Russian bloggers with hundreds of thousands of followers have been publishing reports from the city of Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine. Embedded in Russian military units, they film videos close to the action, capturing the intense fighting that has been raging in the port city for weeks. On Telegram, they publish these videos to share a pro-Kremlin narrative of the war, which sometimes borders on disinformation.
Mariupol residents thanking Russian soldiers for "liberating" their city, Russian troops smiling and confident ... these are the kinds of stories of the war in Ukraine shared on the YouTube and Telegram channels of "War Gonzo". In a video shared on April 20, 2022, Russian soldiers say hello to their families and congratulate themselves for eliminating the "banderovtsy", a term used for Ukrainian nationalists.
