Article from EU vs Disinfo
As Russia continues to level the playing field in its game on the border with Ukraine, the latter once again become the main target of efforts to dismiss, distort, and distract from the truth.
Ukraine is not an uncommon target of pro-Kremlin disinformation. Of the more than 13,500 cases (see here) that we have identified, collected, exposed and published since 2015, Ukraine is mentioned in more than 5,200. This is almost 40 percent of all cases in the EUvsDisinfo database.
Since it is becoming increasingly difficult to see through the smokescreen of lies (see here) on Ukraine being spread by the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem, EUvsDisinfo has published seven of the most widespread and dangerous myths – and often outright lies – related to Russia.
The West is blamed for everything.
Within the broader effort to smear Ukraine and sow confusion about the rising tensions fueled by Russia, two narratives emerged. First, that Ukraine was being used by the West. A number of pro-government media outlets in Russia attempted to portray Ukraine as a tool for Western powers to influence and destabilize Russia (see hereBoth the US and the UK received particular attention in these types of narratives.
This is a well-established pattern, as we are constantly getting stories along the lines of “SHBA is using the specter of Ukraine for confrontation against Russia","The US, UK and Canada tried to use Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia” and so on. As if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, the pro-Kremlin media is further exaggerating the issue and now claims that “Ukraine is already occupied by the US and its satellites".
The second main narrative that stands out is the claim that the West is ready to carry out a “false flag” operation (a false cause) to provoke a direct clash with Russian forces massed near the Ukrainian border (see here). This story took many different forms, from CHARGING of the West for provocations in the information space to DISCLOSURE that Western instructors are creating a hot spot on Russia's border. If these claims sound familiar, that's because they are. Like the claim that the West is using false-cause operations and that Russia is being surrounded by NATO, they are long-standing talking points of pro-Kremlin disinformation. (see here e here)
(Full article in English published by EU vs Disinfo)