"Katerynoslav is not Ukraine": How Russian Propaganda "Attacks" Dnipro

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Exploring what Russian propaganda and its Telegram channels have written about the city of Dnipro.

After Dnipropetrovsk was renamed to Dnipro in 2016 as part of the decommunization efforts, Russian propagandists not only continued to use the old name but also increasingly began using the name "Katerynoslav" as an alternative. This was meant to express disagreement with Ukraine's decommunization policy and emphasize the Ukrainian city's connection to Russian history and the Russian Empire, attempting to manipulate historical facts. Examples of this can still be found after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. In March 2022, the ideologist of the "Russian world," Aleksandr Dugin, wrote on the propaganda website "Tsargrad" that since the 18th century, Russian tsars had populated the territories "from Mariupol to Katerynoslav (Dnipro) and Odesa" with "various ethnic groups," including "peasants from Great Russia and Little Russia." In this way, the Russian propagandist-turned-"philosopher" tried to find a place for Ukrainians as a nation within his own worldview. However, he insisted on the unconditional "integration" of all of Eastern Ukraine — "Novorossiya, Donbas, and Slobozhanshchina" — into Russia.

Although Vladimir Putin has never directly mentioned "Katerynoslav" in his official speeches (the term appears only once in a Kremlin press release from 2001), he has repeatedly referred to the theme of "shared history," particularly highlighting Catherine the Great as the founder of several cities in southern Ukraine. In his "historical lectures," Putin has repeatedly lied and manipulated facts, including justifying the invasion of Ukraine and hinting at the imperial past of parts of our country's territory as a precondition for occupation. In his article "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians," he mentioned the same "Novorossiya," which included territories such as modern-day Dnipro.

According to a report by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) from November 26, 2024, Russia's military command is considering the possibility of advancing into the southeastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Although this area is not formally included in the regions illegally annexed and listed in the amended Russian Constitution as "integrated" into Russia, its occupation, according to analysts, could bring the Kremlin closer to its strategic goal — the complete control of Donetsk oblast. The pace of the Russian military's advance has prompted Russian propagandists to measure the distance from the front lines to the Dnipropetrovsk region's borders and speculate on whether the region's main city belongs to "Little Russia or Novorossiya."

Alongside this, there is an ongoing justification for missile attacks on the city of Dnipro. On November 21, in his video address, Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia had struck Dnipro with a new medium-range ballistic missile called "Oreshnik," hitting "one of the largest and most well-known industrial complexes in Dnipropetrovsk, which has been producing missile technology and other weapons since the Soviet era." According to Putin, this strike was in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory using Western precision-guided weapons.

Source: Flourish Studio — Leading ten topics of messages related to Dnipro in pro-Kremlin Telegram channels between September 1 and November 25, 2024, as reported by "Detector Media" based on data from LetsData.

A dataset of 2,247 messages from Russian and pro-Russian Telegram channels was used to analyze key themes in Russian propaganda about the city of Dnipro. These messages, which appeared between September 1 and November 26, 2024, contained combinations of the keywords "Dnipro," "Katerynoslav," or "Dnipropetrovsk." The information was provided by LetsData.

Some of the messages in the analyzed dataset focused on the desired advancement of the Russian army to the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region and the creation of an immediate threat to the city of Dnipro. For example, on October 4, an anonymous Telegram channel with nearly 165,000 subscribers wrote:

"Former NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg believes that after the U.S. presidential elections, a 'new momentum' might arise for resolving the 'Ukrainian conflict.' This momentum will undoubtedly arise. When the Russian army reaches Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk. You couldn’t come up with a better momentum."

The Telegram channels also broadcast various "military experts' assessments" that are published in Russian media. For instance, the forecast of "military expert" Anatoliy Matviychuk for the Russian propaganda media News.ru was widely shared, predicting the "beginning of the storming of Kramatorsk and the approach to Dnipropetrovsk" by the end of the year.

The more territory Russia can seize now, the worse the so-called "Ukrainian card" will be for the elected U.S. president, Donald Trump. This thesis is being promoted by Russian propagandist and regular participant in the Russian television program "Political Scientist" Dmitry Yevstratiev on his Telegram channel. He "predicts" that by 2026, Trump will begin thinking about his successor since he will turn 80. According to Yevstratiev, if Russia captures Ukraine's territory, including the city of Dnipro (or even beyond), Trump or his successor will no longer have a very "strong" card (in somewhat vague terminology — "a trump nine"). If Russia also manages to capture Sumy and then retake Kherson, this "political scientist" assesses the virtual "Ukrainian card" in U.S. politics and dialogue with Russia only as a "trump seven."

Here, we see a repetition of the classic Russian propaganda thesis about the necessity of negotiating with Russia over Ukraine (without Ukraine), regardless of the U.S. president's name. The further the Russian army advances toward Donald Trump's inauguration, the fewer bargaining chips the future U.S. administration will supposedly have in negotiations.

Another regular participant in Solovyov’s shows and propagandist, Armen Gasparyan, in his channel (with over 207,000 subscribers), wrote that among the "peasants" (a derogatory term for Ukrainians — Detector Media's note), there was "hysteria" because the occupation forces were only 11 kilometers away from the "borders of Katerynoslav."

At the end of October, several channels from the analyzed dataset referenced an article by the German media outlet Bild, where military analyst Julian Röpke outlined what he called "Putin’s war plan" for 2026, based on his sources. The plan supposedly includes Russia’s attempt to capture industrial regions in Left-bank Ukraine, including the cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro. However, in the hands of Z-war correspondents, Röpke’s article morphed into up-to-date "German intelligence data." For example, propagandist Oleksiy Zhivov published a map drawn by Bild on his Telegram channel, which has over 116,000 subscribers, and referred to it as fresh information from "German intelligence."

Former Russian State Duma deputy and "political scientist" Sergey Markov, in posts on his own Telegram channel, engages in applied geometry, measuring the distance from the "Russian army to Dnipropetrovsk region" in kilometers from various directions (from Pokrovsk or Hulyaipole). He refers to the region's administrative center as nothing less than a "beautiful Russian city" and speculates about which imaginary territorial formation it would be better to attach it to. This post received over 30,000 views: "Dnipropetrovsk is a beautiful Russian city, created as Katerynoslav. Katerynoslav-Dnipropetrovsk is not Ukraine. But is it Novorossiya? Or Malorossiya?"

Sergey Markov, mentioned earlier, frequently uses the name "Katerynoslav" and presents it as an alternative or parallel name for the city, which he mostly hyphenates. Commenting on Vladimir Putin's meeting with so-called "war correspondents" in the summer of 2023, Markov wrote, "Ukraine should not exist at the expense of Russia and on historical Russian territories if there are no proper relations." He listed a number of cities that he considers "inherently Russian," including "Dnipro-Katerynoslav."

Here is how he reacted to the stripping of the title "Honorary Citizen of Dnipropetrovsk" from the late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who was born in Dnipropetrovsk region: "He was a benefactor of his small homeland, Dnipropetrovsk. Stripping him of this title means that this city is a traitor and will be cursed by fate."

This decision regarding Brezhnev was also commented on by a former member of parliament and "regional" politician-turned-defector to Russia and traitor Oleg Tsaryov. In his Telegram channel, he wrote that the current mayor of Dnipro, Dmytro Filatov, is fighting "for decommunization and against common sense," and suggested that the city should be renamed if captured by the Russian army:

"We will get to Dnipropetrovsk and offer the citizens to return the historical name Katerynoslav," Tsaryov wrote in a post that garnered over 115,000 views.

Tsaryov likely sees himself as the head of the imagined occupation administration in Dnipro. This is supported by his own Telegram channel's re-sharing of complimentary posts from small anonymous propaganda channels, where Tsaryov is referred to as the "future governor of Katerynoslav."

In a similar post from the summer of 2022, Kirill Frolov, who calls himself the head of the "Union of Orthodox Citizens and the Association of Orthodox Experts," urged Tsaryov to step up efforts to capture Dnipro and fulfill his "historical, God-given mission to be the leader of the liberation of Novorossiya":

"Oleg, the southern capital of Russia, Katerynoslav, is waiting for you. The mission is achievable," — this post, which Tsaryov also reposted on his Telegram channel, gained over 60,000 views.

The Telegram channel "Open Ukraine | Открытая Украина," with an audience of more than 207,000 subscribers, shared Putin's remarks from a meeting of the "Valdai Club" about how "the new borders of Ukraine will depend on the ongoing events at the front and the opinions of the residents of historical Russian territories." The anonymous authors of the channel take on the role of residents of the "south and east of Ukraine," supporting the idea of conducting so-called "referendums" in various cities, including Dnipro. According to them, residents of part of Ukraine will agree to the creation of "Novorossiya" only to avoid being annexed to Russia through military means. Supporters of the "Russian world" from other regions will have to move there as part of a population exchange, which they call the "Vistula Operation of the 21st Century."

These publications serve as an example of the narrative that Russia is supposedly willing to negotiate peacefully and that Putin can be "appeased" by giving up part of Ukraine’s territory without resistance. However, the refrain about "restoring Novorossiya" shows that the aggressive policies of the Putin regime have not changed, and they have not renounced the annexation of even more of Ukraine or even the complete absorption of our state. The justification or pretext will always be found, based on the fabricated opinion of the "residents of historical Russian territories."

Another theme exploited in the studied Telegram channels was the connection of the Jewish community in the city of Dnipro to events at the front and the logic behind Russian shelling. One of these speculations involved the so-called "Jewish factor," as propagandists refer to it, meaning the presence of a Jewish community in Dnipro. Specifically, pro-Russian blogger-propagandist Dmitry Vasylyets spread lies that "NATO allegedly was planning a nuclear attack on Russia in the territories controlled by the "Zelensky regime," but not in Dnipro": "The Anglo-Saxons, I think, will act pragmatically, so it's definitely not Dnipropetrovsk — there's too large a Jewish community and many investments. Odessa is also unlikely because grain needs to be exported by sea from occupied territories, as a nuclear explosion there could negatively impact logistics. Therefore, the most likely place is Kharkiv, the first capital of the Ukrainian SSR."

Detector Media has repeatedly covered Russian propaganda and disinformation on nuclear threats and blackmail, as well as accusations against Ukraine of creating a so-called "dirty bomb."

An anonymous pro-Russian Telegram channel with over 170,000 subscribers, likely run by members of the Russian Wagner military group, spread lies about the mass departure of Jews from Dnipro following a Russian ballistic missile strike on November 21: "In Dnipropetrovsk, local Jewish bigwigs have suddenly started preparing to leave. Caravans of expensive cars are stretching out of the city. The area near Pivdenmash is completely surrounded by lots of special forces. They're jamming communications and satellites. The city, which was promised, 'we'll negotiate,' is in shock for a moment." This post was viewed more than 238,000 times.

Similar messages were copied or shared by other Telegram channels that appeared in the analyzed dataset, such as "Novokakhovskaya Pravda" or "First Information Channel of Kharkiv Region."

Among the analyzed messages, some referred to the city of Dnipro as a "NATO base" or a "logistical hub for the Nazis." For example, the collaborator from Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, called the shelling of the city as such in his Telegram channel with over 112,000 subscribers. Some of the analyzed Telegram channels also used the term "temporarily occupied Katerynoslav," writing and sharing videos about "forced mobilization in Ukraine." This is a general trend for labeling cities, regardless of whether they were under Russian occupation during the war (such as Kherson, which propaganda refers to as "temporarily occupied by the Ukrainian army after deoccupation") or territories that fall under Russia's imperialist plans.

Denis Pushilin, head of the occupation administration in the Russian-occupied part of Donetsk, dreams of a "new territorial distribution" after the conquest and dismemberment of new Ukrainian territories. In his Telegram channel, he writes about the "former Katerynoslav Governorate," mentioning occupied Mariupol and other cities and territories in Donetsk. A variation of the thesis about "occupied Dnipropetrovsk" appeared in a post by the previously mentioned pro-Russian blogger-propagandist Dmitry Vasilyets, where he criticizes the policies of the mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk and claims that the "NATO occupation" will allegedly provoke the appearance of "language patrols" in the streets of "Russian-speaking cities — Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk."

Thirty-one posts from the analyzed dataset contained photos and messages about the activities of "pro-Russian partisans" in Dnipro, including reports about the burning of military vehicles in the city. "Detector Media" has already reported on Telegram communities recruiting Ukrainians for sabotage operations.

Russian propaganda manipulates historical names and facts about Ukrainian cities to justify unprovoked military aggression and bolster Vladimir Putin's imperial ambitions. By using a range of disinformation narratives and appealing to historical contexts, such as using the names "Katerynoslav" or "Dnipropetrovsk," or calling the city the "southern capital of Russia," Russian propaganda tries to create the illusion that these territories supposedly have "Russian roots" or should belong to Russia.

These manipulations are aimed at eroding Ukrainian identity and putting pressure on Ukrainians to make them doubt their own national history. Propaganda uses historical or pseudo-historical speculations to justify military aggression and attempts at annexation, presenting them as the "restoration of historical justice." This is part of a broader strategy — the destruction of Ukrainian statehood and identity.

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Main page illustration: Natalia Lobach