Citat:
Washington Post börjar leverera sådan journalistik som man kan förvänta av fri press, och inte bara följa en snäv åsiktskorridor om att det går jättebra för Ukraina:
"The casualties here are largely kept secret to protect morale among troops and the general public.
“On Ukrainian TV we see that there are no losses,” Lapko said. “There’s no truth.”
...
But after three months of war, this company of 120 men is down to 54 because of deaths, injuries and desertions. [här får vi en bra känsla för förlusterna i Ukraina]
...
"Lapko and his men have grown increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with their superiors. His request for the awards has not been approved. His battalion commander demanded that he send 20 of his soldiers to another front line, which meant that he couldn’t rotate his men out from Toshkivka. He refused the order.
The final affront arrived last week when he arrived at military headquarters in Lysychansk after two weeks in Toshkivka. His battalion commander and team had moved to another town without informing him, he said, taking food, water and other supplies.
“They left us with no explanation,” Lapko said. “I think we were sent here to close a gap and no one cares if we live or die.”
So he, Khrus and several members of their company drove the 60 miles to Druzhkivka to stay in a hotel for a few days. “My guys wanted to wash themselves for the first time in a month,” Lapko said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/26/ukraine-frontline-russia-military-severodonetsk/
"The casualties here are largely kept secret to protect morale among troops and the general public.
“On Ukrainian TV we see that there are no losses,” Lapko said. “There’s no truth.”
...
But after three months of war, this company of 120 men is down to 54 because of deaths, injuries and desertions. [här får vi en bra känsla för förlusterna i Ukraina]
...
"Lapko and his men have grown increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with their superiors. His request for the awards has not been approved. His battalion commander demanded that he send 20 of his soldiers to another front line, which meant that he couldn’t rotate his men out from Toshkivka. He refused the order.
The final affront arrived last week when he arrived at military headquarters in Lysychansk after two weeks in Toshkivka. His battalion commander and team had moved to another town without informing him, he said, taking food, water and other supplies.
“They left us with no explanation,” Lapko said. “I think we were sent here to close a gap and no one cares if we live or die.”
So he, Khrus and several members of their company drove the 60 miles to Druzhkivka to stay in a hotel for a few days. “My guys wanted to wash themselves for the first time in a month,” Lapko said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/26/ukraine-frontline-russia-military-severodonetsk/
Det är en bra artikel och den visar också på hur Ukrainas hittills välfungerande propagandaavdelning börjar knaka i fogarna. Uppenbarligen är pressavdelningen inte helt bekväm med att besvara svåra specifika frågor och svaren blir därefter.
Det är också talande att ukrainsk militär personal är beredda att riskera krigsrätt för att berätta sådana här saker för utländska journalister. Det tyder på inte så lite desperation. Och kanske också en minskad tilltro till det ukrainska projektet. Kompanichefen är rimligtvis inte dummare än att han inser att hans uttalanden inte gynnar Ukrainas sak. Däremot gynnar den antagligen honom och hans män. Och att han sätter dem före sitt land säger någonting om vad som händer med moralen i det ukrainska samhället.
Samtidigt ska man inte heller glömma att en sådan här artikel aldrig skulle dyka upp i en rysk eller en ryskvänlig tidning. Trots att de rimligtvis har samma problem på den ryska sidan fronten.
