t been getting the truth. It’s wartime propaganda on all sides.

Stories of Ghosts, Islands, and Grandmas

Do you recall the Ghost of Kyiv? That fighter pilot didn’t exist—he was a myth.

What about Snake Island? In the synopsis, Ukrainian soldiers said,” Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” in a radio exchange. The Ukrainian military command lost communication with the island and presumed them all to be dead, promoting the tale of the resistance by going out defiantly in a blaze of glory. Ukrainian President Zelensky awarded posthumous awards to Major Bohdan Hotskiy and his troops, giving them the title of “Heros of Ukraine.” The audio clip was released to the public, and Ukraine created a commemorative postage stamp.

But the truth of the matter is that the Ukrainians defending the island all surrendered, and most are still prisoners of war.

“Babushka Z” is a figure of Russian propaganda, a Ukrainian woman who waved a Soviet flag, which Ukrainian soldiers stomped on. Russian folklore says she was taken by her son to live in Russia after refusing to be relocated within Ukraine.

A monument of the woman was erected in Belgorod, Russia. Some reports say it was removed after one day because it was vandalized. But they’ve got another one in occupied Mariupol.

A monument to a babushka with Soviet flag from popular video was installed in Russia’s Belgorod on May 3, but it was taken away today. Russia moves back to the past as a country. #StopRussia pic.twitter.com/XzOGSSG6UH

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 4, 2022

But, the story was retold differently. “Babushka Z” was found by Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication:

In the video they shared, the woman whose name is Hanna, sits with her husband in a ward of a Kharkiv hospital. The correspondent reports that the couple was evacuated after a Russian mine hit their yard.

Hanna explained to the correspondent that she believed the red Soviet flag was actually Russian.

According to Hanna, she came out to the Ukrainian military because she thought they were Russian occupiers and tried to “reconcile” with them with a red Soviet flag so that they would not “destroy” the village and Ukraine. But now she feels like a “traitor.”

But now, the elderly lady has nothing but regrets:

“Putin doesn’t need people, Ukrainians, he just needs the land. I understand the guy who trampled the red flag. They are protecting us, dying, and I am there with that flag…”

She regrets that she became a celebrity in Russia:

“It would be better if there were no celebrities, and there would be no war.”

Bombings and Birthdays

The Nord Stream 2 bombing? Let’s review:

Newly uncovered information indicates that three months prior to the bombing of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, the Biden administration received intelligence regarding a planned covert attack by the Ukrainian military. The report stated that a European intelligence service informed the CIA about Ukraine’s military intending to carry out the attack using a team of divers who reported directly to the Ukrainian armed forces’ Commander in Chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, without President Volodymyr Zelensky’s knowledge. The intelligence report and details of the plot were shared on the chat platform Discord and provide substantial evidence linking Ukraine to the sabotage of Europe’s energy infrastructure.

Did we ever decide who blew up the Kerch Bridge on Putin’s 70th birthday? Ukrainian officials blamed Russia for self-sabotaging it. But they also created more postage stamps. Zelensky commented about “Cloudy weather in Crimea,” while his senior adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, posted to Twitter: “Isn’t it obvious who made an explosion? Truck arrived from RF (Russian Federation)”. The Ukrainian secret service has said it will remain quiet until after the war.

The Ukrainian government’s official Twitter account tweeted “sick burn” in response. Podolyak tweeted:

Crimea, a bridge, the beginning. Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.

sick burn

— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) October 8, 2022

Russian chat room intel leaks suggest Ukrainians did it, using a patsy, further explaining why they would distance themselves from claims of responsibility.

If the attack was, in fact, organized by the Ukrainians, one can see why they would wish to distance themselves from it. A suicide bombing involving an unwitting patsy would not only be an act of state-sponsored terrorism; it would also be a cold-blooded murder unbecoming of a country whose main strength is its moral superiority.

American media reported that, according to officials, Ukraine’s intelligence services had orchestrated the attack.

Sadly, we could do this all day. There’s Bakhmut, where Wagner was out of ammo and they fought with shovels—or did they? A crushing spring counter-offensive and an objective of taking Crimea. Which versions of those events are you confident in? Are you sick of being lied to yet?

A Feel-Good Coup?

And now, a coup of the Kremlin. 

I’ve spoofed the official story on Twitter, invoking such figures as Moses and Oskar Schindler (who Steven Spielberg would flinch to inform you was a Catholic). I’m saying that, like every version of events we have been told so far, we should scrutinize it. It’s a feel-good story, isn’t it? A feel-good story about a coup d’etat… in Russia. That doesn’t sound right.

All they have told you about Russia since uh Russia, Russia, Russia is that they are propagandist liars.

But today, all of a sudden: let’s go with the “official” story?

And Wagners Warlord laid down his arms and said “I didn’t do enough. I could have saved more!” Right?

— BrutalBrittany💕 (@BrutalBrittany2) June 25, 2023

Prigozhin, a literal warlord, didn’t cry surrender based on being weary of violence, beg for leniency, and give up a lucrative army in Africa, in which Wagner gets paid in mining concessions or literal gold, thwarting sanctions. I don’t believe that. I believe some Kremlin gangster stuff happened, and the world was given the Disney version they wanted to sell.

Meanwhile, Putin, allegedly the most brutal of dictators, is treating an actual coup with less severity than a speeding ticket while the Biden admin hunts J6ers, overcharging them along with former President Trump, who they might convict of being a “spy.” And, while the brutality of Putin is open for debate, I’m pretty set on the opinion that those characters are mobsters or whatever is the Eastern equivalent.

Let me get this straight: Prigozhin is squeamish about bloodshed but stages a militant coup and runs global mercenaries… and Putin opted for compassion. That’s all out of character for all parties, and it doesn’t quite pass the sniff test. 

Plus, “Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is: ‘Do not march on Moscow.’ Various people have tried it, Napoleon and Hitler, and it is no good. That is the first rule,” said Bernard “Monty” Law Montgomery, a famed British military officer.

Prigozhin Phenomenon

But another reported fact that doesn’t match the official story is that Putin’s plane left Moscow, headed to St. Petersburg on Saturday. So, the opposite thing is true. Let’s just continue to apply that standard. 

Putin's presidential plane reportedly took off from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

At the same time, Peskov states that Putin is working in the Kremlin. pic.twitter.com/DE7WZcvMnw

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 24, 2023

Instead of a punishment, Prigozhin may have received a promotion. He’s “exiled” to basically a Russian vassal state, where the nukes are.

Belarus is where Putin has been putting nuclear warheads. RedState covered the story in March:

Bottom line: the Russians announced their intention to store nuclear weapons in Belarus in June and, at that time, had been laying the groundwork for the move for at least seven months.

Why Announce a Bullsh** Move You’ve Already Announced?

In short, this is just a propaganda move designed to generate fear of nuclear war among the profoundly stupid. The people excited about this announcement are just showing they haven’t followed anything going on between Russia and Belarus until Saturday. 

(See: Putin’s Announcement That Russia Will Store Nuclear Weapons in Belarus Shows How Stupid He Thinks You Are)

Videos circulating online show Wagner soldiers being treated like rockstars in the streets of Russia before their departure, shaking hands, kissing the foreheads of the youth, and taking selfies. A non-violent Wagner color revolution or a made-for-TV coup?

Well, is someone going to create a postage stamp or not?

Moreover, reports say that U.S. intelligence was aware of the buildup leading to Wagner’s one-day march. This leads me to believe that the Kremlin knew about it, too, since those sources would have to be Russian. This “must have known” opinion is shared by former US Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul.

"If our folks knew about it mid-June, you have to believe that Russian intelligence knew about this ahead of time… It looks like [Prigozhin] was very well-prepared." @McFaul on U.S. intelligence's mid-June suspicions about the Wagner chief plotting an uprising #SundayShow pic.twitter.com/CTJ1Cvhv6T

— The Saturday/Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart (@weekendcapehart) June 25, 2023

Other theories say that Putin staged the coup in cooperation to root-out treason within his circles. Or that the exile is for Wagner to take power in Belarus, which borders not only Ukraine but actual NATO nations, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. I’m not sure what the game is, except that it’s Maskirovka. 

Maskirovka is the art of military deception, a Russian term:

Soon after Josef Stalin signed a mutual defense pact with Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that Russia was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Russian military planners were undoubtedly pleased by what they might have taken as praise. One of the foundations of their military doctrine is the principle of maskirovka, or the use of various deceptions and denials to mask their true intentions. Maskirovka doesn’t always work, but when it does, it can utterly transform a battle, even a war.

Trusting in the common perception of the state of the Russian military can be designed to be fatal. 

In a landscape filled with deception, the quest for truth requires constant scrutiny and a willingness to challenge narratives. The propagandized stories, whether it be the Ghost of Kyiv, Snake Island, or the Kerch Bridge incident, have been manipulated and distorted to serve opportunist narratives.

Amidst it all, the feel-good nature of an attempted coup in Russia prompts scrutiny and skepticism. As we consider Belarus’ role, the treatment of Prigozhin, and the global activities of Wagner mercenaries, the truth becomes even more evasive. But, there will be no kumbaya. If anyone thought the truce agreement was the final word, it’s merely the beginning.

Read More:

Did the Intelligence Community Just Take Credit for an Event That Never Happened?

Nord Stream 2: Biden Admin Knew of Ukrainian Military Covert Plan to Sabotage Pipeline

OPINION: Zelensky Revels in Wagner Mutiny, Makes Daft Remarks About NATO, Europe’s Reliance on Ukrainian Defense