In the past 10 days, there has been a significant increase in the number of Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s rear military positions. Ukraine troops are now actively using HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) supplied by Western allies. They are believed to be the modern analogues of the Soviet Uragan and Smerch fire systems.

Reporter Gian Micalessin heads to occupied Melitopol and passes some Russian combat vehicles on the way, all marked with a large letter Z. In the city, he cheerfully poses near billboards erected by the occupiers on the eve of Victory Day, and says that the appearance of the city has changed since the Russians decorated it with symbols of the Soviet Union and images of their heroes.

Russian disinformers continue to cover every third piece of news about the war and its consequences for Russia. And we analyze the news of Russian websites and review what the enemy is telling its own population about the attack against Ukraine. To do this, we analyzed almost 22 thousand news from the Russian state media and manipulative websites that are purposely spreading Russian disinformation.

Russia’s National Day on 12 June became an important talking point on Telegram channels used by Russian propaganda machine in the occupied regions across the southeast of Ukraine. Every fourth post that day contained either the word “holiday” or the phrase “Russia Day”.

"I bought three pigs for the evacuees and offered to make smoked sausages for the soldiers to keep their spirits up," says Yana Rudenko, a businesswoman from Chernivtsi, a city in western Ukraine. When full-scale war broke out, she put her business on hold and set out to help those in need. Later on, a helping hand reached out to her own business. Yuriy Barnovych, an IT specialist from Lviv, another city in western Ukraine, came up with a way to combine fundraising for the Ukrainian army with supporting the country’s economy. The team Yuriy gathered is currently implementing the ‘Support Ukrainian Army’ initiative.

Russian disinformers continue to cover every third piece of news about the war and its consequences for Russia. And we analyze the news of Russian websites and review what the enemy is telling its own population about the attack against Ukraine. To do this, we analyzed almost 25 thousand news from the Russian state media and manipulative websites that are purposely spreading Russian disinformation.

As soon as the Russian troops launched their offensive on February 24, another offensive took place in the media. Within a few days after the full-scale invasion, Russian propagandists created dozens of information channels on Telegram – one of the most popular messaging services in Ukraine – to prepare the population of southern Ukraine for Russian occupation. Using the already available pro-Russian media resources, they broadcasted a message of hatred for Ukraine and gratitude to Russia. In cooperation with the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, we launched a research series studying the use of Telegram channels in the newly occupied territories of Ukraine.

Russian disinformers continue to cover every third piece of news about the war and its consequences for Russia. And we analyze the news of Russian websites and review what the enemy is telling its own population about the attack against Ukraine. To do this, we analyzed almost 25 thousand news from the Russian state media and manipulative websites that are purposely spreading Russian disinformation.

The dynamics of Russian military losses show that the nature of the war in Ukraine has changed over the past few weeks. First of all, the loss rate of tanks has decreased after passing its peak in early May. From 1 to 12 May, Russian troops tried to land on the west bank of the Siverskyi Donets river, the main strategic line of defensdefense forefor the Ukrainian army. Much telling was the failed landing attempt near Bilohorivka, when Russian troops lost dozens of pieces of military equipment and had potentially hundreds of soldiers killed and wounded in action.

This is a painful question for those who remained in the occupied towns and villages.Is putting out a fire, rescuing people, assisting with childbirth or teaching children mathematics considered betrayal if you live in occupied Berdiansk?We talked to a firefighter, a teacher and a doctor from Berdiansk who love Ukraine and are awaiting the arrival of the Ukrainian military. Two of them did not leave Berdiansk that was captured by the Russian army in the first days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.