Above all, Ukrainian successes
Russian bloggers hide the reality at the front
September 29, 2023, 10:57 a.m
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According to US experts, what Russian military bloggers reveal about what is happening on the front in Ukraine is often only a fraction of what is happening. Especially when things are going badly for your own army. The ability to remain silent at the right moment is an important quality.
According to US experts, Russian military bloggers practice self-censorship to a large extent and only publish a small part of their findings on the course of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Some particularly critical bloggers have admitted that they only reveal 5 to 15 percent of their information from the front, writes the Washington-based Institute for War Studies (ISW).
Overall, there appears to be broader self-censorship on the Russian side about the tactical realities on certain sectors of the front. This suggests that Russian sources deliberately limited their coverage of tactical actions, particularly those with an unfavorable outcome for Russia. On September 25, a blogger partially deleted a post about the successes of the Ukrainian army near Novoprokopivka in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia.
According to ISW, another reported that Russian commanders routinely concealed complaints and existing problems, for example with communications, drones, tires or the pay of fighters. Another commander complained about the inefficient flow of information from the Russian front to decision-makers, according to a blogger.
One blogger commented that certain information should not be shared and that the ability to remain silent at the right moment is an important quality. Censorship or self-censorship among Russian military bloggers also affects the ability of the ISW and the West to report on Russia’s operations, the institute wrote.