KEY EVENTS
- FIMI narratives downplayed Russia’s unease over Ukrainian drone strikes
- Victory Day served as a pretext to refresh ‘Nazi Ukraine’ claims
- Pro-Kremlin outlets sought to deflect attention from Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
Russia’s Victory Day saw a surge of disinformation, with the Kremlin weaponising history to justify its war. Pro-Moscow outlets falsely painted Ukraine as a ‘‘Nazi state’’ for rejecting Russia’s May 9 celebrations, ignoring Kyiv’s alignment with Europe’s May 8 remembrance. Meanwhile, threats of Ukraine’s ‘’total destruction’’ for drone strikes on Russian soil reveal Moscow’s desperation amid battlefield failures.
Most shockingly, Russian media whitewashed the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, with indicted official Maria Lvova-Belova claiming Russia ‘‘reunites families.’’ The truth? Tens of thousands remain in Russian custody, re-educated or forcibly adopted.80% have still not been reunited with their families, per the UN. These aren’t errors but crimes against humanity, disguised as propaganda.
From historical distortion to outright threats, the Kremlin’s narratives aim to rewrite reality. Below, we uncover the lies, and the truths they hide.
MAIN FIMI NARRATIVES BEING SPREAD:
‘Kyiv disrespects the memory of the Victory Day siding with Nazis’
No event carries more symbolic and propagandistic weight for the Kremlin than Victory Day – a fact reflected in the sharp surge of related claims this week. One of them attempted to portray Ukraine as a terrorist Nazi state, falsely accusing it of ‘disrespecting’ the holiday by supposedly failing to adhere to the ceasefire agreement.
The claim that Kyiv ‘‘failed to comply’’ with the ceasefire, while Russia remained peaceful is not supported by reporting, which documents continued Russian attacks and shows that neither side fully upheld the agreed pause in fighting. As for the claim that Ukraine ‘disrespected’ the Victory Day on May 9, the country marks the end of World War II on May 8, aligning itself with most of Europe and seeking to distance its commemorations from the Kremlin’s ‘victory cult.’
False accusations that Ukraine is ‘Nazi’ are longstanding staples of pro-Kremlin messaging, which uses the pretext of ‘denazification’ to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The term ‘terrorism’ is systematically used by Moscow to label Ukrainian counterattacks and to shift blame for Russia’s war of aggression onto Kyiv.
These false claims were published by L’Antidiplomatico, an Italian outlet aligned with pro-Kremlin narratives.
‘Ukrainian Victory Day strikes on Russia would justify Ukraine’s total destruction’
A Kremlin-controlled outlet claimed that Ukraine would jeopardize its very existence if it attempted to attack Moscow with long-range drones on May 9, when Russia celebrates its victory in World War II.
This claim is an example of intimidating rhetoric that overlooks the fact that Russia is currently in a military stalemate with Ukraine and has recently suffered notable setbacks on the front line. It also serves as a deflection tactic, aimed at downplaying the Kremlin’s unease over increasingly successful Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. A recent drone attack on Moscow, just days before the Victory Day parade on Red Square, further highlighted that even the capital’s enhanced air defences have vulnerabilities.
This false claim was published by Sputnik Brazil, the Portuguese-language arm of the Russian state-controlled propaganda outlet.
‘Russia is facilitating the reunification of children with their families in Ukraine’
A Russian state-funded source published a claim that Russia allows children to reunite with relatives in Ukraine or other countries, reinforcing a recurring disinformation narrative intended to deflect attention from Russia’s documented role in the illegal deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children.
Cases of deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia are so numerous – tens of thousands of them have been recorded – that Russian authorities and media outlets have been unable to rely on their usual tactic of denying everything. Instead, they claim that Russia is rescuing these children, offering them a better future than they would have had in war-torn Ukraine (while conveniently omitting the fact that it is Russia that plunged it into this state). What Russia actually does is place Ukrainian children in Russian foster families or state institutions, including militarised camps where they’re subjected to war propaganda, thousands of miles from their homes. Children are granted Russian citizenship, and in many cases their names or even their birthplaces are changed, making it almost impossible for their families to find them.
The United Nations’ Independent Commission of Inquiry on Violations in Ukraine has found that eighty percent of deported children have not been returned to their families, while the ones who did manage to get their children back had to overcome significant obstacles and risks. The Commission has concluded that the actions of Russian authorities amount to crimes against humanity.
The statement that children forcefully placed in Russian institutions or adoptive families can ‘freely return to their families’ was made by Russian senator Maria Lvova-Belova, who serves as the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights. Lvova-Belova, alongside Vladimir Putin, has been charged with war crimes for her complicity in the unlawful abduction of children from occupied territories of Ukraine.
This false claim appeared on the website of TASS, a Russian state-funded news agency.
Don’t be deceived.
