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The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, described Telegram and YouTube channels covering the aftermath of Ukrainian Armed Forces strikes on energy infrastructure as “enemy” channels.

On 9 January, following shelling from Ukraine, as reported by Gladkov himself, half a million residents of the region were left without heat and electricity, and 200,000 lost access to water. Local Telegram channels covered the consequences of the blackout. For example, “Ash of Belgorod” reported on queues at filling stations, while “Typical Belgorod” wrote about restrictions on industrial operations due to electricity shortages.

In today’s video address, Gladkov stated that the regional authorities did not cover the efforts to deal with the strikes in detail: “so as not to provide the enemy with information they need, because this could lead to further attacks.”

“During this time, enemy channels took full advantage of the government channels’ silence—from both the authorities of Belgorod region and from Rosseti. They used this opportunity to massively spread fake and unreliable information. The aim is to destabilise the social situation and create panic among the population,” the governor said.

In particular, he called reports “about burning generators” and claims that regional leaders had left the area “fake.”

Gladkov said that, at the operational headquarters meeting on 19 January, “the heads of all law enforcement agencies agreed to review and legally assess the actions of each information resource.” He listed the channels that will be investigated below the video. The list contains 15 resources, including Telegram channels “Typical Belgorod,” “Ash,” “Apolitika,” “Operation Z,” as well as the channel named after Svetlana Lada-Rus and the YouTube channels of her supporters.

Some media have responded to Gladkov’s statements. “Typical Belgorod” maintains that the editorial team thoroughly checks information before publication. “We cover topics that truly concern the people of Belgorod, and we will continue to do so,” the channel said. “Ash” reported that they had not published the “fakes” the governor mentioned in their channel.

The most outspoken response came from the “Apolitika” channel: “The governor has finally explained why authorities were silent during the blackout on 9 January while people were left without power and heating. It turns out it was a military strategy: the officials hid the information so as not to ‘adjust enemy fire.’ Meanwhile, Telegram channels that dared to write about the problems—while the city administration played at being partisans—were blamed for the panic. …> Apparently, reporting that the city is freezing and the lifts aren’t working is now called ‘destabilising the situation’ and ‘working for the enemy.’”

  • In September 2025, the Belgorod region’s operational headquarters banned the publication of any information about military personnel and their locations. The authorities also prohibited the spreading of information “from unofficial sources” about the locations and consequences of attacks. At that time, Gladkov stated that the media could only report such matters after the authorities or law enforcement agencies had done so.