Study: Russian Zhyzn Radio reaches Kharkiv oblast, urges UAF to surrender, intimidates civilians

Photo edit by Realna Hazeta

The Russian radio station Zhyzn, whose signal reaches the border of Kharkiv oblast, repeatedly broadcasts the surrender instructions for Ukrainian soldiers, smears Ukraine's mobilization effort, uses letters allegedly written by Ukrainian mothers for propaganda and spreads misinformation about US aid to Ukraine.

The content of the radio station was studied by Realna Hazeta journalist Eva Poznyakova, who listened to it for several days.

As the journalist notes, the Belgorod radio station's messages turned out to be more viable than other propaganda, since the station is not inventing them, but drawing on the pre-existing anti-Ukrainian narratives.

The messages pushed by the Russian radio station

The journalist cites the propaganda messages broadcast by the Russian radio station:

• "None of the deputies' sons have been drafted";
• "Ukraine is property of its Western masters";
• "The West is fighting Russia with the hands of Ukrainians";
• "The enlistment offices are thieves and violate the Constitution";
• "Ukraine has disowned its citizens abroad";
• "The US aid to Ukraine is actually a loan, so the latest aid package is a debt trap."

Photo: screenshot from the Radio Zhyzn website by Realna Hazeta

"For instance, the sentence 'none of the deputies' sons have been drafted' can be heard not only from propagandists, but also from Ukrainians who are upset with the mobilization. Zhyzn Radio only reinforced it with other similar messages such as 'the enlistment offices are thieves and violate the Constitution' or 'Ukraine has disowned its citizens abroad.' Although there are some messages more characteristic of Russian propaganda, such as 'Ukraine is property of its Western masters' or 'he West is fighting Russia with the hands of Ukrainians,'" the journalist writes.

Russia's narratives aimed to undermine Ukraine's mobilization effort

According to Eva, Russian propagandists use disinformation and statements taken out of context to undermine the ongoing mobilization effort in Ukraine. For example, the Ukrainian information space is screened for videos that appear to show enlistment center employees brutalizing men, and those videos are then captioned with comments alleging that Ukraine is sending people to their death.

"Recently, Russian Telegram channels posted a fake video where a Zhytomyr enlistment office employee appears to be 'catching' a draft dodger. The propagandists claimed that in this way the enlistment offices were trying to intimidate men who refuse to go fight on the frontline. However, the video turned out to be a Russian-made fake used by the propagandists to discredit the enlistment office employees," writes Eva Poznyakova.

Fake letters from Ukrainian soldiers' mothers

The journalist notes that Zhyzn Radio broadcasts "letters" written in Ukrainian, allegedly by the mother of a Ukrainian soldier, with the tagline "Free your life from Zelensky's clutches – switch to the Russian army's side."

"The story goes as follows: the mother has 'cried her eyes dry' for her son in the army. The propagandists make use of the typical Moscow messages about 'two peoples tricked into a fight,' 'politicians' war,' and soldiers who are 'herded to the slaughter like cattle, like sheep.' The 'letter' ends with curses upon Zelensky and claims that 'nobody needs this war,'" the journalist writes.

US Ukraine aid propaganda

The Zhyzn Radio propagandists paid special attention to the US Congress passing the draft bill allocating nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. As Eva Poznyakova writes, the propagandists were initially claiming that the aid would not be passed, and now they claim that the aid is wrong.

"Zhyzn Radio broadcasts narratives such as 'Western aid will only result in more dead Ukrainians' and 'the US aid to Ukraine is actually a loan, so the package is a debt trap," the article says.

Surrender instructions for Ukrainian soldiers

Every now and then the radio station also repeats the surrender instructions for Ukrainian soldiers.

"It is accompanied by an emotional text in Ukrainian about the inevitability of defeat. The text is peppered with Kremlin messages about two peoples deliberately tricked into enmity, the traitors on Bankova St., people being divided by language spoken and discriminated, and Zelensky's goal being to exterminate as many Ukrainians as possible," the journalist writes.

The Russians also address civilians and intimidate them, saying: "Don't let your cities turn into a second Mariupol, where the Ukrainian army used the locals as human shields." The occupiers threaten them with "liability" for helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces and resisting the invaders.

"Propagandists present occupation as an inevitable outcome. The mention of Mariupol is generally the peak of Russian cynicism. After all, it was the Russian army that attacked the city from water, land and air. In reality, it was the Russian invasion that destroyed Mariupol, same as Bakhmut, Soledar, and Avdiivka," the article says.

Realna Hazeta chief editor Andriy Dykhtyarenko made a Facebook post inviting his audience to read the study. In the comments, people have written that Zhyzn Radio only reached the border part of Kharkiv oblast until recently, but now one can also hear it in Kharkiv city.