Previously, the Kremlin repeatedly denied its military presence despite overwhelming evidence of the contrary.
However, Putin’s statement was no accident – it signaled that sanctions imposed by the United States and the EU were hurting the Russian economy, whereas the Ukrainian Armed Forces, supported by the financial and military aid of the West, successfully contained Russian military and informational offensive.
Articles and interviews of Ukrainian officers and soldiers in the foreign media have shown how the armed forces, which used to be neglected for more than two decades, were changing.
The Ukrainian army gained a reputation as one of the most trusted institution domestically. Both improvements occurred as a result of a major overhaul of military public affairs led by One Voice Policy StratCom group – experts from public and private sectors – who are closely engaged in the transformation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into a credible source of information that projects a new image of a competent Ukrainian soldier.
There was much less optimism a year ago.
In February, the perception of Ukrainian military capabilities has hit its nadir. Russian regulars and its proxies seized the city of Debaltseve, a strategically important railway hub, in one of the largest battles in eastern Ukraine. Fighting continued even when the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia negotiated second Minsk accords designed to restore ceasefire. While Putin claimed he supported the peace process, his soldiers fired from multiple rocket launchers, tanks and heavy artillery on the front line.
For Ukraine, the key challenge was not only to modernize its armed forces, but also to break Ukrainians’ crisis of confidence in the military and prove it can match a powerful foe.
There was an urgency of putting the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the information map. Their numbers exceeded 200,000 troops and they conducted most of fighting at the first line of defense, and yet their presence in the media was minuscule. This changed with a new approach of informing the public about the conflict, providing daily updates about the conflict, casualties, military analytics and activities of our troops through live-streamed briefings and active use of social media. The new outlets and proactive cooperation with journalists through Embedded journalists project as well as faster issuance of permits to work in the conflict zone allowed reaching a much wider audience. Soldiers told stories how they trained, restored infrastructure and delivered humanitarian aid to the war-torn towns and villages. The only thing that lacked before was a strong voice to tell about these simple but heroic deeds that saved lives and inspired others to carry on despite all hardships.
Crisis communications remain detrimental in reforming public affairs and preventing provocations aimed to discredit Ukrainian troops.
Take just one example: on Dec. 22, about 100 Russia-backed militants entered the village of Kominternove in Donetsk Oblast, trying to escalate the conflict.
Thanks to the new system of internal communications, Ukrainian officers in the field, operations’ headquarters and the General Staff coordinated their actions and kept the whole nation informed. The provocation failed and Russian proxies had to withdraw owing to swift communications of the Ukrainian military – an unprecedented feat considering it did not have its press officers just a year ago.
Despite its conservatism, we have pushed Ukrainian Armed Forces to build up proactive communications. Ukrainian military gained some unique experience of battling a twenty-first century hybrid aggression, which was recognized by NATO commanders and the United States Army Europe Commander, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges. In 2015 Ukrainian generals for the first time ever joined public discussions that went beyond state or regional security – their concerns were global; now Ukrainian officers had their valuable experience to share on how to cope with the rising threats to the international security.
Yet the most important change was to establish a productive relationship with the media in times of war. Thanks to the cooperation between the Armed Forces and Ukrainian and foreign journalists, we heard life stories of men and women fighting for freedom, independence and the territorial integrity of the state.
After the fighting in eastern Ukrainian Debaltseve subsumed last February, there was an exhibition of damaged and burnt Russian-produced tanks and weapons at Mykhailivska square in Kyiv. Hundreds of Ukrainians could touch and feel the cold metal that brought war to their country. Less than eight months later, the square was occupied by the Ukrainian troops in honor of Defender of Ukraine Day, a celebration that marked a break from the Soviet past and restoration of Ukraine’s own military lore. The servicemen personally explained visitors the nature of their work and technical characteristics of their equipment as well as told stories from the battlefield. I am proud that my team and I organized both of these exhibitions, as they revealed how the whole nation has been overcoming its crisis in confidence and started to believe Ukraine had its worthy defenders.
Oleg Naumenko is a member of One Voice Policy StratCom group operating at the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.
