WAR ON UKRAINE - Media Insights #14

Welcome to the 14th issue of our regular newsletter, featuring an independent review of media coverage of the war in Ukraine. Our previous newsletters have offered a unique perspective on two different perspectives - the Russian state media's perspective and how they interpret the ongoing "special military operation" in Ukraine, and how the same events are covered by the independent media. You can find all previous issues on our website.

The current issue offers a summary of the topics of the day presented in our Telegram channel "Россия в медиа фокусе" (Russia in Media Focus). If you enjoyed our previous weekly Media Insights - War in Ukraine and would like to receive more regular daily updates, please subscribe to our Telegram channel 'Россия в медиа фокусе' (@glasnost2022) here.

The current issue offers the following stories, topics and events from the second half of August (18-31 August 2022).

[18 August 2022]


News of the day:
UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Ukraine to meet with President Vladimir Zelensky. Among the topics scheduled for discussion is the risk of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which has been occupied by Russian troops since early March.

Why it matters:
For the first time in history, a war is being fought on the territory of a nuclear power plant. In the event of a catastrophe, radiation would spread outside Ukraine, the consequences would be 10 times stronger than after the Chernobyl disaster.

What the independent media report:
Ukraine: Prepare for the worst as nuclear plant situation "nears critical. (BBC)
Russia's announcement of possible closure of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant raised fears of "radiation disaster". (CNN)
Russia says Ukraine plans "provocation" at nuclear plant; Kiev denies accusations. (Reuters)

What the Russian media write:
MMID accused the U.S. of covering up Kiev's shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. (RIA Novosti)
The West is "preparing to turn the tables on Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry on the situation at ZNPP. (Sputnik)
Russian Ministry of Defense warns: provocation at ZNPP may end in a nuclear disaster. (1TV)


[19 August 2022]


News of the day:
EU countries cannot form a common policy on visas for Russians.

Why it matters:
The Kremlin's crackdown on political opponents, dissidents, and anti-war activists has intensified with the start of a full-scale war with Ukraine, which Russian media call a "special military operation. Many seek asylum abroad, including in EU countries.

What the independent media report:
Europeans discuss banning Russian tourists over Ukraine invasion. (NYT)
Visa bans: can we help our Russian friends, punish our enemies. (CEPA)
Estonia is about to impose a unilateral visa ban on Russia unless the EU agrees. (Bloomberg)

What the Russian media write:
The Foreign Ministry called manifestations of Russophobia in the Baltics a neo-Nazi bacchanalia. (Sputnik)
Landsbergis called on the European Union to take away visas already issued to Russians. (EAdaily.com)
Thanks for not killing - Russians told about the situation in the Baltics. (Newvz.ru)

[20-21 August 2022]

News of the weekend:
On Saturday night, Daria Dugina (Platonova), daughter of Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car explosion near Moscow. She was returning from a patriotic festival called Tradition. The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed that an improvised explosive device was found in the car.

Presumably, the explosion was the work of the National Republican Army, an underground guerrilla group operating inside Russia.

Why it matters:
Daria Dugin is the daughter of the well-known public figure and ideologue of the "Russian world," Alexander Dugin. Dugin is known for holding extreme right-wing views on Russia's place in the world. She, like her father, has repeatedly expressed support for the war (special military operation) in Ukraine, and was acquainted with many militiamen and war-combatants in the Donbass. She and her father are on U.S. and UK sanctions lists.

In a statement, the U.K. Financial Sanctions Authority called Dugina "a frequent and high-profile disseminator of disinformation regarding Ukraine and the Russian invasion of Ukraine on various online platforms."

What the independent media report:
Daughter of Alexander Dugin killed in car bombing, but her father may have been the target. (The Guardian)
Dead Dugin's father was called Vladimir Putin's "brain". (Deutsche Welle)
Russian Investigative Committee says murder of Dugin's daughter, architect of invasion of Ukraine was ordered. (CNN)

What the Russian media write:
DNR head Denis Pushilin accused the Kiev regime of preparing an assassination attempt on Dugin. (Russia 24)
We are talking about an assassination attempt, and Dugin himself could be the target. (Ren TV)
Marina Zakharova called Kyiv's possible "trace" in Dugin's murder a state terrorism. (RBC)


[22 August 2022]


News of the Day:
Russia has blamed Ukraine's security service for the car bombing that killed Daria Dugina, a Russian political commentator and daughter of famed ultranationalist Aleksandr Dugina, the state news agency TASS reported. Ukraine denies any involvement in the car bombing.

Why it matters:
Dugina's murder was the first political assassination in Russia since the war in Ukraine began. A rare attack on a member of the pro-Kremlin elite may have further undermined Putin's efforts to make progress in the war in Ukraine and maintain normalcy inside the country.

What the independent media report:
Russia accuses Ukrainian security services of preparing and carrying out the murder of Daria Dugina but Mikhail Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration said Ukraine had nothing to do with it. (CNN)
Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the Russian parliament, claims that the car bombing that killed the daughter of one of Vladimir Putin's close political allies was carried out by an internal resistance group, the National Republican Army. (Deutsche Welle)
The explosion has sparked a wave of speculation among analysts that it could also have been an internal attack by those who are unhappy with the course of the war. Leonid Volkov, a close associate of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, wrote on social media, "This is the Odintsovo district, this is the very underbelly of Putinism," about the location of the explosion. "The nighttime explosion scares very, very many real war ideologues," he added. (The Washington Post)

What the Russian media write:
The FSB has uncovered the murder of Dugina, and the perpetrator is Ukrainian citizen Natalia Vovk, who fled to Estonia after the murder. (TASS)
Dugin commented for the first time on his daughter's murder. According to him, his daughter was "sneakily murdered by Russia's enemies." (KP)
President Putin sent condolences to the family of killed journalist Daria Dugina. He called the murder of Alexander Dugin's daughter "a despicable and cruel crime." (Ren TV)


[23 August 2022]


News of the day:
Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vladislav Volodin announced a public tribunal for Ukrainian prisoners of war in Mariupol. In this way, Russia plans to show "the Kiev regime's crimes against humanity.

Why it matters:
Holding a public tribunal contradicts Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention: "Prisoners of war must equally always be protected, especially against all acts of violence or intimidation, against insults and the curiosity of the crowd."

Independent analysts see the tribunal as an attempt to shift responsibility for Russian military crimes against Ukrainian citizens and the humanitarian disaster in Mariupol artificially created by them onto the Ukrainian military. After targeted rocket, artillery and air strikes by the Russian army in the spring of 2022, Mariupol became a ghost town. Official estimates put the number of civilian deaths alone at up to 22,000.

What the independent media report:
The UN Human Rights Office is "very concerned" about Russian plans to hold trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Mariupol, saying such a process itself could amount to a war crime. (Reuters)
Ukraine warns Moscow against a "despicable show trial" of POWs. According to the head of an association representing the families of surrendered fighters from Azovstal, Russia will try to make such a trial as mocking and humiliating as possible. (Politico)
The UN is "concerned" that Russia is preparing trials of Ukrainian POWs in Mariupol. (CNN)

What the Russian media write:
Volodin told why Zelensky is afraid of a tribunal for the AFU fighters. (РИА)
"Killed, raped, destroyed": Volodin said the importance of a tribunal for the military of the AFU. (Gazeta.ru)
Volodin on the tribunal in the DNR: Zelensky and the Kiev regime have something to fear. (Rossiyskaya Gazeta)


[24 August 2022]


News of the day:
A criminal case has been opened against former Yekaterinburg Mayor Yevgeny Roizman under the article "Public Acts Aimed at Discrediting the Use of the Armed Forces." He was detained early this morning.

Why it matters:
Roizman is one of the few opposition politicians within Russia who is not afraid to speak the truth about Putin and his criminal war against Ukraine. His popularity and fear of popular unrest in government circles explain why the ex-mayor of Yekaterinburg was arrested last. The politician's arrest may indicate growing insecurity among Putin's cronies due to the deteriorating economic situation in Russia because of sanctions and the failed war in Ukraine.

What the independent media report:
Russian politician detained for criticizing Ukraine invasion (Reuters)
Evgeny Roizman: Kremlin critic and former mayor arrested for comments on war in Ukraine. (Euronews)
Russia detains opposition leader for criticizing war in Ukraine. (The Guardian)

What the Russian media write:
Evgeny Roizman was detained in a criminal case for discrediting the army. (РИА)
"Detained for one phrase, I said it everywhere": a criminal case on discrediting the army was opened against Roizman. (Gazeta.ru)
Ex-Mayor of Yekaterinburg Roizman was detained on criminal case. (Lenta.ru)


[25 August 2022]

Topic of the day:
Twenty-five people, including two children, were killed in a Russian missile strike on the Chaplino railway station in the Dnepropetrovsk region on Aug. 24, the day Ukraine celebrated its 31st anniversary of independence. At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry claims that the strike targeted a military train that was supposed to deliver weapons to the front line.

Why it matters:
This attack on civilians is yet another Russian war crime following the attacks in Vinnitsa, Kremenchug, and Kramatorsk that took the lives of dozens of innocent people. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken publicly condemned the Russian missile attack on the Chaplino train station. Specifically, he noted, "Russia's missile strike on a train station filled with civilians in Ukraine fits into a pattern of brutality. We will continue, together with partners from around the world, to support Ukraine and press for Russian officials to be held accountable."

What the independent media report:
Chief of European diplomacy Josep Borrell commented sharply on the Russian attack on Twitter, "The EU strongly condemns another heinous Russian attack on civilians: in #Chaplin on #Ukrainian Independence Day. The perpetrators of Russia's rocket terror will be held accountable." (The Guardian)
Kyiv reports that there are children among the 25 dead in the #Chaplino train station strike. (Deutsche Welle)
Ukrainian President Zelensky said he learned about the Chaplino strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region when he was preparing to address the Security Council, adding, "This is how Russia was preparing for the UN Security Council meeting." (BBC)

What the Russian media write:
The Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of an AFU train by an Iskander missile: "A direct hit by an Iskander missile on a military train at the Chaplino railway station in Dnepropetrovsk Region destroyed over 200 AFU reserve troops and ten pieces of military equipment en route to the Donbass war zone," Igor Konashenkov reported at a briefing. (Ren TV)
Russian troops directly hit an Iskander missile on a military train in Dnipropetrovsk region, destroying more than 200 AFU reservists en route to Donbass. (TASS)


[26 August 2022]

Topic of the day:
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Thursday, August 25, Europe faced the threat of a radiation disaster when the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant was completely disconnected from Ukraine's power grid for the first time. Only thanks to a backup power supply was the Zaporizhzhya NPP able to operate safely. Ukraine blames the Russian side for the shelling that damaged the communication lines, and Russia blames the Ukrainian side.

Why it matters:
"If the diesel generators had not turned on, if the automatics and our plant personnel had not reacted after the blackout, we would have had to deal with the consequences of the radiation accident by now," President Zelensky said Thursday night. "The situation at the nuclear power plant is still very, very dangerous," a German foreign ministry spokesman expressed his concern.

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is Europe's largest nuclear power plant and provides one-fifth of Ukraine's electricity needs. Since March, the plant has been occupied by Russian troops. In the event of a nuclear incident, the consequences would be 10 times more serious than after the Chernobyl disaster.

What the independent media report:
"The world miraculously avoided nuclear disaster", Zelensky. (BBC)
Zelensky urges the world to react quickly to the incident at the nuclear power plant: "Every minute the Russian military is at the nuclear power plant means the risk of a global radiation disaster." (Die Welt)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for "civilian nuclear energy" to be "fully protected" and not used as a "tool of war," referring to the incident at the Zaporozhzhya nuclear power plant. (Euronews)

What the Russian media write:
Ukrainian radicals continue hitting Europe's largest nuclear power plant, posing a threat to the entire continent, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. (Channel One)
The Zaporozhye region said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces broke the last power transmission line from the ZNPP to Ukraine, and electricity is no longer being supplied to Kiev-controlled areas. (TASS)
Kyiv shelled the Zaporizhzhia NPP twice in 24 hours. The fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant is carried out from M777 howitzers manufactured in the USA. (Komsomolskaya Pravda)


[27-28 August 2022]


Topic of the weekend:
Ramzan Kadyrov considers it necessary to transfer all military personnel, "whether from the Rosgvardia, the Ministry of Defense or the Interior Ministry, to a reinforced version of service." According to Kadyrov, if Russia conducts a "pinpoint operation", then on the opposite side there is an "open war". He added that while thousands of fighters are risking their lives on the front lines, no soldier, regardless of rank, "has the moral right" to think about rest, much less vacations.

Why it matters:
This rejection by Kadyrov probably speaks to a personnel famine in the Russian security forces due to the Russian army's colossal losses in the war against Ukraine and to the growing insecurity of Russian officials who unleashed the war and may face a future court martial for war crimes. It also speaks to the failure of a military campaign without full-scale mobilization. According to the Pentagon, Russia has lost up to 80,000 troops killed, maimed and captured.

What the independent media report:
Russian conscription campaign unlikely to have an impact - UK. (BBC)
Putin builds up Russian military forces while losses in Ukraine rise. (CBC)
Russian decree to build up the army is unlikely to increase combat power in Ukraine. (Newsweek)

What the Russian media write:
Kadyrov ruled out leave for security forces during military operation. (RBC)
Kadyrov urged the Russian military to be "in self-mobilization mode" around the clock (Lenta.ru)
Kadyrov called for the transfer of all security forces to a reinforced duty regime (Gazeta.ru)


[29 August 2022]


Topic of the day:
The FSB published a video of the second participant in Dugina's murder, Ukrainian citizen Tsyganenko: how he enters Russia, drives a car with Natalya Vovk (whom the FSB considers the perpetrator of Daria Dugina's murder), gets fake license plates, and drives away. Tsyganenko allegedly helped Vovk assemble an improvised explosive device and provided her with fake documents and license plates.

Why it matters:
Dugina's murder terrorist attack does not carry any strategic or political benefit for Ukraine, nor does it even fall under the category of revenge, since few people within Ukraine had heard of or knew of the deceased. On the contrary, as with the bombing of houses in Russian cities in 1999, the promoted narrative about the martyr who died for Russia at the hands of Azov is most likely aimed at mobilizing target audiences to continue the failed war against Ukraine, in which some 80,000 Russian soldiers have already been killed and wounded according to official estimates by Western military ministries.

What the independent media report:
Russian security service points to second suspect in Daria Dugina murder. (CNN)
Russia has identified a second suspect in the death of nationalist Dugina. (The Washington Post)
Russia has named a second Ukrainian suspect in the murder of nationalist's daughter. (Reuters)

What the Russian media write:
A U.S. intelligence investigator believes the CIA may be behind Dugina's murder. (KP)
Tsyganenko's neighbors spoke about his mother's attitude toward the Russian special operation. (RIA)
The FSB identified a member of a Ukrainian sabotage group who prepared Dugina's murder. (TASS)


[30 August 2022]


Topic of the day:
Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in the south, directing its forces to liberate occupied Kherson. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated that "Ukraine is taking back what is its own," and called on the Russian military to leave Ukraine or surrender. Meanwhile, Russia, through presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, says that "the special operation is going according to plan and all of its goals will be achieved." The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Ukraine lost about 1,200 troops in the attempted counterattack.

Why it matters:
The goal of the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive is primarily to liberate Kherson, which was captured and occupied in the early days of the war. Recent strategic strikes by the Ukrainian side against Russian positions, arsenals and supply routes, such as strategically located bridges, have paved the way for the current operation in recent weeks. According to presidential adviser Alexei Arestovich, the Ukrainian army has broken through the defense line in several places. Earlier on Monday, a Ukrainian military source reported that Ukrainian troops had recaptured four villages in the south near Kherson from the Russian occupation.

What the independent media report:
Ukrainian troops have "broken through" some sections of the front line near Kherson, an official claims. (CNN)
The U.S. estimates that Ukraine has a "good chance" of regaining the occupied territories. (Politico)
"Heavy fighting" in Kherson - Kiev goes on the offensive amid Russian army supply problems. (Die Welt)

What the Russian media write:
The Ministry of Defense told about the losses of the AFU due to the defeat of the offensive. Russian troops destroyed more than 1,200 fighters in a day as a result of the defeat of the Ukrainian army in the Nikolaevo-Krivorozhskoe and other directions, the Russian Defense Ministry said. (РИА)
Zelensky lost more than 1,200 soldiers and 130 pieces of military equipment during the attempted offensive by the AFU. (KP)
The attempted offensive ordered by Ukrainian radicals by Zelensky ended in failure. (Channel 1)


[31 August 2022]


Topic of the day:
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, died at age 92 after a long and lingering illness. He made history with his policies of perestroika and glasnost to reform the USSR, and he advocated dialogue with the West and an end to the Cold War.

Why it matters:
Many Western leaders have paid tribute to the last Soviet president. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he admired Mr. Gorbachev's courage and integrity: "At a time of Putin's aggression in Ukraine, his tireless commitment to open Soviet society remains an example to us all.

U.S. President Joe Biden called him a "rare leader," and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said: "The world has lost an outstanding global leader, a committed multilateralist and a tireless campaigner for peace. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised Gorbachev as a "courageous reformer" and noted that the former Soviet leader's policies made possible the reunification of Germany in 1990 and the disappearance of the Iron Curtain.

What the independent media report:
Mikhail Gorbachev saw the destruction of his legacy under Vladimir Putin, culminating in a devastating war in central Europe. (The Independent)
Mikhail Gorbachev, the most beloved "Russian" in Germany, died. Germany admired the architect of glasnost and perestroika in a way Russia never did. (Deutsche Welle)
The architect of the end of the Cold War - The international press praises Mikhail Gorbachev as the man who ended the Cold War. His role in the reunification of Germany is also acknowledged. (Die Welt)

What the Russian media write:
"The brightest politician of his time. Condolences on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. (TASS)
Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the Soviet Union, died at 92 after a long illness. (Channel 1)
"Let me say what I said": the most striking quotes by Mikhail Gorbachev. Many statements of the first president of the USSR went to the people. (Ren TV)


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