Russia is exerting control of the media in occupied parts of Ukraine as regional military administrations seek near-total domination of the information space.
The tactic has involved kidnapping journalists, taking over local newsrooms, blocking Ukrainian TV and the internet, while promoting Russian channels and websites.
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Analysis of to covered by Russian media suggests a concerted effort to make Ukraine appear as a failed state. It may be designed to send a message to those in the occupied zone that Russian governance is preferable.
Russia’s media narratives
A media monitor developed by Ukrainian publication Texty.UA shows the to that Russian media has focused on and how they have changed since the war began:
The Russian media has consistently sought to justify the invasion by referring to Ukrainian forces and their leadership as ”Nazis”. Usage of the term in Russian media peaked at the start of the war.
But other narratives have become more prominent over time. Articles that refer to Ukraine as a ”failed state” increased in mid-April.
This included articles such as the one below, which has been translated, accusing the Kyiv government of being completely corrupt.
News that supports the occupying regional administrations has also featured prominently. For example, articles that reference peple in the occupied zones recieving Russian passports – something the military administration has promoted – have been common.
But other stories haven’t been covered. In mid-March anti-Russian protests broke out in Melitopol yet there was little trace of the words ”Melitopol” and ”protest” appearing in Russian news articles.
It is clear that the Russian media now being broadcast in the occupied parts of Ukraine gives a particular view of the war.
How have the Russians controlled the media in occupied zones?
The first stage of Russian media control involved taking over the physical infrastructure used to broadcast TV.
On 4 March it was reported that Russian forces installed new equipment on two TV towers in Kherson and Melitopol, two of the largest cities in the southern occupied regions, in order to broadcast Russian TV channels.
Local newsrooms have also been taken over. Some have been repurposed to broadcast Russian channels, while others have faced the choice of collaborating or being shut down.
The NGO Detector Media said this month that 44 companies had ceased broadcasting due to the Russian attacks and their occupation.
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Image:
Kherson and Melitopol have been under Russian occupation since early in the war
Russian forces have also been targeting indiual journalists. Oleh Baturyn, for example, who works for the Kherson newspaper Novyi Den, was abducted in March and held captive for eight days, during which he was beaten, tied to a radiator, and interrogated about his work and knowledge of local protests.
And it’s not just through traditional media formats that Russia is exerting control. On 30 May, Ukrainian internet services, which had been working intermittently since the occupation, ceased to function in the Kherson region. The internet has since been routed through Russian service proers based in Crimea, meaning Ukrainian websites are often blocked.
There have also been reports of the Russian backed administration handing out SIM cards that use a Russian dial code. The fear is these could be easily monitored by Russian forces.
It appears Russia is trying to gain total domination of the communications network.
What are the Russians trying to achieve?
The Russian media blitz is, according to Dr Ofer Fridman, the director of operations for King’s Centre for Strategic Communications, “straight out of the manual” of information operations.
Control of the information space behind the front line of the kinetic war can better allow governance to be implemented in the occupied zone by repressing dissent.
Dr Fridman believes media messaging in the occupied areas will increasingly focus on stability and security.
“What does it mean to win the hearts and minds of ‘Russian’ people living in Ukraine?” he said. “You win them by telling them one thing: you can have stability in silence. You say we proed stability to Russia. We can also do it here.”
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But Dr Joanna Szostek, a lecturer in political communication at the University of Glasgow, thinks any campaign to win over the population is unlikely to succeed.
“Based on surveys I’ve done and others who do them in Ukraine, the number of Ukrainians that were looking to rejoin Russia – that one might imagine somehow welcoming this occupying force – are just tiny numbers,” she said.
That spirit of resistance can be seen in Oleksiy, a resident of Kherson who recently fled the region but who found a way to access Ukrainian news.
“Communication in occupation is just like air for a scuba diver,” he said. “We woke up checking the news, and we fell asleep checking it. If there is a connection, there is hope. When the connection was down, it seemed that life had stopped.”
Oleksiy’s ability to still access Ukrainian news shows how difficult Russia’s task will be in completely controlling the information flow in the occupied zones.
By using Virtual Private Networks – tools that mask the location of internet users – people have still been able to access blocked websites. Data from Google Trends shows that the highest proportion of searches for “VPN” over the past 90 days have occurred in the occupied zones in the south and east of Ukraine.
Many people in Ukraine also get their information via Telegram, a messaging and social media site, which isn’t blocked by Russian internet service proers.
And even in controlling the TV networks, Russia appears to be having trouble. The Telegram channel of the Russian imposed administration in Kherson complained their broadcasts had gone off-air due to faulty equipment.
But they are not to be deterred. Earlier this month, they announced they would be recruiting a chief engineer and director to the radio and TV transmitting station of Kherson.
The Russian government didn’t respond when asked by Sky News about media repression in occupied Ukraine.
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