Ukraine’s defence ministry has fired a top commander after photos emerged of a group of emaciated soldiers who have been left on the frontline for months without proper food and water.
The scandal erupted after the wife of one of the soldiers, Anastasiia Silchuk, posted the images on social media. The four men appeared to be pale and visibly malnourished, with prominent ribcages and thin arms. An emaciated soldier standing with his shirt off The fourth soldier. Photograph: i.petrovna_/Threads
The soldiers had spent eight months defending a shrinking bulge of territory on the left bank of the Oskil River, near the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, their relatives said. Supplies of food and medicines could only be flown in by drone.
“When the lads arrived at the frontlines, they weighed over 80–90kg. But now they weigh around 50kg,” Silchuk posted. After one delivery, she said, no more food turned up for 10 days. The soldiers were forced to drink rainwater and melt snow to survive.
What’s funny about it?
You were claiming it was part of a big propaganda push. I pointed out that it was a response to Russian claims. Russia claimed control of the city. Zelensky took a picture in front of the city sign.
I don’t know what you think propaganda is, how it works, and what you consider a “big push”. But I feel you’re miscategorizing, misinterpreting, and having wrong expectations. Ukraine still does plenty of politics and - if you want to call it that - propaganda. Focus and situations change. There’s only so much they can do, and only so much that makes sense and is worth the effort invested.
That instance of taking and posting a picture was very successful publicity. It doesn’t mean they won’t continue to face challenges or that they don’t know they will.
If you’re trying to make a different point, you gotta be more specific instead of posing these open questions. It makes me waste time interpreting, formulating answers, and expanding context as well.
When I say the word propaganda I mean it in the technical sense “information crafted into a narrative and spread for a political purpose”.
A YouTuber I follow called Willy OAM says that the winning side’s propaganda will exaggerate and the losing side’s will fabricate. I think this is a perfect example.
The Russians announced that they had taken Kupiansk. In retrospect this was premature (exaggeration). In response Zelensky claimed in the caption to his picture that Ukraine had retained full control over Kupiansk, while providing for proof a picture taken 3 km southwest of the western bridgehead and other key central areas of the city (fabrication). Even (honest) mappers that are pro-Ukrainian did not find this evidence compelling to support his claim, but of course the Western press uncritically reported it as fact and a great embarrassment to the Russians.
Now, months later (at the start of the spring offensive) the Russians are pushing out from the bridgehead into Western Kupiansk. Moreover, they have been taking huge swaths of territory southeast of Kupiansk on the east side of the Oskil (this is the region where the starved defenders from the article were/are). Are those same Western outlets coming forward to say say they were wrong about Kupiansk? Do you think that will ever happen? Or will it be like Pokrovsk where they were still pretending the city is in contention when the contact line is tens of kilometers to the northwest?