Criticism of Ukraine war spreads on Russian social media as loved ones die
Online posts condemning the loss of Russian soldiers and criticising the Ukraine war are being published on one of Russia’s most popular social media sites, despite the country’s tough stance on dissent.
The posts are written in Russian and appear to come from the accounts of real Russian citizens on VKontakte (VK), a platform similar to Facebook.
“This f****** war took another person dear to me… Well, for what!!??,” wrote one angry young woman mourning her late partner.
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She also posted a photo of the two of them with wide smiles for the camera and with her sitting in his lap. Her arm is draped over his shoulders and he is cuddling her close.
The couple hug tightly in the photo the woman shared
Others post similar messages.
Another grieving woman wrote: “Now you will be an eternally young twenty-two-year-old boy with sparkling blue eyes and a bright smile [but] this damn war has wiped your face off the earth.”
One user called for the war to end, branding it a “meat grinder” in an apparent reference to the large number of lives it has claimed. Another wrote: “These men died a terrible death.”
These comments were posted on pages set up to memorialise the men who have died fighting in Ukraine.
But Sky News also found a number of similar posts on community pages. Previous discussions on these local pages focused on the weather, crime rates and road repairs but now include messages paying tribute to soldiers who died.
One such recent post reported the deaths of six men from Vologda, a city in northwest Russia.
“Stop the war!!!!!,” reads one brazen comment underneath it. Another argues “why shouldn’t the Armed Forces of Ukraine defend their house when it was attacked?” on the same post.
These people are taking a risk by posting publicly as VK is monitored for comments that are not allowed.
Users know this, with some of the community pages on VK pointing readers to their encrypted Telegram channels. One such page wrote: “Only there we publish uncensored news that are not available on VK.”
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Russia at home: Putin’s home front
Other users also play a role in shutting down these types of critical comments. Some will argue against the angry posts and threaten to report the comments to the moderators. These users will often also attack the person who posted the anti-war message by insulting them, for example calling them “scum”.
These negative comments are scattered among other posts, the overwhelming majority of which praise the dead men. The late soldiers are lauded as war heroes and users send condolences to the loved ones of those who lost their lives.
“Thanks to such soldiers, the country can sleep peacefully,” is one typical post.
Praise for Russia’s actions in Ukraine is widespread on VK as well as on other platforms.
TikTok is hugely popular and videos glorifying Russia, Putin and the war are clocking up millions of views.
One clip showing a segment of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin put to uplifting music has been viewed more than 1.7 million times. In it, he tells a huge crowd that Russia will win against Ukraine.
Another clip, viewed more than 2.1 million times, is an animation showing Russia expanding to take over the entirety of Ukraine. It is posted with a caption that this is what would happen if Russia unleashed its full force on the country.
The war began almost one year ago, with Russia suffering heavy losses. Around 200,000 Russian troops have been injured or killed during the Ukraine war, according to US estimates. Moscow says its losses are much lower.
The war has brought with it new censorship laws in Russia, including a ban on the word “war”. The fighting in Ukraine is referred to as a “special military operation”.
This censorship has teeth. Earlier this month, Russian journalist Maria Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years, becoming the first journalist imprisoned under the new censorship laws. Her trial had been triggered by a negative social media comment she posted about the war.
OVD-Info monitors human rights in Russia and reports that at least 440 people have been recorded as “suspects and convicts in anti-war criminal cases” and that more than 19,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests since 24 February 2022, according to its website.
Sky News has decided not to share the names of those posting critical messages in this article over safety concerns.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
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South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.
The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.
The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.
Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.
South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.
The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.
Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.
A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP
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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.
Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.
Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.
Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he would be open to peace talks with Ukraine in Slovakia “if it comes to that”.
Mr Putin said Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who this week visited the Kremlin, had offered his country as a location for negotiations as the war in Ukraine nears the three-year mark.
The Russian president said the Slovakian authorities “would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations”.
“We are not opposed, if it comes to that. Why not? Since Slovakia takes such a neutral position,” Mr Putin said, adding he was resolved to end the conflict in Ukraine, which started with a land, air and sea invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour in February 2022.
Follow the latest updates on the war in Ukraine
Ukraine is yet to comment on Slovakia’s offer but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly criticised the country, which borders Ukraine, for the friendly tone Mr Fico has struck towards Russia since his return to power after an election in 2023.
Mr Fico has been critical of EU support for Ukraine, where millions have been displaced since Mr Putin’s decision to launch a “special military operation” to “denazify” and “demilitarise” the 37 million-strong country.
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Mr Zelenskyy on North Korea and Slovakian PM in Moscow
Mr Putin has repeatedly said Russia is open to talks to end the conflict with Kyiv, but that it would nevertheless achieve its goals in Ukraine.
He has previously demanded Ukraine withdraw its bid to join NATO and asked it to recognise Russia’s gains. Both Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.
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But while Mr Zelenskyy had for most of the conflict insisted Ukraine would keep fighting until it regained control of its territories, his position on negotiations now appears to have shifted.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zelenskyy suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if the Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken “under the NATO umbrella”.
This would then allow him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.
The Ukrainian leader admitted last week his forces would be unable to recapture any territories occupied by Russia in the east of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.
While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get Mr Putin to withdraw his army.
The war in Ukraine has taken a devastating toll on Russia too. UK government and military analysis estimates that Russia has lost around half a million troops killed or wounded in Ukraine.
Such is the pressure on manpower that The Kremlin turned to one of its remaining allies, North Korea, to provide additional forces.
It’s thought 10,000 to 12,000 troops were sent in October to fight alongside the Russian military in the fighting in the Kursk region.
However it’s suggested their lack of combat experience has resulted in heavy losses, with Mr Zelenskyy saying earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have already been killed and wounded.
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