Media still need to report the truth when it happens

OTTAWA—We are now entering the fourth month of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and there remains no clear picture as to how this war is actually unfolding. There are several constants that have emerged which cannot be disputed. For instance, it is abundantly clear that the Russian war machine is nowhere near as vaunted as was previously believed, and even by the Kremlin’s own admission, their losses in personnel and equipment have been “significant.” On the flip side, the proficiency of the Ukraine military has taken most military pundits by surprise. To a large degree, this was a deliberate deception aided and abetted by an all too willing western media. As Russian President Vladimir Putin began massing his combat forces along the Ukraine border, the picture painted was that the imminent conflagration would be a one-sided runaway victory for the Russians. In the early days of the invasion, most western media reports contained stories of defiant local Ukrainian civilians preparing Molotov cocktails, which were being shipped to the frontlines in private cars. Even now, some 100 days into the conflict, almost every Ukrainian armed volunteer is identified as a non-soldier who got caught up in the fighting out of a sense of patriotic duty. However, on the eve of Putin’s invasion, the Ukraine military regular forces numbered 246,000, with another 900,000 registered as reservists. More importantly, since 2014, NATO instructors, including Canadian combat soldiers, have trained nearly 90,000 of those Ukraine soldiers. It is this elite combat core element, equipped with NATO-provided sophisticated weaponry, which has blunted and thwarted Putin’s attempt to quickly seize Kyiv. The staggering losses in Russian armoured vehicles has been the result of these NATO-trained Ukraine soldiers using state-of-the-art Javelin anti-tank missiles aided by the latest in drone technology airborne surveillance. It has not been caused by brave Ukraine civilians throwing homemade gasoline bombs. As the war drags on, NATO countries are pledging to keep the ammo flowing to Ukraine. This is good news for U.S. defence companies. President Joe Biden has announced that American taxpayers will fund $40-billion in aid, including military equipment, for Ukraine. In her latest federal budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged an additional $500-million in Canadian military aid to support Ukraine. Last week, we learned that $98-million of that total will be spent on the purchase of 20,000 U.S.-manufactured 155 mm howitzer shells to bolster Ukraine’s combat capability. While Putin may be evil and crazy, it is hard to argue with his claim that NATO is waging a de facto proxy war with Russia in Ukraine. We train and equip Ukrainian soldiers to use our weaponry to destroy the Russian military on Ukraine soil. Of course, the quickest way for Putin to resolve this dilemma would be to simply get his invasion force off Ukrainian soil. But I digress. In addition to weaponry and training, NATO countries have also committed support to Ukraine in the realm of information warfare. Naturally one expects that the belligerents—in this case Russia and Ukraine—will employ propaganda during a war in order to keep up morale among troops and on the home front. However, it has been evident from the start that western media has also thrown away all objectivity along with their credibility during this conflict. One of the most glaring examples of this has to be the coverage of the Russian siege of Mariupol. In the early stages of the war, Russian troops had encircled this port city on the Black Sea. By early April the Ukraine defenders had been driven into a final stand at the Azovstal steel plant. Commanders in the bunkers below Azovstal warned the media that they were running low on food and ammunition. Military experts predicted a collapse of the defence force within hours. However, days turned into weeks, and the fate of the Mariupol defenders captured the imagination of the world. In the end, the Ukrainian military bowed to the inevitable and between May 17 and 19, some 2,800 of these defenders surrendered to the victorious Russians. They are now prisoners of war. However, that may actually come as a surprise to those following the war through major western media outlets. The BBC, for instance, ran the headline “Mariupol: Hundreds of Besieged Ukraine Soldiers Evacuated.“ The Guardian echoed this theme with a subhead that read “Ukraine soldiers have been evacuated from Mariupol Azovstal plant which has become a symbol of resistance.” Reuters billed it as “Ukrainian troops evacuated from Mariupol, ceding control to Russia.” Going beyond the pale, CNN claimed that “Armed forces on the Ukraine launched an operation to rescue defenders of Mariupol blocked on the territory of the Azovstal plant.” None of these reports used the words “surrendered,” “captured,” “defeated” or “prisoners.” While no one wants to see Putin’s invaders succeed in any way, the media still needs to report the truth when it happens. One can only stretch credulity so far before you lose all trust. Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps magazine. The Hill Times

Media still need to report the truth when it happens

It’s expected Russia and Ukraine will employ propaganda during a war to keep up morale, but it’s evident that western media has also thrown away objectivity and their credibility during this conflict.

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Media still need to report the truth when it happens

It’s expected Russia and Ukraine will employ propaganda during a war to keep up morale, but it’s evident that western media has also thrown away objectivity and their credibility during this conflict.

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