In the Finnish media and social media, there is a partly too rosy picture of the situation of the war in Ukraine. This is how the expert following the war in Ukraine assesses it John Helin. He is involved in maintaining the war situation map (you switch to another service).
The media have enthusiastically reported on Ukraine’s astonishing counter-attacks, sacrificing soldiers and Russia’s heavy losses. For example, there is a huge amount of material on the video service YouTube where Ukrainians destroy Russian military power.
– These videos are part of Ukraine’s information warfare, and the image they give does not always correspond to the reality of the front, Helin estimates.
Finland’s media, like other Western countries, clearly underestimate Russia, Helin states.
– In Western discourse [viestinnässä] the opinion that Russia is stupid and bad is emphasized a little too much, and everything related to it is negative.
Visiting researcher of the Aleksanteri Institute last Friday Ilmari Käihkö pointed out that the new troops brought in by Russia are changing the course of the war completely.
John Helin emphasizes that the war has gone badly in Russia, but it learns from its mistakes. When Ukraine made a quick counterattack in the Kharkiv region in early autumn and advanced 40 kilometers, it was largely due to the fact that Russia did not have enough troops at the front.
– Now more troops have arrived, and in some places there is even overcrowding on the front, Helin states. He also reminds us of Russia’s artillery superiority, because of which Ukraine constantly suffers high crew losses.
According to Helin, Russia has become stronger as a result of the move, so that Ukraine’s progress will be significantly more difficult than before.
In Western Europe, even more colorful
According to John Helin, racist features can be observed from time to time in Western discourse. In the media, war news about Russia reflects World War II stories about “human wave attacks”.
According to Helin, the news in Finland is more moderate. Perhaps thanks to the experiences of the Winter War and the Continuation War, Finland is also able to talk about Ukraine’s problems more freely than in some other countries, he reflects.
“Very wise from Ukraine”
According to John Helin, the distortion of war news is caused on the one hand by the fact that everyone hopes for Ukraine’s victory, on the other hand by the fact that Ukraine has taken control of the information space.
Right from the beginning of the war, Ukraine has been feeding a lot of its own material, especially on social media. At the same time, Russia has made the work of journalists in its own territory practically impossible. Western media are very critical of the information coming from Russia.
It follows that Ukraine gets its message across very effectively. According to Helin, Ukraine’s strategy has been to give a more positive image of the war than the reality.
Helin thinks this is wise.
– Ukraine should create an image of itself that it can really win this war and that Western aid is useful.
The threat is that if Ukraine gets the impression that it is losing the war, its supporters may stop providing arms aid.
However, Helin urges to be critical of Ukraine’s intentions as well. All the information it provides is important in shaping opinions.
“Wrong image of the differences in the West”
Leading researcher at the Institute of Foreign Policy Sinikukka Saari says that he has not noticed any belittling of Russia in the Finnish media. In social media, such as Twitter, there are of course popular “jokes”, but in Saari’s opinion this is not essential.
Instead, Saari has drawn attention to articles in which it is assumed that the unity of the West in anti-Russian actions is crumbling. According to him, this is not true.
– Strategic unity has been preserved even exceptionally well, he says.
Russia also does not have a particularly large influence on EU countries’ decision-making.
According to Saari, at the beginning of the war, Russia’s military capability was overestimated. Now the estimates have been updated to be more realistic. International research institutes have begun to consider what caused the overestimation.
In Saari’s opinion, news coverage related to the effects of the war has focused too much on Russia.
– Although the correspondents in Ukraine do a good job, I would like more articles about how Ukrainians experience the war, Saari suggests.
Also listen to: Sinikukka Saari was 12.12. Ylen on Politiikkaradio discussing the situation in Russia and President Vladimir Putin.