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Russia confirmed a Ukrainian missile attack damaged one of its Black Sea Fleet warships.
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But Russian officials have said that only one person was killed.
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Independent Russian media suggests dozens may be dead.
The damage to a Russian warship appears much worse than the Kremlin is willing to acknowledge.
The Russian navy’s landing vessel Novocherkassk — part of its Black Sea Fleet — was hit in a Ukrainian attack on a port in Russian-held Crimea, officials said Tuesday.
While the Kremlin-appointed governor there has said the ship was damaged and one person was killed, video and media reports paint a much-darker picture.
Images of a massive explosion at a dock in Feodosia spread on social media. Reporters and open-source intelligence channels posted photos showing smoldering wreckage at the pier, backing up Ukraine’s claim that long-range missiles triggered a massive explosion that blew up the ship.
Independent Russian media is also questioning the stated death toll.
Astra, a Telegram channel sharing Russian news from independent journalists, reported there were 77 sailors aboard the Novocherkassk at the time of the Ukrainian attack; this class of ship typically has a crew size of about 100.
This isn’t unique to Russia or even to this conflict. Information Warfare is a big part of the media campaign to support/undermine the war effort. This isn’t new. One classic example - particularly relevant given the geography - is the Battle of the Somme where overly optimistic western news reporting covered up a horrific slaughter of allied forces.
News reports like this are just another angle on the informational campaign, intended to boost western support for the war and present Russian forces as exceptionally weak and prone to failure. During the Iraq Invasion in 2003, we played the same game with “Baghdad Bob” memes, while we glossed over how precarious and unsustainable our charge into the center of Iraq had left the US military. During the “Green Revolution” of 2014, we got to hear all about how weak and fragile the various Middle Eastern governments were, right up until rebellious groups were brutally suppressed and slaughtered from Tunis to Cairo to Damascus to Sana’a to Tehren. I still see Bashar Al-Asad “Who Must Go” memes in circulation, hailing back to that era of heedless hyper-optimism. Nevermind all the shit coming out of Israel’s latest incursion into Gaza.
We’re going to see “Russia is lying! They’re all about to lose! Zelensky will be getting an all-over tan on the beaches of Crimea by next year!” headlines for years to come. That’s just the nature of modern media.
Winston Churchill ,or someone, maybe
Certain special irony if that’s a misquote.
Those didn’t exist. You’re confusing “memes” created by individual people and media bias.
The US military destroyed the Iraqi army, almost too well. The army was disbanded and former members joined the insurgents. Militarily it was a huge success. The failure was not gaining the consent of the governed, which is necessary in any modern country.
News reports are not “trying to present Russia as weak”. They legitimately are weak. Do you think the US or NATO would have any trouble rolling Ukraine if it only had Russian support? No troops would be on the ground but Kiev would be rubble within two weeks.