Churchill’s wartime aphorism “In war, truth is so precious that she must always be attended by a bodyguard of lies” applies as much today in Ukraine as it did then. A vast programme of deceit is now being played out in the public arena, with many popular perceptions being accepted as factual when they are not. The Russian Army inherited the Soviet army’s tradition of strategic deceptions called maskirovka, though the most successful example of maskirovka was FUSAG, First United States Army Group. This military fiction – appropriately codenamed Bodyguard – generated vast amounts of radio-traffic that fooled the Nazis into believing that the real invasion of France in 1944 would be across the Straits of Dover rather than at Normandy two hundred miles away.
War is about lies. A general who does not conceal his intentions with falsehoods usually shares a common grave with his men. When President Trump announced that the US would no longer be supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia’s military intentions, is that really what happened? Intelligence is the core military truth, which must be protected at all costs. Very little of what you see or read about the Ukraine war will be 100% factual, and this probably includes the “withdrawal” of American intelligence or even the famous fiasco at the White House. Was that staged to fool Putin? That is indeed remotely possible. After all, Zelensky is an actor, and in his incoherent way, so too is Trump. But he is far more than that, being less a human force of nature than a set of tectonic plates colliding with a very large mountain range. The latter usually loses.
This article is premium content
Get unlimited access to Gript
Support Gript and get exclusive content, full archives and an ad-free experience
Subscribe
Already a member? Sign in here