KYIV

“THINGS CHANGE, LIFE moves on, strategy always has a sell-by date. Last year it was a strategic triumph. Hell, a blade of grass was a strategic triumph then. Now, it’s not that important. IT’S THE NARRATIVE, STUPID!”

The NATO colonel who spoke these words was killed doing a promotional video from the edge of Robotyne as the Russians took the village. The video, taken by a Ukrainian drone, shows very little as Robotyne was flattened a long time ago.

Indeed, it was already pretty flattened when the Ukrainians captured it last year; things only got worse in the intervening months. Then, though, it was a hugely significant achievement by the Ukrainians, a sign of what was to come in their great offensive towards the Sea of Azov.

Since then, since the Ukrainian offensive failed, Robotyne has slipped down the ladder of strategic importance and is now wholly insignificant. Hardly even worth mentioning in Western Media.

“Look, get with the narrative: when our guys capture anything, it’s a triumph; when the Ruskis capture anything, it’s of little importance, a huge waste of manpower, and a victory for our guys because of the price they made Ivan pay,” said the NATO colonel before his phone connection went dead.