During a conversation with a Chinese language teacher from the Belgorod region, Vladimir Putin offered an unusual explanation for the ongoing war against Ukraine, linking it to the "laws of the wild." The Russian leader told the teacher about orcas that, according to him, attack polar bears in a pack and "tear them to pieces," and stated that children should be told about such phenomena so that they understand "what kind of world we live in." This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing The Moscow Times.
A conversation with a teacher and the "food chain"
According to available data, the teacher was telling Putin about her trip to the North Pole. In response, the Russian president turned to the topic of orcas and polar bears. "They eat these bears like snacks. They simply swarm in a pack and tear them to pieces. It's all very interesting. Such a food chain," Putin said, essentially using a zoological example as a metaphor to justify the so-called "special military operation." He then emphasized that children should be told about such "phenomena" so that they realize why Russia is waging war.
Jack London and the "harsh life" of northern peoples
In the same conversation, Putin mentioned the writer Jack London and the customs of certain northern peoples he described. According to the Russian president, the point was about cases in which elderly people left the wolves because the tribe could not "carry them along." "Yes, it all looks harsh, but that is their life," Putin added, thereby normalizing cruelty as a natural and inevitable phenomenon. Analysts note that such rhetoric is aimed at shaping the population's, primarily children's, perception of war as a "natural order of things."
Contradictory data
Putin's key claim that orcas "eat polar bears like snacks" is not supported by scientific data. Zoologists, whose comments are cited by Kedr.media, point out that there are no confirmed cases of orcas eating polar bears. The only food link between these species is that polar bears sometimes eat the remains of whales killed by orcas. Thus, if in Putin's metaphor the polar bear symbolizes Russia and the orcas the adversary, then the real ecological picture works in exactly the opposite way: the bear merely scavenges what is left after the orcas' hunt on whales. The internet, for its part, reacted to Putin's statement with a wave of memes mocking the attempt to justify aggression through zoology, as noted by Obozrevatel.
The Kremlin is in no hurry to sit at the negotiating table
Judging by the totality of the Russian leader's statements, the Kremlin is not showing any intention to stop the aggression or to sit down at the negotiating table. In the same context, Putin stated that massive strikes are "effective and timely" and allegedly help the Russian army carry out its tasks on the front. First Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Serhiy Kyrytsa, commented on this by saying that Putin is in fact not inclined toward peace negotiations, as he is betting on terror against civilians and expects that Ukrainians will not survive the winter period.
Nuclear rhetoric in the "background"
In parallel with the zoological analogies, nuclear rhetoric is intensifying in the Russian public sphere. Deputy Zhuravlyov stated that Russia allegedly should deliver a tactical nuclear strike that would force Ukraine to surrender. According to experts, such statements by propagandist deputies create an information backdrop in which any peace initiatives from Kyiv are preemptively devalued, while escalation is presented as the "only way out."
