Inventing victory. How Russian propaganda shifted the responsibility for the massive attack on Ukraine onto the Ukrainians themselves

imi.org.ua

23 min

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IMI monitored the telegram channels of leading Russian propagandists and Russian state media in the period from October 8 to 10 inclusive *. It was established that each of the researched resources, in its own style, but according to common patterns, conducted an information operation to transfer responsibility for the massive attack on Ukraine to the Ukrainian authorities and citizens of the country. For this purpose, propaganda mostly used aggressive rhetoric and extremist appeals bordering on hysteria. At first, without going into justification, the propaganda accused Ukraine of undermining the Crimean bridge and defined this event as a "terrorist act". Then she painted a massive strike as an "adequate response". As proof of the achievement of the goal of the act of revenge, the propagandists used information about the damage to the objects of the energy system of Ukraine and temporary interruptions in the electricity and water supply in Kyiv and the regions, and also spread fictions about rockets hitting government buildings. In addition, they tried to create the impression that panic arose in Ukraine as a result of the shelling.

Solovyov

Telegram channel of Russian propagandist, blogger and TV presenter Volodymyr Solovyov. Aimed at a pro-Kremlin Russian audience. Has 1.4 million followers.

The channel covers the situation on the Crimean Bridge (08.10) mainly by the method of spreading messages from other informational and propaganda resources. Some of these posts call for further strikes against Ukraine. Despite the fact that until the moment of notification of the National Investigative Committee of Russia about the "undermining", they avoid explaining what exactly happened on the bridge and report only about the "fire". For this, aggressive rhetoric is used, which prepares the audience to accept the idea of ​​the destruction of Ukrainian cities up to their complete destruction.

When Solovyov allows himself to post articles about the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, the aggression of his statements intensifies. The channel is full of irrevocable accusations of Ukraine in the organization of the "terrorist attack". This statement is repeated dozens of times.

A number of posts are aimed at extinguishing possible panic on the peninsula and in the neighboring regions of Russia. Considerable attention is paid to assuring the audience that the damage to the bridge is not critical, that the incident will be investigated, and that repairs will be made as soon as possible. The audience is also convinced that Crimea is provided with food and oil products, that everyone who wants to can leave the peninsula or, on the contrary, get there. Therefore, the channel regularly reports on all stages of the investigation of the condition of the bridge and the gradual restoration of traffic.

Solovyov dedicates a separate author's post to the fact that a postage stamp with the image of the burning Crimean bridge was issued in Ukraine, and to the fact that in the center of Kyiv people are taking pictures against the background of a banner with its image. From this, the propagandist concludes that "the NATO command took part in the development of this sabotage." In response, he calls to plunge Ukraine "into dark times", for which it is necessary to destroy the Ukrainian "railway, CHP and other infrastructure facilities". In support of such theses, Solovyov cites Volodymyr Lenin.

As road and rail traffic gradually resumes on the Crimean Bridge, the belligerent rhetoric subsides. In the future, the channel mainly reports on the stages of restoration of transport connections.

The next day (09.10) the "Solovyev" telegram channel paid significantly less attention to the topic of the Crimean bridge. Several messages this day assure the normalization of the situation on the bridge and the restoration of transport connections. At the same time, with separate posts, the propagandist still does not let the audience forget the main messages: Ukraine is responsible for the explosion, its intentions were terrorist, the blow was inflicted on an important symbol of the "new Russia".

At the end of this logic, the statements of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, are broadcast, in which he assigns the responsibility for undermining the Crimean bridge to the Ukrainian special services and emphasizes that it was a "terrorist attack aimed at the destruction of critically important civilian infrastructure." The channel spreads the narratives of Putin's statement, returning to them again and again, in a variety of ways: in text and video format, abridged and in full.

On October 10, Solovyov's Telegram channel posted a lot of videos with the consequences of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. Major attention is paid to fires and destruction in Kyiv, primarily in its central part. For the most part, the events are described as "explosions" without explaining their origin. However, a small part of them contains the wording "missile strike". One of these messages is accompanied by the comment "next to the Verkhovna Rada".

Solovyov spreads a fake from another propaganda resource, which says that "Zelensky is being urgently evacuated to a secret bunker in the west of Ukraine." The channel also reprints a false post about the damage to the SBU building on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv.

Another fake is Solovyov's own post that EU embassies "received an order for urgent evacuation from Kyiv."

A reprint of Ramzan Kadyrov's post with threats to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the statement: "Now I am one hundred percent satisfied with the conduct of the SVO" finds its place among others.

At the same time, the propagandist reminds of the banner with the image of the burning Crimean bridge, placed in the center of the capital of Ukraine.

The channel also rebroadcasts the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, in which he accused the Ukrainian authorities of using "terrorist methods", blamed Ukraine for the explosion on the Crimean bridge and emphasized that the goal was to destroy "critically important civil infrastructure". Here, the audience was offered both the full version of the speech and individual quotes.

Ultimately, the channel's focus shifts to the destruction of Ukraine's energy system facilities, power outages in Ukrainian cities, and public transport disruptions. It is accompanied by photos and videos of the consequences of missile strikes.

In addition, the propagandist posts excerpts from his program "Solovyov Live" in the Telegram channel. Among them is a conversation with a so-called "political scientist", but in fact a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Spyridon Kilinkarov, who claims that panic arose in Kyiv as a result of a massive attack on Ukraine, because Ukrainians "zombified by Zelensky" did not believe that Russia could strike at Ukrainian infrastructure.

In general, the Telegram channel convinces its audience that the massive missile attack achieved its goal, that is, it demonstrated Russia's military power, taught Ukrainians for undermining the Crimean bridge and intimidated them, and also caused irreparable damage to Ukraine.

Ihor Ivanovych Strelkov

Telegram channel of Ihor Girkin - blogger, former colonel of the FSB of Russia, recognized as a war criminal in Ukraine. Aimed at a Russian audience, it is positioned as a critic of the current Russian government. 738.5 thousand subscribers.

The channel author describes the detonation of the Crimean bridge (08.10) as a birthday present to Vladimir Putin. He also reminds Dmitri Medvedev of his promise to arrange a "doomsday" for Ukraine and mocks Russian journalists and offers them a list of phrases to appease the Russian audience.

09.10, the propagandist expresses his regret over the fact that in Kyiv all bridges are still intact and state administration bodies are working.

10.10 a post in the Telegram channel of Girkin convinces that the strikes on "critical infrastructure" will have an impact on the situation at the front and on the general state of the Armed Forces. At the same time, he regrets that such an effect will not be immediate, and assumes that the consequence will be offensive operations of the Ukrainian army in the near future.

In general, the posts on the channel boil down to the fact that Russian troops are not hitting Ukraine enough, and call for escalation.

Margarita Simonyan

The Telegram channel is named after its owner, the editor-in-chief of the Russian news and propaganda agency Russia Today. Aimed at a pro-Kremlin Russian audience. Has 509.8 thousand subscribers.

Margarita Simonyan reacts to the detonation of the Crimean bridge (08.10) with a short, rhetorical “And?”.

The channel returns to the topic already after the massive attack on Ukraine (October 10). "And now the answer arrived," the post reads. In this way, the propagandist succinctly emphasizes the connection between the explosion on the Crimean bridge and rocket attacks on the cities of Ukraine. This message is confirmed by the following post: "The Crimean bridge was the same red line from the beginning."

Next, Margarita Simonyan approves of some unnamed team in which she has been working "since she was 20 years old" and in which someone, once again, unnamed, makes some decisions that are not immediately understandable.

In general, the posts of the propagandist Simonyan can be characterized as cautious or as hints due to their vagueness, lack of specifics, persistent effort to avoid surnames, other proper names and clear definitions of objects and phenomena.

Zakhar Prilepin

The Telegram channel is named after its author and owner, a Russian propagandist who calls himself a National Bolshevik and has a penchant for extremist statements. The channel is aimed at the so-called patriotic pro-Kremlin audience. Has 295 thousand subscribers.

On 08.10, a propagandist publishes a photo of the fire on the Crimean Bridge and complains that "there will be another little holiday" in Ukrainian social networks, because "they will drag this photo around and dance."

In his posts, Prilepin admits that he does not know for sure what happened, and at the same time assures that the navigable arches of the bridge are not damaged. He calls for sabotage on the territory of Ukraine and reminds of how "comrade Stalin arranged such partisan work in the rear on the territory of Ukraine."

Next, the propagandist tries to build a logical chain from the fact of the death of the driver of the truck that exploded to accusations of terrorism against Ukraine. After which he rages openly about the fact that the blowing up of the Crimean bridge can cause positive emotions in Ukrainians and Ukrposhta issued a stamp with a burning bridge, and in Kyiv people are photographed against the background of a banner with the image of this stamp.

Prilepin does not stop looking for those responsible for blowing up the Crimean bridge and claims that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine took responsibility for the explosion.

The next day (09.10), the author of the channel returns to the topic of positive emotions among Ukrainians due to the detonation of the Crimean bridge. He once again expresses his indignation about this.

On 10.10, the propagandist publishes a number of photos and videos with the consequences of shelling, first in Kyiv, and later in other cities of Ukraine. It also spreads a false report about the destruction of a pedestrian bridge in Kyiv.

In several of his posts, Prilepin reminds Ukrainians of their recent joys and the Ukrposhta stamp with the Crimean bridge. At the same time, he urges not to be happy about the shelling, because "Kyiv is a Russian city. Kyiv is a pity". At the same time, he does not hide his satisfaction with the destruction in the cities of western Ukraine.

The author of the channel attributes special strategic importance to power supply interruptions in Ukrainian cities.

Skabeeva

The Telegram channel of Olga Skabeeva, a Russian propagandist and host of the Rossiya-1 TV channel, is aimed at a Russian audience. 168.2 thousand subscribers.

Skabeeva widely covers the "fire" on the Crimean Bridge (08.10). The channel contains a series of photos and videos showing the fire on the bridge and its damage from different angles. At the same time, he informs the audience about the provision of fuel and food to Crimea.

After the publication of the statement of the National Investigative Committee of Russia about the explosion on the bridge, the propagandist declares that "Ukraine took responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge."

Skabeeva first openly expresses her despair over the explosion on the bridge, and then calls for revenge (08.10). "Perhaps, now we will do something. Probably. Is it true?” - she writes.

The Telegram channel of the propagandist distributes a number of posts from Ukrainian departments and officials regarding the assessment of the events on the bridge across the Kerch Strait. Commenting on them, Skabeeva claims that they call for terrorist attacks.

The channel also draws attention to the banner in the center of Kyiv with the image of a postage stamp dedicated to the burning Crimean Bridge.

In addition, Skabeyeva rebroadcasts Putin's statements that the explosion on the bridge is a "terrorist attack aimed at destroying critical civilian infrastructure" and that "Ukrainian special services are behind it."

Later, during the same day, as well as the following day (09.10), the channel posted a number of posts claiming that a terrorist attack took place on the Crimean Bridge and accusing Ukraine of it.

The topic of the destruction of the Crimean bridge is generally presented by the "Skabeeva" telegram channel as an unambiguous reason for the escalation of military actions against Ukraine.

10.10 Skabeeva posts a series of videos on the channel with the consequences of rocket attacks on Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine. One of them, which shows the Kyiv Teacher's House, is accompanied by the inscription "Kyiv. Center. Verkhovna Rada".

Later, the propagandist again and again returns to the repetition of fakes that a rocket attack was carried out either on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine or near it, and also emphasizes that "Zelenskyi's office" is located near Volodymyrska Street. Another selection of videos with destruction is accompanied by the comment: "I understand that the SBU building."

In order to justify the massive attack on Ukraine, Skabeeva is distributing a video of the Russian president's speech, accompanied by the caption: "Putin warned."

It also rebroadcasts Ramzan Kadyrov's statement that he is "now one hundred percent satisfied with the conduct of the SVO."

The Telegram channel also quotes Ukrainian officials, mostly in terms of their reports about Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's energy system facilities.

In the end, the channel rebroadcasts Putin's statements about the "terrorist methods" of the "Kyiv regime", as well as his confession that a massive attack was made on Ukraine, in both abbreviated and extended formats, in text and video.

In general, the messages of the Skabeeva Telegram channel during the day (10.10) emphasized the mass of missile attacks on Ukraine, the destruction of energy system facilities, as well as regular attempts to find evidence of damage to at least some state body of Ukraine.

Kholmogorov

Telegram channel of Yehor Kholmogorov, who calls himself a writer and publicist and does not hide his Ukrainophobia. The channel has 49 thousand subscribers. Aimed at a Russian audience.

The author of the channel begins his information agenda on 08.10 with a reminder of Dmytro Medvedev's promise to arrange a "doomsday" if they "strike on Crimea". At the same time, he irrevocably declares that the bridge was blown up "without any "Kheimers", and calls for the destruction of the "terrorist country", referring to Ukraine.

The propagandist declares that the "strike on the bridge" is symbolic, because it is connected with Putin's birthday, and immediately calls for the destruction of the Paton Bridge in Kyiv and the center of Lviv. According to Kholmogorov, retaliatory strikes should also be symbolic.

At the same time, the author of the channel emphasizes the importance of the Crimean bridge for the provision of the Russian military group on the territory of Ukraine.

The propagandist repeatedly expresses his indignation at the fact that Ukrainians rejoice over the damage to the bridge, and aggressively reprimands Ukrposhta for issuing a corresponding stamp and for a photo booth in the center of Kyiv with an image of the burning Crimean bridge.

During the day, Kholmogorov incites aggressive rhetoric, persistently calls for striking Ukraine with "maximum destructive weapons." He declares that the blowing up of the bridge across the Kerch Strait now justifies the occupation of Ukraine's territories on the Black Sea coast, he also emphasizes that "there are no more rules in this war," and insistently urges "bomb!".

In his assumptions about the further development of events, the propagandist goes so far as to claim that Ukraine will strike Russia with a "dirty bomb nuclear strike."

At the same time, the author of the channel does not forget to inform his audience about the restoration of car traffic on the Crimean Bridge.

In the end, Kholmogorov draws a conclusion from his posts: he claims that the "strike of revenge" on Ukraine will be perceived by the world as a logical step.

The next day (October 9), the Telegram channel devoted only two messages to the topic of the Crimean bridge: about the resumption of traffic and about two Russians who allegedly died during the explosion on the bridge.

Regarding the Crimean Bridge, the messages of the Kholmogorov Telegram channel have two opposite emotional colors. Posts intended to reassure the audience that the bridge blowing up is not critical alternate with posts that are on the verge of hysteria.

The morning of 10.10 Yehor Kholmogorov begins by spreading the post, which states: "For the first time, a Russian rocket has reached a real decision-making center. It is reported that the SBU office on Volodymyrska Street was hit."

During the day, the author of the channel posts a series of photos and videos that show the consequences of the shelling of Ukrainian cities. Some of them are accompanied by reminders of the Crimean Bridge and especially aggressive ones – about the banner in the center of Kyiv, which depicts a stamp with a burning bridge. The other part focuses on the destruction of power system facilities.

Among other things, the propagandist declares that for the effectiveness of the "revenge action" it is necessary to deliver powerful blows to Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk and "denormalize the situation in Kyiv at least to the level of Donetsk." He also insists on the need to destroy the Ukrainian energy supply system.

The Telegram channel also rebroadcasts Putin's statement regarding the "terrorist methods" allegedly used by the Ukrainian authorities, and his admission that a massive strike "on energy infrastructure facilities" was inflicted on Ukraine.

In general, throughout the day, Kholmogorov, in reports about the attack on Ukraine, places a noticeable emphasis on strikes on cities in the west of Ukraine, on the destruction of energy system facilities, and also calls for repeating such actions.

The propagandist repeatedly uses the phrase "Doomsday" when talking about the massive rocket attack on the cities of Ukraine, and emphasizes its connection with the explosion on the Crimean bridge.

State media of Russia

RIA Novosti

The Telegram channel of the Russian propaganda conglomerate RIA Novosti is aimed at a Russian audience. He has over 2.5 million followers.

The first messages of channel 08.10 in a neutral tonality refer to the fire and the stoppage of traffic on the Crimean Bridge. When the "National Anti-Terrorist Committee" of Russia recognized the fact of the explosion, propagandists began to use the terms "detonation" and "emergency" to describe it. Readers are also informed by several messages in different wordings that President Putin has been informed of the situation and has ordered an investigation into the causes and correction of the consequences.

In general, regarding the Crimean Bridge, the channel focused on quoting statements of Russian officials and representatives of the Russian-controlled authorities of the occupied Crimea. First of all, accusations against Ukraine and hopes for a retaliatory strike were broadcast. At the same time, the first definitions of the event as a terrorist attack and statements about the beginning of a "war without rules" appeared.

The quoted statements also assure that the bridge has not suffered too much damage, and transport connections will be restored as soon as possible. The channel reports on the restoration of the ferry crossing, the establishment of an overland transport corridor and plans for the earliest possible repairs. All visits to the bridge by Russian officials and representatives of the Russian authorities in Crimea are covered here.

At the same time, readers are convinced that Crimea has enough food and fuel reserves. "RIA Novosti" also pays attention to the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding the uninterrupted support of the military group on the territory of Ukraine.

The Telegram channel covers in detail the gradual process of restoration of traffic on the bridge, in particular, it returns several times to the message about the provision of railway connections, and also claims that there are no traffic jams on the approaches to the bridge.

The next day (09.10), when the ruler of the Kremlin was ready to make public statements about the Crimean bridge, the RIA Novosti Telegram channel, quoting him both in text and in video format, continued the line of statements that the explosion on the bridge was precisely a terrorist attack an act in which the special services of Ukraine are involved.

Also, the channel further quotes the statement about the minimal significance of the damage to the bridge and continues to report on the resumption of road and rail traffic.

The RIA Novosti telegram channel paid no less attention to the massive missile attack on Ukraine (October 10) than to the fate of the Crimean bridge. Messages with references to social networks, Ukrainian mass media and officials refer mainly to "explosions", the nature of which is not specified. At the same time, in the message about the attack on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv, which refers to the adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko, the propagandists no longer avoid the word "rockets" and emphasize the fact that the SBU building is located on this street, and somewhere "nearby" - the "office Zelensky".

The channel allows itself to use the wording "hits" (without specifying whose and what) when the reports are about causing damage to the objects of the Ukrainian energy system and transport connections, as well as the pedestrian bridge in Kyiv. The latter is even confirmed by video footage. One of the more extensive messages has a headline that emphasizes the connection between the massive missile attack and the explosion on the Crimean Bridge - "Strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure facilities two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge."

In fact, the message that the massive missile attack is a response to the bombing of the Crimean bridge and is aimed specifically at the objects of the energy system of Ukraine seems to be the main agenda of the "RIA Novosti" telegram channel. The channel emphasizes this, quoting both Ukrainian and Russian officials, reports in detail in which Ukrainian cities and regions power outages occurred, reports on Ukraine's cessation of electricity exports, and separately comments on President Volodymyr Zelenskyi's address to Ukrainians regarding economical electricity consumption.

The same logic follows even from the order of posts in the channel. First, it is about Putin holding a meeting of the Security Council regarding the Crimean bridge, then his accusations against Ukraine of terrorism are cited, and only after that the statement of the head of the Kremlin about a "massive strike with high-precision weapons on the objects of Ukrainian infrastructure" is cited.

The propagandists also did not forget to report that Ramzan Kadyrov "is now 100% satisfied with the conduct of the special operation", and Dmytro Medvedev believes that "the first episode has been played. There will be others." As threats, they also reported the hope of less significant "experts" that the next steps would be "missile launches at decision-making centers" and "paralysis in the system of ensuring military operations on the part of Ukraine."

RT in Russian

The Telegram channel of the Russian state-owned multilingual television company, focused mainly on a foreign audience. At the same time, the Telegram channel itself is intended for consumption within Russia. More than 648 thousand subscribers.

The Telegram channel reported for more than two hours about the burning of a fuel tank on the Crimean bridge (08.10), until it posted a photo of the destroyed span of its car part and in the next message rebroadcast the statement of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee of Russia about the "bombing of a truck".

Below is a series of messages citing Russian officials and Crimean officials assuring that the damage to the bridge is not significant: the shipping arches are not damaged and the ferry crossing will be repaired soon. At the same time, statements are broadcast that Crimea is sufficiently supplied with fuel and food and that, in general, "the situation is under control." In separate posts, readers are assured that the Russian military group on the territory of Ukraine has full and timely material support.

Literally a few minutes after the announcement of the explosion, the channel broadcasts a statement by the head of the "We are together with Russia" movement, Volodymyr Rogov, accusing the "Kyiv authorities" of organizing a terrorist act and providing the geographical coordinates of the "decision-making centers" in Ukraine - the President's Office, as well as the SBU buildings and GUR MO.

Next, "RT in Russian" directly begins to call for revenge against the Ukrainians. He forwards a post from the Telegram channel of Komsomolskaya Pravda employee Roman Golovanov, who asks the question "What will be our answer?" and immediately offers to "work for Bankova".

In addition, the channel reposts a number of posts by actors it calls either "journalists" or "publicists", united by a common opinion: the blowing up of the Kerch Bridge, inspired by the West and carried out by the hands of the special services of Ukraine, and therefore it is necessary to strike at those "decision-making centers" ". Among them is a post by Boris Kochevnikov, general director of Spas TV channel, in which, among other things, it is claimed that Russia entered the war as "David against the bully of Goliath", and therefore it is necessary to "kill the enemy everywhere. But not the people."

"RT in Russian" also quotes Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, who says that she sees evidence of the "terrorist nature" of the Ukrainian authorities. After that, the phrase "terrorist entity" is repeated in several messages that are no longer related to Zakharova's statement.

At the end of the day, the main attention of the Telegram channel is devoted to reporting on the visits of officials of various scales to the Kerch bridge and their promises to repair it as soon as possible and establish a transport connection between Crimea and Russia. And also covers in detail the restoration of first car and then rail traffic through the bridge.

The next day (09.10) the topic of the Crimean bridge on this Telegram channel recedes to the second, or even the third plan: there are significantly fewer messages devoted to it. Now, Ukraine is being accused of a "terrorist act" on the Crimean bridge already with reference to The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as reporting on the restoration of car traffic on the bridge and the establishment of a ferry crossing from Crimea to the Krasnodar region of Russia.

At the end of the day, the Telegram channel rebroadcasts Putin's statements that the explosion on the Crimean bridge was organized by the special services of Ukraine and that it was a "terrorist act."

On the day of the massive rocket attack (October 10), the RT in Russian telegram channel is full of reports about "explosions" and "fires" first in Kyiv, and then in other cities of Ukraine, without any explanation of the reasons, but with references to Ukrainian mass media. Propagandists dare to use the word "arrival" only after the distribution of a video of an explosion near a pedestrian bridge in Kyiv, and the word "rocket" is only used by propagandists in connection with the "explosion" on Volodymyrska Street, where, they specify, the SBU building is located.

Notices about the suspension of the metro in Kyiv and Kharkiv, suspension of education in Kyiv schools, damage to Ukrzaliznytsia facilities, disruption of electricity supply in Ukrainian cities, and the like are submitted separately, without direct links to "explosions" or "arrivals".

The Telegram channel began to use the definition of "strike on energy infrastructure facilities" after the announcement of the President of Ukraine regarding a massive missile attack on Ukraine. After that, in their messages, propagandists focus on power and water supply failures in Ukrainian cities.

The channel also reports on the death of Yuriy Zaskoka, head of the cyber police department of Ukraine, during a massive attack on Kyiv. "The Ukrainian cyber police, in particular, excludes citizens who cooperated with the military of the Russian Armed Forces," the message states.

"RT in Russian" in a clear sequence rebroadcasts Putin's statements after the meeting of the Russian Council of Security: "NP on the Crimean bridge" is a "terrorist attack aimed at the destruction of civilian infrastructure"; "the Kyiv regime has been using terrorist methods for a long time"; "a massive strike with high-precision weapons was inflicted on the objects of the Ukrainian infrastructure." These messages are repeated at least twice each.

The channel also distributes a screenshot of Ramzan Kadyrov's post with threats against Volodymyr Zelenskyi and an expression of satisfaction with the so-called SVO.

The propagandists are also spreading the post of Yevgeny Piddubny, the military commander of the VDTRK, who claims that "the Russian leadership least of all wanted to go to such an aggravation", because it "continues to protect the lives of the residents of Ukraine" and in the end "residents of the largest Ukrainian cities are now without electricity and water because of Zelensky ". The author of the post also feels sorry for "Kyiv girls and young men, who the day before yesterday happily took pictures against the background of a poster with the image of the burning Crimean bridge."

At the end of Telegram Day, the "RT in Russian" channel posted a video where a group of drones lined up over the Crimean Bridge with the inscription "We are together."

TASS

Telegram channel of the main state propaganda information agency of Russia, TASS. Has 336.2 thousand subscribers. It is aimed at the Russian audience and partly at Russian-speaking consumers outside the Russian Federation.

The channel did not report on the explosion on the Crimean Bridge for almost three hours after it became known. The reports refer only to the fire, attempts to extinguish it, and the suspension of traffic on the bridge. Even the posts about the beginning of the investigation talk about the burning of the railway tank and the "incident".

Only by quoting the statement of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee of Russia, the Telegram channel allows itself to talk about the "detonation of a truck" on the bridge. And immediately after that, he returns to the rhetoric surrounding the "fire" and "incident".

At the same time, the channel begins to repeat the promises of officials regarding the speedy establishment of transport connections between Crimea and the territory of Russia by waterways and land. At the same time, a number of messages convince the audience that due to the damage to the bridge, the peninsula is not threatened by any problems with the provision of goods, in particular, food and fuel. Collaborators Kirill Stremousov, who assures that the Kherson region will be provided with everything necessary, and Volodymyr Saldo with a similar message, are also quoted.

At the same time, TASS quotes statements with versions of the reasons for the explosion. Here, a member of the State Duma claims that "Ukraine's blowing up of the Crimean bridge was carried out, in particular, to create problems with the transfer of the Russian army to strengthen the borders of the Kherson region," and the so-called "senator from the Republic of Crimea" says that "the explosion on the Crimean bridge was committed for the purpose of violating provision of new Russian regions and Russian servicemen".

Next to this message is placed another: the Ministry of Defense of Russia assures that the support of the Russian group in the south of Ukraine is "in full".

Subsequently, the channel begins to call for revenge:

"The response to the detonation of the Crimean bridge must be tough, but not necessarily head-on," said Slutsky, the channel writes.

Also, the Telegram channel is massively reporting on the restoration of car traffic on the bridge and the earliest possible organization of the ferry crossing. Reviews of the destruction of the bridge by officials of various scales from Russia and Crimea are covered.

TASS also did not miss Ramzan Kadyrov's statement regarding the readiness of the Chechen Rosguards to control traffic on the Crimean Bridge, the report that Vladimir Putin instructed the FSB to organize security measures in the Kerch Strait, and Serhiy Aksyonov's assurances regarding the strengthening of "transportation security."

At the end of the information agenda, the Telegram channel reports on the restoration of road and rail traffic on the bridge.

The channel returns to the topic of resumption of traffic on the Crimean bridge the next day (09.10). It also informs about the start of ferry services across the Kerch Strait. Here, TASS again avoids statements about the explosion and uses the definitions "incident" and "event".

However, the topic of the Crimean bridge is not the main topic of this day. It is covered only in isolated reports until the moment when the statements of Oleksandr Bystrykin and Vladimir Putin are made public, in which they place responsibility for the explosion on the Crimean bridge on "Ukrainian special services" and claim that it was a "terrorist attack" aimed at destroying "civilian infrastructure" ". These statements are submitted in abbreviated form and duplicated in full version.

The mass rocket attack on (10.10) Telegram channel TASS, referring to the Ukrainian mass media and officials, covers it with reports of a series of explosions in Kyiv and other cities and focuses on notifications of "damage" to "critical infrastructure", interruptions in electricity supply and transport. One message on the channel says that an air alert has been declared on the entire territory of Ukraine. At the same time, the propagandists avoid even allusions to the nature of the "explosions", "damages" and the cause of the air alarm. The channel reports twice that Ukraine is temporarily stopping the supply of electricity to Poland.

In the future, the Russian president's statement that "the Kyiv regime has been using terrorist methods for a long time" will be rebroadcast. And even after that, the Kremlin ruler's confession to the fact that a massive blow was inflicted on Ukraine is conveyed to the audience. "With high-precision weapons against the facilities of energy, military management and communication", propagandists convince. Putin's statement is relayed in a variety of ways: individual quotes, the whole thing, text and video.

TASS also quotes Dmytro Medvedev, who seeks to "dismantle the political regime of Ukraine", and retells the words of the head of the security committee of the Russian State Duma, who declares that "a response has been given" to the "sabotage on the Crimean bridge". In addition, the channel retells the words of Serhiy Aksyonov and asserts that "Russia's approaches to conducting a special military operation in Ukraine have changed after the terrorist attack on the Crimean bridge", and also reports that Ramzan Kadyrov is "now completely satisfied with the conduct of the special operation".

At the same time, a series of reassuring messages, quoting Russian officials, assures the audience that the damage to the Crimean bridge will be repaired "soon" and "full transport connections" will be restored.

Zvezdanews

The official telegram channel of the propaganda TV channel "Zvezda", owned by JSC "TV and Radio Company of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". It is aimed at a Russian audience, primarily "patriotic". 82.7 thousand subscribers.

Telegram channel Zvezdanews (08.10) gave up to 20 messages per hour regarding the situation with the Crimean Bridge. Most of them assure that the highest authorities of Russia, together with President Putin, are informed and are taking measures to investigate the incident, establish transport links between the peninsula and the mainland, and restore the bridge.

The next step is to spread the message about the "terrorist essence of the Kyiv regime", which, according to Maria Zakharova, is proven by the reaction of representatives of the Office of the President of Ukraine to the bombing of the Crimean bridge. The following is a series of quotes from figures of various caliber who repeat the same opinion in different formulations.

Propagandists are also beginning mass pacification of the audience. Here is the citation of Kyril Stremousov - "there is no panic in the Kherson region", and assurances from the Ministry of Defense of Russia that the Russian military group on the territory of Ukraine receives material and technical support "in full". The overwhelming number of reports about the situation in Crimea and the territories close to it support the opinion that there is no panic and no significant consequences for the population.

The Telegram channel publishes a number of news reports in which various versions are expressed about who could have organized the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, how it was possible to do it, and who among the Russian security forces could be to blame for the fact that the explosion became possible.

At the same time, a number of messages are devoted to detailed coverage of the situation on the bridge and near it, visits to the bridge by officials, and their statements regarding the possibilities of traffic restoration.

At the same time, the propagandists call for revenge against Ukraine for the damage to the bridge, in particular citing "public figures" and claiming that such is the sentiment among Crimeans.

Over time, the propagandists move on to reports about the restoration of car traffic on the bridge and assurances that the ferry crossing will be restored as soon as possible. They also show footage of the first train after the explosion driving across the bridge several times.

The next day (09.10) the topic of the Crimean bridge on Zvezdanews consists of three main components: the repair of the bridge, the situation with traffic jams and the launch of the ferry crossing and the resumption of railway passenger transportation on the bridge.

In the meantime, the channel returns to the figures quoted the day before and reminds that "people are waiting for just revenge." After that, he goes on to quote the statements of the head of the investigative committee of the Russian Federation, Oleksandr Bystrykin, and the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in which the emphasis is on accusations of Ukraine in "destruction of civil infrastructure" and "terrorism". These messages are broadcast several times both in full and in abbreviated form.

On 10.10, the Zvezdanews telegram channel began reporting with references to Ukrainian mass media and officials about "explosions" in Kyiv. Here, among other things, there is a claim that one of the "explosions" took place next to the SBU building, not far from "Zelenskyi's office". A significant number of messages are accompanied by videos showing the destruction.

Among other things, Zvezdanews spreads a fake message about the evacuation of EU embassies from Kyiv.

With the development of events, the channel expands the geography of messages about "explosions", placing emphasis in messages from different cities of Ukraine on the destruction of energy system facilities. Priority attention is also given to information about interruptions in the operation of transport, electricity and water supply in Ukrainian cities. At the same time, the messages on the channel do not explain the nature of the mass of explosions on the territory of Ukraine.

In the messages of the Telegram channel, the reason for the "explosions" in the cities of Ukraine is explained only by the quoted statement of Putin about the "terrorist methods" of the "Kyiv regime" and "a massive strike with high-precision weapons on the objects of the Ukrainian infrastructure." This application is submitted by the channel several times - in abbreviated and in full formats.

After that, the word "arrival" appears in the reports about the attack on Ukraine, still focused on power outages in Ukrainian cities.

Such messages alternate with reports on the situation on the Crimean bridge, which repeat the wording "work is boiling" again and again.

*The telegram channels of propagandists Solovyov, Strelkov (Ghirkin), Simonyan, Skabeeva, Prilyepin, and Kholmogorov were included in the monitoring, as well as the telegram channels of the Kremlin's state information resources RIA Novosti, RT, TASS, and Zvezda.

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