Russian authorities have been trying to sow the seeds of a propaganda effort at convincing residents of occupied territories that Ukraine is already divided, according to a new report from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“Ukraine has already been divided,” the Russian occupiers said, according to the intelligence agency. “In the territory of the western regions, Polish zlotys were put into circulation, in most shops there are double price tags. There is nowhere to run from Russia. Ukraine is not what it used to be.”
The false information, which has been focused on Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia, according to the agency, is intended to inject doubt into residents of Ukraine nearly six months into the war, the intelligence agency said.
“The moves are at undermining the moral and psychological stability of the Ukrainian-minded population remaining in the city,” the agency said in a statement.
Ukraine’s