The Western press and the English-language Russian state media are singing a similar tune on the direction of the Ukraine war.
Western media outlets are free to varying degrees, while the Russian press is largely state-run. Since the latest Russia-Ukraine War began in early 2022, the opposing spheres of media have largely depicted the war in opposite ways. The Russians have almost exclusively covered the war favorably to the Russian side. In contrast, American, British, and other Western anglophone media sources largely covered the war favorably to the Ukrainian side.
Now, the Eastern and Western media are signaling a looming end to the war.
Russia’s government-run media are highlighting alleged Ukrainian weakness and relative Russian strength. “Ukrainian troops struggling with defective munitions (VIDEO),” a Russia Today (RT) headline reads.”
“Russia has ‘superweapons’ – top senator,” another recent RT headline said.
“ATACMS Fired by Ukraine at Targets in Russia Likely Manufactured in 1990s,” a Sputnik News headline from November 26 said.
Another story from November 27 reads, “Ukraine Loses Over 250 Soldiers in Kursk Region in Past Day.”
An interactive map of Russian military activities in the Ukraine available on Sputnik’s website gives the impression that Russia’s military operations in the eastern part of the country have been uniformly successful. The map shows several dozen Russian military operations in small blurbs next to icons representing the actions, and there is text describing various victories. “Bezmyatezhnoye, Kharkov Region Units of Russia’s Zapad Battlegroup improved their tactical situation and inflicted losses upon Ukrainian forces,” one entry reads.
This map appears near the top of Sputnik’s website. It is updated regularly—sometimes multiple times a day—and is titled “Russia’s Special Military Operation In Ukraine: How It Is Progressing.”
However, there has been a confluence in Western and Russian coverage of the war since the November 5 U.S. presidential general election, which saw former President Donald Trump cruise to a decisive victory.
When the status of the war is discussed, Western outlets also signal that Ukraine’s prospects are grim.
“Russia accelerates advance in Ukraine’s east,” a November 26 Reuters headline reads.
“Ukraine is now struggling to cling on, not to win,” per a recent headline from The Economist.
“Ukraine War Map Reveals Russia Close to Enveloping Critical Town,” a Newsweek headline states, while a map from the outlet also gives the impression of the war turning toward a Russian victory.
This messaging comes as the Russian government has shown restraint in not responding with nuclear armaments or an expansion of the war since President Joe Biden supplied the Ukrainian military with offensive weapons. The weapons were reportedly used to strike Russia’s interior in mid-November.
Notably, mentions of president-elect Donald Trump have largely been absent from both Western and Eastern coverage.
Trump previously said at a televised town hall in May 2023, “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.”
In June 2024, Trump followed up, “If we had a real president, a president that knew — that was respected by Putin … he would have never invaded Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s president, Vlodomyr Zelensky, has made a similar point.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky reportedly said in an interview with Ukrainian media on November 16, per BBC.
Zelensky added that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means.”
This sense of impending peace comes as there has been a flurry of cease-fire agreements between the various belligerents in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.