Analysis: The shifting map of Ukraine makes Russia's intentions clearer
Switch on Russian state television, and the spectacle of war in Ukraine is rather bloodless.
News broadcasts feature Russian troops on the move in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, Russian military helicopters skimming above tree level, and sorry-looking Ukrainians laying down arms and signing promises not to fight. Russia's First Channel on Wednesday also featured commentators gathered around a slick interactive map that purported to show advances by Russian troops and the Russian-backed separatist forces of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.
What Russians were not seeing, however, were images of Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv in the aftermath of heavy shelling or missile strikes.
No, the picture on Russian television is largely sterile, with slick handout video from the Ministry of Defense and stiff official briefings by Russia's main military spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. There is scant mention of casualties -- either Russian military or Ukrainian civilian -- and the language is euphemistic. Russia, after all, is carrying out what's called a "special military operation," and domestic news outlets are forbidden from calling it a war or an invasion.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/analysis-the-shifting-map-of-ukraine-makes-russias-intentions-clearer/ar-AAUwsUA