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 continuing supplies of weapons to Ukraine, which are soon to include Western tanks, have been causing growing concerns on Russian media. Russia is losing grip over the Caucasus and Central Asia, but is too proud to admit it. To save face, its propagandists are putting all the blame on “the machinations of the West”. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

The Intercept news outlet, which specializes in investigations, discovered evidence of cooperation between Russia and China in the field of propaganda. Leaked correspondence from the Russian State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK) reveals that government officials and media executives from Russia and China discussed the exchange of news and social content as early as 2021. TEXTY publishes the main excerpts of the investigation. These documents are also available in the Aleph database that provides access to leaked correspondence of Russian officials.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.

Last week, Russian media quoted Putin’s bluster and calls to the Russian people to stand as one with the government. The hackneyed Russian fakes never stopped coming: the propagandists claimed that it was only mercenaries who were fighting for Ukraine while Western arms were being sold to terrorists. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

Recently, in one of the Russian propaganda talk shows, the head of RT, Margarita Simonyan, said that Russia will not launch a nuclear attack on Kyiv because "our sanctuaries" are there. At the same time, she claimed that Western capitals can be bombed with little to no hesitation because "none of our sanctuaries are located in there." The map of Russian churches in Europe, which TEXTY published last week as part of the "Germs of the Russian World" project, proves the opposite. Translated by Dmitry Lytov, Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian

Last week, the fake news spread by Russian media said that the Ukrainian government's mobilization campaign was solely focused on the country's Russian-speaking regions — such was the Kyiv regime's attempt to quell the resistance, the propagandists claimed.Russian media also presented the “real” motives of the recent raids in Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra ranging from satanists in the Ukrainian government to Washington's schemes. They also gave vivid details of Europe’s hatred for the USA. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

Last week's publications on Russian media were largely focused on geopolitics: from NATO’s potential aggression in the Arctic to Ukraine’s role in scenarios for control over Europe. Since the Russians are honestly afraid of unity among European nations, they are desperately trying to convince the domestic reader that other countries support Kyiv only to advance their own anti-Russian agenda. Russian propagandists also raved about future victories in the battlefield and prepared to defend Lukashenko from a joint NATO force led by Tikhanovska. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

The liberation of the western bank of Kherson oblast was in the focus of last week's publications on Russian media for obvious reasons. Russian commentators made no particular attempt to conceal their sadness and desperately insisted on the existence of some dirty deals. While trying to exonerate their military command for the failures in the battlefield, they came up with wild stories about Polish mercenaries who were allegedly the tip of the spear of the Ukrainian offensive.All those efforts point at the fact that they just cannot admit a humiliating military defeat from the “khokhols” they used to mock for decades. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

Russia likes to use children in propaganda. Back in the Soviet times, many books and paintings featured Lenin with children. Stalin also liked to be surrounded by happy kids, at least for the purpose of political campaigns. Putin's Russia is creatively continuing this tradition. While in the Russian Federation children from kindergartens to technical schools are lined up in the letter "Z" shape or asked to draw a St. George's ribbon, Ukrainian children in the occupied cities (including the recently liberated Kherson) are forced to become living proof of the "happy occupation."Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian