Reporting only good news is a false PR strategy of Ukraine’s authorities

The government of Ukraine has been trying to reassure and positively encourage the Ukrainian population all these years, admits the war correspondent and cencor.net editor in chief Yuriy Butusov.

Unfortunately, the authorities and leaders of the security forces said there would be no war, no invasion, and there was no need to worry at all but prepare for picnics. We can see that these estimates have been inaccurate for a long time.

The government chose to entertain people, to calm them down. But I, as a journalist, cannot afford that because that would be disrespectful to my readers.

There should be realistic statements and recognition of our own problems. And the government doesn’t talk about it at all.

I believe the government thinks the war has to somehow go on its own and be won on its own. But not everything in life can be done through the self-organization of society. War and reduction of losses at the front require state decisions. But for this purpose, the authorities must be realistic in their assessments, he said.

It seems absurd to calm the population down six months into the war. Mobilization has already taken place, large-scale hostilities and heavy losses are happening – everyone knows about it. I think we have to tell the truth to people. We must tell that we are actually doing something to solve those problems and win the war.

There were many deadlines: until the end of spring, until the end of summer, until June, and until July. I think this is a PR strategy. The authorities have decided that the best thing to do in this war is to only tell people the good news. They think that people feel better this way. I believe this is a false PR strategy that does not strengthen our resistance but draws the attention of our people to Russian propaganda.

Ukraine Front Lines

Tags: russia ukraine war