Russia prepares propaganda guide with fake claims about Oleshky
Photo: Russians push occupied Oleshky to the brink of humanitarian crisis (t.me/dmytro_lubinetzs)
Russian forces have prepared a guide for forcing residents in occupied Oleshky to give false testimony about the humanitarian situation and discredit the Ukrainian Armed Forces, sources in Ukraine’s Defense Forces told RBC-Ukraine.
RBC-Ukraine reviewed the document but will not publish it due to security considerations.
According to the documents obtained by the editorial team, Russia prepared a detailed Algorithm for Video Interviews with Civilians in the Settlement of Oleshky, Kherson Region.
According to the media outlet, Russian troops from the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment may be stationed in occupied Oleshky on the left bank of the Kherson region.
The guide contains clear instructions for interrogating local residents and staging interviews in which they are instructed to repeat specific claims designed to distort the real situation.
In particular, the propaganda script requires residents to describe a "critical situation" and accuse the Ukrainian Armed Forces of "blocking the settlement from all directions."
The guide also provides ready-made talking points claiming that Ukrainian drones control the airspace, deliberately strike civilians and homes, and prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the area.
The script also calls for fabricating claims about a food blockade and creating the impression that the only way for residents to survive is through aid from Russian troops.
A separate section of the instructions requires residents to express a positive attitude toward Russian soldiers and claim that they allegedly "ensure security."
"Our military also heard over radio intercepts that such orders do indeed exist and that journalists from federal TV channels are also expected to arrive to film these staged reports," a source in the Defense Forces said.
According to the sources, the staged interviews are intended to be broadcast on Russian federal TV channels as part of information and psychological pressure and to discredit Ukraine.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that the Russian occupation had caused a humanitarian crisis in Oleshky. People are starving and have been forced to survive by eating grass and weeds. Ukrainian forces are trying to save them by delivering food to the occupied territory with drones.
Ukraine also wants to raise the situation in Oleshky at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council scheduled for tomorrow, October 1.
