As the Russian media reports after the defeat in the Kharkiv region

"Nezavisimaya Gazeta" was more critical, stating that the Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on "extremely disturbing reports from Ukraine" for several days.

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Illustration, Photo: Shutterstock
Illustration, Photo: Shutterstock
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Since the first day of what Russia calls a "special military operation," belligerent guests on state television have routinely raced to outdo each other in supporting President Vladimir Putin and condemning Ukraine and its allies.

However, after Kiev's lightning counteroffensive and the rapid advance of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region, the mood changed a little and the story turned to how allegedly Ukrainian forces overwhelmingly outnumbered the Russians in the northeast, writes Reuters.

The state channel "Russia-24" today interviewed Vitaly Ganchev, an official appointed by Russia in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, and he said that the Russian troops in that province were "eight times more numerous" than the Russians. He also said, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian forces were supported by "Western mercenaries".

"It was the most difficult Sunday on the front," said host Dmitry Kiselyov at the opening of the prime-time show he hosted on Sunday night.

Kiselyov said Russian forces left "previously liberated settlements" under pressure from "superior enemy forces".

Boris Nadezhdin, a former liberal politician and regular guest on political shows on the Gazprom-owned NTV channel, said Putin was misled by advisers who convinced him that Ukraine would surrender quickly. He called for urgent peace talks to end the conflict.

On the "60 Minutes" daytime show, host Olga Skabeyeva opened the program by describing Sunday's Russian bombing of Ukrainian power plants and the resulting blackouts across eastern Ukraine as a "turning point in the special military operation."

Several guests echoed Putin's remarks in July that Russia "hasn't started anything serious yet," saying Moscow would now intensify military action.

News coverage of the Russian withdrawal was framed by stories of the Ministry of Defense "tactical redeployment" of its troops, although some papers quoted military experts as suggesting that not all went according to plan.

The Izvestia newspaper said in its weekend review that Russia had killed 4.000 Ukrainian soldiers and that the army had "redeployed forces to focus on Donbas."

"Nezavisimaya Gazeta" was more critical, stating that the Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on "extremely disturbing reports from Ukraine" for several days.

The paper noted that while Ukrainian forces advanced toward Russia's western border, Moscow's military leadership was thousands of miles away in the country's far east for annual military exercises involving 50.000 troops.

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