Russia’s media have changed tack during the war: denying an invasion would happen, then talking of a ‘special operation’ not an invasion, to praising ‘righteous denazification of Ukraine’. On 5 September pro-Russian bloggers and outlets played down Ukraine’s advance, but the next day there was a more sullen tone from journalists. ‘Don’t expect good news today,’ one source warned. Igor Girkin, who on his popular TV channel analyses troop movement, using open sources and informers on the ground, said, ‘I don’t expect any major success from Russia's army for the next 2-3 months. It will only be possible if the Kremlin stops flying on blue clouds around the planet of pink ponies, and finds the strength to face the truth and start fighting for real.’ Girkin compared the situation to the Russo-Japanese war over Manchuria which humiliated the Russian Empire in 1905.