Where is the truth about Russia's special operation in Ukraine?

The Russian Defence Ministry releases only small portions of information about the special operation in Ukraine. Why is this happening? Why do US special services spread fakes, and why are there no free media and businesses in the West? Pravda.Ru asked these questions to Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, a lot of contradictory and unreliable information appear in Russian media space, including from Western sources. Where to look for true information?

There is always a lack of information during the times of war. Frontline correspondents can only transmit the information that they receive from their commanders. During the Great Patriotic War, all information was going through the Soviet Information Bureau. When information passes through third parties, it becomes fake and unreliable. In this case, the Ministry of Defense provides very accurate information, which does not satisfy the majority of interested people. It is limited only to what can be announced under these particular conditions. If they, for example, publicly announce that the Russian troops are advancing to a certain airfield, the opposing side will find this information very useful. Therefore, one has to get used to knowing little.

How can one identify fakes and those behind them?

It is the Center for Psychological Operations in Ukraine that generates fakes. This center, in turn, is supervised by the CIA. It is the American side that strikes the keynote of policy here. Ukraine is only a cover-up.

The true information is the one that one can hear coming from the mouth of Igor Konashenkov (an official representative for the Defence Ministry of Russia — ed.). Yet, this information is very limited — Konashenkov can only report on what has been done and completed. The Russian troops were ordered not to strike cities and civilians, so all the unnecessary information about their actions may set the Russian military up.

How do you see the morale of the Russian society about what is happening now?

I think that the situation is normal at this point, but the Russian leadership should explain the situation more frequently.

One should understand that denazification is unthinkable without temporary occupation. Denazification takes a lot of effort and time. If the Russian troops leave Ukraine before the onset of the stable phase, then denazification is out of the question.

It takes a lot of time to break the military infrastructure too. This cannot be done within the framework of one military operation. The military operation is limited in time and does not lead to the complete destruction of the military infrastructure in Ukraine.

Russian citizens want to have a better idea of ​​what will eventually happen as a result of the military operation. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says that the goals of the Russian operation are minimal, but Russia uses tanks in the operation. This means that minimum requirements are not enough. Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State, said that the Russian demands were ridiculous. No one will meet Russia halfway at this point, until we provide hard evidence that makes it clear to everyone that Russia means what she says.

Do you think that many Western companies, who decided to suspend their operations in Russia, are sincere in their desire or is there an element of pressure?

There is an element of pressure here. Western people are highly socialized. If they do not impose sanctions, then they are against the authorities. Western businesses can never stand up against Western authorities. It is believed that they have free businesses, mass media and artists, but this is misleading. Nothing is free in the West.

What they have in the West is a dominant public opinion and a dominant position of the authorities. No one ever objects to it, because it can be dangerous for one's social position. Interestingly, not a single high-ranking business representative has ever said anything against it. Many feel opposed there, but everyone is afraid, and so are firms.

The West always wanted to drop the iron curtain on the USSR and Russia. This idea appeared back in the late 1940s and in the early 1950s. When the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons, it became clear that nuclear blackmail would not work, and the idea of the iron curtain became the most convenient one for them. They believed they would break the economic backbone of both the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc of countries.

However, the collapse of the socialist system in the 1990s is not related to the iron curtain.

Now they are trying to intimidate Russia. Sanctions show that they do not want to bargain with us. The West wants to strangle us. They literally want us to die. If we survive, they will see what they can do, but now they want us to die. This is very typical of the West. They do not want to make any concessions — the West is not predisposed to this.

Everything that happens in Ukraine today should be built into the internal system of the Russian perspective. If these actions show the Russians that they will live better and safer after some time, then the attitude to what is happening will be more comprehensive. One needs to make everyone realise that Russia had to resort to such tough measures for the sake of the future of Russia. Russia needs to show its own inner power in response to Western sanctions.