“Ukraine war news coverage 8→1%” Putin laughs: ‘Yi-Hamas war’ aftermath.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. [Yonhap]

[Herald Economy= Lee Won-yul] The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is drawing attention from media outlets worldwide.

However, another conflict that is losing relative importance amidst this focus is the war between Russia and Ukraine. Some analysts suggest that this shift in focus could be beneficial for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been criticized for war crimes.

According to a report by CNN on the 17th (local time), an analysis by the GDELT Project, which monitors global news media, found that coverage of the Ukraine war significantly decreased after Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on July 7th.

Just a few days before the Hamas attack, the proportion of CNN’s coverage dedicated to the Ukraine conflict was about 8%. However, it has since plummeted to less than 1%.

Most of the remaining coverage was about U.S. financial aid to Ukraine rather than the actual war situation.

Similar trends were detected online, according to data from internet analytics firm Comscore.

Discussions about the Ukraine war on social networking services (SNS) noticeably decreased after the war between Israel and Hamas.

While it is not surprising that the new conflict in the Middle East has led to less coverage of the Ukraine war, CNN reported that this situation could be seen as a boon for President Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. [Yonhap]

For President Putin, who is facing criticism for invading Ukraine, this shift in focus could alleviate some of the pressure and allow him to continue the war.

Paul Kolbe, a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, predicted that President Putin would be pleased with the U.S.’s attention being diverted to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Kolbe, who worked at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for 25 years, said, “As Western media coverage of the Ukraine war decreases, Russia is filling the gap by spreading lies and false information.”

Meanwhile, Russia is set to hold presidential elections in March next year. Although President Putin has not officially announced his candidacy, there are predictions that he will either solidify his intention to run or win with high support if he does.

President Putin recently approved an amendment to the presidential election law that limits the scope of election coverage.