Popular pro-war military blogger Vladimir Romanov has stopped posting online after suggesting that last month’s ceasefire and humanitarian mission in the occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky were unfavorable for Russia.
Romanov, who runs the Telegram channel “Romanov Lite” with more than 150,000 subscribers, has gone silent since Saturday, Oct. 31.
Last Friday, the Russian blogger posted and then later deleted a message on his channel that said only four buses filled with residents from Oleshky had departed for Russia during the ceasefire, as opposed to 17 buses that carried evacuees to Ukrainian territory.
“On TV, they’ll most likely show more of our buses, but the windows will be completely curtained off,” the since-deleted message read.
Romanov’s claim roughly corresponded to reporting by Newsmax journalist Alex Salvi, who also said just four buses filled with Oleshky residents went to Russia, suggesting that few in the war-torn town are sympathetic to Moscow.
The whereabouts of Romanov, who is normally based in the annexed Crimean city of Sevastopol, remain unknown as of Thursday evening.
Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantranova acknowledged earlier this week that, while Russian authorities prepared enough buses to evacuate up to 750 civilians from Oleshky, many returned largely empty.
Lantranova’s Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, said Russia and Ukraine agreed not to disclose the number of Oleshky residents who used the ceasefire as an opportunity to leave the town.
The Oct. 27-Nov. 1 ceasefire in and around Oleshky, which was credited to U.S. first lady Melania Trump, allowed emergency aid to reach the town and facilitated civilian evacuations.