'Orcas hunt these bears' — Putin says children should learn the 'food chain' to understand Russia's war
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Russian President Vladimir Putin invoked orcas "tearing polar bears apart" as a new analogy for Russia's war against Ukraine while speaking to students and teachers at a Moscow university on Aug. 29, according to the Russian independent media outlet Meduza.
Putin's remarks came as near-continuous air raid alerts across Ukraine stretched into a third consecutive day, with Russia launching continued waves of attacks. The attacks killed at least 37 people in Kyiv Oblast on Aug. 28 and killed a 14-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl in separate attacks on Aug. 29.
The exchange began when Putin asked a teacher from Russia's Belgorod region, who had visited the North Pole, whether he had seen polar bears there.
After the teacher said he had seen two "enormous" bears, Putin replied that orcas live nearby and eat those bears.
"Right nearby, orcas hunt these bears, devouring them as if they were nothing. They descend in packs — and then, boom, tear them (bears) apart," he said.
Putin then connected the example to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Yes, that's the food chain. Children should be taught about this, so that they understand what kind of world we live in and why we are conducting the special military operation," Putin said.
The bear is a recurring metaphor in Putin's rhetoric about Russia's confrontation with the West.
In 2014, after Russia had illegally annexed Crimea, he compared Russia to a bear that the West was trying to put "on a chain," warning that its "teeth and claws" would be torn out.
"Maybe our bear should sit quietly, not chasing any piglets around, but just eating honey and berries. Maybe they should just leave him alone? They will not. They are trying to put it on a chain," Putin claimed.
