Inside The Bizarre Conspiracy Theory That Halted Putin's Bombing Plans
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Julia Davis
@JuliaDavisNews
Russian Defense Ministry and state media believe that "foreign mercenaries" from NATO countries are hiding at the Azovstal steel plant, which is why Putin mysteriously ordered a blockade instead of continuing to bomb or storm the sprawling facility.
thedailybeast.com
Inside The Bizarre Conspiracy Theory That Halted Putins Bombing Plans
Russian state media believe a worldwide plot involving NATO is why Vladimir Putin mysteriously ordered a blockade of the Azovstal steel plant instead of storming the building.
8:48 PM · Apr 22, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-state-media-commentators-tell-60-minutes-senior-nato-officials-are-inside-azovstal-steel-plant
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https://archive.ph/um21e
Brave defenders of Ukraines Mariupol remaining in the Azovstal steel plant captured the worlds attention, as they refused to surrender to Russias invading troops. Meanwhile, Kremlin-controlled state media reveals that Russias focus isnt transfixed on Ukraine, with the entire world in Putins sights.
Azovstal, which occupies four square miles and has an extensive subterranean structure, was being bombed and faced artillery attacks, when Putin abruptly canceled plans to storm the plant, ordering his forces to simply blockade it. Coverage in the state media provided some clues as to what might have motivated Putins decision.
On Friday, Russian Defense Ministrys spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov alleged: The remainder of Ukrainian nationalists from the Azov regiment
together with foreign mercenaries from the United States and European countries, are securely blockaded on the territory of the Azovstal plant. One day earlier, experts on state television explained how this belief might have played a part in Putins decision to halt the bombing of besieged steel plant.
Appearing on state TV show 60 Minutes Thursday evening, military expert and retired Colonel Yury Knutov opined that Azovstal is hiding secrets of global importance. He speculated that unveiling them would cause a ripple effect, including the possibility of impacting the re-election of French President Emmanuel Macron. His challenger, Marine Le Pen, has long been championed by Russian state media as the Kremlins preferred candidate. Even imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny stepped into Frances presidential battle via Twitter, urging French voters to back Macron and reject Le Pen, who is too closely linked to Russia.
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