Ukrainian armed forces have retaken most of Luhansk, a major city that had been held by Russian separatists. That leaves only Donetsk in the hands of the separatists. Barring entry by Russian forces into the battle, it looks like the Ukrainian army will succeed in quashing the rebellion. This is a very good thing.
I was struck, however, by something else in the news from Ukraine. When the casualties of the battle for Luhansk were reported, we were told that nine Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting. It was also reported by the separatists that 34 civilians were killed in the fighting. No separatist fighters were listed as killed; all the dead were "civilians". This report takes a page out of the Hamas/Gaza playbook. In Gaza, Hamas reported nearly everyone killed as a civilian; men holding rifles but not dressed in uniform were civilians. The same was true of men firing missiles at Israel who were not wearing uniforms; they were reported as civilians. The media just repeated the announced figures so it looked like the vast majority of the dead were civilians. The Russian separatists seem to be doing the same thing, except in Luhansk, everyone is reported as a civilian.
At some point, it would be nice if the media were to wake up and realize that it is being used to spread propaganda.
I was struck, however, by something else in the news from Ukraine. When the casualties of the battle for Luhansk were reported, we were told that nine Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting. It was also reported by the separatists that 34 civilians were killed in the fighting. No separatist fighters were listed as killed; all the dead were "civilians". This report takes a page out of the Hamas/Gaza playbook. In Gaza, Hamas reported nearly everyone killed as a civilian; men holding rifles but not dressed in uniform were civilians. The same was true of men firing missiles at Israel who were not wearing uniforms; they were reported as civilians. The media just repeated the announced figures so it looked like the vast majority of the dead were civilians. The Russian separatists seem to be doing the same thing, except in Luhansk, everyone is reported as a civilian.
At some point, it would be nice if the media were to wake up and realize that it is being used to spread propaganda.
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