As seen on state TV

Russia’s primetime coverage of the impasse over Ukraine, in brief

A month and a half after Moscow presented the United States and NATO with demands for sweeping security guarantees, tensions between Russia and Western countries remain high. Diplomatic negotiations have made little progress and with upwards of 100,000 Russian troops still concentrated near Ukraine’s borders, Washington has repeatedly warned that a full-fledged invasion is imminent. Meanwhile, Russian state television has been offering its own analysis of the crisis, putting the focus squarely on the United States. To give a general sense of what’s being said on state-controlled channels, Meduza summarizes two segments that aired during primetime on Sunday, January 30.

The West would like to see us as only a gas station, and we’re irritating them with our demands to factor in our security. Yes, NATO didn’t make written promises that it wouldn’t expand, but the OSCE declaration stated that members shall not strengthen their security at the expense of the security of others. The West wants to make everything about Ukraine, but we won’t allow them to do this. The United States is inciting Europe to impose sanctions on Russia, but for the Europeans this would be sanctions against themselves. The United Kingdom tried to maintain its aggressive rhetoric, but it was called to order by the United States — there’s no need to interrupt when the Kremlin is talking with the White House. And even Russophobes from Poland refuse to fight for Ukraine.

In the U.S. itself, no one will benefit from the conflict except for the arms lobby — the rest of the business world is afraid of the markets falling. The United States is supplying more and more weapons to Ukraine, they are spreading uncontrollably across the country. Recently, a National Guard conscript shot his colleagues — what if someone like him ends up working the controls of a multiple launch rocket system pointed at Donetsk? Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili started a war when Putin was at the opening of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is just as mercurial and nervous as Saakashvili, and Putin is headed to the Olympics in Beijing again soon — it’s déjà vu.

The United States understands that the degree of tensions needs to be reduced, but it’s not prepared to do so. Who can we talk to? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken compared Ukraine to a hen house, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg don’t grasp the topic, and Trump lies all the time. Compared to them, Biden looks the most reasonable. In Europe, all of the politicians have crumbled, there used to be Thatcher, Mitterrand, Kohl, and Berlusconi — now Europe is faceless and voiceless. And the United States is using this to the detriment of Europeans.

The summary above is based on news analysis segments from Dmitry Kiselyov’s “Vesti Nedeli” and Irada Zeynalova’s “Itogi Nedeli,” which aired on Rossiya 1 and NTV (respectively) on Sunday, January 30, 2022. You can watch the full broadcasts here and here.

Cover photo: Rossiya 24 / YouTube