MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
- The Kremlin has prepared media talking points about Ukraine's expected counteroffensive, per Meduza.
- Propagandists are told to emphasize Western support for Ukraine, per the outlet.
- These kinds of talking points will provide cover for military failures, one expert told Insider.
A newly-obtained Kremlin document outlines how Russian state media should handle an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to a new report.
Sources told independent Russian outlet Meduza the document is aimed at priming the public for potential losses, or to capitalize on any Russian success.
Reporters have been told "not to downplay expectations for the NATO-supported counteroffensive," and not to say that "Kyiv is unprepared for a 'counteroffensive," Meduza reported.
Instead, the document instructs news outlets to emphasize the extent of Western support for Ukraine.
Insider has not independently reviewed the document in question.
The report comes as Russia awaits a much-anticipated military pushback by Ukrainian forces.
US General Mark Milley said this week that Ukraine has bolstered its capacity and is "prepared" for the counterattack.
His comments contrasted with those revealed last month through leaked purported Pentagon documents dating to February, which suggested internal US intelligence concerns about whether the effort will fall short.
Sources close to the Russian administration — whose identities Meduza has protected — told the outlet that the Kremlin guidance is aimed at priming the public for either outcome.
"If the offensive is a failure, [the Russian authorities] will be able to say that [Russia's] army adeptly repelled an extremely powerful attack. The value of this victory will increase significantly," the sources told the outlet.
"If Ukraine, with the help of weapons from the US and Europe, is successful and takes territory, the loss will be explainable, too; after all, the West has focused a tremendous amount of effort on the front, but its successes — when compared to those efforts — have been very modest," they were cited as saying.
Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody, an Open University lecturer in politics and an expert on Russian media, told Insider that the reported guidance fits "perfectly" with Russia's existing coverage of the war.
Not only does guidance like this provide "cover for Russia's uninspiring performance," but the focus on Western and NATO help undermines the idea of Ukraine's agency in the conflict, she said.
"As Russia had found itself unable to secure a decisive victory, state media has increasingly portrayed the conflict as a proxy war between Russia and NATO," she said.
She added: "The success of Ukraine's counteroffensive into annexed territories towards the end of last year was explained away on Russian state TV's discussion programmes as being a de facto NATO operation."
Most Russian media is subject to strict controls over how the Ukraine war is discussed.
Though there is latitude for interpretation in order to appeal to diffferent audiences, editors receive a weekly set of talking points and broad guidelines directly from the presidential administration, Dr Jade McGlynn, a researcher in Russian media and propaganda, told Insider in an earlier interview.
According to Meduza, this new document also asks media outlets not to focus on how much money is being committed to rebuilding occupied and annexed parts of Ukraine.
Instead, they should emphasize repair work in schools and hospitals in Russia, it said.