Ukrainian intelligence has issued a warning about Russia’s initiation of a significant disinformation campaign aimed at tarnishing President Zelensky, the armed forces of Kyiv, and their foreign allies. Reports indicate that Britain, a key ally of Ukraine, may also be a prime target for spreading false information and manipulation.
Recent appalling tactics included fabricated front-page articles in Western media portraying the Kyiv leader as a ‘drug addict’ and promoting false Russian narratives about Ukraine’s leadership. The disinformation campaign also seeks to propagate falsehoods about Ukrainian military war crimes by fabricating interviews with former prisoners of war who falsely claim to have been subjected to beatings. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SZRU, has obtained Russian documents indicating plans for an extensive campaign targeting Ukraine and its global partners.
Sources reveal that Russia’s leadership has instructed its intelligence agencies to intensify the dissemination of information across Europe as its full-scale invasion of Ukraine encounters setbacks. According to a source cited by the Daily Mirror, fabricating false narratives about Ukraine and its leadership has become a significant tactic in the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare strategy.
The Centre for Countering Disinformation in Ukraine has reported the appearance of videos featuring former Russian prisoners of war following scripted accounts alleging mistreatment. One video depicts a man from the besieged town of Pokrovsk detailing supposed ‘executions of civilians,’ ‘severed ears,’ and ‘shot knees.’
Furthermore, the CCD highlighted another video where a civilian evacuated from Kharkiv alleges that Ukrainian soldiers disguised themselves in Russian uniforms to identify and execute pro-Russia supporters. The agency denounced these claims as baseless and aimed at shifting blame for actual atrocities committed by the Russian army onto Ukrainian forces.
The Kremlin’s spy agencies are also spreading false information about the President regarding potential territorial concessions in peace talks. A former Kyiv government employee claimed that President Zelensky was willing to cede the Donbas region in 2022 negotiations, prompting a swift denial from the Presidential office.
In retaliation, Ukraine has escalated efforts to target Moscow’s infrastructure, resulting in two casualties from a long-range drone strike on Russia’s Samara region. Although Russia’s defence ministry reported intercepting 121 Ukrainian drones overnight, it did not disclose any damage to infrastructure. Ukraine has ramped up drone attacks on Russia’s energy facilities in 2026, doubling the number of oil refineries targeted since the year began.
