As the war in Ukraine continues, many people may find it difficult to believe how the Russian people justify the actions that are taking place. Of course, the more serious actions such as the many potential war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine are understandably not shown to the Russian people; it is the fact that many Russian people are unaware of the extent to which their country is entangled in war that demonstrates why most Russian people support the war in Ukraine.

The Russian media plays a significant role in the way that people support the conflict. The Russian media states propaganda about how the Russian military is going into Ukraine with the goal of protecting the Ukrainian people by de-Nazifying the country. To people in the west, these claims seem extremely absurd, but to people who have been listening to Russian news channels their entire lives have no reason to question what it is being said. Even though there have been many people who have stood up against the false claims made by the Russian government about the war in Ukraine, these people have been censored and many others who know the truth are too afraid to speak the truth in fear of punishment from the government. 

To some extent, the United States also falls victim to some of the same power of media that is seen in Russia. Just as the Russian media convinces the Russian people of false claims about the war in Ukraine, the media in the United States has convinced people of similar outlandish claims on all scales of the political spectrum. Before judging the Russian people for their support of the war in Ukraine, the people in the United States should also look at how similar uses of media have influenced domestic beliefs.

According to Juliana Neemeh (11), “it is interesting to see how powerful the media is when it comes to shaping the beliefs of people, but it is also sad to see how the media has played a role in all of the devastation that is occurring in Ukraine.” People in Russia are gradually starting to see more of the consequences of the war in Ukraine because of things such as many foreign businesses leaving the nation. Even though the media states one thing, the people can see that the world around them is showing a different picture. As the war continues, more and more people in Russia will be able to realize just how severely the war has impacted their country.