The Moscow that spins versus the Russia that churns

There's a disconnect between what Russian TV says about the war in Ukraine and that war as much of the rest of the world sees it.

A member of the Ukrainian Emergency Service looks at the City Hall building in the central square following shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian strikes pounded the central square in Ukraine’s second-largest city and other civilian sites Tuesday in what the country’s president condemned as blatant campaign of terror by Moscow. (AP Photo/Pavel Dorogoy) A man leaves a vehicle damaged by shelling in Brovary, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian shelling pounded civilian targets in Ukraine's second-largest city again Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital — tactics Ukraine's embattled president said were designed to force him into concessions in Europe's largest ground war in generations.  (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian emergency service personnel carry a body of a victim out of the damaged City Hall building following shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russia on Tuesday stepped up shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, pounding civilian targets there. Casualties mounted and reports emerged that more than 70 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after Russian artillery recently hit a military base in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, the capital.  (AP Photo/Pavel Dorogoy) In this frame from a footage released by the State service of special communication and information protection of Ukraine, firemen work inside the regional administration building in the city's central square of Kharkiv, Ukraine, after Russian shelling, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Russian shelling pounded civilian targets in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, Tuesday and a 40-mile convoy of tanks and other vehicles threatened the capital — tactics Ukraine's embattled president said were designed to force him into concessions in Europe's largest ground war in generations.  (State service of special communication and information protection of Ukraine via AP)

But somehow, days into this bloody campaign that has killed untold Ukrainian civilians, including children, damaged homes and driven people into basements or exile, Russian President Putin and his media darlings still deny there is a war. Though they appear less relaxed as they utter words that do not resonate much outside their echo chamber, Russian officials addressing Russian viewers are still stressing the Russian government's position – and it bears hearing what Russian viewers are learning through Russian media to understand the stark difference in information.