TOUGH WEEK, MAGA:

As Russia's military commanders announced another major withdrawal in Ukraine, pro-Kremlin commentators have described the retreat as a humiliating and significant defeat for Moscow and President Vladimir Putin.

Putin kept a low profile as Russia announced Wednesday it was withdrawing its troops from the tentatively occupied city of Kherson and the west bank of the Dnipro river, which bisects the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. The military said it could no longer supply its troops there and was worried about the safety of its military personnel.

On Tuesday, Russia's Tucker Carlson, top propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, greeted his audience by wishing them a "Happy Interference in the U.S. Election Day." Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as "Putin's chef," who was indicted as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference, likewise decided to publicly fess up to the allegations he previously denied.

This plan to discredit the U.S. elections and convince the Republicans that the mighty Kremlin hand covertly helped push them to victory had backfired. On Wednesday, state TV propagandists were scratching their heads about the wave that turned out to be but a trickle. During the broadcast of 60 Minutes, host Olga Skabeeva asked an expert: "How are our guys in America?" Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov clarified with a chuckle: "Our Republicans."

Dmitry Abzalov, Director of the Center for Strategic Communications, noted that the outcome was much different than the predictions: "Even the Democrats predicted the red wave that will mow everything down, but it turned out to be quite modest." Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov said, "The worst fears of the Democrats are now behind them. They easily won the states they were most concerned about."

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