Ukraine Ads Inspire Hope Amid Ongoing Conflict

Ukrainian Military Messaging Shifts from Demonizing Russia to Focus on Future

Ukrainian military propaganda has undergone a notable transformation over the past year, reflecting a deeper change in how the country views its prolonged conflict with Russia. While last year’s recruitment posters and billboards featured apocalyptic imagery of Ukrainian soldiers confronting “zombies” and “orcs” in Russian uniforms, many areas have now seen a shift toward more hopeful, future-oriented messaging.

The evolution marks a significant change in the country’s wartime narrative. Russian forces are still commonly referred to as “orcs” by Ukrainian soldiers—a reference to J.R.R. Tolkien’s evil humanoids that invaded Middle-earth from Mordor—but this characterization has been somewhat downplayed in public messaging campaigns.

Today’s billboards increasingly highlight family connections and civilian life, showing Ukrainian soldiers carrying babies on their shoulders, embracing their mothers, or interacting with elderly relatives. “We are here to live,” reads one common message, part of a campaign launched by the Ukrainian Third Army Corps in August.

This messaging pivot comes as Ukraine enters its fourth year of war against Russian forces. What began as an emergency response to invasion has evolved into a war of attrition with largely static battle lines, prompting Ukrainian authorities to adjust how they communicate with a war-weary population.

One military officer interviewed by The Jerusalem Post explained that while the perception of Russian invaders hasn’t changed—the “orc” posters do remain in circulation—Ukrainians increasingly need to see that normal life can and must continue despite the conflict. The campaign acknowledges a sobering reality that many Ukrainians now believe the war with Russia will be a long-term condition rather than a crisis with a clear end date.

This perspective persists despite diplomatic efforts, including those by U.S. President Donald Trump. Some Ukrainians interviewed in December indicated they had little faith in diplomatic solutions, instead believing that confrontation with Moscow would become a permanent feature of Ukrainian life.

The shift toward life-affirming imagery doesn’t mean Ukraine has forgotten its losses. One type of public messaging that remains unchanged is the memorial billboards bearing the faces and names of fallen soldiers. These tributes appear in every town and city across Ukraine, each locality featuring different sets of posters honoring local men who made the ultimate sacrifice. “They don’t die,” reads one such memorial poster, suggesting that through remembrance, these fallen defenders achieve a kind of immortality.

This dual messaging—celebrating life while honoring sacrifice—reflects Ukraine’s complex psychological adaptation to prolonged warfare. The country must simultaneously maintain fighting morale, honor its dead, and provide citizens with hope for a future worth defending.

The evolution from portraying Russians as monsters to emphasizing Ukrainian resilience and continuity also suggests a maturing in how Ukrainian authorities view effective wartime communication. While demonizing the enemy served a purpose in the war’s early phases by galvanizing resistance, the current approach acknowledges that sustaining morale requires more than just hatred of the enemy—it requires a positive vision of what Ukrainians are fighting for.

As the conflict settles into what may be a years-long struggle, this messaging shift indicates that Ukraine is preparing its population psychologically for a marathon rather than a sprint, focusing on sustaining national resolve through emphasis on protecting families and preserving a way of life rather than solely defeating a demonized enemy.