"Do you want a civil war?" How Russia tailors propaganda for every Ukrainian

Espreso provides an English translation of the analytical material by Texty.org.

“Well, Ukrainians, have you realized yet that this is genocide?” “Where are we headed?” “Isn’t the war with Russia enough for you? Do you want a civil war?” — these are the questions thousands of so-called "people’s experts" ask in videos posted on social media daily.

Each of these “experts” comments on current issues or events (mostly in Ukrainian), presenting their own version of “how things really are.” They manipulate facts and spread disinformation, crafting narratives that instill fear and despair while echoing Russian propaganda.

These individuals take on various personas: "a simple young guy," "an athlete," "a village man," "a hotshot entrepreneur," "a worn-out military man," "a skinny philosopher," "a sincere patriot," "a blonde asking stupid questions," "an experienced journalist," "a bossy brunette," "a bald man who knows life," "a simple village woman," "a respectable expert," and many more.

For the most part, these commentators appear to be real people, though some resemble AI-generated characters. For example, the brunette with glasses in the collage above seems to be an AI creation, aggressively criticizing the authorities, recruitment centers, and the West—everyone except the Russian government and military—using foul language.

“Betrayal” for all

A common theme is the discrediting of mobilization, achieved through manipulative retellings of real stories and violations at recruitment centers (‘busification’ (forced mobilization under an accelerated procedure – ed.), beatings, attempts to mobilize those who have deferment from military service, etc.).

Almost every video includes additional messages that Russian propaganda has been pushing in Ukraine since 2014, but with arguments tailored to the realities of war (below is a list of messages aimed at specific social groups).

For those liable for military service and their families, emotional stories are shared about the cruelty of the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC).

Veterans are told that no one cares about them, while active military personnel hear that they have no one to fight for and no purpose in continuing the fight.

The elderly are repeatedly told that the government has abandoned them to die, and rural residents are warned that they are being driven off their land to make room for migrants who will exploit them as slaves.

Volunteers are told that their donations, along with Western aid, are being stolen by the authorities. Workers at the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC) are promised that when the authorities flee, they will be handed over and face a people's court.

Supporters of Poroshenko are told that Zelenskyy surrendered the Crimean isthmus to Putin, allowing him free access to southern Ukraine.

Supporters of Zelenskyy are told that Poroshenko is involved in the destruction of military depots and profiting from the war.

In addition to the hatred directed at the Territorial Recruitment Centers (TRC), several key messages consistently appear across all the videos:

• The Ukrainian authorities are destroying the people to clear the land of Ukrainians.
• Ukraine is in decline, with the threat of civil war looming, and the military is on the verge of turning their weapons against the government.
• Elections are coming, and the government must be replaced by one that seeks peace.
• Ukraine has no future, nothing to hold onto, and no one to protect.
• The West wants to take over Ukraine and divide its resources, with future generations of Ukrainians condemned to slave labor in exchange for current Western assistance.

The mobilization is labeled as "genocide in the center of Europe," Ukraine is referred to as a "concentration camp" or "Gulag," Ukrainians are called "serfs" and "slaves," and the government is accused of being "genocidal."

“This is for their lawlessness!”

An anonymous user, Mykola Khomych, with an empty profile featuring the Ukrainian trident and flag, posted a link to one of these videos in the local Facebook group Apelsyn (eng. Orange) for residents of Lubny and Pyriatyn, cities in north-eastern Ukraine. Last week, the group was discussing the murder of a TRC employee.

What's in the video?

A young man, filmed in selfie format, quickly and aggressively argues that the authorities are responsible for the murder of the TRC worker in Pyriatyn, as well as for the arsons and explosions at recruitment centers in other Ukrainian cities.

“Hello, hello!” the video’s author asserts confidently. “Have you heard the news? About Kharkiv? That a TRC was blown up with a grenade launcher in Kharkiv! In Rivne, a TRC was blown up! In Pavlohrad, a TRC was blown up!”

In reality, the incident in Kharkiv wasn’t a grenade attack — it was a shelling that occurred back in 2014. However, the narrator misrepresents this event by grouping it with the more recent explosions in Rivne and Pavlohrad to amplify the narrative.

“And what is all this for?” the man in the video demands. “This is all for their lawlessness, what they’re doing!” he explains with conviction. “Isn’t the war with Russia enough for you? Do you want a civil war in the country or what?” he adds at the end.

In reality, the terrorist attacks on territorial recruitment centers are orchestrated by Russian special services, which are actively seeking potential perpetrators among Ukrainians and offering them money (as highlighted in a recent publication by Texty.org.ua).

Anonyms come running on the topic of TRCs

"Most of the hateful comments against TRC employees or police in our group are posted from empty or private accounts," says Vadym Kyrpychenko, a journalist, editor of a local media outlet, former military man, and administrator of the Facebook group Apelsyn. He deleted a comment with a link to the video mentioned above about an hour after it was posted.

"We moderate comments as much as we can," he told Texty.org.ua. "There are certain keywords in the group that trigger notifications. Then the administrators review them and decide whether to delete them. Sometimes other group members report them. We’ve noticed that when a topic like this arises, dozens of new users from different cities suddenly start joining the group, many of whom have anonymous or newly created profiles. That’s why we limit the commenting rights for newcomers."

According to the administrator's observations, anonymous users who express hatred towards mobilization by TRCs often use patriotic avatars but promote pro-Russian rhetoric:

"We’ve analyzed that many users in the group who comment against the mobilization often use words like 'Maidan,' 'pots,' 'that’s what Maidan brings you,' 'America rules us,' and so on."

Note: The Revolution of Dignity or Maidan Uprising, refers to a series of protests in Ukraine that began in November 2013, triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to suspend an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia. The term "Maidan" has since been used by some in a derogatory sense, particularly by pro-Russian groups.

These are traditional themes of Russian propaganda, which, according to long-term research by Texty.org.ua, have been spreading in Ukraine since 2014.

Vadym Kyrpychenko mentions that there are very few locals in the group who oppose mobilization:

“They usually rarely comment because they’re afraid of the consequences. But they do like comments from fake accounts. Although some locals hide behind anonymous profiles to spread fake news. We already know who these anonymous users are.”

Bot archive

Mykola Vidlyha's personal profile, which appears to be a bot (anonymous, patriotic avatar), has 59,000 followers on Facebook and functions as an archive for such videos. It was from this profile that another anonymous user shared the video about the "explosions in the TRCs" to the local Apelsyn community.

Russian propaganda bot on Facebook

Every day, dozens of videos with thousands of hidden shares are posted to this profile, including in the largest Ukrainian Facebook groups. Similar content is also shared on the TikTok and Telegram channels listed in the profile header.

A significant portion of the content focuses on the mobilization and actions of TRC employees, whom the video authors derogatorily refer to as "techekashniks." However, there are other topics covered as well.

Some authors speak to the camera in a relaxed manner, naturally using surzyk (a hybrid language spoken in Ukraine that blends elements of Ukrainian and Russian), frequently incorporating phrases like “look at what's going on,” “look, here's the deal,” “friends, I'll tell you this,” “I don’t even know how to comment on this,” and so on. Others speak more stiffly, with eyes shifting as if reading from a screen.

Although the delivery seems relaxed and improvisational, it’s clear that all the texts are carefully scripted: a skillful blend of real facts and fiction, key arguments, and figures (sometimes displayed on the screen), mixed with interpretations and emotions.

There are many emotional exclamations in these videos: “Are they fucking crazy?”, “Do they want a civil war?”, “Where are we headed to?”, “What are you doing, animals?”, “Who should we fight for?”, “What is happening now, do you see?”, “You already understand where it's all going,” and so on.

Each of the authors produces hundreds of videos, commenting on everything in a style that aligns with their chosen role. The news is woven into a broader narrative, and manipulations are used to make the arguments seem more credible.

For example, a man stripped to the waist with a cross around his neck ("skinny philosopher") speaks in the tone of a weary father, claiming that "Elon Musk wants to destroy Ukrainians because they are capable of better inventions than he is," among other similar theories. Another video claims that “USAID has allocated five billion dollars to orchestrate the Maidan in Ukraine.”

Another “expert” claims that USAID paid Ukrainian media to remain silent about the “arbitrariness of the TRC” and to help the authorities kill Ukrainians.

In reality, independent Ukrainian media do report on forced mobilization, irregularities in the work of the TRCs, and problems within the army. However, the quality and tone of these reports are vastly different from the manipulative videos.

Overall, these videos bring bad news for almost every Ukrainian. They target the most sensitive issues, offering their own conclusions and interpretations. These are classic techniques of Russian propaganda that have been used in Ukraine for the past ten years.

As of April 2024, about 14 million Ukrainians (37% of the population) use Facebook, according to Meta data. The majority of these users are older individuals, including many pensioners. This represents a significant portion of the electorate, not all of whom are able to recognize manipulation and propaganda in these “revelations of ordinary people.”

List of manipulative talking points

We have reviewed only 20 videos out of thousands that are distributed every day and found several dozen talking points aimed at different recipients.

Those who evade mobilization

There is a threat of civil war in Ukraine because of the actions of TRCs.

TRCs kill and injure civilians.

TRCs are the real enemy.

The authorities allowed TRCs to shoot at civilians.

The mobilized are sent to the front immediately and die there.

The mobilized go missing.

The bodies of the dead mobilized are simply dumped into pits.

Ukrainians are serfs, forced by the authorities to defend their wealth from the Russians.

Military commissariats and policemen are killing hundreds of Ukrainians in TRCs.

The mobilization has completely failed, no one needs it, only the authorities need the war.

Not a single employee of TRCs will be punished for beatings and “busification”.

The bill on the criminal responsibility of TRC employees is fake.

TRC employees are not punished for violations, while a man who insulted them was sentenced to six years.

The man who insulted the TRC employee is the nation's golden gene pool, an athlete, a non-smoker, a non-drinker.

It was not a murder of a TRC worker in Pyriatyn, it was self-defense, and everyone has the right to do so.

There is too much noise about the murder of the TRC employee, while thousands are dying at the front every day and no one mentions it.

How long are we going to tolerate these actions of the “genocidal dictatorship,” we must resist.

Mobilization is a genocide in the center of Europe committed by the Ukrainian authorities.

Power in Ukraine belongs to the people. TRC employees, like other officials, are not the government.

TRC employees do not have the right to bear arms, they are not military personnel at all.

TRCs are an incomprehensible organization that the authorities unlawfully give the right to shoot at civilians.

TRC employees are bribe-takers, they have never fought at front lines, they are career military who take bribes.

Military personnel

There is no one to fight for, no one to protect.

While we are fighting, the government is destroying the country.

We need to turn our weapons around and take on the government.

The military must protect themselves from those who violate their rights, from the authorities and commanders.

Commanders profit from the military, sending them to their deaths.

There is the same level of corruption at the front as elsewhere.

Trump will force Zelenskyy to sign a surrender, and he will blame the military for the loss.

The military is being held hostage, unable to leave the front to restore order in the country.

Zaluzhnyi ordered the withdrawal of troops the day before the invasion and did not warn about mobilization. Zaluzhnyi's generals betrayed him, did not report to the president about the real situation and real threats.

The authorities are imprisoning soldiers who stand up for justice.

Commanders shoot those who refuse to go to certain death.

There is no need to defend the police officers and MPs who are excluded from military service.

There is no need to defend the TRC employees who have never fought, but only take bribes.

The Ukrainian government is the same as the Russian government, there is no point in defending it.

Veterans

Veterans gave their lives protecting TRC employees, but the latter do not help them to apply for disability.

The government despises veterans and serves “staff rats.”

Career soldiers do not fight, but sit in headquarters, and the government protects them.

No one cares about wounded soldiers: neither the government nor the commanders.

Relatives of the military and those who evade mobilization

Mobilized relatives will go missing, they will be buried in pits, and you will never find them.

Soldiers return from the front as drug addicts and spend their vacations in brothels.

The Ukrainian government supplies drugs to the military at the front.

Pensioners

Health care does not exist, the government is destroying us.

Health care is not available in Ukraine without money.

The government is constantly raising prices and tariffs.

The government does not allow men to earn a living because they have to stay at home because of the threat of mobilization.

The children of poor parents are mobilized, while the rich profit from the war.

Business and entrepreneurs

The government is raising taxes.

The government is changing taxation rules to collect more fines.

The government is robbing us.

The criminal authorities are raising excise taxes, and we need to re-elect them as soon as possible.

The government plans to ban cash circulation.

Dissatisfied with the government

The government is robbing us.

There is censorship in Ukraine.

The government is lying with the help of the national TV marathon and “paid journalists.”

The state needs to be dismantled and rebuilt.

Russian and Ukrainian special services are the same, the government uses them to incite hatred and control the population.

The government has accumulated debts while receiving Western aid, embezzled this aid and enriched itself on it, and ordinary people, their children and grandchildren will pay the price.

Rise up against the authorities, do not be afraid to defend your rights.

Pessimists

The Ukrainian government despises the people, keeps people as slaves, and oligarchs force Ukrainians to protect their wealth.

Ukraine is a concentration camp where people's rights are violated.

No president of Ukraine has ever been trustworthy.

The situation is catastrophic, everything is lost, and only a miracle will help Ukraine.

The war will last for a long time, it's just beginning.

Ukraine is in decline and is unable to survive as a state, and soon there will be no Ukrainians left. Migrants will come to Ukrainian land.

We cannot defeat Russia, we need peace, not weapons.

Weapons for Ukraine are a continuation of the war and the destruction of Ukrainians.

The Istanbul Agreements were a favorable peace for Ukraine, but the Ukrainian government broke them because it wants to make money from the war.

TRC employees

“Tetsekashniks” are also 'meat', they are corrupt people who will be destroyed by the authorities.

The government will change and forget about them, and all the others whom they mobilized will take revenge on them.

People will not forgive you, and the murder of the TRC worker is only the beginning.

Those who doubt the West's support

Did you think you were being helped for nothing? Your children and grandchildren will be paying off the debts for Western aid.

All Western aid is for the sake of gaining access to Ukrainian resources.

The authorities are stealing billions of dollars of Western aid and enriching themselves on it.

USAID funded celebrity visits to Ukraine during the war.

In reality, no one in the world needs Ukrainians.

Volunteers and those who donate

The police are taking cars that you raise fund for from the military.

The police and custom officers are all saboteurs and agents of Russia.

The government is stealing Western aid.

Prytula (prominent Ukrainian volunteer) got rich on donations because he steals them, and you fools donate.

Countryside residents

Robotic technology is replacing farmers in the fields, so they are not needed, the government wants to drive them off their land and bring in migrants.

It is the village people who are being “busified” as a priority group to take away their land.

Ukrainian nationalists

Chornovil (Ukrainian politician, public figure) was the only decent presidential candidate, he was killed, and now Ukraine has no future.

There is not and has not been a single normal president in Ukraine.

The government is destroying patriots.

Instead of Ukrainians who left, migrants will come who will not respect the Ukrainian language and culture, which will disappear.

Ukrainians born abroad will assimilate and will no longer be Ukrainians.

The government is driving Ukrainians out of Ukraine to replace them with people of other nations.

The Ukrainian state today does not serve Ukrainians, and there is nothing to fight for.

The Ukrainian ethnic group is degenerating and doomed.

Zelenskyy's opponents

Zelenskyy promised Putin in 2019 to give back the part of Ukraine that is currently occupied.

Zelenskyy is illegitimate.

The president is profiting from the war.

The president is deceiving the people about the state of affairs in the war.

Zelenskyy realizes that Trump will force him to sign a surrender, but he wants to retain power.

Zelenskyy is a drug addict.

Poroshenko’s opponents

Poroshenko was involved in the bombing of weapons depots in Ukraine during his presidency.

The opposition is silent about “busification” and human rights violations.

Poroshenko is making money from the war.

Supporters of anti-Semitism

Jews are the new masters of Ukraine.

Hasidim rule in Uman, shooting at pedestrians from car windows with impunity.

Is this still Ukraine or a new Israel?

Supporters of conspiracy theories

They want to destroy Ukrainians to take their land and resources.

Elon Musk wants to destroy Ukrainians because they are smarter than him (they invented the hydrogen-powered Moskvich in 1976).

The Ukrainian government has agreed with the Russian government to destroy Ukrainians on someone's order.

Zelenskyy promised Putin in 2019 to give back the part of Ukraine that is currently occupied.

The non-nuclear status and disarmament of Ukraine is part of a plan to deliberately destroy the Ukrainian people on the instructions of some unknown organization, and all presidents of Ukraine are involved.

The murder of the TRC worker in Pyriatyn and the explosion at the TRC in Rivne were operations planned by the Ukrainian special services to authorize TRC workers to kill civilians and use weapons against them.

The man who was convicted of insulting the TRC was actually a victim of the filtering carried out by the authorities to destroy the best, the nation's gene pool.

Ukraine is completely occupied by a country that is purposefully exterminating the entire adult male population.

USAID allocated 5 billion dollars to the Maidan in Ukraine, provoking the war.

The Americans controlled all the governments of Ukraine, they want to destroy Ukrainians, take away their land and minerals.

• Russian special services are recruiting the poor and fools in Ukraine to carry out suicide missions. Against this backdrop, Russian propagandists are actively spreading statements about mass riots in Ukraine.