The Russian invasion of Ukraine is "magnificent", according to one patriotic man interviewed on state TV.
As Vladimir Putin gave the green light for his forces to enter Ukraine, Western media and politicians were in near total unanimity in their condemnation of the act.
A very different picture was offered in Russia, where the majority of media is state-controlled.
Many channels have been quoting a Defence Ministry statement stressing that "high-precision weapons" were being used against Ukrainian military sites, with no threat to civilians.
This flies counter to photos and information coming from Ukraine where multiple civilians seem to have been killed by stray shell fire.
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Official state Rossiya 1 TV began a news bulletin by claiming that the Russian invasion was necessary to stop a genocide.
"Today Russia has begun a special military operation aimed at protecting the people who for the last eight years have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the regime in Kyiv," the channel said.
Several news bulletins from Rossiya have featured vox-pop interviews in the rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine.
"It's magnificent. There are no other words to describe it," one man in Donetsk said.
"I'm really happy. We've waited eight years for this," a woman told the channel.
Russia 24, another state TV channel, echoed the genocide line and presented the Russian offensive operation as a pre-emptive strike aimed at stopping an alleged Ukrainian invasion of Donbas.
Channel One said Russian armed forces were not conducting any missile, air or artillery strikes in Ukrainian cities, despite clear evidence to the contrary.
NTV, the third biggest state TV channel, ran a video with a Defence Ministry representative saying that social media videos circulating on social media showing Russian shells hitting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure are fake.
Newspapers have reported that Ukrainian soldiers fled when confronted with Russian troops, something which has not been corroborated by Kyiv.
Russian police have been zealous in their efforts to shut down dissent at home.
More than 1,000 people were arrested in cities across Russia today for protesting against the invasion.
Footage from Moscow shows crowds of demonstrators frantically running down a street this evening after officers moved in to break up the masses.
Members of the protest were heard shouting 'fascist' as police made arrests, according to a tweet from Insider paper.
Photos from the scene show armed police officers forcibly removing protesters from the night-time Moscow streets.
