[ISW] The lack of Russian milblogger reaction to Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar bridge represents an inflection in Russian reporting on war

The lack of Russian milblogger reaction to a Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar bridge between occupied Crimea and occupied Kherson Oblast represents a notable inflection in Russian reporting on the war in Ukraine and may suggest that the Kremlin has directed Russian milbloggers to refrain from covering certain topics.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on July 29 that Ukrainian forces successfully struck the Chonhar bridge on the M-18 (Dzhankoi-Melitopol) highway between occupied Crimea and occupied Kherson Oblast.

ISW has not observed any Russian milblogger discussion about the Ukrainian strike or Russian milbloggers promoting Kherson occupation administration head Vladimir Saldo’s claim that Russian forces intercepted 12 Ukrainian Strom Shadow cruise missiles targeting the bridge.

The only other Russian source to comment on the strikes was a local Russian news Telegram channel, which amplified alleged claims from Russian tourists in the area about the bridge being closed to traffic.

Russian milbloggers responded to a Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar bridge on June 22 with widespread outrage and concern, and Russian milbloggers routinely comment on both successful and allegedly unsuccessful Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics.

ISW has previously assessed that select Russian milbloggers may be shaping their coverage of the war in Ukraine in ways more favorable to Kremlin narratives out of fear of Kremlin punishment following the removal of prominent critical voices in the Russian information space particularly pro-war critic Igor Girkin and Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin.

General fear of Kremlin punishment would not likely result in such a near-universal lack of coverage of a dramatic event, however, and it is more likely that a specific Kremlin directive not to cover disruptions to critical GLOCs caused this lack of reporting.

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