Russia’s manipulative campaign in the EU over the situation in Gelendzhik
The Center has identified a large-scale campaign on social media aimed at spreading manipulative narratives in the West about the incident in Russia’s Gelendzhik.
▫️ In particular, anonymous accounts on TikTok are widely distributing videos in Italian, Spanish, French, and other languages accusing Ukraine of deliberately attacking holidaymakers on a beach in Gelendzhik and portraying Ukraine as a terrorist state.
▫️ Similar posts in foreign languages targeting Western audiences are also being disseminated through the personal channels of individual Russian propagandists.
✅ As previously reported by the Center, the deaths of Russian civilians on the beach in Gelendzhik were entirely the result of the actions of Russian air defence forces, which shot down a drone directly above a beach crowded with people. Ukraine uses its weapons exclusively against facilities of Russia’s military-industrial complex and its economic infrastructure that contributes to financing its war of aggression.
‼️ The spread of disinformation and manipulative claims accusing Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians is a typical tactic of Russian propaganda. The aim of this campaign is to discredit Ukraine in the West and manipulate public opinion in Ukraine’s partner countries in an attempt to undermine support and assistance for Ukraine.
