This study examines elite-driven political communication on Telegram during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the first large-scale European war in the social media era. Using a unique dataset of Telegram public posts from Ukrainian and Russian policymakers (2019-2024), we analyze changes in communication volume, thematic content, and actor engagement following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion. Our findings show a sharp increase in Telegram activity after the invasion, particularly among ruling-party policymakers. Ukrainian policymakers initially focused on war-related topics, but this emphasis declined over time In contrast, Russian policymakers largely avoided war-related discussions, instead emphasizing unrelated topics, such as Western crises, to distract public attention. We also identify differences in communication strategies between large and small parties, as well as individual policymakers. Our findings shed light on how policymakers adapt to wartime communication challenges and offer critical insights into the dynamics of online political discourse during times of war.

翻译：本研究考察了俄乌战争期间Telegram平台上精英主导的政治传播，这是社交媒体时代欧洲首次大规模战争。利用2019年至2024年乌克兰与俄罗斯决策者Telegram公开帖文的独特数据集，我们分析了俄罗斯2022年全面入侵后传播量、主题内容和参与者参与度的变化。研究发现，入侵后Telegram活动量急剧上升，尤以执政党决策者为甚。乌克兰决策者初期聚焦战争相关议题，但随时间推移该关注度逐渐下降；相比之下，俄罗斯决策者大多回避战争讨论，转而强调西方危机等无关话题以转移公众注意力。我们还揭示了大小政党及个体决策者在传播策略上的差异。这些发现阐明了决策者如何适应战时传播挑战，并为战争时期在线政治话语的动态机制提供了关键见解。