During an all-out war in Ukraine, a whole galaxy of new media stars grew up, trusted by the population.
Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine has changed many areas of Ukrainian life, including completely reshaping the media space. Ukrainians quickly found new idols for themselves, who became popular during the war.
Correspondent.net collected its own rating of new media leaders.
Vladimir Zelensky
The President of Ukraine, of course, remains the main star of the country’s media, and possibly the world. The American Senate gives him a standing ovation, all the leading media want to record an interview with him, world leaders visit him, including to increase their own ratings.
Zelensky and the “Ukrainian spirit” became the person of the year according to Time magazine. In an editorial, the publication noted that Zelensky’s success as a military leader is based on the fact that courage is contagious.
“For proving that courage is as contagious as fear; for the ability of people and nations to unite in defense of freedom; for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy and peace, Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian spirit were named Time Persons of the Year.
In particular, Time saw Zelensky’s trip to Kherson, which had just been liberated from the Russian occupiers, a symbol of the transformation of a political light into a symbol and hope of the country.
At the same time, the daily video messages of the President of Ukraine to the country and telephone conversations with world leaders are less important than the number of tanks in his army.
Kirill Budanov
During the war, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense became one of the most famous people in the country. Any of his interviews collect millions of views, and Ukrainians are almost the most trusted in his predictions. The scout categorized his answers: Russia is almost exhausted, Ukraine is about to win.
Such predictions sound like a certainty to war-weary Ukrainians, but they are likely to come true. Budanov was one of several government officials who warned about the Russian invasion at 5 am on February 24. He also predicted the first successes of the Ukrainian defenders in the de-occupation of Kharkiv and Kherson.
“The score is 1:1, and it’s the 70th minute. This is a subjective view. From the middle to the end of spring there will be decisive battles, “this is how Budanov assessed the current stage of the war.
Alexey Arestovich
But the forecasts of Alexei Arestovich, who was a former adviser to the Office of the President, on the contrary, as a rule, did not come true, becoming a meme person. Although at the beginning of the war, Arestovich acted among the Ukrainians as a sedative. He even sounded an air raid alarm in Kyiv.
True, then Arestovich began to get into many scandals, and his forecasts for two or three weeks of war turned into a bad joke. The last straw was the scandal after the Russians broke into a residential building on the Dnieper. The invaders threw information into the media space that “this air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot at our missile – it deviated from the trajectory, crashed into the house.”
On one of the talk shows that same night, Arestovich “assumed” the same thing, at first without naming anyone. Later, he added that he was “told about it by a comrade, a former air defense officer”, who was “walking down the street at the time of the hit”: “He told me that he heard two explosions at 100% and recognized the first as an air defense task.” The Armed Forces of Ukraine categorically denied this information, after which Arestovich apologized and resigned.
Evgeny Karas
“Bald from the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, or one of the leaders of the Ukrainian right-wing movement, Yevgeny Karas, became famous on the first day of the war, when he assured Ukrainians in videos that the Russians would not succeed and the country will not fall.
Sergei Sternenko
Before a full-fledged war, Sergei Sternenko could boast of a bright biography. Once he led the Right Sector in Odessa, several assassination attempts were made on him, during one of them he killed the attacker, and now he himself is on trial for murder.
Today Sternenko’s main jobs are blogging and volunteering. More than 1.5 million people subscribe to his YouTube channel. Mainly in advertisements, Sternenko focused on Russian propagandists and the Kremlin authorities. New videos appear on the channel every day.
Vladimir Zolkin
Vladimir Zolkin, who became famous for his interviews with captured Russian invaders, has more than a million subscribers on YouTube.
Taras Chmut
Everything here is simple. Buhay na buhay – the largest volunteer fund in the country. Its leader is one of the top military spokesmen in the country.
Oleg Zhdanov
A military expert who rose to fame by launching a massive invasion.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.