Russian television conceals the bombing of Ukrainian cities and is limited to presenting a "special military operation" that should be similar to a simple routine, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.
As for the Russian channels;
This war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin is only a simple operation in the Ukrainian separatist regions of Donbass, and 3 days after the start of the war, the news bulletin of "Russia 24" channel spoke on Saturday afternoon about what is happening in Ukraine without the word "war" in it. According to the French newspaper "La Croix".
During the midday news bulletin of the First Channel of Russian Television, on Friday, February 25;
Le Monde says the news was largely devoted to the "special operation to defend Donbass," and viewers only saw two passing pictures of Kiev.
The first on social networks was an amateur movie shot from a building window, described by the presenter, saying that what viewers see is "a Ukrainian armored car rushing through the streets of Obolon and destroying everything in its path, including private cars."
Benoit Vitkin, the newspaper's Moscow correspondent, says in a report that the television did not provide any element to clarify the context, and there was nothing to explain what an armored vehicle was doing in a state of panic in the streets of its capital, at a time when Opolon - an area very close to the center of the capital, Kiev. The scene of a deadly incursion of the Russian forces, in preparation for the Battle of Kiev, which began on the same night.
Then, after a few minutes, according to Vitkin, the frontier says, “What is really happening in Ukrainian cities? We can check it in real time, away from the hysteria of the Western media,” and then images of urban webcams appear on which the frontman says, “This is Kiev.” , Everything is calm ... and this is Sumy, the people in the streets ... and Kharkiv, nothing unusual ..", although all these towns witnessed fierce fighting in those cities last Thursday and the day before yesterday, Friday, which included shelling and shooting with light weapons.
Vitkin comments on this by saying, "Whoever wants to know something about the war from Moscow does not notice its borrowing in Ukraine, as it is not visible in the media here."
This is what the reporter sees as a striking contrast with the usual media practice, as Russian viewers were meant to be more familiar with what is happening in Ukraine or the United States than what is happening at home.
Everything that happened there was analyzed, discussed, exaggerated and often vilified.
Now - says the reporter - while the news of Ukraine receives attention all over the world, a form of restraint, or rather, reticence, prevails in Moscow, as "the military operation must be likened" to a simple routine, according to the writer.
The only war that appears in detail on Russian television is the Donbass war, which is the subject of long reports, especially the bombing by the Ukrainian army against "peaceful civilians," according to Russian television.
What is new is that since the "Donetsk and Luhansk forces" and not the Russian army (according to Channel One) launched the attack, there are Ukrainian prisoners.
Many of them are said to have "voluntarily" surrendered, "after which they underwent a COVID-19 PCR test."
Then the Russian channel begins to broadcast news about the routine of official meetings, as Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with his counterpart Bashar al-Assad, and the Syrian president expressed his support for him in running the "Special Operation for the Defense of Donbass."