Flurry of government aircraft activity over Russia draws attention

[Igel]

10. And yet I can imagine scenarios that I don't like that don't involve nuclear weapons.

That means there are options that aren't scary in that particular way.

Perhaps Putin wants to have a trusted confidant continue to provide "continuity of government" to achieve his "dream" if something happens to him.

Perhaps Putin's sufficiently drug-addled to think that Russia will be the subject of a nuclear attack in the near future. (If so, perhaps "heaven help us" is the right response. Or maybe he just wants to be safe and won't do the first strike crap.)

As for why a bunch of planes left in a coordinated fashion ... the Russian Army's having problems, and persistent reports from all over say they're having difficulty coordinating and moving men and materiel. If you want something done right, you do it yourself. So you'd send a commanding officer to wherever you want something done.

Note the report of Russian tanks showing up in the Russian RR system heading Ukraine-ward that are painted primarily white. Meaning from Siberia.