But close readers of the daily pronouncements of these so-called milbloggers now report the story has changed. Some of them “appear to be coalescing around the Kremlin’s narrative effort to portray the Ukrainian counteroffensive as a failure, increasingly overstating Ukrainian losses and writing less about Russia's losses and challenges than they had been,” according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
Whether a result of the Yevgeny Prigozhin-led mutiny earlier this summer or a perceived opportunity created by the slow pace of Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive, the Kremlin now looks intent on tightening up its messaging to persuade Europeans and Americans that Ukraine can’t win and that Western governments are wasting money supporting its defense.
After Prigozhin repeatedly insulted, then directly challenged, Russia’s military leadership, another loudly complaining commander was fired, and a well-known ultra-nationalist blogger and critic was arrested. Now, many of the milbloggers look to have fallen in line with official propaganda.
