Occupiers distribute propaganda fliers in Melitopol urging residents to surrender

Anastasiya Kalatur – Thursday, 10 March 2022, 05:30

Russian occupying forces are distributing propaganda leaflets among the residents of Melitopol which urge Ukrainian servicemen to "lay down [their] arms and go home."

Source: Radio Svoboda and Ivan Arefyev, spokesman for the Zaporizhzhya Military State Administration

Details: One of the leaflets given to the residents of Melitopol contains an alleged address to Ukrainians by Russian president Vladimir Putin peppered with references to "Russia’s self-defence," "neo-Nazis," and calls for "cooperation." It states that the current events are "not due to a desire to delimit the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people," but to "Russia’s need to defend itself from those who are holding Ukraine hostage and trying to use it against another country and another people."

According to the leaflet: "Dear Residents of Melitopol, Russia is not at war with the Ukrainian people. The power belongs to the people, not the Kyiv junta. Russia guarantees your peace and safety. The country’s civilian population has nothing to be afraid of […] Together, we have to prevent the atrocities committed by the gangs of armed looters, thieves, and nationalists, who received their arms because of the government’s decision to hand weapons out to people without any control."

Details: The leaflet also lists Telegram channels where citizens can find "real-time information." Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyev is mentioned, as is the Russia 24 TV channel where citizens are urged to find "up-to-date information" and where Russia’s all-out offensive in Ukraine is called a "liberation mission" and the shelling by Russian troops of Ukraine’s residential neighbourhoods is denied.

Ivan Arefyev said, in a commentary to Radio Svoboda, that these leaflets are being handed out to people and pinned to notice boards, and that there are people "out campaigning and talking to people." One Melitopol resident said that the Russians promised to write off all debts."