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On March 12, the groups of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and Siberian Battalion, fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, announced attempts to invade the territory of the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions. According to them, they aimed to influence the results of the upcoming presidential "elections". Corps said that in this way, they wanted to "liberate Russia from the dictatorship."
Russian propaganda reacted very violently to the previous RVC raid, which happened in the spring of 2023. In this analysis, DM explains how Russian propagandists responded to this year's military actions [of the RVC and Siberian Battalion]: the messages they promoted and the tools they used.
"There was no breakthrough, and the saboteurs were destroyed in one swoop"
As usual in such cases, propagandists began to deny that any breakthrough had occurred whatsoever. Yet, the RVC and the Siberian Battalion were able to attack several large cities with military units and partially capture one settlement.
During the previous RVC breakthrough, the propagandists also denied the actions of the above-mentioned military groups and then announced their destruction altogether. This time, they also reported on the "destruction of subversive groups" and, in particular, published videos showing the alleged destruction of military equipment.
Propagandists also referred to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, which informed about the "lightning destruction". They said they used various types of weapons, including aviation, artillery, and drones. At the same time, the numbers of "losses" were radically different depending on the agency they referred to: if the Russian Ministry of Defense spoke about more than two hundred "destroyed Ukrainian fighters", then the Russian Guard mentioned thirty. Such inaccuracies also indicate that the information is fabricated or unverified.
Propagandists try to cling to details and express wishful thinking. For example, one of the Telegram channels with more than 500,000 subscribers wrote that the video announcing the partial capture of one of the settlements was actually filmed in Ukraine. Allegedly, this is why one cannot see the road signs or other signs by which a place can be recognized.
"This is an operation planned by the Office of the President"
Russian propagandists are trying to convince people that the RVC and the Siberian Battalion are not an organic phenomenon. In one of the Telegram channels with 10,000 subscribers, the actions of the military movements were called "terrorist activity of the Kyiv regime" with "an attempt to destabilize the internal political situation in Russia and illusory increase the optimism in the radical parts of Ukrainian society." In just one post, this channel deliberately mixed this issue and the discussion of increasing Western aid to Ukraine to confuse the audience.
Another channel with 574,700 subscribers calls the current processes a "battle" and an "attempt to cause a fuel crisis" in Russia. Such a thesis was published after the RVC attacked oil refineries in several cities. The propagandists also demonize one of the movement's commentators, former State Duma deputy Igor Ponomaryev, calling him a "fugitive" and "Zelenskyy’s servant."
Propagandists falsely state that the Ukrainian Office of the President has no other real levers of influence on Russia. According to them, the situation at the front is not on Ukraine’s side, and Russia is moving further towards "democracy" by holding "elections". Ukrainians have no other ways to sabotage these "elections", so Zelenskyy resorts to "desperate" actions.
"An unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the elections"
Similar to the previous statement, propagandists mentioned that the new [military] raid is an attempt to disrupt the upcoming presidential "elections" in Russia. Putin’s reaction to these attacks evidences it. One Telegram channel with a million subscribers wrote that the actions were to "lower Putin's rating."
On the one hand, Russian propaganda wants to make the RVC the biggest enemy of its existence. On the other hand, it minimizes the threat as much as possible. Propagandists even avoid mentioning these groups, instead writing "terrorists", "Ukrainian subversive reconnaissance groups", and "Ukrainian Nazis".
Anonymous, allegedly pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels, also participated in this campaign. They claimed that their [RVC and Siberian Battalion’s] actions are insignificant, and the information noise around them is exaggerated. The same channel with a million subscribers wrote that the news about them did not have such an effect this time and that "only the Ukrainian society was loud about it." However, it remains interesting that the Russian social networks were also pumping up the drama this time.
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov published an alleged letter from a subscriber in which he "admits" that he did not want to attend the "elections" initially. Still, the RVC's actions encouraged him to make the "right choice". He said the country's future is connected exclusively with its current leader, and civilians are now simply intimidated.
