Russia is facing unprecedented budgetary deficit. Western sanctions are pushing hard on the people and the economy. However, Russian propagandists assure that this is all but temporary: stiff upper lip, tighten your belts as the whole planet will soon be covered in the radioactive ashes of Word War III, and North Korea will help to make it happen.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 went all guns ablaze with a mass disinformation campaign to discredit Ukraine's mobilization efforts. They also ran numerous materials about the secret plans to destroy Russia being developed by the Western allies and counted days before Turkey's imminent withdrawal from NATO. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

The rumours about the next big wave of mobilization are raising concerns among Russians. The government says not to worry as only a grave external threat for the Russian Federation might prompt a general mobilization. However, it looks like it is already there. According to the propagandists, Russia is on the brink of a “long and bloody conflict” with NATO. Their only hope lies with common Europeans who are tired of anti-Russian policy and want to go back to their usual lives. 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 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.

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’s publications on Russia media kept the focus on Russian army's battlefield success and swore that Russia would soon have hi-tech weapons no other country can match. They also painted a bright future for the Russian car industry (which is only as bright as the screen you are reading this from) and offered fake sympathy to Germans who have been allegedly fleeing to Russia for a cheap winter break. On top of it all, they came up with a story about an Islamic mufti who had been sent to Crimea by the SSU to destabilize the local religious communities.

The new sanctions which target Russia’s energy sector are making Russian economy suffer. With no battlefield success to report, Russian propagandists have been gloating about the discomfort caused by the recent blackouts in Ukraine and once again attempting to sow the seeds of discord among the Ukrainian people.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, 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.

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.