Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ukraine’s “Counter-Offensive” Major Belly Flop

Keep lying, keep trying.

tldr;ka post a the day:

IT WAS MID-MARCH when two advertising executives joined a Zoom meeting, ready to pitch an idea to the Ukrainian government in the middle of a war.

They wanted to launch a campaign built on the idea that bravery was a national stereotype, a characteristic linked with being Ukrainian.

It was almost a month into the war when the meeting took place, and the Banda executives felt Ukrainians needed a boost. “I think we need this right now,” Petrov recalls telling the government. Listening to this pitch was Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov. He signed off with the approval of the president's office and an agreement was subsequently struck. The agency would donate its time, while the ministry would cover any costs, according to Petrov.

The idea born in that meeting has now spread across the Ukrainian internet. “Courage has no recipe, except for acetone, polystyrene, gasoline, and a rag,” says the Ukrainian voiceover in one campaign video circulating on social media, before cutting to a staged shot of a man throwing a Molotov cocktail.

Opening the wallet on his iPhone, Dima Adabir, Banda’s managing director, shows how his digital Monobank card is emblazoned with the campaign logo; Сміливість or “courage.” Everything from bottles of juice to a website selling home appliances and even 500 billboards across 21 Ukrainian cities have been similarly branded—although some of those billboards have since been ripped down to make anti-tank defenses, says Adabir.

As the conflict in Ukraine drags on, the country’s communications strategy has become slicker and more professional, say academics studying information warfare. Ukraine has also shifted its strategy away from amplifying exaggerated myths to focusing on the courage of ordinary people who are committing small, achievable acts of bravery in the face of the Russian invasion, such as shooting down a Russian fighter jet with a rifle, or downing a Russian drone with a can of tomatoes.

Like any country at war, Ukraine has been working to shape the information its people see. The military is not allowed to disclose casualty numbers, and photos of deceased Ukrainian soldiers are suppressed.

But there’s a fine line between messaging that can boost morale at home and propaganda that can damage a country’s reputation abroad. The meeting between Banda executives and the digital ministry took place as Ukraine was facing scrutiny for communication missteps early in the conflict. Immediately after the invasion, a story spread across the internet describing a single unknown pilot who was taking out Russian fighter jets above Kyiv. The official Twitter account of Ukraine reposted its own version of the Ghost of Kyiv story on February 27, with a video that appeared to show one fighter plane shooting down another. But that footage, fact-checkers confirmed, was not real—it had been ripped from a video game.

It took two months for Ukrainian officials to acknowledge the story was a myth.

The Ghost of Kyiv was an early lesson for Ukrainian officials, says Laura Edelson, a computer scientist at New York University who researches political communication. “I think that they did pull back on that kind of thing. When you’re speaking to Western Europe and North America, you do need to be perceived as trustworthy,” she says. “There was a pivot from telling the story of this mythical fighter pilot to telling the stories of everyday Ukrainians.”

Tootie 2!


Do you know what "probity" means?

He's looking it up

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 12, 2023

Key Takeaways:

Russian insider sources claimed that the Kremlin’s inner circle is again actively disagreeing about the necessity of and preparations for a second wave of reserve mobilization ahead of the semi-annual fall conscription cycle, which starts on October 1.
These plans, proposals, and disagreements are not new and do not indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ultimately decided to conduct a second reserve mobilization wave in the near term.
Putin also reamplified several boilerplate information operations falsely framing the Ukrainian counteroffensive as a failed endeavor and accused Ukraine of being unwilling to negotiate during his address at the Eastern Economic Forum.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Primorsky Krai on September 12 and will meet with Putin in the coming days, likely to discuss the provision of North Korean artillery munitions to Russia.
Russian authorities have reportedly adjusted air defense systems around Moscow in light of recent increased drone strikes on the city, likely in part to assuage complaints in the Russian information space about the ineffectiveness of air defenses around the capital.
Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, along the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhia and advanced in some areas on September 12.
Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations in at least two sectors of the front on September 12 and advanced near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
Russian officials introduced a bill to the Russian State Duma that would punish Russian servicemen fighting within volunteer armed formations for losing or deliberately destroying military equipment or supplies.
Russian occupation officials continue to deport children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia under the guise of recreational programs.

ISW
@TheStudyofWar
ISW is a policy research organization focused on U.S. national security. Email: pressunderstandingwar.org. For more: https://linktr.ee/understandingwar
Non-Governmental & Nonprofit Organization Washington D.C.isw.pub/SupportISWJoined September 2009
2,846 Following
666.9K Followers

Pinned
ISW
@TheStudyofWar
·
2h 9/12/23
NEW: Russian insider sources claimed that the #Kremlin’s inner circle is again actively disagreeing about the necessity of and preparations for a second wave of reserve mobilization ahead of the semi-annual fall conscription cycle, which starts on Oct. 1.🧵http://isw.pub/UkrWar091223


ISW
@TheStudyofWar
·
1h
4/ Ukrainian forces also continued offensive operations in the #Donetsk-#Zaporizhia border area on September 12 but did not make confirmed advances. RU sources claimed that RU forces repelled a Ukrainian attack on the NW outskirts of Novomayorske (18km SE of Velyka Novosilka).
ISW
@TheStudyofWar
·
1h
#Donetsk Axis:

Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations near #Bakhmut on Sept. 12 & recently advanced.

Geolocated footage published on Sept. 11 & 12 shows that UKR forces made limited gains north of Kurdyumivka (13km SW of Bakhmut) & SW of Mayorsk (21km SW of Bakhmut).
Quote
ISW
@TheStudyofWar
·
2h
NEW: Russian insider sources claimed that the #Kremlin’s inner circle is again actively disagreeing about the necessity of and preparations for a second wave of reserve mobilization ahead of the semi-annual fall conscription cycle, which starts on Oct. 1.🧵http://isw.pub/UkrWar091223
ISW
@TheStudyofWar
·
1h
2/ RU forces conducted offensive operations along the Avdiivka-#Donetsk City line on September 12 and reportedly advanced. A milblogger claimed that Russian forces attacked near Opytne and Spartak and recaptured unspecified positions that Ukrainian forces had captured on Sept 11.

In the last month the Ruble has gained 5.5% against the dollar. May be a good sign for Russia or it may reflect the prodigals in charge of our money trying to prop up our currency.

Ok tooty fruity sure loves his uko trannies

https://x.com/ducaena/status/1701741396363792650?s=12

Ukraine missiles strike two Russian warships at their Black Sea base in Sevastopol.

Russian military is now covering their exposed war aircraft with tires to help protect from extreme damage caused by drones and missiles.

The Hill, BBC

Russia’s launched offensive to counter the Ukraine counteroffensive is failing at this point and will require more bolstering to slow Ukraine advances.

WSJ

Russia’s new 25Aa unit was conscripted and was intended to be sent to the Ukraine front in late December after training but has now been rushed to the front to support flagging troops there.

BBC, Reuters

500,000 Ukrainians killed so far.

8-10 million have fled.

Kicking azz.....

Because nobody else can read headlines . . . Toot has us covered.

Not to mention his "sources" are propaganda central.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 13, 2023

Riley Bailey, Grace Mappes, Nicole Wolkov, Angelica Evans, and Frederick W. Kagan

Key Takeaways:

***Ukrainian forces conducted missile strikes on occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 13, damaging a Russian landing ship, a Kilo class submarine, and port infrastructure.***

Ukrainian forces advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast and reportedly advanced near Bakhmut amid continued counteroffensive operations on both sectors of the front on September 13.
Russian forces conducted a series of Shahed-131/136 drone strikes targeting Sumy and Odesa oblasts on the night of September 12 to 13.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely concerned that Russia’s growing relationship with North Korea may endanger Russia’s existing sanctions evasion schemes.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) reportedly temporarily disrupted a Wagner Group force rotation to Syria amid reports of the Russian MoD’s ongoing efforts to subsume Wagner operations in Syria.
Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in the western Donetsk-eastern Zaporizhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast but did not make any confirmed advances.
Reports from Western and Russian independent sources indicate that Russia has circumvented some Western sanctions to increase weapons production but still struggles to produce weapons at the pace required by the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) published footage showing GUR and Ukrainian partisans conducting a drone strike on a Russian occupation passportization office in occupied Enerhodar, Zaporizhia Oblast on September 12.

Putin says that “he has nothing to lose by embracing North Korea’s Kim”.

Western Intelligence sees Putin’s move as one of desperation for needed artillery and other armaments. Russian production of these is now practically nil.

BBC, The Guardian

37 Russian troops killed by friendly fire when they were chaotically retreating in the Donetsk front.

The Hill, Reuters

That isn't news. Russia has run out of armaments at least six times. That's why they retreated back to Moscow a year and a half ago.

What would we do without our news headlines parrot? Good grief.