Kremlin waging propaganda campaign marking 12th anniversary of so-called “DPR” – CCD

According to Ukrinform, this was reported on Telegram by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

“Russia has launched a large-scale propaganda campaign in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region to mark the 12th anniversary of the proclamation of the so-called ‘DPR.’ Motor rallies, mass events, and ‘patriotic’ initiatives are being organized. The most widely covered event in occupation media was an action in Donetsk, where a convoy of trucks was arranged to form the symbolic number 12. Such events are accompanied by typical narratives about the ‘historical choice of Donbas’ and the ‘will of the people,’” the statement reads.

At the same time, it is noted that Russian propaganda conceals key facts. In particular, the role of Russian militants and special forces who in 2014 arrived in large numbers from Russia and participated in the seizure of administrative buildings in the Donetsk region. These actions became the starting point for the subsequent occupation of the region.

Propagandists also avoid mentioning life in the region before the start of Russian aggression, when the Donetsk region was one of Ukraine’s key industrial centers with a strong economy and developed infrastructure. Instead, during the years of occupation, the region has degraded to the level of a depressed “Russian hinterland.”

Active involvement of young people in such events has a very pragmatic goal. These individuals have grown up under occupation and do not remember life in the Ukrainian Donbas. Therefore, it is easier for the occupying authorities to impose a distorted perception of the events of 2014 and present-day reality, the CCD emphasized.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, the “authorities” in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region plan to develop “military-historical tourism.”