Because of 600 dead Ukrainians
Russians are mad at Putin for fake deaths
According to the Kremlin, Putin’s troops launched a retaliatory strike on Sunday, killing 600 Ukrainians. As it turned out, it was fake news. The Russians are angry now.
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A Russian missile is said to have killed 600 Ukrainians here. According to Russian information, rockets are said to have hit this building, among other things.
The Russian military bloggers are boiling with rage – again. The reason for their resentment against the Kremlin is its claim to have killed hundreds of soldiers in a retaliatory attack against Ukraine.
As the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday, the Russian army had carried out attacks on two barracks in Kramatorsk in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in “retaliation” for the death of 89 soldiers on New Year’s Eve. “More than 600 Ukrainian soldiers” were killed.
Putin’s revenge action is a lie
On New Year’s Eve, Ukraine attacked a makeshift base of the Russian army in Makiivka, using US-supplied Himar rocket launchers. In an unusual move, Moscow then acknowledged the deaths of 89 soldiers. Observers assume an even higher number of victims.
However, Putin’s revenge action is a lie. Pure propaganda, as revealed by Finnish journalist Antti Kuronen. He is on the spot where Putin’s troops are said to have landed this mega strike. But no sign of destruction. “There’s not even an ambulance here,” he wrote on Twitter. An Italian journalist was also there. He, too, could find neither destroyed buildings nor dead people. The missile apparently missed the target.
Putin made a fool of himself
The Russian military bloggers are therefore very angry with Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) and the Kremlin, as reported by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW). It is not clear who allegedly said that 600 Ukrainian soldiers died at once when in fact the building was not even hit, writes the Russian Telegram channel “Military Information”. Putin made himself look ridiculous.
What infuriates the bloggers above all: This is not the first time that the Kremlin has spread news of alleged retaliatory attacks. According to the military bloggers, the Russian Defense Ministry often makes false claims. And whenever Ukraine reports a success.
Strategy doesn’t work
According to the ISW, the Russian Defense Ministry has been pursuing the revenge strategy since October 2022. The Kremlin is said to have claimed revenge for Ukrainian attacks on the Kerch Strait Bridge in the Black Sea and other Russian infrastructure.
The Russian government is said to be using retaliatory framing to appease pro-war advocates and make its own military look better. But the strategy doesn’t work, especially when the alleged retaliatory strikes turn out to be pure fake news. As a result, the Russians are even angrier at Putin and the military. (dzc)