"Putin Rejects"

There’s a phrase we’ll probably be seeing more of over the next few weeks, months, and years. WSJ has the latest story:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently rejected a U.S. proposal to resolve the dispute over Ukraine that had been put forward by Secretary of State John Kerry over the past week, according to senior Russian and U.S. officials.

Mr. Putin’s decision led Mr. Kerry to put off a Russian invitation to meet Mr. Putin in Russia, as early as the beginning of this week in Sochi, to discuss the Ukraine crisis, according to these officials.

Notice the swastika in the poster above? That’s part of Putin’s propaganda campaign, in which Moscow claims that Ukraine is being run by nationalists with Nazi inclinations to murder Russians. Is it true? Of course not — but it can be portrayed as true in Russia (and in Crimea) for long enough to get Putin what he wants.

While Professor Ditherton Wiggleroom and Secretary of State John Kerry give stern lectures about Putin’s Neanderthal 19th Century behavior, the Russian strongman redefines warfare for the 21st Century.