Information Warfare and Propaganda
How both sides wage war in the information space — from state media to social media to battlefield narratives.
Russia's Information Strategy
Russia has invested heavily in information warfare for over a decade, viewing the information space as a legitimate theater of conflict — what Russian military doctrine calls "information-psychological operations."
Domestic narrative: Russian state media (RT, Channel One, Rossiya-1) present the war as a defensive operation against NATO aggression and Ukrainian "Nazis." The term "special military operation" is legally mandated — calling it a "war" or "invasion" is a criminal offense in Russia, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Independent media outlets (Novaya Gazeta, Echo of Moscow, TV Rain) were shut down or forced into exile.
The domestic narrative draws on several themes: the denazification of Ukraine (greatly exaggerating the influence of far-right groups), the protection of Russian-speaking populations from alleged persecution, the existential threat of NATO encirclement, and historical claims that Ukraine is not a real nation but a creation of Lenin's administrative decisions.
International narrative: Russia targets Global South audiences with a different message: the war is the result of Western/NATO provocation, Western sanctions hurt developing countries more than Russia, and the conflict reflects Western hypocrisy (invoking Iraq, Libya, and other Western interventions). This narrative has found significant traction in parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Tactical disinformation: Russia has employed false flag claims (alleging Ukrainian forces attack their own civilians), fabricated evidence, and coordinated inauthentic social media campaigns. The destruction of Mariupol's drama theater — where "children" was written in giant letters visible from the air — was blamed on Ukraine by Russian media despite overwhelming evidence of a Russian airstrike.