WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden uses his final days in office to shore up Ukraine’s defenses, Russia is playing another game: spreading disinformation aimed at eroding U.S. support for Ukraine before Donald Trump returns next month the White House.
Since the US elections on November 5, the Kremlin has used state media and its networks of fake news sites and social media accounts to spread divisive stories about the war and the US Republican president. Analysts say the content, which has been translated into English for American audiences, is aimed at turning sentiment against Ukraine at a crucial time, in hopes of reducing U.S. military aid and ensuring a Russian victory.
Recent examples include fake videos allegedly showing Ukrainian soldiers burning effigies of Trump or his supporters. In one clip, soldiers are seen saying that Trump should not take office and “never be president again.” Multiple researchers have debunked the video, noting telltale signs of digital tampering.
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Another video claims Ukrainian soldiers shoot at a mannequin wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat and a Trump campaign shirt. That video was analyzed and determined to be fake by private analysts and the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation, a government agency that monitors Kremlin propaganda.
Other versions – just as fake – show Ukrainian soldiers burning Trump’s books or calling him a coward. In the weeks after the election, the clips spread far beyond Ukraine and Russia, circulating among Trump supporters and believers in QAnon, the conspiracy theory that claims Trump is waging a war against a satanic cabal of powerful world leaders.
It’s part of Russia’s ongoing effort to divide Americans over the nearly three-year war in Ukraine and portray Ukrainians as unreliable, dishonest allies, according to analysts who have tracked Russian disinformation and propaganda since the war began. have followed. By discouraging US support for Ukraine, the Kremlin hopes to cut off the main source of military aid that has kept Ukrainian hopes alive since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Early in the war, Russian propagandists depicted Ukrainian leaders as corrupt and selfish. Russian state media alleged that Ukraine’s leaders harbored Nazi sympathies — even though President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish — or were involved in clandestine bioweapons research that Moscow wanted to link to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every false claim was used to justify the invasion of Russia.
“It was planted by the Russians, this idea that ‘Ukraine is so corrupt it shouldn’t even be a state, and we are the right people to run this place,’” said Rupert Smith, a retired British general and former NATO delegate. commander in chief who now heads a Brussels-based consultancy called Solvo Partners. “Now this is being used as an excuse not to support Ukraine.”
The fake video claiming Ukrainian soldiers are shooting at the Trump mannequin is spreading on platforms like X, Telegram and YouTube, getting an early boost from pro-Kremlin news sites before migrating to sites popular with Americans, according to an analysis by researchers at NewsGuard, a company that tracks disinformation.
Some versions of the video were made long before the election, but were considered more recent. Within days, the video was viewed hundreds of thousands of times and translated into several languages in addition to Russian and English, including German, Chinese and Polish, NewsGuard found.
According to US intelligence, Russia tried to support Trump in the presidential election, believing he would reduce US support for Ukraine and perhaps the NATO alliance. The incoming president has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, criticized U.S. military aid to Ukraine and NATO and vowed to end the war within 24 hours. Comments appear to suggest he would pressure Ukraine to surrender territory now occupied by Russia.
In response to questions about Russia’s role in spreading disinformation about Ukraine, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in Washington referred to previous statements rejecting any involvement.
In the time it has left, the Biden administration has urged Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by deploying more troops, boosted arms deliveries and forgave billions in loans to Kiev. So far, the White House has sent more than $56 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and expects to send billions more before Biden leaves office on January 20, 2025.
It’s easy to understand Russia’s motives for cutting off those aid offers, said Joshua Tucker, a New York University professor and Russia expert who studies online disinformation. What is harder to gauge, he said, is the effectiveness of Russian disinformation, especially on social media platforms that are already full of false, bizarre and debunked claims.
One reason Russia may persist with disinformation targeting Americans is the relative ease and affordability of such operations compared to diplomatic or military alternatives.
Russia likely views disinformation as part of a long-term effort to undermine America’s global leadership by dividing its population and undermining support for its institutions, Tucker said. Whether the topic is immigration, the government, the American economy or the war in Ukraine, the goal remains the same, he said, and goes beyond one election cycle or one candidate.
“I think what they were really hoping for would be a contentious outcome, with a lot of people taking to the streets, arguing that the election wasn’t legitimate,” Tucker said.
If they can’t get that, however, Russia’s disinformation agencies will continue to spread stories that they believe will inflame Americans and boost their chances in Ukraine, Tucker said.
