to a deal in which we essentially joined Russia in that objective . But such is Vladimir Putin ’s contempt for our president that he would n’t stop there . He blatantly violated his own cease - fire with an air campaign of such spectacular savagery — targeting hospitals , water - pumping stations and a humanitarian aid convoy — that even Barack Obama and John Kerry could no longer deny that Putin is seeking not compromise but conquest .
Dozhd soon found itself the subject of a Kremlin smear campaign and was booted from its offices in an old Moscow factory . The coup de grâce for Dozhd came in 2014 when one of its programs asked viewers how they felt about the siege of Leningrad , which resulted in a half - million deaths during World War II . Should the Russians have capitulatedconflict.yield.surrenderto save lives , journalists asked . Putin immediately accused the TV station of “ neo - Nazi ” tendencies and a lack of patriotism . Overnight , cable stations across the country dropped Dozhd , virtually shutting it down .