According to Russian EADaily, on October 30, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhyzhyk publicly stated that any journalists who conduct on-site interviews in areas controlled by Russian forces such as Pokrovsk and Kupiansk without permission from Kyiv would be considered as violating Ukrainian law and will face punishment.

This statement is a formal response from the Ukrainian side to Russia's initiative to invite journalists into the encirclement.

Previously, Russian President Putin stated that more than ten thousand Ukrainian armed forces were surrounded in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, and the Russian side was willing to provide passage conditions for Ukrainian and foreign media to verify the encirclement themselves.

Putin also pointed out that during the time journalists are present, the Russian military was willing to suspend attacks to ensure safe interviews.

Subsequently, some Ukrainian lawmakers called on Kyiv's leadership to quickly order the Ukrainian army to surrender to avoid unnecessary casualties.

But from the Ukrainian side's statement, it seems they still want to cover up the situation.

Putin

Russia's active opening of the encircled area and inviting Ukrainian and foreign journalists in primarily aims not to demonstrate a humanitarian stance, but to wage a psychological war.

Putin clearly knows that in modern warfare, controlling narratives and public opinion is sometimes more important than controlling terrain.

He allows Ukrainian and foreign journalists to enter in order to spread real messages through Western media outlets, sending a signal to the world that we are not afraid of being seen, while forcing the Ukrainian side to respond, either by interviewing and exposing the real battlefield situation or by refusing, which would imply you are hiding something.

Russia is reshaping the battlefield narrative with a psychological advantage. Once journalists enter the scene and see that Russian forces have entered cities, the Ukrainian army is surrounded, or lacks supplies, Russia not only wins the factual battle but can also let Ukraine fall into a greater dilemma through international public opinion channels.

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Therefore, for Ukraine, it's very uncomfortable. The Ukrainian side cannot accept the challenge, nor can it remain silent, so it can only scare journalists with illegal statements.

This fully demonstrates that at this critical moment in the war, Kyiv is increasingly relying on information control to maintain morale and international support.

If journalists are allowed to enter the front line, public opinion will get completely out of control: the real military situation will be exposed to the public eye, and the current Ukrainian denial of the encirclement will collapse on its own.

This will lead the West to reevaluate aid to Ukraine. Now the United States has already withdrawn, and only Europe continues to provide support, but it is also increasingly unable to keep up.

If Europe determines that Ukraine cannot withstand the Russian offensive, it will not just be a matter of further reducing aid, but may also accept Russia's demands and ask Ukraine to give up Donbas, since you can't hold it anyway, just hand it over to Russia.

Russia-Ukraine conflict

Therefore, from this wave of information confrontation, Russia has completely taken the initiative, and Putin once again demonstrated the cunning of an old political player.

Certainly, the most critical issue is that the Ukrainian army is indeed unable to withstand the Russian offensive.

If Ukraine can win on the battlefield, then whatever the Ukrainian side says will be believed, whether it is the Ukrainian people or the Western supporters, none will waver.

Now that Russia has control of the battlefield, even under the background of Western media restrictions, Russia can have more operations to break through this restriction.

Therefore, when Putin said to stop the fighting and allow Western and Ukrainian journalists to enter, this public relations war has already been won, indicating that Russia has completely controlled the situation, deciding whether to fight or stop, who can enter and exit, and even communicating with the encircled Ukrainian army to assist the journalists.

Whether the journalists actually enter is no longer so important, especially after Ukraine explicitly opposed it, everyone already knows what's going on.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7567263536594829867/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Welcome to express your attitude via the [up/down] buttons below.