Simple matter for them to say, yes, we have captured fill in the blank. large portions of the eastern part of the country, the entirety of the donbas, kyiv itself. whatever he wants to make up, the russian people are going to believe what he says. and that i think is a good deal more important to him than what the international community actually thinks and, indeed, knows. and what he actually might have or not have on the battlefield. i mean, he started this with a maximalist goal. he still apparently spouts his maximalist demands to any of these international interlockters, and he might get to hear what he wants to hear but what about when the mothers start complaining about where are their children? or what about when the bodies start coming back? can can you close yourself off to that even in that kind of dictatorship for for a significant period of time? yeah, it is a fascinating issue because look at what s happened just around the world in just really the last couple yea ....