Vladimir Putin is sounding unhinged. His ridiculous assertions about Ukrainian and Western aggression, his terming of the Kyiv government as drug addled Nazis, and his nuclear threats all point to a man who is trying too hard. Thus, he needs to. Thus, he’s losing the information war.

Will it matter when Russian tanks take Kyiv? Not at first. But it will more and more, as the guerilla phase of the war begins.

Just off the phone with a European diplomat with extensive Ukraine experience. Says:
– Russia's campaign "not going well at all."
– Ukraine "has completely won the information war."
– For Ukrainians, the failure to fight back at Crimea is a "national trauma" now being righted.

— Michael Weiss 🌻 (@michaeldweiss) March 4, 2022

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FNC: “Developments this week indicate Russia is losing the information war at home, and President Vladimir Putin is not able to fully control the narrative surrounding his invasion of Ukraine.

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News Digital that it might be a bit of a stretch to say that Russia is ‘clearly’ losing the information war, but signs indicate there is definitely ‘trouble.’

‘A few days ago … the official Russian censorship agency came out with a warning to all media outlets that said ‘only trustworthy sources are allowed to be used when reporting on this special military operation, and if you don’t do that we will take you off-air,’ ‘ which led to the forced closure of two independent news networks, including Dozhd TV – known in English as Rain TV.

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The BBC also claimed Wednesday that ‘millions of Russians’ have turned to the BBC in order to get “factual, independent information” about the war. BBC.com supposedly saw 10.7 million views on its Russian language news website – triple its year-to-date weekly average.”

“I honestly think it shows a little bit of both: I think it shows firstly he is in control but also, yes, he’s losing control,” analyst Akexis Mrachek told press. “In these videos being put out online of his different speeches, his demeanor is different, and his tone his more harsh – his messaging is becoming shriller and shriller.”

“The way you run information operations is, you tell a sliver of truth and lie about the rest,” CIA vet Dan Hoffman said. “Vladimir Putin knows how to do this. He is an ex-KGB agent.” Russian casualty estimates are a case in point.

“Tickets mostly sold out,” reporter Alec Luhn wrote. “Packed flights. Other passengers said they were afraid to be trapped in Russia, arrested or conscripted to fight a war they don’t support. Don’t know if they’ll be able to return.” His own people leaving. Not a good image for Vlad and even worse of a story to counter.