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.

“First, they pulled the nail off my little finger. Then my middle finger. The second time was not as painful as the first time. The pain was so immense I didn’t know what hurt more: when they were making a meat chop out of me with the rifle butt or when I stopped feeling my hands. They tortured me with an electric current. They called this ‘electrophoresis’ or ‘a phone call to Zelenskyi’,” says Oksana Minenko from Kherson. Her story is an account of the horrific crimes committed by the Russian occupiers in Ukraine. Oksana is 43 years old. For the past four years, she was happily married to 37-year-old Oleksiy Khvostyk, a lieutenant of the National Guard of Ukraine.Translated by Tetiana SykesRead 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.

There are many parallels between the history of Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In particular, both countries were once Soviet republics and both have been going through a painful process of decolonization in recent years. The sooner they both go through this path, the sooner they can move on.As the Kazakh academic Aynash Mustoyapova notes, there are two important things that our peoples should realize in order to achieve a new interpretation of history.We published the abstracts of her speech on the YouTube channel of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.You can subscribe to the channel about Ukraine and the Middle East here (in Ukrainian)Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian

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.

Russia is systematically shelling electrical substations throughout Ukraine. We tried to analyze where Russian missiles are most often aimed at and what targets they choose.Earlier, we wrote about how Russian propagandists rejoice in response to attacks on Ukrainian power grids. We tried to investigate in more detail where the Russian forces were directing their strikes and saw how they are trying to isolate Ukraine's power grid and divide it into separate pieces. Notably, a lot of effort is being made to cut off electricity from the north of the country (Kyiv and Kharkiv).Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovRead this article in Ukrainian

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.

Zaporizhzhia, a city near the frontline, comes alive every morning. The revving of cars, a line at the coffee shop - people head out to work. During the day they try to live a normal life, but at night they freeze up with fear. This is because Russian rockets usually arrive at night.One of the scariest nights in the city was from October 8 to 9, when the Russian army fired 12 rockets at Zaporizhzhia. An inconspicuous 9-story panel building at 8 Zestafonska Street became a "house with a hole" - another piece of evidence of the war crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine. TEXTY talked to residents who survived that night.Translated by Dmitry Lytov and Mike Lytov

The Russians are trying their best to keep the occupied territories and do not want to leave Ukraine. That is why the Russian Federation’s dictator, Vladimir Putin, once again threatened the whole world with the use of nuclear weapons. "We will use all available means to protect our territorial integrity. And this is not a bluff," threatens Putin.TEXTY do not intend to rummage through Putin's darkened brains to try to understand whether he is bluffing or not. Unfortunately, we assess the risk of a nuclear attack on Ukraine as high.Translated by Dmitry Lytov, Mike LytovPublication date: 2022-09-23