- Russia's military bloggers are mad over escalating drone attacks on home soil.
- Some want more transparency over what's happening and said nowhere in Western Russia will be safe.
Russia's nationalists are fuming over a slew of attacks on Russian territory which exposed gaps in its defenses and put it on the back foot in its invasion of Ukraine.
The hardliners criticized Russia's leaders for what they called their failure to protect the country. They also accused them of covering up the extent of new attacks hitting Russia.
The blowback was picked up by the respected Institute for the Study of War think tank, which described it in an update on Wednesday.
The ISW wrote that "Russian propagandists and milbloggers criticized Russian forces for their inability to defend Russian territory and military facilities, while simultaneously criticizing recent Russian MoD censorship efforts."
It highlighted Telegram posts by popular media figures in Russia.
The prominent anonymous blogger Rybar said a recent strike on Russia's Pskov airfield suggests Russia's air defenses haven't adapted to stop drone strikes. It criticized authorities for not protecting the valuable aircraft there with hangars, and compared their defenses unfavorably to those in Russian-occupied Crimea, closer to the fighter.
The Russian journalist Alexander Kots said that recent attacks showed there would be no safe place in the parts of Russia that are close to Europe, and that Russia would need to adapt.
Another blogger said that Russia's airfields should be better protected, and another said Russia should admit the attacks as soon as they happen, rather than be forced into acknowledging them after Ukrainian sources report them.
Russia's war bloggers and media personalities share news and opinion about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, serving to both influence and reflect the country's attitude to the war and how Russia is performing.
They have often highlighted problems within Russia's military which were not acknowledged by officials or Russia's closely-controlled mass media.
They typically agree with the aims of the war, but voice frustration at Russia's inability to defeat Ukraine more quickly.
Their anger was prompted by an increasing number of drone attacks, likely organized by Ukraine or Ukraine-affiliated groups.
The UK Ministry of Defense said that the at least five separate drone attacks reported in Russia on Tuesday night and into Wednesday is "the largest attack on Russia" since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
And some of these strikes have destroyed and damaged Russian military aircraft sitting on home soil.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for most of them, though Ukraine typically doesn't accept responsibility.
Military analysts told The Wall Street Journal that Ukraine has probably disabled more Russian aircraft sitting in Russian bases than it has aircraft involved in combat.