Expert: Russia’s propaganda efforts in Ukraine date back to 2014

In early February, the US accused Russia of conspiring to create propaganda as a means in legitimatising a battle over Ukraine. German television station ZDF decided to look into this “serious accusation” in order to shed some light on the context of the feud. One of the three experts interviewed for the article is ISD analyst Julia Smirnova, an expert on Russian topics. Julia explains to ZDF that Russia has been trying to destabilise Ukraine with propaganda campaigns since the annexation of Crimea in 2014: “The goal of these actions was to undermine trust in the Ukrainian army in Ukraine, but also internationally.” To read the article in German, please click here.

Julia Smirnova is an Analyst at ISD and ISD Germany, focusing on the proliferation of disinformation, conspiracy myths, hate speech and extremist ideologies online.