Putin's “Direct Line” forum played a key role in the dictator’s election campaign. Last week, Russian media produced a flurry of news reports on its results. The propagandists once again reminded their readers who is to blame for the war against Ukraine, predicted the egg prices to go down and addressed the timeless question “which is the ultimate New Year’s dish: Olivier salad or dressed herring?”.Read this article in Ukrainian

At a crucial juncture, as aid for Ukraine encountered obstacles in the U.S. Congress, we have compiled a selection of materials published on Texty.org.ua and translated into English. This compilation is designed to assist activists who are writing letters to American congressmen, providing them with compelling arguments for continued support of Ukraine.These articles, released during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military, explain the essence of this war. They describe the challenges faced by the Ukrainian nation, which has become a target for its neighboring country, a nation ten times its size, governed by a dictatorship and propaganda. This collection serves as an essential resource for understanding the complexities and realities of the conflict, aiding those who advocate for Ukraine's cause on the international stage.Read this article in Ukrainian

Last week, Russian media once again brought the main focus on the news from the Ukrainian front. Saying that Russia's victory is just around the corner, the propaganda claimed that the Ukrainian forces were retreating and spread fake news about captured towns and villages.Читати українською

In September this year, in the uncontrolled part of Donetsk region, the last parishes of the OCU (the Orthodox Church of Ukraine). were disbanded, and priests were transported to a Russian prison. Their whereabouts are unknown.Read this article in Ukrainian

After a two-month hiatus, we are finally back with our weekly monitoring reports on Russian propaganda.

Last week, the attention of Russia media was largely focused on Ukraine's counteroffensive. Their main goal was persuading Russians that Ukraine’s operation was a flash in the pan. However, the breaking news at end of the week made the propagandists change their tune. The chief of Wagner PMC attempted a military coup so the Kremlin’s information spin doctors focused their efforts on threatening the conspirators and rallying Russians around Putin. This monitoring report covers these and other topics of the disinformation spread by Russian state media and online parajournalists to manipulate public opinion.

The Russians planted mines in the cooler at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and its possible damage will result in huge problems, said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (MDI) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. Experts talked about the consequences of the probable terrorist attack in the video story of Donbas News. TEXTY present the key conclusions of experts below.Translated by Dmitry Lytov Читати українською

Putin's address on the state of Russian economy at the “international” economic forum in St. Petersburg was actively promoted by Russian media last week. In a nutshell, Russia’s leader said that the war had ushered in a new era of prosperity. Russian propagandists also paid a fair bit of attention to Ukraine's counteroffensive insisting that Russian army was as strong as ever. In addition to that, the disinformation media once again claimed wounded among Ukraine’s senior military command. This time they said it was the Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.

Oksana is scared to look so she says she would rather stay in the garden. She gets herself a chair from the house and waits until the job is done.She just sits there silently taking drags from her Iqos electronic cigarette as her gaze wanders over the cellar and above the trees. The cherries are in bloom, and the earth is covered with an emerald carpet.The garden is teeming with life — such an odd and absurdly inappropriate place for death. But death is right there, just under Oksana’s vegetable patches. Her brother, who was shot by the Russians, is being exhumed. The bullet crushed his skull leaving a bloody mess of what used to be his head. Every day, more and more mass graves are being found in the town of Borodyanka about forty miles west of Kyiv. The communal enterprises are short-handed, the morgues are overstretched, and there is not enough equipment to support the operations. This story by TEXTY offers an insight into the exhumation and re-burying of the victims of war.Text: Yaroslava Tymoshchuk. Photos: Marcin SuderЧитати українською

As the wave of Russian disinformation about the blowing up of the Kakhovska HPP is rising, our analysts are already tracking it for our next week’s report.Meanwhile, this media monitoring report is focused on how Russian propagandists explain the persistence of Ukraine’s defenders to their Russian audiences. Admitting that Ukrainians are forced to fight off the invaders is out of question.