Russian President Vladimir Putin’s obsession with expanding the Russian Federation and reinstating the powers of the Soviet Union is nothing new. But despite previously invading Georgia and annexing Crimea, the current war in Ukraine is different. The international community is imposing new and harsh sanctions, the war is being documented — in both serious and silly formats — on social media platforms like TikTok, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emerged as a unique and fierce leader.
In many ways, it’s a war like never before.
A new cold war?
In some ways this conflict is a continuation of the Cold War. Russia is attempting to turn back the clock by reinstating the Soviet Union and restoring Russia as the US’s greatest military rival.
It’s the first time in decades tanks have rolled across European borders. It’s the first time in history NATO has activated its 40,000 troops, getting the Response Force ready to defend other NATO countries (Ukraine is not a member). And it’s the first time the European Union has directly financed the purchase and delivery of weapons in what European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called a “watershed moment”.
It’s also one of the few times the US Treasury has designated a leader as a “head of state”. In an “exceedingly rare” move, Putin has been labelled as the head of state of the Russian Federation, putting him in the same company as Kim Jong-un, Alexander Lukashenko, and Bashar al-Assad and allowing individual sanctions to be imposed to target his assets.
Social media
As in previous conflicts including the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, and the Myanmar insurgency, social media audiences are being exposed to war developments in real-time. But something feels different. Ukrainian soldiers are documenting their efforts to music and TikTok trends even as they sacrifice their lives.
There are soldiers doing the moonwalk, dancing to popular remixes and filming their weaponry. Ukrainians have also uploaded videos of their interactions with Russian soldiers, from a woman telling soldiers to put sunflower seeds in their pockets so their death will bring beauty, to a man chatting with soldiers whose tank ran out of petrol. Another video revealed how some Russian soldiers don’t fully agree with — or understand — why they are fighting.
Russian soldiers are also jumping on dating app Tinder, giving away their strategic positions.
Zelenskyy too has made the most of social media, inspiring European leaders to impose harsher sanctions on Russia and calling for Ukrainians to take up arms and fight for their country.
A unique leader
Zelenskyy has emerged as a fierce leader since the war erupted, staying in Kyiv even as Russia launched airstrikes. He rebuffed evacuation offers from the US by saying “I need ammunition, not a ride”.
Zelenskyy is also unique in his background. A law student turned actor-comedian turned president, he was an unlikely candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian elections. He grew up speaking Russian in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine and is ethnically Jewish, although he, like many Jewish families in the Soviet Union, isn’t religious, he has claimed.
The Warsaw-based Jan Karski Society honoured Zelenskyy last week with the Jan Karski Eagle Award for his “heroic defence of Ukraine and the moral values of Western civilisation”, with a member of the awards committee likening Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to the Holocaust.
As The Atlantic’s Gal Beckerman wrote: “If Zelenskyy has now become synonymous with the blue-and-yellow flag of his country, it might signal an unexpected outcome of this conflict that has found Jews feeling finally, improbably, one with a land that has perpetually tried to spit them out.”
Failure of comprehension or sloppy writing?
Of course Putin is “head of state” but not because he was so designated by the US Treasury – it comes with being President of the Russian Federation and is not an optional extra.
To quote from the linked US Treasury press release: “It is exceedingly rare for Treasury to designate a head of state ...”
Quite so – designated as a target for sanctions.
But how much of this stuff not just on Social Media, but also in the Main Stream Media is not “real”?
How much of it is just propaganda?
I find myself reading articles every day in the various newspapers with statements from “Ukrainian sources”, telling me how many Russians have been killed, how many Russian aircraft have been downed, how many Russian tanks have been blown up. All sounds good, with Ukrainian forces being joined by citizens wielding all sorts of weaponry, (without any training).
Surely this means the Russians are being beaten. Well no, at the same time it seems that the Russia’s advance into Ukraine is continuing.
An excellent example of the inability of many to comprehend simple concepts.
Never mind the logic, feel the ..err.. feel.
Considerable amount of fabricated info.
I note that none of the Western Media are showing other video of Ukrainians dressed in Russian uniforms and committing acts. Taken by a French Journo. I found it once but it’s disappeared. Both sides doing fake news.
Australia maybe, but outlets like ByLine TImes in UK, like Bellingcat, and wider networks of indie media, have been doing much on Ukraine and have people on the ground reporting, where/when possible.
So you have not seen any credible news information? Understandable with local media, but maybe switch off RT?
Bellingcat credible?
are you?
Crikey I’m afraid the btl comments are infested.
One from here popped up on Twitter via former Diplomat Tony Kevin’s account (followed by Oliver Stone et al.), who is apparently returning from Moscow and his last post was using RT as a source…., complaining that Crikey articles and comments were all anti-Russian or anti-Putin….. they sound like Trumpers.
Anne Applebaum, based in Poland, Russian speaker & former GOP (due to being disowned by Trumpers) has asked why are both Kremlin and MAGA/Trump types, on the SM attack (against her) with same messaging, emanating from same places inc. US & Russia?
That’s putting it mildly.
There are multiples of my long comment because it disappeared for no apparent reasons a couple of times even as I reposted. Now they have all popped up again!! Not deliberate but annoying, none the less. Of course.
Blame the platform.
You guys need to read the Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin. Everything that is happening in Ukraine can be found in this book. From election fraud to using fraudulent attacks on residential buildings to warrant an attack on Chechnya. Do not forget Putin used to be a KGB officer.
“The Warsaw-based Jan Karski Society honoured Zelenskyy last week with the Jan Karski Eagle Award for his “heroic defence of Ukraine and the moral values of Western civilisation”, with a member of the awards committee likening Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to the Holocaust.”
Really?? Not a bit over the top??
Things have come to a pretty pass when we can’t even trust the integrity of TV comedians.
Remember that awful period when Micallef seemed hobbled or constrained?
No it’s how cynical and ignorant people in Australia and Anglosphere have become, thanks to our media and politics, about the world round them, including humanity, and need to platform and run protection for conservative heroes, thugs etc. aka Trump, Putin et al.
Putin himself described pre invasion, that UKraine was inflicting a ‘holocaust’ on ethnic Russians, even if Ukraine President is Jewish.
Staggering.
In this entire piece about an ex comic now calling ‘his people’ out to fight against a modern army, not ONE word about the reasons for this action by Russia, under President Putin.
Briefly..
Until 2014 and the US organised coup and Maidan Square sniping by Ultranationalists (or the Neonazis of Svoboda, Azov and Right Sector), Ukraine had a not very popular centrist government who none the less were leaning to Russia, cheap loans and gas, etc.
The coup and the Maidan Square sniping put in place a regime that leant towards their paymasters in Washington and expensive European loans.
Since then (and putting aside the events in Crimea to maintain control of the Russian Black Sea fleet base and the Donbass, to protect Russian leaning Ukrainians from attacks by Neonazis) noises and suggestions have been made about Ukraine joining NATO.
NATO began to move inexorably Eastwards into former Soviet era countries from the 1990s, in complete abrogation of promises given to not do exactly that. Thus Russians can see the value of Western promises.
This continuing expansion of NATO Eastwards, now into Ukraine, was/is seen by Russia as an existential threat.
That, and the presence of significant numbers of Neonazis in the Ukraine military (odd for a government run by a Jew??)
Putin warned of his red lines many times.
1) Ukraine never to join NATO
2) NATO infrastructure to be wound back to pre 1990s promises lines.
The noises and suggestion would have been ceased/withdrawn by a intelligent international community were it not dominated by a country of hegemonic maniacs who see themselves as the only owners of the planet, free to do as they please.
Any thing the US can do to cause Russia trouble (especially if it involves shutting down cheap Russian gas in exchange for expensive US gas) they will do.
That is why we are where we are now.
To make things even worse the EU (a collective market) is now doing exactly the wrong thing. Providing funds (hundreds of millions) to buy arms to add fuel to the fire of a guerrilla war in Central Europe.
Instead of this they should be pushing for negotiations for a peaceful settlement, including reassurances that Ukraine will never join NATO (it can’t now) and constraints on resurgent Neonazis.
These last two are now the major objectives of the current campaign.
Anything else is real madness.