There is currently an official ceasefire in Ukraine – at least on the Russian side, hostilities have been suspended due to the Orthodox Christmas holiday. This was announced by President Vladimir Putin (70) on Thursday. What the Kremlin probably started as an attempt to portray itself as benevolent has met with irritation in the Russian military blogger scene, writes the US war research institute ISW.
The war correspondents, who decisively influence public opinion on the war in Russia and mostly report positively on the “special operation”, describe the 36-hour project as a ruse.
Russian bloggers angry at the Kremlin
Former Russian secret service agent and separatist leader Igor Girkin, 52, was outraged on Telegram: “Putin has taken such a courageous and decisive step towards defeat and surrender in the current war.”
And the well-known military blogger Boris Roshin in Russia is also furious. “It is clear that despite the efforts of official propaganda in this case, the decision will not be very popular.” According to the ISW, several military bloggers even claim that the Russian soldiers would not welcome such a ceasefire.
For example, one blogger openly used genocidal, inhumane rhetoric, writing that Russian soldiers would not compromise. They “want to kill anyone in the uniform of the enemy army, regardless of gender and circumstances.” The researchers conclude: This animosity emanating from military bloggers, who mostly agree with Putin’s line in the war, is remarkable and undermines Putin’s ability to portray Russia as a negotiating party.
Vladlen Tatarsky, another prominent blogger, doesn’t mind a ceasefire either – it shows weakness and was staged only for a Western audience. “People in the West fear and respect the bad Russians. But the boring peace friends don’t want to respect them. They want to kill her.”
Ceasefire not respected
Military bloggers also agree that Ukraine would likely use this ceasefire to strengthen its position and see it more as an invitation to attack. And they should be right: During Russia’s unilateral ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas celebrations, Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on enemy positions in the Donetsk region.
“This is how they congratulate the occupiers on the upcoming Christmas,” the defense ministry in Kiev said on social networks on Friday. In the small town of Bakhmut, positions of the Russian troops were fired with 120 millimeter mortar shells as a “gift”. “The resistance will continue until the last Russian invader on Ukrainian territory is killed,” the statement said.