Some Russian war bloggers denounce Kherson withdrawal order

They feared this would happen for weeks, but still, when a Russian commander announced on Wednesday that Russian troops would be withdrawn from the strategically important city of Kherson, Ukraine , warmongering Russian military bloggers and commentators responded with desperation, anguish and denial.

"I will never forget this murder of Russian hopefuls," Zastavny said , a popular blogger, in a message on the Telegram messaging app. "This betrayal has now been engraved in my heart for centuries."

Boris Rozhin, a pro-Russian military analyst, called the retreat "the most serious military defeat of Russia since 1991". .” In a Telegram post, he said: "If there is no success ahead with the capture of major cities and no advances during the winter offensive, the series of military setbacks would accumulate far greater internal discontent. than sanctions."

But Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, Russia's global television channel, said on Twitter that it was the right move to protect the Russian army further losses. "As long as the army is intact, there is hope to end the war with honor," she wrote, quoting a famous Russian military commander from the time of the Napoleonic Wars. "With the loss of the army, not only Moscow - all of Russia will be lost."

The war in Ukraine propelled Russian military bloggers - a group of pros warmongers - analysts, activists and invasion fighters - into an increasingly vocal force in the Russian media and political landscape. Most opposition news websites and other news outlets have been banned by the Kremlin, leaving few alternatives for Russians to follow the war outside of the mundane daily briefings from the Russian Defense Ministry. . Bloggers' channels on Telegram, with their quick updates on the situation at the front, gained thousands of followers during the war.

While Russia was beginning to suffer clear setbacks on the battlefield, however, many of these bloggers began to criticize senior military ranks, and even the country's politicians, for failing to prepare the military.

For example, Vladlen Tatarsky, a popular blogger and activist, reacted to news about Kherson by saying that Russia's overall war plan was "stupid" and "based on misinformation ".

Many bloggers have blamed the fundamental problems for the setbacks, such as the endemic corruption that has been rampant in the Russian military. Rybar, a popular blogger, said that false reports sent to senior military officers were among the main reasons for the Russian withdrawal.

Yuri Kotyonok, another popular blogger, analyzes rational mixed with the feeling of hopelessness, even hopelessness. "It will leave a scar on my heart, you can't get used to it," he said in a message. "It's been a tough day."