Moscow’s leaked media playbook: spin Ukraine’s refinery hits as an attack on ‘car owners’

Ukrainian forces struck Russian oil refineries and Wildberries logistics warehouses, killing eight and injuring about eighty according to Russian figures. State television largely ignored it — but Meduza obtained a leaked document from Russia's presidential administration showing exactly what state media were told to do instead. The guidance reframed refinery hits as 'attacks on car owners,' warehouse damage as attacks on 'small business,' and the operations themselves as 'PR attacks.' Editors were instructed to pivot: emphasize Vladimir Putin's naval blockade of Ukraine and highlight Russian strikes on Kyiv, specifically what the memo calls 'the most massive ballistic strike.' What the memo reveals, though, is the Kremlin's underlying worry — that public anxiety about the strikes could erode confidence in the government. The guidance urges outlets to instead stress that society must rally around the President for stability.

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