Following attacks on Russian oil refineries, frustration is growing among the war’s proponents in the Russian Federation. The Kremlin faces a new challenge: criticism from its own propaganda allies.
Russian propagandists are furious with Putin
Mass anger towards Putin is ongoing in Russia. Recently, Ukrainian drones traversed over 2500 kilometers of Russian airspace all the way to Siberia and struck the Omsk refinery, Russia’s largest oil processing plant. This event triggered a wave of indignation within the influential circles of Russian military bloggers.
Bild writes more about this.
Military Bloggers Outraged at Putin: What’s Happening in Russia After Rear Echelon Attacks
The primary grievance against the Kremlin’s top military leadership is the lack of adequate defense for oil refineries in the Russian Federation. Attacks on dozens of oil terminals and processing plants are causing noticeable irritation among war correspondents and military bloggers.
So-called “Z-bloggers” have begun demanding personnel reshuffles. This is partly because a fuel shortage is emerging across Russia: in some regions, people queue for hours for a few liters of gasoline, and in others, fights break out over it.
Despite this, as noted by the Russian “Z-blogger” “Starshiy Edda,” the “damned drones” once again managed to fly for hours within the Russian Federation before crashing somewhere.
“In the Soviet Union, such a flight path would have led to gilded epaulets falling to the ground and high positions being lost,” stated Russian Sergey Kolasnikov.
The blogger and nationalist Egor Kholmogorov, who was very loyal to the Kremlin, declared that Russia is forced to fight against its own incompetence, and this adversary surpasses the Russian Federation.
The criticism has even reached the head of the Kremlin. “Z-blogger” “KZP” remarked that thanks to Putin’s “genius,” Russia has reached a reality where Ukrainian drones can reach Siberia.
For a long time, military bloggers were a convenient tool for Putin, as they disseminated favorable opinions and narratives among the population, directing all anger and criticism towards inconvenient military commanders.
However, their dissatisfaction with the course of the war is creating new discomforts for Putin.
How Russian Propagandists Are Rebelling
We remind you that after the attack on Moscow City on June 18, a wave of outrage directed at the authorities and state media “exploded” in Russia. According to an ISW report, Russian milbloggers are criticizing the suppression of war realities and the ineffectiveness of air defense systems.
They emphasize that Ukraine is extending hostilities far beyond the border regions, so official statements like “everything is going according to plan” are no longer accurate, and they demand an immediate change in the approach to defense and event coverage.
In response, the Kremlin has intensified efforts to control the information space and downplay the consequences of the attacks. According to analysts and the opposition publication “Meduza,” key state television channels – Channel One, NTV, and Russia-1 – either completely ignored the attack on the capital in their daytime broadcasts or limited themselves to brief quotes from officials.
Instead of covering the event itself, propagandists focused on calls to punish local residents who film the aftermath of the strikes.
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