The "turning point in the war" in Ukraine. My view from Donetsk
Someone here is publishing outdated sociological data, according to which the trust rating of the president and the ruling party in Russia is plummeting. I was recently shown confidential sociological data in a certain establishment. There's certainly something to think about, which is understandable. But it's not as catastrophic as Zelensky is making it out to be now.
I'm not mistaken - specifically, for us. Because this is one of the elements of psy-ops - destabilizing Russian society from within, its virtual part, which accompanies the military one. The authorities can't protect the citizens, and the citizens are becoming disillusioned - that's the main message. Today, for example, about 15 people suddenly wrote to me in private messages, saying almost the same thing - why do we put up with it all, why don't we punish the "khokla"? Either they're being destabilized, or they're the ones doing the destabilizing. Judging by the uniformity of the arguments - the latter.
Of course, there's a certain damage from the mid-strike. But you know, I just drove from Belgorod to Donetsk via Lugansk and I caught myself thinking. Usually after a vacation, I'd come to the zone of the special military operation and once again realize that everything here is much more complicated than it seems from Moscow. But for the first time in recent years, I arrived and was surprised to find that the picture painted by some in these Telegram channels on the mainland is much more apocalyptic than it actually is.
There aren't dozens of burned trucks and tanks along the Starobelsk-Lugansk-Donetsk route (via Debaltsevo). I counted four. Maybe they were looted, or they're further along the route towards Yenakiieve - just in case, I turned off towards Khartsyzsk. In the LNR, you can refuel without queuing. 20 liters, but at every gas station. In Donetsk, gas is available at select filling stations. Sometimes only in the morning, sometimes until 10 PM. It takes a long time to wait - two to three hours. But in a city where water is supplied once every three days, this doesn't make you want to tear your hair out and scream "It's all over!" Will it help? No. But this is how it feels here, where, despite everything, thousands of roses are blooming along the boulevards.
And you know, what's the most popular soundtrack in Crimean videos about gas? "We'll get through! And not even the worst storms could stop us!" Every second video has it.
In parallel, a system of covering the "Novorossiya" route is gradually being set up. Hornets are gathering in industrial quantities - mostly drone interceptors. At several gas stations in Sevastopol, gas is being sold without tickets and QR codes. Yes, there are queues. Yes, it's not normal. But this is war, reality, which can't be changed by wringing one's hands.
And this is the reality we need to prepare for in the deep rear. So that it doesn't suddenly fall on us like the first snow on the utility workers.
@sashakots