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The Kremlin’s latest propaganda guide (mobilization edition)

‘Blame the West and scapegoat the commissars’ On September 21, frantic in the wake of Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive, Vladimir Putin announced mobilization in Russia. While the response among the Russian populace has varied widely, the days since the president’s speech have seen hundreds arrested for protesting and at least a dozen arson attempts at government buildings, among other expressions of discontent. In a bid to get citizens back on their side — or at least to make them shut up — the Putin administration has sent out instructions for how the country’s propaganda outlets are to cover the mobilization campaign. Meduza summarizes the guide. Soon after Vladimir Putin announced the start of Russia’s “partial mobilization” (a misnomer, as there’s little, if anything, that’s “partial” about the Russian authorities’ conscription plan), Russian state and pro-government media outlets were issued instructions for how to cover the transformative new measure. Meduza has obtained a copy of the guide, which was compiled by the Putin administration. The document emphasizes that Russia has only won past wars when “everyone” in the country has contributed — and only when the people have believed the country is fighting a “people’s war.” Thus, the authors conclude, the media’s current task should be to convince Russians of one main idea: that “the people of Russia must unite against the NATO threat.” According to the Kremlin, the alliance is set on “dismembering and ransacking” Russia. “It’s no longer acceptable to stand on the sidelines and dump the entire burden of responsibility on contract soldiers and the Donbas people’s militias. The front line is more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) long, and Russian soldiers and Russian people are being killed by NATO mercenaries and terrorists from the Kyiv regime using NATO weapons,” write the media guide’s authors, summing up their central thesis. The document also suggests explaining the necessity of mobilization by citing the shelling of Russia’s border territories and of Crimea: “They’re already waging war against us on our own territory. We’ve gone from ‘not abandoning our own’ to protecting ourselves.” The propaganda guide also instructs the media to emphasize that Putin announced mobilization “right at the moment when it became essential and would significantly increase Russia’s ability to achieve the goals of the special military operation.” At the same time, the document explains neither what the “goals” of the “special military operation” are nor how the “special military operation” — a term invented to allow the Kremlin to insist there’s no war — can simultaneously be a “people’s war.” “Russia is by no means fighting against Ukraine — it’s fighting against NATO. The West has prohibited Kyiv from conducting negotiations with Russia. NATO intelligence agencies are gathering data about Russian territory for the purpose of ordering Ukraine to move the fighting into Russia,” the authors write. Additionally, the guide “suggests” filling media materials with “as much direct speech as possible” from residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and other occupied Ukrainian territories. The quotes should show the residents’ “enthusiasm” and “gratitude,” referring to Putin as a “protector” who “responded to people’s request.” According to the propaganda guide, these quotes should “arouse joy” among Russian audiences. Pro-Kremlin bloggers downplay mobilization The guide also calls for propaganda outlets to emphasize that mobilization will supposedly only affect “one percent” of Russia’s draftable population. The document calls the mobilization effort “minimal,” noting that only “experienced men who have served before” will be drafted. As Meduza has previously reported, these claims are false. Similar messages have already begun appearing on various social media pages throughout Russia. One video that was posted on a page for Primorsky Krai residents claims that authorities are mobilizing only the 300,000 “most highly trained” men, all of whom have purportedly served in the army. “I’m talking to you, average Sergey from Lipetsk who’s never undergone military training. You can cool your jets and drink your coffee. Nobody fucking needs you there,” says the narrator of another video. Another clip addresses “Ivan Ivanovich” — a common Russian name — and tells him to “drink your vanilla latte and carry on with your graphic design.” All of these posts are accompanied by the hashtag #DontPanic. Two sources close to the Putin administration told Meduza that Dialog, an organization created at the Russian authorities’ initiative to spread messages on topics ranging from COVID-19 vaccinations to Russia’s 2020 constitutional amendments, has been tasked with distributing the videos. Vladimir Tabak, who currently heads Dialog, did not respond to Meduza’s request for comment. According to two sources close to the Putin administration, the new propaganda package is intended to counter Russians’ “negative reaction” to the mobilization announcement. In addition, the Russian authorities hope to “redirect [draftees’ and their families’] anger” onto the country’s military commissars, who propagandists claim is “going overboard in order to curry favor, rather than working efficiently by conscripting experienced fighters.” Russian TV propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has already called for unscrupulous military commissars to “be shot.” RT head Margarita Simonyan, meanwhile, has called on Russians to report conscription officials’ violations, saying the commissars are acting “as if they’d been sent by Kyiv.” “[The plan is] to ‘highlight’ the most egregious cases — the conscriptions of people with a lot of children or of older men. Then they’ll deal with those cases and cover the consequences widely. [While] regular, able-bodied men are being mobilized,” said a source close to the Kremlin. Russian authorities are betting that propaganda will be a powerful enough tool to dampen people’s discontent at the mobilization. Nonetheless, according to Meduza’s sources, the Kremlin is “concerned” about the situation in the Caucasus — especially in Dagestan, where violent protests broke out this weekend. Sources close to the Putin administration told Meduza that authorities plan to “curb the protests” both by “peaceful means” (such as conscripting people in a more targeted manner and returning people who’ve been conscripted illegally) and “by force.” Source: meduza.io
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Police dog finds secret bunker on a sugar cane farm in Queensland amid kidnapping search

Shock moment Quincy the police dog sniffs out a secret stash of firearms hidden in an underground bunker on a sugarcane farm linked to an alleged kidnap and torture case Police dog Quincy found a hidden bunker filled with firearms last weekend The secret bunker was found during a kidnapping and torture investigation The bunker was located on a sugarcane farm in Far North Queensland on Sunday Police found 27 firearms hidden inside the secret bunker alongside the ammunition By Ashley Nickel For Daily Mail Australia | Published: 15:28 BST, 6 September 2022 A police dog named Quincy found a hidden underground bunker full of weapons while investigating an alleged small-town kidnapping and torture case. The police dog discovered the secret bunker on a sugarcane farm filled with weapons and allegedly stolen goods. Quincy discovered the secret bunker on a sugarcane farm in Far North Queensland on Sunday after a local man presented to the hospital with severe head injuries and claimed he was kidnapped. Queensland Police allege the 28-year-old man visited a property on Chettle Road, in Arriga, to meet a 27-year-old acquaintance. However, when the man arrived he was met by a 27-year-old and a 37-year-old man who was allegedly armed with guns. The man claims he was forced into a vehicle and tied up before one of the alleged gunmen hit him in the head with a rifle. The two men allegedly took the man’s wallet and damaged his car before releasing him. The 28-year-old drove to Atherton hospital where he was treated for his injuries and reported the alleged kidnapping to police. Quincy was part of the team searching the property after the arrests and sniffed out the bunker which was filled to the brim with weapons. Quincy sniffed out the bunker, hidden under a pile of hay while searching the property. Inside the hidden bunker, police found 27 firearms and ‘thousands of rounds of ammunition as well as illegal drugs. Police found 27 firearms, ‘thousands of rounds of ammunition, jewelry, watches, cannabis, methylamphetamine, and the 28-year-old’s allegedly stolen items. Police visited the property later that day and arrested the 27-year-old and a 37-year-old man. The 27-year-old man was charged with one count each of armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, torture, assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage, and two counts of possessing a dangerous drug. Alongside the weapons, police found jewelry, watches, cannabis, methylamphetamine, and the 28-year-old’s allegedly stolen items in the secret bunker. Police arrested both men allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and torture of the 28-year-old man before finding the bunker. The 37-year-old man was charged with two counts of acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm and one count each of armed robbery, deprivation of liberty, torture, assault occasioning bodily harm, unlawful possession of a weapon, threatening violence with a firearm, and willful damage. Both men remain in custody and are due to reappear in Court on November 11. Police are still investigating the located firearms. Source: ExpressDigest.com
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IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that a backup power line between the country’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and a nearby thermal power station was deliberately disconnected today in order to extinguish a fire, but the line itself was not damaged. The ZNPP continues to receive the electricity it needs for safety from its sole operating reactor. After the ZNPP’s connection to its last remaining operational 750 kilovolts (kV) line was lost late on Friday, the 330 kV reserve line had been used to deliver electricity from the ZNPP to the grid. Ukraine informed IAEA that this backup line will be reconnected once the fire has been extinguished. One of the ZNPP’s six reactors continues to produce the electricity the plant requires for cooling and other nuclear safety functions. The reactor will be connected to the grid when the 330 kV line is switched on again. Also today, four IAEA experts left the ZNPP as planned after several days of essential nuclear safety, security and safeguards work. Two others are staying to maintain a continuing IAEA presence at the site, enabling the Agency to observe the situation there and provide independent assessments. The six experts arrived at the ZNPP on 1 September as part of a team led by Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi that crossed the frontline to establish the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) at the plant in southern Ukraine. The ZNPP is held by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff is continuing to operate the plant. The IAEA experts on the ground have been assessing the physical damage at the ZNPP, determining the functionality of the main and backup nuclear safety and security systems, and evaluating the staff’s working conditions as well as the plant’s current emergency response capacities, among other important activities. Over the past few days, safeguards inspectors have also performed urgent safeguards activities on the site. The plant’s Ukrainian staff told the IAEA experts today that they plan to repair the 750 kV line that went down on Friday but that it would take several days to do so. A secure off-site power supply from the grid and backup power supply systems are essential for ensuring nuclear safety. This requirement is among the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that the Director General outlined at the beginning of the conflict. Over the past month, there have been numerous shelling incidents at or near the ZNPP, causing damage at the facility and raising widespread concern about the risk of a severe nuclear accident potentially jeopardizing human health and the environment. Shelling at the ZNPP on 1 September damaged an oil tank containing turbine lubrication oil, and there was renewed shelling today. Director General Grossi will on Tuesday issue a report about the nuclear safety, security, and safeguards situation in Ukraine – including the findings from the mission to the ZNPP – and later the same day brief the United Nations Security Council about the mission to the plant. Source: iaea.org
>>Read more

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