DISINFO: Protesting wives of mobilised Russian soldiers were paid by Ukrainian intelligence
SUMMARY
[…] there were attempts across Russia to involve the wives, sisters, and daughters of those mobilised in various illegal actions [being paid] for with the money of the Ukrainian special services. These protests are organized according to a long-known scheme: fugitive extremists from abroad and Western intelligence agencies.
Girls from the “Katyusha” movement and their friends, whose relatives and friends are fighting for our country today in the special military operation, recorded an appeal to the wives of the mobilised, women who today are persistently pushed to commit a crime.
There is no anti-war movement, but there is the Ukrainian/NATO side, which least of all wants peace, and most of all, the death of the relatives of these women and the victory of our enemy. The most important thing is not to give in to provocations.
RESPONSE
An attempt to discredit the activism of relatives of the mobilised Russians fighting in the war against Ukraine.
There have been reports from the UK Defence Ministry saying that Russian is paying wives of soldiers in Ukraine not to stage protests.
The wives, sisters and mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine are coordinated in the “Way Home” (Put' Domoy) telegram channel. One of the most public faces of the community is Maria Andreeva. She went to a rally in Moscow and was received by State Duma members. In an interview with Current Time, she spoke about the mobilisation of her husband and brother.
To counterbalance the "Way home", which had more than 20 thousand subscribers by late November 2023, pro-Kremlin media published a counter-appeal of the "movement Katyusha". The members of the Katyusha movement, introducing themselves as also wives of the mobilised, accuse others of being involved "in various illegal actions for the money of the Ukrainian special services", without giving any evidence.
"Imagine. You are the wife of a mobilised man. Another wife of a mobilised man turns to you and says: “Stop! Stop saving your husband from the arbitrariness of the authorities! You are being manipulated by extremists Navalnists!”, - Way home wrote.
"Way out" found no evidence proving that young women from Katyusha are indeed married and that their biographies correspond to what they pretend.
"Meet 20-year-old Daniela Ploskina. It is she who says at the beginning of the video that she is the wife of a mobilised man. Until May 26, 2023, on her public page “Reconnaissance is underway”, she collected donations to help participants to the "special military operation". We found no confirmation that Daniela was ever married. On Dana’s father’s page we found a photo of a medal for participation in the battle for Bakhmut. But surprise, surprise, the medal is not his, but his friend's. Of course, it’s nicer at home than at the front. We understand this and we also want to have nobody at frontline. Dana, who do you have fighting at "special military operation" that you dares advise mothers, sisters and wives to stop protesting?" , - "Way home" commented.
Since 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; the Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented, nationwide crackdown on independent journalism, anti-war protests and dissenting voices.