Putin’s Propagandists Changing Strategy Amid Failures in War

The Russian propaganda machine has taken a so-called “operational pause” to develop a new strategy for waging the information war against Ukraine.

“Realising that media stories about biolabs and radioactive ash are no longer effective amid military failures, propaganda media have begun to restructure their strategy and prepare Russians for ‘unexpected outcomes’: defeat in war and capitulation,” the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine reports.

The argument in favour is a lull in propaganda media and capitulation rhetoric of their experts.

The Centre is drawing attention to several key events that have taken place recently in the war in Ukraine:

• Termination of the enemy’s offensive in almost all directions
• Heavy weapons supply to Ukraine
• Evacuation of Mariupol defenders from Azovstal steelworks

All these factors do not facilitate the occupiers’ capture of the Ukrainian territories. However, despite military defeats, Russian propaganda is forced to communicate daily with the audience that continues to wait for victory.

Bohdan Marusyak