Given the frequency, editing effort and dramatization of combat videos supplied by both sides one can credibly claim they are indeed seeking views. Many of the

Given the frequency, editing effort and dramatization of combat videos supplied by both sides one can credibly claim they are indeed seeking views. Many of them are akin to action movies and/or music videos. (Btw, this is not criticism; the belligerents have constituencies that are -- right or wrong -- greatly influenced by the ongoing events which makes the portrayal of these events a literal matter of survival.) Ultimately Putin's power play is a spectacle intended to secure his reign as President For Life(tm). It's certainly a cynical trivialization to characterize this as "for views" but it's not exactly wrong.