The Kremlin is conducting multifaceted information efforts aimed at deterring Western support for Ukraine and undermining European participation in a peaceful settlement. This is reported in an analytical summary by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that the Kremlin has recently intensified three rhetorical lines aimed at influencing Western decision-making in favor of the Kremlin: accusing European states of prolonging the war in Ukraine, threatening Western states with nuclear weapons, and asserting the inevitability of Russia's victory in Ukraine.
Kremlin officials, including Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev, have hinted that European states seek to prolong the war in Ukraine to reintroduce this long-standing Russian narrative into the Western information space to undermine US trust in European governments.
Experts say that the Kremlin often uses Dmitriev to defend Russia's interests, particularly regarding the peace process in Ukraine and sanctions, on English-language platforms and in the media.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, on August 31, on his English-language X account, criticized French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz regarding France's and Germany's participation in US efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Medvedev stated that Merz and Macron "forgot the lessons" of World War II, and that "everything could end up like in 1945 – (Macron and Merz) could also be identified by their teeth."
Medvedev recalls American atomic bombs to threaten France and Germany for supporting Ukraine in the peace process. Medvedev also stated that Russian achievements are "bad news" for Macron and Merz.
These various rhetorical lines are intended to reinforce the Russian Ministry of Defense's recently intensified efforts to create a false impression of the inevitability of Russia's victory in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense has attempted to use large amounts of data to make claims about the advance of Russian troops – data and claims that ISW believes are exaggerated.
Analysts add that the Kremlin is intensifying its information efforts as its territorial gains remain disproportionately limited and slow compared to high losses.
Recall
The Russian military leadership provides unreliable data on front-line successes, overstating territorial gains. This is part of the Kremlin's information campaign aimed at convincing the West of Russia's inevitable victory and ending support for Ukraine.