Legitimising Russian Occupation Through the Propaganda Campaign “Thank You for #WEARETOGETHER”
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Russian authorities are deliberately promoting the narrative of the “reunification” of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson with Russia, using themed holidays and campaigns for this purpose. In particular, 30 September has been declared the “Day of Reunification” of the occupied territories with the Russian Federation, and as part of the “celebration” of this event, a propaganda campaign titled “Thank You for #WEARETOGETHER” was organised and conducted.
The Scale of the “#WEARETOGETHER” Campaign Against the Backdrop of “Reunification”
In accordance with “methodological recommendations” officially circulated to local authorities, Russian regions held numerous public events under the banner of the “Thank You for #WEARETOGETHER” campaign, timed to coincide with 30 September. The campaign included history lessons, flash mobs, lectures, “lessons of courage,” meetings with veterans, mobilisation-oriented “film lectures” and similar events. For example, in Penza, Russian Federation, students at one gymnasium watched films and took part in interactive classes about historical events that allegedly “led to the unification of our people,” after which they jointly made “paper angels.” Similarly, in Chelyabinsk oblast, Russian Federation, a meeting was held at a rural club between children and a mobilised soldier, whose example was used to promote the defence of the “country’s interests” and loyalty to “Russian society.”
In most cases, such events were accompanied by the singing of the anthem, displays of flags and slogans emphasising “unity” with Russia. For example, an official local meeting in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russian Federation, began with the joint singing of the Russian anthem, while the event itself was built around Putin’s quote: “We have become stronger because we are together!” Reports emphasised “historical justice” and the “unification of the Russian people” during the “reunification.”
In the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, a separate propaganda and entertainment programme was organised. Thus, on 29 September 2025, in Henichesk, occupied Kherson region, employees of the youth policy department of the occupation administration of the Henichesk community and local Yunarmiya members cleaned the grave of Second World War veteran Yurii Petrych, carrying out maintenance of the memorial burial site and surrounding area. As local media noted, this patriotic clean-up was held “as part of the ‘Thank You for #WEARETOGETHER’ campaign” and was presented as a “tribute to the generation of victors.” The events were organised by the administration of the occupied Henichesk district, local volunteer structures and the militarised Russian youth organisation Yunarmiya. Similar community clean-ups near veterans’ monuments were also held in other areas of occupied Donbas and Kherson region under the slogan “We are together.”
On 30 September 2025, in the occupied part of Kherson region, a large concert by the Russian rock band Rondo took place at the Tavrida art cluster in the village of Shchaslyvtseve, Henichesk district, marking the third anniversary of the “reunification” of the region with the Russian Federation. The concert was attended by senior occupation officials, including “Head of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration” Volodymyr Saldo.
In occupied Donetsk on the same day, a youth concert was held in a car park, organised by the “Young Republic” and the “Young Guard” of the United Russia party in the so-called “DPR.” It featured performances by Russian rap artist Rem Digga and local artists, including “Mezhdu nami,” the DonNASA vocal group and others. Similar public concerts were held “for the Day of Donbas Reunification” at the initiative of the occupation administrations of the so-called “DPR/LPR” and their pro-Russian youth organisations.
In addition, special educational meetings and class hours with “veterans or participants of the special military operation” were widely organised in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk. For example, on 25 September 2025, at the Faculty of Economics of the so-called Donetsk National University, a “meeting with participants of the special military operation titled ‘By Their Own Example’” was held as part of the “#WEARETOGETHER” campaign. The event was organised by the university’s “leadership” together with the “Department of the Federal Tax Service of the ‘DPR.’”
In addition to direct meetings, campaign participants carried out flash mobs on social media. For example, on 30 September 2025, schoolchildren from the remote village of Aksarka in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russian Federation, together with their peers from the occupied part of Donetsk region, launched the “#IAmRussia89” flash mob, exchanging video messages of gratitude “for reunification” on Instagram and VK. This initiative was held “as part of cooperation with the school in the village of Stepne, DPR” and was considered part of the same “We are together” campaign. Similar online activities, including video flash mobs, patriotic graffiti and hashtag campaigns, were carried out by local Telegram channels and social media accounts of the occupation administrations.
The occupiers paid considerable attention to ideological interactive events. Thus, on 30 September 2025, a branch of the “House of the Peoples of Russia” was opened in occupied Donetsk as a new cultural and educational centre. The ceremony was attended by the leadership of the so-called “DPR” and the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs. The “House of the Peoples” presented the “SVOI” exhibition, dedicated to the historical heritage of Donbas, and held an interactive lesson for children titled “17 Traditional Values of Russia.” The organisers — the so-called “DPR” administration together with the “House of the Peoples of Russia” foundation — also launched the project’s online portal and the press centre of the “Cyber” remote network, intended to disseminate materials about journalism and patriotic education. Similar thematic educational programmes, including exhibitions, ideologically oriented classes and methodological sessions, were also held in schools across the occupied regions to mark the Day of Reunification.
Propaganda Narratives and Their Content
Russian media and official websites promote several key messages aimed at legitimising the occupation.
The territories are referred to as Russia’s “new regions” or “new oblasts,” while their annexation is described as the “unification of historically related lands.” As noted by Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, Russian propagandists stress that under “Moscow’s rule,” the “new regions” have received a “powerful development impulse” and that “people’s lives are constantly improving,” creating a false image of prosperity in the occupied territories.
According to the propaganda scenario, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are labelled “Nazis” or “fascists,” while Russia’s actions are described as a “special operation” to “liberate Donbas from aggression.” For example, schools once again held “lessons of courage,” where films were shown about “children killed in Donbas” by the “brutal shelling of Nazis from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” This rhetoric stigmatises Ukrainian resistance and cultivates hatred toward Ukraine.
At these events, children were told about the “heroism of our warriors” — meaning Russian invaders — and encouraged to “serve Russia” and “care for the country’s security.” Schoolchildren in the occupied Ukrainian territories are being forced to accept the idea that “courage, bravery and love for the Motherland are the qualities of a real man, patriot and citizen of Russia.” It is also emphasised that every citizen must “conscientiously fulfil their civic and military duty” and “defend the interests of the country.”
The new “holiday” is being linked to historical events in Russia’s favour. Official Russian sources actively claim that the self-awareness of the “Russian world” allegedly emerged already during the “first reconquests” or “reunification in 2014,” while 30 September is interpreted as the logical culmination of this long “sacred” tradition.
This set of messages is repeated in official addresses, reports by local media, social networks, Telegram channels of Russian administrations, as well as in textbooks and propaganda booklets for the occupied territories.
Threats to Ukraine
The scale and content of such propaganda campaigns create significant information security threats for Ukraine, including the following.
Legitimisation of occupation. The mass proclamation of 30 September as a “reunification holiday” seeks to legalise the unlawful annexation of Ukrainian regions in the minds of Russian and occupation elites. When even ordinary volunteer or educational events are accompanied by the thesis of “reunification of historically Russian lands,” this reinforces the imperial discourse and demonstrates at the “everyday level” Russia’s readiness to “annex these regions forever.”
Concealment of the real consequences of the war. Propaganda suppresses information about destruction and casualties in the occupied territories, creating the illusion of “constantly improving life.” In reality, according to Ukrainian sources, thousands of civilians have suffered during four years of occupation, while the population faces devastation, lack of water and other resources. Russian media openly ignore these problems. Instead, they cultivate among the population a dubious sense of “civilisational salvation,” presenting aggression as “just” and “inevitable.”
Disinformation and influence on children’s consciousness. Propagandists pay special attention to younger audiences in the occupied territories. In schools and kindergartens, they organise “patriotic education,” flash mobs and competitions where children are taught that they are “Russians and forever with Russia.” Such psychological and informational conditioning of children is a direct threat to national security, as it forms a pro-Russian perception of reality and undermines Ukrainian identity.
Radicalisation of the population. The constant stream of rhetoric about the “heroism” of the Russian army and the demonisation of Ukraine fuels hostility and hatred even among ethnic Ukrainians in Russia or the temporarily occupied territories. This complicates counter-propaganda work and may contribute to the strengthening of apologetic attitudes toward the war.
As the expert community notes, the establishment of 30 September as a holiday is intended to consolidate Russian society around imperial values. OSW analysis emphasises that such “reunification holidays” serve to legitimize annexation and reduce stress among Russians caused by wartime developments. The authorities therefore seek to impose the idea that annexation is the endpoint and that the situation is under control. However, such measures indicate information aggression that threatens Ukraine: the formal “consolidation” of Russian sovereignty over Ukrainian lands through symbols and rituals of everyday propaganda.
Conclusion. The “#WEARETOGETHER” campaign and the “Day of Reunification” are part of a broader information operation to legitimize occupation. Russian “methodological recommendations” for local authorities encourage the organisation of events that disguise military aggression as “historical justice.” These events contain typical propaganda features — aggressive Ukrainophobia, glorification of the Russian army and pseudo-historical fabrications — aimed at undermining patriotic sentiment in Ukraine and strengthening the imperial worldview among citizens of the Russian Federation and Ukrainian citizens living under occupation. Such phenomena constitute an information threat to Ukraine’s national security in the defence sphere, as they continue to legitimize occupation and reduce the population’s readiness to resist Russian aggression.
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