Actually surprised that Gmail is still working there. He is convinced that Russia is not harming any civilians and that it is the Nazi Ukrainians killing their own people. He tells me that the Russian people are 100% behind the war and that anyone trying to leave Russia in protest are not patriots and are only doing it for financial reasons. As a former fighter pilot, he has good contacts who give him good information. I find this amazing because just recently I saw a Russian politician being interviewed on TV who refused to accept that Ukrainian civilians were being killed. The Russian dictatorship has truly brainwashed their population.
@Dave Sutton - Are you certain that he's not the one being manipulated? There is no doubt that the Russian military invaded Ukraine; a sovereign nation. Is he saying that Putin was trying to put a stop to a Nazi movement? While that is possible, I find it difficult to believe given his history. Then again, I'm an American. So, what do I know?
I am saying he is the one being manipulated, just like the whole of Russia, and he does not care that I have authenticated information that proves him wrong. In the West, we should really appreciate the freedom of information we get, albeit some is propaganda, but with so many sources of information on the internet things can often be confirmed easily.
@Dave Sutton - Ah, OK. Somehow that was not clear in your original statement above. This was the part that confused me: "As a former fighter pilot, he has good contacts who give him good information."
@David Lazarus Yes, sorry, I was just repeating his argument. What is even sadder is that he has a Ukrainian father. I met him in Cyprus, liked him a lot but could not even convince him that due to sanctions and a worldwide growing of hatred for Russians he would find it difficult to travel in future
I found this article which seems to debunk your friend's claim:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61008293
I saw the video of that on Twitter a couple of days before it was published. I have found that certain individuals living in Ukraine, including a radio amateur, are giving up-to-date information on such matters. There are some horrific videos.
@Dave Sutton - Yes, though they need to be available for the right people to see. I am sure that I do not wish to view the atrocities. It's bad enough reading about them.
@David Lazarus I fully understand your sentiment. There is one video available of a Russian raping a child. It's not something I would ever want to watch.
Don't communicate with him. He's either too dumb or a manipulated robot.
If your country has been isolated from outside news, and you are fed propaganda every day that your country is in danger of biological and nuclear warfare from its neighbour, you can understand how ordinary Russians think. The Russian people could solve this problem if only they knew the truth.
How do they get the truth? That's the question. With all of the technology we have, you'd think it would be easy. Apparently, it's not.
@David Lazarus I suggested getting VPM, but that was dismissed. To him, anything like that would just be propaganda, as he thinks all our News channels are fabricated, making out the Russians are the aggressors. He honestly thinks that Russia is saving the world from the Nazis and that we will thank them one day when we find out how we have been deceived by the Americans When you only have Russian state run TV, it seems to be easy to deceive the population and instal a very strong sense of patriotism and a distinct feeling that the population is being attacked by severe sanctions to make them a weaker nation so that the Americans benefit from the enormous natural resources that they have. After several emails from my friend, it strikes me that the support for Putin is getting stronger, rather than weaker because he is looked on as a saviour in their difficult times.