Last week, Russian media were busy guessing where the Ukrainian offensive would commence. The propagandists called the situation no less than ‘dire’, but fear not, the people of Russia: the offensive is bound to fail anyway! The fake factory really pushed the envelope with the tales about “chemical witch squads” who have allegedly been planning provocations on the front lines using chemical and biological weapons. They also convinced the audiences that the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court is a worthless piece of paper. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

"No one knew for three months where I was. The children were told that I was no longer alive, they even showed them my grave. But I returned – and the work began."Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovЧитати українською

Last week, Russian propagandist media ran yet another fake report about Ukraine's intention to use weapons of mass destruction — this time in Transnistria. The Russian disinformation machine continues to build an image of a peace-loving Russia willing to negotiate things in a civilized manner. The only problem is that the evil West is hell-bent on war. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

President Zelensky did not believe a full-scale invasion would happen and talked about barbecues in the spring – and the civilian authorities weren’t prepared for such a turn of events either. When Russia invaded, the government repeated optimistic reports that Ukrainian forces were successfully repelling the attacks. It cost the lives of those who took that message at face value and did not leave the soon-to-be-occupied territories in time. Others even moved to the occupied territories in a naïve hope to sit out the period of hostilities in a quiet area away from Kyiv.Читати українськоюTranslated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike Lytov

"We are safe, we have a nuclear power plant, they wonʼt come here, they won't shoot here, they won’t mess with such things", thought the residents of Enerhodar. But they were wrong. We traced what happened at the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) and in Enerhodar since the capture of the city.

Mykola Topol, a member of the territorial defense unit from Chernihiv, miraculously survived the bombing of school No. 18 in his home city on March 3, 2022.“The lad pushed four fingers into the gap between the slabs,” Chernihiv State Emergency Service Officer Maksym Zhilko says.The rescued young man lived at 46 Bohuna Street. Shortly before the bombing, he came to the school which housed the headquarters of the local territorial defense.Translated by Dmitry Lytov, Mikhail Lytov

Last week, Russian propagandists media rejoiced at the Russian army's advances at Soledar and put forward demands for Ukraine to stop fighting and crawl to the negotiating table. They also spread ridiculous fakes about Ukraine's preparations to use chemical weapons. Russians claim that sanctions are not working. In addition to that, Russian media keep saying that Washington has got the EU, which has become completely dependent on American energy, under its heel. Surprisingly, some domestic problems finally broke to the surface – in particular, shortages of certain medicines in Russia were reported. However, while explaining the reasons, the propagandists manipulated the facts to convince the audience that the shortages had nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

The only way to get a peace guarantee is to land American Tomahawks on Russia’s airbase for strategic aviation.Authors: Editorial Ukraine is getting Patriot air and missile defence systems. One from the US and another one from Germany. We could bargain, of course, asking for more – at least two or three from each country. But it doesn’t really matter how many systems we eventually get. We will receive other military support, including different defence systems; although not many, again, we’ll be able to protect civilian critical national infrastructure. It has not been protected yet, as evident from Russia’s latest missile strike on Ukraine, when a rocket destroyed a turbine at one of the thermal power stations, putting it out of use for a very long time.Read this article in Ukrainian

Russians are desperately trying to hide their concerns about Ukraine’s rearmament behind fake optimism. While seeking international support for their aggression, they keep fueling internal conflicts in Ukraine by calling its people to rise against the government and dishing dirt on both Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.