On August 22, Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, was detained in France. This event provoked a violent reaction from Russian propaganda, which shouted about the collective West's attack on freedom of speech and another manifestation of Russophobia. The Russian media compare Durov to Julian Assange, trying to create an image of a hero who stands up to Western intelligence services. Propaganda uses this case to reinforce anti-Western narratives and intimidate Russians with the possible consequences of cooperation with the West.Also, after Ukraine passed a law restricting religious organizations with ties to Russia, Russian media began spreading narratives about an attack on the canonical church of Ukraine. Using manipulative comparisons with historical repressions, disinformers are spreading the thesis of alleged persecution of believers in Ukraine while ignoring the repression of religious minorities in Russia itself.Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative websites that target Russian disinformation.

The Seym River, which flows through the Kursk and Belgorod regions of Russia, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions and flows into the Desna River, has significantly exceeded the permissible concentration of pollutants. In particular, ammonium, as evidenced by the results of hydrochemical analysis, according to the State Fisheries Agency of Ukraine.Читати українською

On Monday, August 26, Russia carried out one of the most massive missile and drone strikes against Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The occupiers attacked facilities in 15 regions. The main target was the energy sector. However, other civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Lviv, and other regions was also hit. Based on data from open sources, Texty.org.ua visualized the locations where Russian missiles and drones were targeting.Читати українською

There are many maps showing where ethnic Ukrainians live in Russia. We decided to take data from the general population census of the USSR in 1926. The census is structured data. And even though this data is almost a hundred years old, it is the most recent systematized and truthful information about Ukrainians on the other side of the Russian border.Читати українською

Last week, Russian media were forced to focus their attention on the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region. The initial stage when propagandists didn't say what happened is over. Now, in particular, they have resorted to the old trick of talking about the future as if it had already come, and predict the future failure of the Ukrainians. They also attribute the temporary success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the arrival of Western military equipment. They also accuse the "Ukrainian Nazis" of using Russian civilians as human shields and of chasing them with drones during the evacuation.Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative websites that target Russian disinformation.

Last week, the Russian media devoted most of its news to Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region while demonstrating its helplessness. They were afraid to report the facts, so under the guise of news, they offered Russians words of sympathy, reassurance that Putin had everything under control and empty promises of ending the war by the end of the year. They also started spreading scare stories for Ukraine's Western partners about the threat of Ukrainians damaging nuclear power plants in both Kursk and Zaporizhzhia.Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative websites that target Russian disinformation.

Company cash is the money that soldiers donate from their monthly salaries for various everyday needs related to their service. This practice exists in almost all of the Ukrainian military units we spoke to.This phenomenon is a vivid manifestation of the self-organization inherent in Ukrainians. Today, at the company level, the army actually has an informal system in place that helps units perform combat missions and maintain combat capability, compensating for the gaps in army logistics and the complexities of the outdated document management system.Читати українською

A Chernihiv transporter in Belarus was accused of espionage and extremism and sentenced to nine years in prison. She recently returned home on an exchange program and spoke about her time in a Belarusian prison.Читати українською

The international prisoner exchange between Russia and the West on August 1 was an important event for both sides. Russia turned the exchange into a huge show emphasizing its power and influence. The Kremlin's propaganda machine created a picture of President Putin's determination and commitment to his citizens and presented the returned Russians as heroes. At the same time, the West received alleged "enemies of Russia" who were, in fact, journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists.Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative websites that target Russian disinformation.

On 26 July, the Summer Olympics started in France. Russia and Belarus were banned from participating because of their aggression against Ukraine. Moscow, demonstratively offended by the organizers, refused to broadcast the Olympics. However, even though propagandists urged their audience to ignore the Olympics, they covered it in detail.The central message of the propaganda is that pseudo-values are being cultivated in Paris. And the main narratives spread by disinformers are the collapse of transport and food, racism, the terrible crime situation, and the dirty water in the Seine, where "feces float." The performance at the opening of the Games was also labeled: "The freedom of the organizers of the event has turned into permissiveness and demonism."Читати українськоюRead about this and more in the new issue of our monitoring of Russian state media and manipulative sites that specifically spread Russian disinformation.