In Russia, the authorities are planning to bring evacuated residents of the Kursk region to the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region to hide the truth about the situation in the border region from Russians. The enemy propaganda is also spreading new fake news about the events in the Kursk region about the alleged killing of civilians and "huge losses" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, UNN reports.
As pointed out in the DPC, the Russian authorities are trying to hide refugees from the Kursk region from residents of other regions so that they do not tell the truth about the actions of the Russian army, in particular about the escape of Akhmat units. They also want them not to express their dissatisfaction with Putin's policy on the war, which forced them to leave their homes.
In addition, Russians are afraid of spreading information about the normal treatment of civilians by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as Russian propaganda portrays Ukrainians as "murderers" and "Nazis.
Also, as noted, Russia is trying to prevent the influx of evacuees in its own regions, where there may already be difficulties with accommodating internally displaced persons, in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis and maintain the appearance of control over the situation.
"The main task of the Kremlin now is to control the flow of information so that people in Moscow and other large cities of Russia do not encounter refugees and have no reason to think about the consequences of Putin's war against Ukraine for ordinary Russians," the Center said.
Also, the Center for Countering Disinformation continues to monitor the Russian information space and identify new fakes and manipulations spread by hostile propaganda around the events in the Kursk region.
The CPJ recorded another wave of disinformation publications around such topics:
- "Man with cerebral palsy shot dead". Propagandists are massively spreading the story of an allegedly murdered man with a disability, without even trying to provide any evidence of the person's existence.
- "Mass killings of civilians". Hostile resources replicate the story of a "father with many children" who evacuated his family from Suzha and allegedly saw the killing of Russian civilians by Ukrainians. Fake videos of residential buildings being shelled are also published to promote this narrative.
- "Saboteurs in civilian cars". One of the ru-propagandists with an audience of millions claimed that saboteurs were hiding in civilian cars in the Kursk region, which actually encouraged the Russian military to use violence against the local population.
- "Huge losses of Ukraine". Videos of the alleged destruction of Ukrainian equipment are published in large numbers, and the figures of Ukrainian losses are completely inadequate and untrue.
- Denying facts and creating the illusion of control. Propagandists strenuously deny all statements made by Ukraine. At the same time, statements are being published on a massive scale about how Russian army reserves allegedly arrived in Kursk region and stopped the advance of the Ukrainian army.
- Threats to Ukraine. The enemy is trying to exert psychological pressure on Ukrainians by threatening them with "catastrophic consequences" for the operation in the Kursk region. However, these statements are nothing more than a bluff, the Center for Public Affairs pointed out.