It is obvious that the propaganda of the occupied Donbas loves cheerfully patriotic news hooks. The most valuable are anniversaries of past victories and, of course, the successes of the so-called “special military operation”. Thus, last week, the collaborationist authorities recalled that two years ago russian troops managed to capture Avdiivka, which had been almost completely destroyed by the occupiers’ missiles and bombs. This, essentially, pyrrhic victory was called a “liberation”, and in 2026 they decided to hold a series of ceremonial events on this occasion….
Dead city
Contrary to the logic of the promises that russia had been generously handing out to the residents of Donbas since 2014, two years after the arrival of the “russian world”, the city of coke plant workers continues to lie in ruins. Therefore, the occupation authorities decided to celebrate the second anniversary of the “liberation” of Avdiivka anywhere but in Avdiivka itself.
“A motor rally dedicated to the second anniversary of the liberation of Avdiivka took place in Donetsk. A DAN correspondent attended the event”, - local journalists acknowledged this fact.
“The rally started from Myra Avenue, then the cars moved along the central Artema Street and finished their route on the ring road toward Avdiivka”, - the report of the “official” media of the “DNR” honestly states that the participants of the motor rally did not dare to enter the city itself. It’s not that it is very dangerous, it’s just that there are simply no locations that could demonstrate how Avdiivka has “flourished”.
Another event was held by activists of the “Young Guard”. As Donetsk media write, “together with the head of the administration of the Yasynuvata municipal district, Alexander Penyaev, they laid flowers at the monument to the fighters of the special military operation in Avdiivka, marking the second anniversary of its liberation”. The photo report from the scene is striking in the poverty of its angles. It turned out that only the memorial sign to the eliminated occupiers had been properly arranged here. Court chroniclers photographed it from all sides. By the way, they also failed to capture a large number of people wishing to honor the memory of the fallen “liberators”…
The “mayor” of Yasynuvata, who was given the ruins of Avdiivka under his control, after laying flowers suggested taking his word for it — he described how much the city had improved over two years of occupation. “The two years that have passed since the liberation have borne fruit: all social services are operating here, people live here, shops are functioning, enterprises are opening”, - Penyaev boasted.
The leader of the “DNR” Denis Pushilin also tried to convince readers and viewers that everything is going according to plan. “Today peaceful life has returned to Avdiivka. Step by step, we are restoring residential buildings and social facilities, providing residents with everything necessary”, - he reported, notably not from the site of the “nationwide celebration”.
In fairness, it should be acknowledged that some local journalists did manage to get into the city. A propagandist found a happy woman who is pleased with the arrival of the “russian world”. “Although Avdiivka is seriously destroyed, I am very happy that I live in my city… We have internet, electricity, water, heating. Why not live and enjoy life?”, - she said on camera against the backdrop of burned houses and deserted streets. Using her example, the journalist tried to demonstrate the city’s “revival”. “For a long time, the woman rented housing in Makiivka. But in October last year she was given a free, well-equipped apartment. Moreover, it was already furnished with household appliances and furniture”, - he declared. Both remained silent about the fact that since February 2024 the occupation authorities have repaired only a few five-story buildings, and there are only a few dozen such free apartments.
“Nothing but fistfights…”
But, as they say, the media of the occupied Donbas did not live by Avdiivka alone. The past week was Maslenitsa (also known as Butter Week or Crepe week). In Donetsk, fans of the “russian world” staged a mass brawl in honor of the holiday.
“Donetsk celebrates according to an old russian tradition!” — with such headlines, the media of the occupied Donbas published reports about the revival of an allegedly folk tradition — wall-to-wall fistfights.
“Dashing local youth celebrated Maslenitsa with fistfights, which became the culmination of the festivities”, - local journalists reported.
Judging by the reports, the fight was serious — about 20 people from each side took part in it. The apotheosis of adherence to “spiritual bonds and traditional values” was the bloodied faces of the participants in the Maslenitsa entertainment.
In general, it should be noted that russian propaganda, and following it the local one, used the traditionally beloved Maslenitsa to impose the image of patriarchal russian Orthodoxy. Participants in almost all organized events were dressed in kitschy costumes meant to symbolize the supposed belonging of residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to the “russian world”. Both children and adults were dressed in bright operetta-style russian kosovorotkas and sarafans. Adult women wore colorful pseudo-folk skirts, and men wore merchant-style caps. The winter version of the festivities also required the obligatory Pavlov Posad patterned shawls…
By Yurii Bovkh, OstroV