We explored 225 Telegram channels including news resources and the channels of official authorities sharing content for the temporarily Russia-controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. We collected the total of 6,984 posts mentioning the coming pseudo elections. Based on the obtained data, we identified topics and narratives of propagandists about the pseudo elections, and estimated the frequency of mentioning political parties. We detected that Russians posted suspiciously similar texts to promote candidates in different regions.

The team of the Civil Network OPORA is telling about the life of de-occupied communities: what Russians left behind, and what issues local authorities need to address in the first place to be able to bring back people and normal life. This time, the story is about Snihurivka (Mykolayiv Oblast) that has been under the occupation for eight months. Russians used Snihurivka to continue their advance to Mykolayiv. That is why the de-occupation of the place was a precondition for the liberation of Kherson by the Ukrainian army, last November. 

On September 21, in a friendly and sincere atmosphere, we presented the renewed OPORA. We changed from the outside and are willed with a renewed mission. OPORA not only works in the field of elections but has grown up, rethinks the problem of choice and focuses on the topics of security and justice.

Last week (September 18–24), partners announced about the military assistance to Ukraine worth several million USD. The nearest batch for Ukraine includes, among other things, additional air defense systems, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery shells, and, possibly, the long-range ATACMS missiles. New York hosted a high-level week of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, when leaders of some countries supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemned Russian aggression. Russia had not helped their ally Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan, enabling Baku for the successful military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the other hand, Georgia’s ruling party accused Ukraine of supporting forces willing to stage a coup in the country, and initiated impeachment of the country’s pro-European President. 

In recent years, Telegram has become one of the main platforms for the spread of Russian propaganda and disinformation – primarily due to the lack of censorship and weak content moderation. Although this service is popular mainly in Ukraine and the Russian Federation, it is also used in other countries. However, pro-Russian channels that broadcast narratives favorable to the Kremlin are waiting for foreigners in Telegram. Civil Network OPORA investigated pro-Russian Telegram channels that work for the Western audience and the connections between them.

Today, millions of Ukrainian people stay out of country because of the full-scale Russian aggression. The numbers keep growing. According to the Ukrainian border guard service, every month, about 40,000 Ukrainian citizens are leaving with no return. According to the UN, the numbers are even higher: over 200,000.

Last week (September 11–17), Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, who supported the Kremlin in its “holy struggle” against “hegemonic forces.” However, the Russian Federation and the DPRK have not signed any agreements, at least officially. Also, the Russians once again stated that they were allegedly ready for peace talks, but did not forget about the ultimatums: Ukraine must agree to the occupation of part of its territories.  The Council of Europe adopted a declaration with the principles of transparent and effective functioning of the previously created International Register of Damage Caused by Russia's Aggression against Ukraine. Several EU members bordering the aggressor country banned vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory. On the other hand, Ukraine systematically attacks the Russian Black Sea Fleet with the sea drones. In total, the Defense Forces destroyed or damaged more than 20 Russian warships, including 5 last week. Among them, there is a large landing ship "Minsk" and the submarine "Rostov-on-Don".

Over 100 CSOs signed a statement about the impossibility of holding elections during the active phase of the war, and urge international partners to increase support for Ukraine to make sure the war ends in victory as soon as possible, and the democratic elections become feasible.