Russia is preparing to film dozens of staged videos featuring residents of occupied Oleshky in Kherson Region. People will be forced on camera to say they are supposedly satisfied with the situation, have enough food and are grateful to the Russian occupiers.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said this on the social network X, citing Ukrainian intelligence.
These videos are intended to be a continuation of a Russian propaganda campaign that has been running for a week. Russia denies there are problems in Oleshky and is trying to convince people there is no humanitarian catastrophe in the city.
Sybiha noted that Russian troops first occupied the city, cut off civilians’ routes of retreat and blocked humanitarian aid, and are now planning to use local residents in staged propaganda material.
“We call on the international community and all relevant international organisations to increase pressure on Moscow and demand that the Russian occupiers immediately lift the siege of Oleshky,” the official stressed.
Ukrainian forces are also trying to help people in the city. In particular, the Armed Forces of Ukraine recently delivered humanitarian aid using heavy drones.
Context
Earlier, the Centre for Countering Disinformation reported that Russia is trying to shift responsibility for the humanitarian situation in occupied Oleshky onto Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that a “critical situation” has developed in the city.
According to the Centre, Oleshky residents are effectively trapped and do not have proper access to food and medical care. At the same time, Peskov claimed that the Ukrainian authorities supposedly “are obstructing the supply of food”. The Centre called such accusations a typical tactic of Russian propaganda.
Sybiha had previously spoken about the critical situation in Oleshky as well. According to him, civilians in the city are left without sufficient food, clean water, medicines, electricity and medical assistance. He noted that children are among those living in such conditions.