WELL: More than 150 senior Russian officials sign open letter condemning Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘an unprecedented atrocity’ and warn of ‘catastrophic consequences’ while urging citizens ‘not to participate.’ “The deputies said they were ‘convinced’ Russian citizens do not back the war and blamed Putin ‘personally’ for ordering troops into Ukraine in an attack ‘for which there is no and cannot be justification’. . . . It was a surprising step for Russian officials to speak out against Putin, who usually holds an iron grip on dissent and last week televised a meeting with Moscow’s top security chiefs in which they appeared to be railroaded into backing his plans to invade Ukraine.”

For this to happen at all is an indication that Putin is seen as weak.