"Putin lies as a display of power. Only powerful people can lie and get away with it. The more blatant the lie, the greater the show of power when your listener cannot or dare not contradict you."
Key point to understand about fascists. They lie about big things. They lie about even the smallest, pettiest things. They lie about things that are easily contradicted. They lie about things that require paragraphs of explanation to debunk.
The key is this. Once supporters of the liar let the lie go unchallenged, then they become complicit in it. It becomes harder and harder for them to challenge the next lie. They fall deeper into a hole. Eventually, they become entirely dependent upon the liar to tell them which way the wind blows. And then the liar's power becomes secure and absolute.
Truth-tellers are constrained by external factors. A liar controls the entire show.
The truth is for chumps.