A secret meeting with Putin has devastating consequences for Russian bloggers and journalists. Because they reported to the Kremlin rulers about the real conditions at the front, they are now obviously a thorn in the side of the defense ministry.
The illegal attack on Ukraine is not going the way Russia’s despot Vladimir Putin had imagined. All Western experts agree on this. But even in Russia there is resentment within the military community about the course of the war, as the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzes in a recent report.
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The ISW refers to the Russian blogger Rybar, who reports on tensions between the military leadership on the one hand and war correspondents on the other. In addition to journalists, war correspondents in Russia also include so-called milbloggers. These are soldiers who write about their own experiences in the war and comment on information from the media.
Rybar is also such a milblogger who, according to the renowned ISW, has credible insider knowledge. Rybar said Russian military commanders were trying to silence milbloggers and war correspondents.
So they wanted to cover up the mistakes of the military. The Russian Ministry of Defense and possibly actors within the presidential administration also took action against this Kremlin-authorized coverage of the war.
One event in particular may have worsened the relationship between the Russian military leadership and the war correspondents, Rybar noted, according to the ISW. On the occasion of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 17, President Putin met with war journalists. According to Rybar, there were also two prominent representatives from this scene.
They are said to have reported to Putin behind closed doors about “chaos” on the fronts in Ukraine. They would have acted on their own and bypassed the Ministry of Defense. As a result, Putin would probably have had a more unvarnished view of the situation on the front line than usual.
Russian milbloggers have increasingly criticized Russian strategy and military leadership, write analysts at American think tank ISW. In doing so, they would also refer to the recent successful Ukrainian attacks on territories captured by Russia.
The Ukrainian capabilities are also strengthened by Western weapons and equipment. This is another reason why the ISW believes that the milbloggers will continue to express their dissatisfaction with the Russian military leadership.
To the annoyance of the Department of Defense. This has been perceived as a “threat” by bloggers and journalists since June 17, says Milblogger Rybar. Previously they would have been considered more of a “poorly controlled problem”.
