Ukraine’s Defence Ministry explains how Russian media cobbled together video to accompany Putin’s address

A group of Russian propaganda operatives came to the Russian-occupied territory of Kherson Oblast ahead of President Putin's address in order to cobble together footage of locals' supposed support for Russian forces. However, they failed to produce a convincing narrative. Source: Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence, on Telegram

Quote from Maliar: "The enemy has ramped up their propaganda activities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Groups of professional propaganda operatives, under the guise of journalists, have arrived in areas near the line of contact. They have been busy urgently fabricating deceitful videos aimed to discredit Ukraine's defence forces and justify the actions of Russian occupation forces."

Details: Maliar said that most footage was filmed in cities and towns in the Kakhovka and Hola Prystan districts in Kherson Oblast.

The propagandists would go to civilian infrastructure facilities like hospitals and schools, which Russian occupation forces would shell right before their arrival. According to Maliar, the Russian propagandists then attempted to present the footage as "documentary evidence" of Ukrainian forces' supposed "war crimes".

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Russian fake videos also attempted to show "widespread" support of Russian state symbols and the actions of Russian occupation forces on behalf of local schoolchildren.

The propagandists filmed groups of schoolchildren singing the Russian national anthem and writing letters to Russian soldiers fighting on the front, among other such activities. The Kremlin operatives thus attempted to create an "informational backdrop" ahead of Putin's annual address to the Federal Assembly. However, the Russian dictator's address itself turned out to be very sluggish and rather boring.

Later, he himself admitted that he could hardly listen to his own ramblings.

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