Just like the Ukrainians, Russian propagandists are looking forward to the Ukrainian offensive. Last week, Russian media stressed that the expected AFU counter-offensive is doomed: once the attack has fizzled out, the Russian army would secure a sweeping victory. However, the disinformation media could not avoid the subject of lackluster progress in Bakhmut. While trying to justify the endless tug-of-war, they claimed it was all part of the master plan of the higher military command to eradicate the Ukrainian defenders of the city. Russian media threatened left and right with consequences for Sweden and Finland for their intentions of joining NATO and Armenia for becoming a party to the Rome Statute. 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 news about the possibility of Ukraine getting depleted uranium projectiles for its upcoming offensive made Russian media lose sleep.The propagandists suddenly grew anxious about Ukraine’s environment and even warned about the risks of mutations in children who live in the affected areas. Russian media savored every detail of the visit of China’s leader Xi Jinping to the Russian Federation. Russian television ran Xi's quotes round the clock while news outlets said the new brotherly friendship would last ages.This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

47-year-old Oleksandr Antonenko from Chernihiv took part in the battles for the hill near the village of Novoselivka near Chernihiv (an interactive reconstruction of these events is here).Before the war, he worked as a welder, joined the Armed Forces as a volunteer, and was enlisted in the 1st tank brigade.He says: "[When we were enlisted in the army], we were told that we were taken to do maintenance, and I was surprised that they would also pay us a salary on top of that. On the same day, we received weapons. But we got no uniform. Whatever kind of clothes people came in, they wore them in combat."Less than two weeks after voluntary mobilization, Oleksandr was captured during battle.We spoke with him in January 2023, after he returned home. Next are Oleksandr's direct words.Translated by Dmitry Lytov & Mike LytovЧитати українською

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