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You asked what it meant, I answered. It's not me adopting a position or even my position and I'm not arguing against you. No-one's saying the war is going well

You asked what it meant, I answered. It's not me adopting a position or even my position and I'm not arguing against you. No-one's saying the war is going well for Russia, we're giving you examples of the pro-Ukraine spin a lot of stories were taking. Especially in the early days when most professional observers were afraid Russia would turn it around, but Western governments needed a lot of public support to spend a lot of money. One can still hope and wish for a free Ukraine while doing it with our eyes open. You can read the news while being aware of the bias in the media. In future, just don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the truth. The only mental gymnastics going on is you reading far too much into people attempting to answer your question.

foldr 4y ago
With respect, you didn't actually answer my question, which was what it would mean in concrete terms for 'most of these stories [of Russian military incompetence]' to be Ukrainian propaganda. Your response said very little about the Ukraine conflict specially, except to make the general (and I suppose irrefutable) point that Russian successes 'might be' exaggerated. What I'd really like to know is what people who believe that the Russian military has acted competently believe about the situation on the ground. Do they think, for example, that Russia is actually in control of large areas of Ukraine and is making significant advances? Do they think that Zelenski is close to capitulating? Or do they somehow believe that the Russian armed forces have failed to achieve all of their strategic goals and yet not actually been incompetent?