I was as surprised as anyone. I usually skim Ukraine war reporting. It seems biased, naive, and gullible, repeating politically motivated news releases, quoting single sources, and sometimes adding an alarmist Ukraine source. In their telling, Russia is always active and potent; Ukraine is passive and (somehow) virginal. That’s why I was surprised to see decent Ukraine War reporting in the Washington Post today.
Ukraine War Reporting from the Rear
I’ve been critical of the Ukrainian war reporting, especially the American media. I understand that Ukraine has good information discipline: they don’t spill their secrets. And hiding troop movements is a virtue. But that doesn’t justify reprinting a press release and calling it “reporting.” Coming up? Russia’s next (highly improbable) actions! Here’s something else a Russian said! And in today’s update, Dastardly Putin has just tied poor Ukraine Nell to the railroad tracks again!
Here’s an easy example. When you watch NBC Nightly News reports on Ukraine, The B-roll (the video behind the talking heads) is Russian Military propaganda videos. To this day.
Think I’m exaggerating? Here are today’s headlines from the New York Times:
Live Updates: Russia Fires Barrage of Missiles at Targets Across Ukraine.
Russia begins occupying Sievierodonetsk and barrages Ukraine from the north and south.
The mayor of Mykolaiv, the embattled southern Ukrainian city, urges all residents to leave.
Putin met today with Belarus’s leader, a longtime ally.
New tensions erupt over Kaliningrad, Russia’s isolated, westernmost region on the Baltic Sea.
May I summarize? Manly Russia, Dominant Russia, poor helpless Ukraine, Decisive Putin, and then a little more Russia. You get the idea.
Washington Post Does Better
I almost skipped, “Russia will soon exhaust its combat capabilities, Western assessments predict.” (It sounded like another presser.) Instead, it was cogent and deeply researched Ukraine war reporting. Liz Sly summarized the conflict from the initial Russian dominance to the expected shift later this summer. She quickly differentiated the small, unimportant changes from the overall balance of forces. It was a good, helpful analysis. Kudos to the author.
Not that every Liz Sly article is gold. Two weeks ago, she reported that “Ukraine is running out of ammunition as prospects dim on the battlefield.” (She’ll be embarrassed later.) But today’s “Balance of forces” article is a good summary.
Daily Kos Reigns
You’ll still find the very best coverage in the Ukraine Updates in the Daily Kos. The most recent as of this writing was “Ukraine Update: The inevitable happens, as Ukraine quits Severodonetsk.” (More updates come out twice a day or so.) Read them, and you’ll see. I haven’t found any other Ukraine war reporting with that mix of experience, detail, and real-world perspective.
