October 24 Russian opposition publication Meduza reported that it has read the Russian presidential administration’s instructions to Russian state media and propagandists, which contain recommendations on how to cover the BRICS summit in Kazan.
According to reports, the instructions emphasize three themes:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “informal leader of the majority of the world”;
- Western elites are “panicking”;
- “anxiety” prevails throughout the West.
The Kremlin has reportedly instructed the media to report that the BRICS summit is “attracting the world’s attention” and proving that “attempts to isolate” Russia following its all-out invasion of Ukraine have “failed”.
Meduza reported that the media should cover how Putin is establishing “strategic ties that are not limited to one direction.”
ISW notes that Russian state media and propagandists have published articles covering many of these topics, “sometimes even verbatim as written in the manual.”
October 24 Russian opposition publication Verstka reported that pro-Russian bots on the Russian social network VKontakte (VK) posted more than 10,000 comments about the BRICS summit in two days, in what it said was one of the Kremlin’s biggest bot campaigns in recent memory.
These bots promoted the idea that Russia is not isolated internationally, that BRICS influence is growing, that anti-Russian sanctions are easing, and that Russian forces are making gains in Ukraine.
October 24 A source inside Russia said unnamed sources close to the Kremlin said the BRICS countries do not fundamentally support Russia’s position on its war in Ukraine, forcing the Kremlin to put the issue on the back burner in order to achieve some sort of “serious international association”.
An inside source said pro-Russia peace proposals from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Brazil were discussed at a number of BRICS meetings, but those discussions “ultimately came to nothing.”
According to ISW, on October 23, the adoption of the Kazan Declaration on the second day of the BRICS summit showed that Russia has not yet secured international support and created an alternative security structure that the Kremlin would like.
Other important conclusions of the analysts:
- October 24 Russian President Vladimir Putin could not deny the presence of North Korean troops on Russian territory.
- Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka has indicated in no uncertain terms that Belarusian troops will not fight in Ukraine, and appeared to question Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged attempts to enlist North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- October 24 At a press conference after the BRICS summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to demonstrate Russia’s confidence in the Russian military’s ability to counter Ukrainian operations in the Kursk region.
- Ukrainian authorities are investigating yet another execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Pokrovsky region amid an increasing number of executions of prisoners of war by Russian soldiers.
- Ukrainian forces have recently advanced in the Kursk region, as well as near Torecko and Pokrovsk.
- Russian forces have recently advanced near Kreminnaya and Siversk.
- According to reports, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Ministry of Defense (GAM) and the Russian Guard have their own Achmat units, which perform various functions in different front and rear sectors.
Source: www.15min.lt
