Russia unleashed a series of missile strikes on Ukraine overnight, killing at least 11 people. As the war grinds on, social media continues to serve as a go-to resource to follow and understand the human toll, military strategy and political to-and-fro of the conflict.
Crikey has compiled a couple of social accounts worth a look.
A face to a name
Gulliver Cragg is a Kyiv-based correspondent for France 24. He covers the ins and outs of everyday life for Ukrainians. In the past few days, he’s tweeted about young children taking their classes train-side, and a YouTube musical sensation playing to a pub instead of a stadium to raise funds for the Ukrainian army.
Local journalist Oleksiy Sorokin works for The Kyiv Independent. He adds meaning to Russia’s attacks by sharing the carnage, confusion and coping mechanisms of impacted Ukrainians. After a series of missile strikes on Kyiv yesterday, reported to have killed at least five and injured 12, he shared a video of Ukrainians taking shelter and singing, an illustration of inside a bomb shelter, and a bright red trail of blood with the simple caption: “Kyiv right now.”
Let’s talk strategy
Angel investor and entrepreneur Naval Ravikant has compiled a “war” list packed with choice of weaponry, territorial gains and losses, maps, and all-round war tactics. (Some of these come with a content warning.) To pull out a few: @Osinttechnical specialises in visually confirmed losses, @JominiW and @War_Mapper share maps, @WarMonitor3 is known for making early calls on changes to territory, @MarkHertling is a retired US army general and chimes in with high-level strategy, and analyst @OAlexanderDK has strong intel on the gas pipeline and Kerch Bridge.
The Russian Telegram channel Rybar is also a go-to resource for a lot of internet strategists. Despite its Russian leanings, it’s been known to call a lot of Ukrainian counteroffensives quicker than many of the pro-Ukrainian channels. A lot of the Rybar maps also wind up in the “war” list.
Politics and power plays
Look no further than the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tweeting in both Ukrainian and English, Zelenskyy documents his international demands and dealings with foreign leaders for all to see. In the past day, he’s had conversations with US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Angola President João Lourenço, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, and the list goes on.
Crikey, questions to ask Oliver Alexander, if this is not covered by a D notice (I still exist they might not). Given Google Maps shows the railway on the south side of the Kerch bridge, the main damage is to the Northern carriageway, so didn’t the truck enter the bridge from the Russian, rather than Crimean side?
Who was the driver?
Are antiRussian/antiPutin forces taking advantage of the situation?
Have we dropped into a way deeper hole if it’s open season on Russia?
Is this analysis or conspiracy theory?
Russians drive on the right hand side of the road, it takes about a minute on Google maps to orientate the photos so the truck came from Russia.
Were the Russians incredibly slack, did Ukraine get help, did someone else take the opportunity to join the fray? I don’t know, hopefully Crikey can dig into it and analyse what’s possible and what’s likely a conspiracy theory.
My take what ever happened the bridge is likely a minor issue, but the war has moved into a worrying new phase of either incompetence or opportunism
No need for Crikey when there are many who analyse and debunk conspiracy theories e.g. BellingCat
Thanks Julia.
Now wait for the Putin fans to start up!
Or not. 🙂
There is such promise right now, despite the Putinistas shouting down anyone who dares to disagree with them.
“Suddenly, everything is changing. Why? Because Ukraine has successfully defeated Russia & the US under
@POTUS has got everything right. This is a crucial point in global affairs. Will democracy & freedom or kleptocracy & dictatorship win? I bet on freedom.” @anders_aslund
This post is perfectly the opposite of reality. Congratulations 🙂
There is also an Australian doing some very interesting (if lengthy) logistic & economic analysis : Perun https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC3ehuUksTyQ7bbjGntmx3Q/featured (probably on twitter but I had to quit that)
And another interesting perspective is a Russian born UK resident Philosopher: https://www.youtube.com/c/VladVexler/about
Was going to add Perun too. He uses broad sources to synthesise much on arms, supply, logistics etc. while any analysis is tempered by conditions, limitations and qualifications; he also avoids Russian and Ukraine Defence Dept. sources.
There quite a few ways for Russians to get their and others views out, especially among the uni crowd. It’s interesting just how unpopular this war is among the younger generation, but, as in the US in the 60s with the Vietnam war, no one can do much about it except leave.
Must be 500K+ of prime younger working age from western Russia esp. urban educated, who have departed since early ’22? Russia simply does not have the demographic depth to deal with these long term departures set against natural decline….
Add one more for competent geo-political analysis is Eric Draitser at Counter Punch, produces a video pod every week or two. He draws on many sources including Russian media, and does much on neighbours such as China, Turkey and Central Asian Republics with qualification; often contradicting the line of his colleagues.