Following the Russia-Ukraine War

Here’s the problem: there’s simply no silver bullet here, given the complicated situation on the ground, in terms of staying on top of what’s actually happening. There is very little credible first-hand coverage, since both Russia and Ukraine are spending a lot of their resources to keep a very tight lid on the news and control the narrative in their favor. The West effectively had no presence on the actual “battlefield”. They are not allowed anywhere close by either side. There is practically zero western reporter presence on the Russian side, and in Ukraine, they are restricted to central and western areas around Kyiv and Lviv.

As a result, most of what you read is quotes of other quotes, such as Al Jazeera English that keeps citing Institute for the Study of War, which in turn keeps citing official Ukrainian government sources… Yes, you can’t believe Russian state news, but you equally can’t trust anyone else.

What do you do in this crazy situation? Most people pick a side, select a handful of sources they deem trustworthy, which just happen to align with their worldview, and feel like they are perfectly well informed going forward. And nothing changes. We stay entrenched, each living in our own little personal fantasy.

But as every good data analyst knows, the only reliable way to understand something complex is to pick at it from all sides. To triangulate over and over. To constantly keep refining. This is where by-the-book rookie analyst is useless, as is a seasoned, but completely entrenched one, or one with no real understanding of subject matter. We are not dealing with atoms here — when trying to make sense of the intersection of psychology, sociology, history, and economics, any personal bit of in-depth understanding helps.

Personally, I’m very vested and deeply educated in the matter. I’m culturally as comfortable with Russians and Ukrainians as with Americans. I’m fluent in Russian and English and can read and understand Ukrainian. I also grew up in Japan and have been told by Japanese themselves that despite my lack of linguistic fluency, I really understand the people. This gives me a cultural span awareness from the far West to the far East. I’m a Lone Wolf who thrives in the American wild-West, me-first, individuality-driven mentality. But I also remember the patriotic, country-first mentality of Eastern Europe, as well as the apolitical, society-first culture of the far East.

What all this means, I hope, is that my list of sources is a bit more complex and unique than most. I read all sides, including what I can from China and Turkey — the two major players in the game — though I’ll admit I’m restricted to the russian-focused filter, since I can’t consume information in the original languages. I’d follow Iran news, but have so far been unable to find anything reasonable not in Farsi.

Long story short, here’s my list of sources on information that I currently rely on, maybe it will help someone…

• Obviously I still pay attention to all major US news outlets via me Google News feed
• Al Jazeera English — interesting regional perspective from a country caught in the middle, being simultaneously a part of the Arab world and an official ally of the US. They also rely heavily on ISW, so you get that datapoint as well. This page is my main “dashboard”: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/russia-ukraine-crisis-in-maps-and-charts-live-news-interactive
• Russian Federal News Agency, international edition (https://t.me/riafan_everywhere) Surprisingly accurate, if you ignore the obvious propaganda and stick to the more factual posts.
• Voice of Turkey (in russian) at https://t.me/voice_of_turkey
• China news from N Vavilov over at https://t.me/shuohuaxia (also in russian)
• The following Ukrainian “insider” news trio that reports on things that the official government sources don’t want to get out, such as all the corruption and internal power struggles within Zelensky’s cabinet. It’s not the blindly patriotic channels that abound on both sides… but rather attempts to bring light to issues others ignore and ask the “uncomfortable” questions: https://t.me/rezident_ua + https://t.me/MediaKiller2021 + https://t.me/nabludatels
• The closest on the Russian side is probably https://t.me/bbbreaking, though they are far more restricted, at least for now, in terms of what they are allowed to out out there, or they will get shut down and fined…
• I also have family, friends, and acquaintances in both Russia and Ukraine, including multiple regions (East and West Ukraine, Moscow, SPB, Urals, Caucasus, and even Yakutia) Sometimes you hear one thing on the news, and see something completely different in someone’s Instagram feed… And it helps me get out of my intellectual bubble that’s dominated by (sometimes ultra) liberal Americans and pro-western Russian-jewish diaspora.
• And from time to time, I’ll check in on the more official channels, usually via Telegram channels, such as the Russian and Ukrainian central military command, or the pro-Russian Donbas, or any of the hundreds of “death-to-all-russian-occupants” Ukrainian feeds… It was more usuful to look at these early on, as well as during “breaking” news developoing situations. Otherwise, it’s too much noise…