How Russians Control Our Narratives

What Really Happened in Crimea?

Jun 26, 2024

Want to know what’s happening in Ukraine? Read on for the real intelligence and mood, from the most informed voices.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS:

Russia’s narrative dominated the headlines after Ukraine’s successful strike upon a major Russian base in occupied Crimea. How did this happen?
What’s Russia doing in Africa?
A message to top anti-Ukraine voice Jack Posobiec

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WGN RADIO DAILY WAR JOURNAL — 10 Minutes Daily: Watch, Listen, or Read | from Wednesday 26 June

War Day 851: How Russians Shape Narratives & Hide Ukraine's Successes

The only American news show reporting live from Ukraine EVERY WEEKDAY of Russia’s full-scale invasion; with Bob Sirott in Chicago and Joe Lindsley in Lviv

Hidden Stories: US Support for Ukrainian Schoolchildren

BOB SIROTT: I am reading about what the United States is doing to help the schoolchildren of Ukraine, Joseph Linsley standing by. And Joe, we often talk about the civilian targets that Russia hits. And because they've attacked Ukrainian printing facilities, the United States is going to fund the printing of more than 3 million textbooks for Ukrainian students to use in the coming school year. And that's one of those stories you don't hear a lot about, do you?

Historical Erasure: Russia's Century-Long Control Tactics

JOE LINDSLEY: Bob, hello from Lviv. Think about the centuries of Moscow trying to control not just Ukrainians, but all different cultures and peoples in what is now the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe. There was a history, especially with the Ukrainian people, going back to the days of the Czars in the 1700s and 1800s, banning the Ukrainian language. They did everything they could to erase it, similar to the way the Irish language was outlawed during the strife between the English and the Irish, or how Native American languages were outlawed in North America. Russia has been doing this consistently for centuries. When Russia occupies Ukrainian territory, the first thing they do is get rid of everything in Ukrainian.

Burning Books: A Tactic of Suppression

They burned Ukrainian books, and that's what they did when they hit that printing press. When they destroyed the printing press in Lviv, they destroyed tens of thousands of Ukrainian language books. So now, the fact that you have Western nations, including the United States, paying for the perpetuation of the Ukrainian language shows that no matter how much Moscow tries to erase it, it only makes it stronger.

Language as Resistance: The Shift in Ukrainian Cities

I've seen this too. Especially in cities like Odessa or Lviv. These were Russian-speaking cities up until 2022. Most people there now speak Ukrainian, but they were speaking Russian every day until this big invasion started. They didn't identify as Russians, but that was the language they grew up with because of the colonial legacy, just like people in Dublin, Ireland speak English. Now, many people have switched to Ukrainian as an act of resistance and defiance because they hate what Russia is doing.

So, you see that in many ways, the more Ukraine and Ukrainian culture are attacked, the stronger they get. That doesn't make it any easier, though.

Crimea: A History of Resistance

As we look at what happened yesterday, regarding the Korea Peninsula, Crimea has been occupied by Russia since 2014. But Crimea is unique. Even when it was fully under Ukrainian control, it was an autonomous republic within Ukraine because the Crimean Tatars are a distinct ethnic group. They have their own language, are mainly Muslim, and have lived there for centuries. Russia has a history of forcing these people to leave Crimea, doing this many times throughout history, including under Stalin. After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the Crimean Tatars were free under Ukrainian governance.

People came back from exile throughout Asia to live in Crimea. Since 2014, it's been under tyrannical Moscow control again.

How Moscow Controls Our Narratives

Look at the headlines from yesterday: BBC says, "Ukraine War: Russia blames US and vows response for Crimean deaths." The Guardian says, "Ukraine War briefing: Moscow warns of retaliation after blaming US for deadly Ukrainian attack." CNN reports, "At least five dead after missile fragments scatter over beachgoers in Russian-occupied Crimea." It's interesting to see the choice of words in these headlines because there are other things that could have been mentioned. For example, where are the headlines about what Russia did in the preceding 48 hours to civilians in Kharkiv, or what they have been doing for the past two years?

Strategic Success: A Major Win for Ukraine

More importantly, Ukrainians hit one of the most crucial Russian military communications objects in Crimea yesterday. It was a long-range space communication center controlling many Russian satellites. It was a huge win for Ukraine using long-range weapons they weren't permitted to use until a deal was reached in Washington a couple of months ago. Speaker Mike Johnson pressured the White House, saying, "If we're going to fund this, we need to win." Ukrainians used these weapons to hit one of Russia's critical military infrastructure points. This isn't just underreported; it's barely mentioned in those stories.

The Power of Propaganda: Shaping the Narrative

BOB SIROTT: Why do you think that is, Joseph?

JOE LINDSLEY: Part of it is that Moscow has lots of resources and money to push out a powerful narrative. If you're a busy journalist, stories about kids killed on a beach grab your attention and get clicks. What I just articulated took a few minutes and is harder to put into a headline. That's part of it—simplifying the story. Moscow also promotes its narrative, and when I talk with Ukrainians, they often start responding to Russian claims, saying it was Russian air defense that killed those kids. Once you start responding, you're still on their narrative track and not talking about the big success story for Ukraine. Russia is very good at propaganda, pulling the conversation onto their terms and missing the big story that these American weapons are working and making Russia weaker.

Positive Notes: Support from Illinois

BOB SIROTT: On a positive note, the Illinois State Police sent body armor to Ukraine. Our city is supporting Ukraine by relocating Ukrainian refugees and sending ambulances from Illinois to the country. So, we're with you, Joseph. Thank you as always. We'll talk to you tomorrow.

Daily Intel from SILICON CURTAIN — with host JONATHAN FINK in OXFORD

Beverly Ochieng - One Year on from Prighozhin’s Mutiny, Wagner is Deeply Embedded in Africa's Sahel.

Beverly Ochieng is an experienced journalist and commentator on socio-political, economic and security developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. She analyses political developments in the region, as well as security developments in West Africa and the Sahel. Until recently Beverly was a Senior Digital Journalist and Africa Specialist at BBC Monitoring.

Russia has taken control of Wagner operations in Africa and is being more aggressive diplomatically, providing support to various countries.
Wagner mercenaries, now known as the Africa Core, have been deployed to countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Indonesia, where there has been political instability.
The Wagner group is positioning itself strategically near mineral reserves in order to gain access to natural resources in exchange for security services.
Russia is diversifying its income streams in Africa, focusing on lucrative resources like uranium in Niger.
China has a long-standing relationship with Africa and is making diplomatic, military, and infrastructure overtures to countries in the region. Iran is also increasing its involvement in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region.

Ruslan Kukharchuk, Ukrainian activist

In Luxembourg, official negotiations on Ukraine's entry into the European Union began.
It's the same pointless event as:
- signed agreement on the Association of Ukraine with the EU (2014);
- fixing the goal of acquiring membership in the EU in the Constitution of Ukraine (2019);
- obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership (2022).
Like the whole course on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, announced still by the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.
Every new step with some loud name something there about integration in the EU is:
- bureaucratic games in order to keep Ukraine on a chain of promises;
- even more breaking of Ukraine's hands on the need to change our legal field often against our economic interests and worldly positions.
We have already entered and the SOT, and signed the agreement of the Association, but how our trucks with goods meet on the European border, everyone knows well.
Ukraine is a great European country and a magnificent Eastern European nation. And this identity of ours should in no way depend on a formal membership in some union.
Only one format is fine with us: the European Union asks/invites Ukraine to join it. And we consider and decide whether it's accurate for us (for example, the British decided that it's not accurate). The blood of heroes and the feat of the people require the Ukrainian authorities to act with dignity.

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Regular Resources:

Air-Raid Alert Map

State of the War Map: shows Russian positions and what Ukrainians have taken back; updated daily

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