Russia's propaganda channels were turned off by the EU on all screens.
That has its reasons, but some downside: it is convenient to know what is said on the other side.
From the fragments and chronicles that arrive from Moscow we know that hoaxes and warmongering abound.
That it was said, about the ruins of Mariupol, that the Ukrainians had destroyed it in their flight.
That a presenter made a visual simulation of a nuclear attack on an underwater drone capable of creating a tsunami that would devastate Great Britain and Ireland.
And that his public TV has suffered sabotage: a speech by Putin was interrupted;
a journalist sneaked in live with a poster against the war;
on Victory Day, pro-kyiv labels were seen on its menu instead of program titles.
On rare occasions someone there dares to tell the truth.
Retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok, who was a Kremlin strategist, did it in the Russia-1 debate led by Olga Skabeyeva, a Putin speaker.
The colonel did not hesitate to alert his fellow members not to swallow the “information sedatives”.
And he called on them to be realistic: the situation is "clearly getting worse" for Russia.
kyiv is receiving more weapons from the West, and also has the capacity to mobilize a million soldiers, against limited Russian resources.
He even extolled the determination and courage of the Ukrainians, against the caricature of them there.
And he sentenced: "Sooner or later, reality will hit you so hard that you will not know what hit you."
With a calm voice and a technical tone, the colonel explained: “We are in complete isolation.
There is a coalition of 42 countries against us.”
The presenter replied somewhat tensely: don't you count China and India as allies of Russia?
Jodarénok made him see that these supports are very relative, not at all unconditional.
And he suggested looking for a way out.
After hearing this, Olga Skabeyeva overwhelmed him by repeating slogans: “They forced us to do this.
Our existence is at stake.
Surrender is not possible.
We have to go to the end.
Our great nation must win."
But many Russians understood that it is not taboo to fear defeat in Ukraine.
And that the patriotic thing is not to give the ears to the leader, but to dare to tell the truth.
Extraordinary exchange on Russian state TV's top talk show about Ukraine.
Military analyst & retired colonel Mikhail Khodarenok tells anchor Olga Skabeyeva “the situation for us will clearly get worse…we're in total geopolitical isolation…the situation is not normal.”
pic.twitter.com/ExMwVDszsk
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) May 16, 2022
You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on
or sign up here to receive
our weekly newsletter
.