For half a year now, the information field in Ukraine has been filled with statements from world leaders about the future of peace. These statements often contradict each other. Especially such statements were noted by US President Donald Trump.
Against the background of constant brutal shelling of Ukrainian cities and pressure from the enemy at the front, this information avalanche is disorienting. There is a misunderstanding of what is happening. Especially now, when the media is discussing the future peace agreement prepared by the United States, where Ukraine allegedly has to give up territories. Such an information field is a favorable environment for the dissemination of Russian propaganda, because people who are physically and emotionally exhausted are easier to manipulate.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers continues to monitor the information component of the Russian offensive in the Donetsk region in order to extinguish the spread of misinformation and the emotions it causes.
“The initial phase of the final victory”. Strategy
Propaganda media write about the “large-scale offensive of the Russian army in the SVA zone” and its strategic objectives for this summer campaign. Russian propaganda online newspaper Gazeta.ru, citing retired colonel and military expert Khodaryonk, says that the Russian army is tasked with “achieving results by September 3.” They say, for this “great goal” in the “DPRK, parts are being formed to send to the zone” to defeat the enemy group. Thus, the Kremlin authorities plan to “create pressure on the position of the Ukrainian side in possible peace talks.”
Chasiv Yar. Propaganda in advance
Against the background of these statements, Russian propagandists and war bloggers spread victorious messages to the Russian media and the public, as well as connect the Kremlin's ranks abroad. For each audience, the Kremlin authorities have their own set of propaganda channels.
On the morning of July 31, 2025, Russia announced the capture of the city of Chasiv Yar, fighting for which has been going on since the spring of 2024. It is not the first time that Russia has claimed the capture of Time Yar, but the city is still almost completely destroyed continue heavy fighting. In June, it was the year that the defense of the Time Yar is held by the 24th Brigade named after King Daniel. The press officer of the team is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers Oleg Petrasyuk.
He told UAPP, what is the situation in the city: “Now, as of today, the units have been behind the canal for a year. The front line there is quite dynamic: 300 meters ahead, 300 - back. Some positions are lost, some are restored. And for a year now we have been fighting in this mode. In fact, the situation is not very optimistic: on the one hand, there are no territorial gains, on the other hand, when we entered, everyone said that the Days of Yar and Moon would not last. And he's been around for a year.”
“Vojenkor (Piddubny) announces decisive battle for Donbas after taking Time Yar”(“Lenta.ru”).
Headlines such as “the initial phase of the final victory”, “the beginning of the complete defeat of the Armed Forces”, “Ukraine will not be able to break the course of the SVA” are spread throughout the information space. Different formulations claim the same thing in order to create the picture necessary for the Kremlin — the inevitable loss of Ukraine.
“Apparently, the long-awaited decisive summer offensive of Russian troops in Ukraine has begun,” writes Channel Visionary.(“Gazeta.ru”).
Propagandists rub their hands: after taking the Time Yar, Russian troops will bypass Konstantinovka from the flanks.“Our units have already been able to bypass the city on both sides, take control of the road that feeds this settlement, isolate the area of hostilities, that is, make it difficult to transport ammunition and rotate personnel”, — quotes a “military expert” Russian online publication “RG.RU”.
“After the Time Yar — the attack on Konstantinovka: when the Russian Armed Forces will close the Donetsk and Kharkiv fronts”(“Ukraine.ru”).
The propaganda site “Ukraina.ru” continues the winning rhetoric: “We must use the height of the Time Yar to work not only on Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, but also on Siversk, which is also in the lowlands”.
Pokrovsk — Slovyansk. Preparing for defeat
One of the popular narratives used by the Kremlin in relation to events on the front is narratives about the “surrender” of territories. “Military-political expert” from France, Kremlin spokesman Xavier Moreau spreads this narrative in a conversation with Ukraine.ru, reflecting on the fate of the city of Pokrovsk.
“I think there will be no frontal attack, the city will be surrounded. Ukrainian troops will flee, even if they do not receive an order,” the expert said about the possible development of events near Pokrovsk (Chervonoarmiysk).
However, thanks to the heroic efforts of the Ukrainian defenders, Pokrovsk remains under the Ukrainian flag, despite the significant superiority of the Russians in manpower, drones, aviation and other weapons.
Propaganda publics continue to intimidate, cause panic in frontline cities: “There is a massive exodus of all administrative resources. The authorities remove or destroy all official documentation. Now the power in Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk is in the hands of the Ukrainian military, as well as the national police”, — writes the Russian media “Lenta.ru” with reference to the Russian military.
“The administration of Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk leaves the cities in a panic” (“Ukraine.ru”).
In fact, even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, several departments of the Donetsk Regional Administration for document circulation, accounting and other office and organizational matters were moved to the city of Dnipro. This was reported by the Ukrainian online media “Social Donbas” with reference to the comment of the head of Donetsk OVA Vadim Filashkin on the air of the “Unified News” tele-marathon on August 6, 2025.
The publication reported: “Personally, I, my deputies, heads of structural units are on the ground, as are the heads of military administrations — local, district. We work in the region, we help the defense forces, we build defensive lines, we prepare the region for the heating season,” the head of the OVA said.
August 11, 2025 Ukrainian analytical OSINT project Deepstate reported about the significant advance of a group of Russian troops near Dobropillia, in the Pokrovsky direction.
Russian analyst bloggers picked up on Ukrainian media claims of a breakthrough and began to create their agenda, saying that the Russian military is now in breakthrough places “Develop success”(“Lenta.ru”).
General Staff of the Armed Forces objected reports of an alleged breakthrough by Russian troops near Dobropillia. According to the spokesman of the Operational and Strategic Group of Forces “Dnipro”, Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Tregubov, the Russians are now using the tactic of infiltration by small groups past the first line of defense of the Armed Forces. This happened near Dobropillia. A small enemy group bypassed Ukrainian positions and tried to hide in the Ukrainian rear, but the Defense Forces repelled such attempts. A similar situation occurred a week ago with the passage of a small DRG group in Pokrovsk, which was not successful for the enemy.
“For part of the front in the Pokrovsky direction “Azov” corps will now be responsible for the defense of Dobropillia, and Pokrovsk itself will be held by DSHV units. On strengthening and sending reserves to these defensive lines August 12 reported General Staff. Currently, the best Ukrainian UAV units participate in the defense of these territories”, — informs Website BBC Ukraine.
The Russians are pressing on the Pokrovsky and Novopavlovsk directions, groping for weaknesses to break through the Ukrainian defense. In other areas in Donetsk region, they expect the collapse of defense: “We will eventually break this opposition. Our parts will break through in the area of Kupyansk, Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka, then the trap will be closed. After the fall of the agglomeration, the enemy will no longer be able to gain a foothold”— writes the propaganda edition “Argumenty i Fakty” (“AiF”).
An article in the propagandistic online newspaper “Ukraina.ru” entitled “Why Russia should not go to the conclusion of the “Shoromitsky peace” demanded by the American president, claims that “Ukraine is on the verge of complete defeat, so it is senseless and criminal to conclude peace or truce with it”.
So, while Russia asks the United States for five Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, promising to stop the war, propagandists are thinking about further conquering Ukrainian territories.
“I believe that by the end of this year we should completely clean Donetsk region, Zaporozhye region, Kherson region and create buffer zones in Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy,” Matviychuk said.(propaganda online publication Absatz.media).
The situation in Donetsk region is very difficult, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces are doing everything to weaken and stop the offensive potential of the Russian army.
“Brain Breaks for Ukrainian Generals”. Tactics
Russia has changed the tactics of fighting, in particular in the Pokrovsky direction, when the army does not storm into the front, but advances in small groups. And also changed the tactics of air attacks, several times intensified attacks with drones, while hitting with a small number of missiles point-blank, trying to destroy the rear and communications with massive strikes.
Discussing the possible tactics of the Russian army in Donetsk region, bloggers and propagandists promise “a brain drain for Ukrainian generals”. (“AIF”).
“The destruction of important objects of Ukraine's economy may well look like a complete destruction of the country's energy system — based on similar actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the new Russian regions. Plans for the destruction of communications may include strikes on railway lines, junction stations, bridge crossings over the Dnieper River. Hypothetically, strikes on hydraulic structures on the Dnieper are not excluded”(“Gazeta.ru”).
Blow on Lozova
Lozova is a city in the south of Kharkiv region, a nodal railway station located on the border of the Southern, Pridnepr and Donetsk railways.
On the night of August 5, 2025, the Russian army massively attacked Lozova, using 34 drones. Head of Kharkiv Regional State Administration Oleg Synegubov stated, that the city experienced the most massive attack since the beginning of the war. The railway, the station, the power plant suffered extensive damage, high-rise buildings and the private sector were also damaged. Two people died. Among the wounded were two children.
The propaganda publication “AiF” claims that by striking Lozova, the Russian army disrupted supplies to the Armed Forces group. The publication says that ammunition is delivered to the city, and warehouses are placed in Lozova itself, drones are collected, equipment is repaired.
Russian so-called “military experts” note that transport hubs, as well as warehouses located there, and all infrastructure are very important targets. “Now on all such nodal stations and further closer to the line of battle, modernized geraniums and missiles are striking.”— writes “AIF”.
Lozova, they say “one of the main rear centers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, from which several groups of the Kiev army were supplied at once”. We are talking about parts and units near Kupyansk, along the line Konstantinivka-Kramatorsk and Pokrovsky direction. They say that in this way they (Russians) are trying to break the connection between Kharkiv and Donetsk region.
“The destruction of Lozova in combination with attacks on other nodes (Sinelnykove, Merefa, Slavyansk) can paralyze railway communication in eastern Ukraine, making it difficult to transfer reserves, equipment and ammunition”(“Ukraine.ru”).
Russians threaten new strikes on Lozova to finally “break the link between Kharkov and Donbas”.
In the context of the attack on Lozova, propagandists mention other transport links and logistics hubs. One of these nodes is Estuary. They say that the liberation of Lyman is a key task of the Russian army in this direction within the framework of the larger goal - to knock out the Ukrainian army from the “DPR”, the “LPR”. The Russians are trying to block the logistics routes in the Pokrovsky direction, storming the town of Rodinskoye, which lies on an important logistics route.
Propaganda boasts that the Dobropilly-Kramatorsk highway has become a “road of death” due to the use of Russian drones. They call drones their “key factor of victory.”
Russian fiber-optic drones keep the track under fire control. That is why the Ukrainian military was forced to block the route with anti-drone nets. Today it is the only land supply route for the city of Kostiantynivka. Since July 16, 2025, the road T0514 Dobropilla-Kramatorsk is closed for civil transport.
Strike on Druzhkivka
Another tactic, which, according to the propaganda, “can undermine the combat capability of the Armed Forces” is strikes on the Territorial Competence and Social Support Centers (TCC and SP).
The Russians took into account the public interest in the topic in the Ukrainian information space and, disguised as a noble cause, and not their own interests, shifted responsibility for the shelling to the Ukrainian authorities: “The expulsion of people from Ukraine is solely through the efforts of Kiev. Within the framework of total mobilization, Ukrainian military enlistments are massively catching civilians on the streets of Ukrainian cities and sending them to the front line, where “there will be no terms of service”, as Volodymyr Zelensky recently stated”, — distributes the propaganda telegram channel “War with fakes”.
Since the beginning of the war, a whole information-psychological special operation has been deployed against the CCP: dissemination of anti-mobilization narratives in social networks, arson of military cars, sabotage against soldiers in rear cities, explosions of homemade devices in the TCC.
One such strike, when Russia announced an attack on the TCC, took place in Druzhkivka on August 2, 2025. At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities did not confirm this information.
“The blow in the Ukrainian Druzhkivka fell exactly on the TCC”(“Ukraine.ru”).
On August 2, a day off, Russia massively hit the market in Druzhkivka, Donetsk region, using thirteen strike drones. How reported national police, as a result of the attack recorded eight hits. Two residential buildings, a shopping complex, three administrative buildings, a shop and nine civilian cars were damaged. Seven people were injured.
The consequences of the shelling of Druzhkivka were recorded by photographer Oleg Petrasyuk.
The “Aurora” store in Druzhkivka was damaged by shelling. Store administration reported in the social network “X” that the enemy attacked near the store “Aurora”, but the fire spread to the premises of the store.
“Earlier, the Russian command did not consider the CCP a priority target, but the Ukrainian public itself called for the bombing of “Ludolovs””— writes “AIF”.
Russian “experts” are sure that “Such strikes cause Ukrainians to feel gratitude for Russia's actions and disrupt mobilization processes”. In this case, propagandists use the concept substitution technique when they claim that they do not want to kill Ukrainians, and therefore kill Ukrainians: “When we destroy the CCP, we save the lives of people who are forcibly sent to the front. This is a very good psychological action. Thanks to him, Ukrainians understand that we do not want to kill them”, — military analyst Alexei Leonkov in a conversation with AIF.
Such messages are designed to divide Ukrainians into “we” and “they”, to set civilians against the military and the authorities.
Ukrainian online edition “Media Detector” explains what strikes on the TCC actually are: “Territorial centers of equipment and social support are part of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, for the most part, the TCC and JV buildings are located in residential buildings, and attacks on them result in civilian casualties, which the Russians allegedly protect. In addition, among the employees of the TCC and JV there are civilians, and they also provide services to civilians, not just military or military servicemen. As a result, attacks on TCC and SP are no different from indiscriminate shelling of civilian infrastructure.”
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk
The Russian army actively uses guided air bombs in the frontline territories. On July 31, 2025, in the afternoon, the Russian army dropped an air bomb on a five-story building in the center of Kramatorsk. About it from the scene told Head of Donetsk Military Administration Vadim Filashkin. At least four people were killed and thirteen others were injured.
Russia was spreading a fake about the attack, trying to disabuse itself of the responsibility of setting people up against the Ukrainian military.
Referring to local residents and telegram channels, but hiding the real source of information, the Russians claimed that the Armed Forces again equipped a warehouse with ammunition right in a residential building - on the ground floor, in the premises of a former store. As a result, a powerful explosion occurred, which completely destroyed the building. “There were no attacks on the house.”, — says the propaganda telegram channel “Second Ukraine”.
“Residential building in Kramatorsk destroyed as a result of self-detonation of the Armed Forces warehouse in the shop on the ground floor”(“Ukraine.ru”).
The consequences of the attack on the house in the center of Kramatorsk were recorded by the photojournalist of the Internet “Telegraph” Jan Dobronosov. He visited the city on August 3, 2025.
“This is not footage from the film. Unfortunately, this is the center of Kramatorsk. On July 31, when there was a massive attack on Kiev, Kramatorsk was also attacked by the enemy. In general, shelling here is now every day and night, everything is getting denser.” wrote Ian on his Facebook.
In a comment to the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, the photojournalist said that he clearly saw the consequences of enemy shelling and can confidently say that it was a strong blow. “I'm not military to say it was a drone, missile or bomb, but I have enough experience to say it was enemy fire. This is the very center of the city, an ordinary residential building, where only civilians lived,” says Jan Dobronosov and adds, “besides, the place for filming was open.”
And already on July 8, 2025, Russian media and telegram channels began to spread false information about the alleged sabotage prepared by the SBU in Kramatorsk.
“Kyiv is preparing a provocation in the maternity hospital according to the Mariupol scenario — adviser to the head of the DNR”(“Ukraine.ru”).
The propagandist Yulia Vityazeva in her Telegram channel said that the warning about the possible sabotage in the maternity hospital was placed due to a request from the doctors of this institution. Instead, the local authorities had plans to use part of the house for the needs of the Armed Forces. It is justified in advance, if there is a blow, it will be a sabotage of the SBU: “At the same time, Ukraine will use the blow to accuse Russia of attacks on civilians and ask for money and air defense”.
Center for Combating Disinformation (CPD) warns that such information leaks may indicate Russia's intentions to commit another war crime on the territory of Ukraine. Analysts at the center say this tactic of “information alibi” has long been used by Russian propaganda to justify attacks on civilians.
It is worth noting that Russia systematically blackmails people from Ukrainian cities and has a habit of tying the shelling to negotiations and important meetings at the international level.
“I think it would be best to evacuate this maternity ward. And do not accept future mothers there. It is better to give birth in the entrance than to be with your child a starting material in another Ukrainian provocation”.
While the Ukrainian military heroically defends every piece of Ukrainian land, world leaders make loud statements about the war in Ukraine every day. There are many statements, but there is not the most important thing - a just peace for Ukrainians. How writes international news agency Bloomberg News, the armistice agreement being discussed by the United States and Russia will ensure Russia's gains, that is, give it a victory that its army has not been able to achieve militarily since the start of a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Photographer Serhiy Korovaynyi, who is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, expressed opinion on his Facebook page under a series of photos from Donetsk region on the discussion of the future fate of the region: “This is the Donetsk region. As of the summer of 2025, Ukraine controls about a third of its territory. But it's not just a line on a map. For many, this is home. Bread is baked here in the morning. Children grow up. Dogs swear at their owners. Fruits and vegetables ripen in the gardens. On warm evenings, teenagers wage fierce football battles. People bathe in sun-heated lakes. Some cities, like Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka, have almost lost all signs of life. The Russian army came too close. But they remain under the control of the SOU, and Ukraine is losing the best people in these defense operations. Other cities like Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, live a life that seems almost peaceful. There are rumors that US President Donald Trump may hold talks with Putin about the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Ukraine-controlled part of the Donetsk region. This should never happen. Donetsk region is not for sale and exchange. The Donetsk region is Ukraine.”
The British Newspaper The Guardian in an editorial debunks the myth of Putin as a strong leader who is well established in the West. The publication suggests that Putin cannot end the war because he has a paranoid dependence on war: “It seems that there is no brilliant plan behind Mr. Putin's determination to continue the brutal war of attrition.He does it through inertia and paranoia. [...] History will certainly remember Mr. Putin's behavior in Ukraine as the act of a vicious killer. The myth of the Russian president as a genius is just another propaganda tool. Its function is to project strength where there is weakness and to make victory seemingly inevitable at a time when the facts of war describe a series of Kremlin failures.
Contributors:
Researcher, author: Yana Yevmenova
Image editor: Olga Kovaleva
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
Website manager: Vladislav Kukhar
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