Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The milbloggers have even coined the term “beautiful report” to describe the numerous false battlefield claims.
Growing doubts have surfaced from an unexpected corner, raising questions about how the war is being publicly described.
Behind official briefings and televised statements, an online debate has been unfolding. It has focused less on strategy and more on whether reported successes match realities on the ground.
Inflated advances
In its January 27, 2026, update on the war, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that the Russian Ministry of Defense has overstated the scale of its territorial advances for months, prompting repeated criticism even from pro-war Russian military bloggers.
Russian military officials have issued what analysts describe as exaggerated claims across several parts of the frontline in recent weeks. These statements have portrayed momentum that independent reporting and visual evidence do not support.
The Kupyansk direction has drawn particular attention. Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior commanders have claimed that Russian forces seized the town in November 2025, despite Ukrainian reporting and Russian sources indicating otherwise, the think tank said.
Online pushback
Pro-war Russian milbloggers have repeatedly challenged the Defense Ministry’s accounts and continued to dispute General Valery Gerasimov’s claims made on January 27.
The think tank notes that one prominent milblogger involved in crowdfunding for Russian troops said Gerasimov had delivered a “beautiful report,” a phrase often used online to criticize misleading battlefield briefings.
A “parallel reality”
Other bloggers were more blunt. One said Russian forces did not control any settlements near Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, directly contradicting official statements.
Another argued that Defense Ministry reports on the area existed in a “parallel reality.”
The blogger wrote that even the “most optimistic estimates” suggest Russian troops have only reached the outskirts of Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, while other assessments say they are “still a long way off.”
Lying to the West – and Putin
It is well-established that the Russian military command excaggerates or downright lies about battlefield gains, but the reason for this is more disputed.
Some analysts have suggested, that Gerasimov is blatantly lying to the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, in order to please him and not risk getting fired.
Others suggest that the excaggerated battlefield advances are a part of the Russian effort to influence the West into believing that a Russian victory in Ukraine is inevitable – thereby pressuring Ukraine into signing a peace agreement favouring Russia’s original war goals.
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, The New Voice of Ukraine
