Sārts: Symbolic videos no longer work – actions matter in war
NATO strategic communications expert Jānis Sārts says that after four years of war, symbolic videos like Zelensky's recording from Kyiv no longer have the same impact. In strategic communication, what the state does is more important than what it says.
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Russia's February 2022 invasion was accompanied by a ready-made narrative: Kyiv would soon fall, Ukrainian leadership would flee, and invaders would be greeted with flowers. Ukraine responded almost immediately with a short video by President Volodymyr Zelensky from Kyiv, showing that the government had not fled. However, after more than four years, such symbols can no longer produce the same effect. Jānis Sārts, director of the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, emphasized in the LETA podcast "What Was That Anyway?!" segment "Behind the Curtain" that in strategic communication, the key is not what the state says but what it does.
