According to the independent Russian news site, “meduza There is said to be a manual from the Kremlin that tells Russian media how to report on a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive. This guide seems to discuss two scenarios.

As reported by “Meduza”, the handbook prepares state and pro-Russian media to present a Ukrainian counter-offensive in public. The aim of the propaganda is to present the Russian army and Putin’s leadership in a positive light to the Russian public – even if Ukraine is successful. Chief propagandists should be warned not to underestimate the announced Ukrainian counter-offensive with NATO support and not to portray the Ukrainian army as weak.

Kremlin pursues two scenarios

According to anonymous Kremlin sources who told Meduza, the Moscow leadership is pursuing two scenarios. In the first scenario, a failure of Ukraine’s efforts would be interpreted as a success for the Russian army, especially because it would have won against the West as a supporter of Ukraine. In the second scenario, a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive would be downplayed and the focus placed on the fact that Russia had successfully defended most areas despite massive Western support to Ukraine.

The manual also appears to instruct propagandists not to report on Russian spending on reconstruction in the occupied territories. At Meduza, it is assumed that it will be around eleven billion euros, while the state deficit is already twice as high. Instead, reports are to appear showing how Russia is solving problems in the occupied territories and repairing infrastructure such as schools, kindergartens, and hospitals.

Putin wants to avoid riots

According to the report, Putin wants to avoid a riot like the one reported to have occurred in 2017 after the occupation of Crimea. At that time, according to an internal survey, 40 percent of respondents in Russia criticized the lack of money for education, training, and pensions, while more than half found it wrong that money was flowing into Crimea and that there was a lack in social areas.

Finally, Meduza reports that propagandists such as talk show hosts and commentators are being advised not to report much on the preparations for May 9th – the day celebrating the Soviet Union’s victory over Germany. Parades have already been canceled in some areas. According to insider information, this is probably also due to the fact that there are hardly any military vehicles left that could be presented – most of them were used in the war.