How Russia uses sarcasm as weapon in Ukraine crisis
ABC News
A top Russian diplomat brushed off speculation that Russia could invade Ukraine on Jan_ 16 by saying, “Wars in Europe rarely start on a Wednesday.”
MOSCOW -- “Wars in Europe rarely start on a Wednesday.”
That’s how a top Russian diplomat brushed off speculation in the West that Russia could invade neighboring Ukraine as soon as Wednesday, Feb. 16.
As the U.S. and other NATO members warn of the potential for a devastating war, Russia is not countering with bombs or olive branches -- but with sarcasm.
It’s a tool that officials in Moscow have long used to belittle their rivals and to deflect attention from actions seen as threatening to the West or Russia’s neighbors. Laconic quips dovetail with the Kremlin’s domestic agenda by making Russia and its all-powerful president look more cool-headed and clever than countries in the panicky, democratic West.
