russia intensifies disinformation campaign about “Ukrainian drones in Europe”
russian propaganda is ramping up a disinformation campaign claiming that European countries are being attacked by “Ukrainian,” not russian, drones.
▫️Propagandists are actively spreading reports that a Ukrainian drone allegedly crashed in Romania. As “proof,” they circulate a Romanian media photo showing an inscription in Ukrainian on the UAV.
In reality, the photo shows a standard russian reconnaissance drone of the Herbera type — a version of the Iranian Shahed drone without a warhead. Almost all markings on it are in russian, except for one. russia uses such drones extensively for attacks on Ukraine, and a handwritten inscription in any language cannot serve as proof of origin. Romanian specialists who examined the debris confirmed that the drone was russian.
The Center previously recorded similar disinformation campaigns after russian drone attacks on Poland and Lithuania. At that time, russia also claimed the drones had “Ukrainian-language markings.”
▫️The goal of spreading this disinformation is to discredit Ukraine and influence public opinion in European countries, undermining Ukraine’s relations with its allies.
