On March 21 (Local Time), The Security Service of Ukraine published a video in which an arrested man was shown. As per the description, the man had uploaded a video on TikTok that allegedly leaked out the location of the Ukrainian Army in Kyiv. The video was uploaded on February 24. The video showed a shopping centre close to which Ukrainian soldiers were camping in their vehicles.
Subsequently, the Russian army found that video and used the location information for a missile attack. In its statement, the Security Agencies said that the person knowingly or unknowingly shared the information with the Russians, and the matter is under investigation. They further appealed to the citizens not to share videos of the Ukrainian army’s movement on social media as it could lead to such incidents.
The TikTok War
The social media platform TikTok has become one of the top platforms being used by the Ukrainians to show the impact of Russia’s military action on the country. On several occasions, it was reported that the videos and posts shared by Ukrainians on TikTok made it possible for the country to attract more support. However, experts believe such victories on social media platforms will not have any substantial impact on the ground.
It is evident that Ukrainians uploaded the videos to gain sympathy and support from the world, but now it is backfiring as Russian forces are allegedly using the same videos to plan missile attacks.
Russia launches ‘military operations’ against Ukraine
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced limited military operations against Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the special operation to be conducted in East Ukraine.
Putin had added explicitly that Moscow did not plan on occupying Ukraine. He said the military action he announced would seek to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine and came in response to threats from Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s border guard agency, the Russian military had entered the country from neighbouring Belarus. But soon, as Ukraine resisted the incoming Russian forces, Moscow opened multiple fronts in a bid to force Zelenskyy onto the negotiation table. However, 4 weeks into the invasion, Ukraine is defiantly holding out against the Russian forces, with the fight now shifting to important trade and commerce centres in Ukraine from the barren and desolate borders.
