By KYIV. Jan 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Russia issued general recommendations on covering the war in Ukraine, justifying attacks on the Ukrainian energy system and ignoring the successes of the Wagner Primate Military Company (PMC), while pointing to the "outstanding" role in the war of the country’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine has said.
"The military command of the aggressor state has drawn up a special document that determines exactly how Kremlin propagandists must cover the events of the war against Ukraine," it said.
The general recommendations contain eleven points, the main content of which is to focus on information exclusively from sources agreed by the Russian Defense Ministry; place emphasis in informational materials and comments of "independent" experts on the leading and positive role personally of Shoigu and Gerasimov; justifying strikes against Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, emphasizing the "forcedness" of such actions.
In addition, these recommendations also highlight the topics of providing Ukraine with western weapons.
"In this sense, it is especially recommended to focus on the fact that ‘Russia is conducting a military operation not against Ukraine, but against the entire NATO’," the intelligence said.
The recommendations also imply a refusal to mention the Wagner PMC in a positive context, as well as an emphasis on excessive human losses and meaningless attacks by Wagner fighters.
The document also implies tracking and citing publications in foreign media about the successes of the Russian Armed Forces and the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is proposed to focus special attention on the statements of Western and Ukrainian politicians, which can be interpreted in a similar vein.
"In general, the document testifies to a radical change in emphasis on covering the course of events in the war against Ukraine, as well as the aggravation of the political struggle within the aggressor country," the Main Intelligence Directorate said.
