This week, from September 17 to 23, 2022, a large amount of news was from the category "Referendum" (20%). In the occupied territories, a decision was made on the need to hold a referendum on the accession of "territories liberated by russia" (Kherson Region, Zaporizhzhya Region, Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic). russia supported this decision and promised to join these territories to russia immediately after the referendum.
russian Telegram channels continue to actively cover news about the "Successes of the russian army" (17%). In the news of this category, you can see materials about the successful destruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a large amount of burned equipment, and well-targeted attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. They boasted about the presence of Iranian drones. The category "Discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine" (9%) describes the brutality of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the shelling of the civilian population by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield. This category further reinforces the previous category "Successes of the Russian Army".
Most of the news in the category "Propaganda" (9%) concerns the desire of the Kherson people to join russia. They say that after joining, they will have a better life and can return to historical sources. The occupying authorities promised they would not hold mobilizations after the referendum, although there was news that men were not allowed to leave the region without permission.
This week saw more threats to use nuclear weapons. The situation is twisted in such a way that the West, NATO, or the leadership of Kyiv are provoking russia to take this step. They remind us that we should not forget that russia has nuclear potential.
There are more ideas in the russian news that russia is already at war, not only with Ukraine. Theses from shoigu's speech, which flooded the occupiers' channels:
- There is a complex and big job, but the military performs it honorably.
- All types of weapons do their job. Today, we are at war, not so much with Ukraine as with the West. The West supplies large quantities of weapons to Ukraine.
- In fact, the Western military command is located in Kyiv, where more than 150 specialists work.
- Increasingly, Ukraine is using Western weapons to attack the civilian population. Almost 300,000 people have been mobilized in Ukraine.
Also, this week we saw that the russian publics told actively about mobilization in russia and in the occupied territories. They disseminate the topic that the news about the mobilization caused a real panic on Bankova Street.
Percentage ratio of news:
| Referendum | 20% |
| Successes of the russian army | 17% |
| Discrediting of the Armed Forces of Ukraine | 13% |
| Propaganda | 13% |
| Improvement in the opinion of the russian federation | 7% |
| Discrediting of Ukrainian Authorities | 6% |
| Mobilization | 6% |
| Aid | 5% |
| Recognition of its failures | 3% |
| Persecution for inhabitants of the Kherson region | 3% |
| Influence of foreign partners on Ukraine | 2% |
| Influence of foreign partners on the russian federation | 2% |
| Blackmail and threats | 1% |
| Censure of the leadership of the russian federation | 1% |
| Negotiations | 1% |
| Exchange of prisoners of war | 1% |
| Censure of people who are against the war | <1% |