The kremlin justifies strikes on Ukraine’s energy sector by calling them “retaliatory”
russia’s foreign minister sergey lavrov claimed that russia allegedly “was not the first” to strike Ukraine’s energy and civilian infrastructure and once again repeated the narrative of Moscow’s supposed “retaliatory strikes.”
▫️ This is yet another example of classic kremlin propaganda based on distorting reality and substituting cause and effect. In this way, lavrov seeks to justify massive missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and russia’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire.
▫️ The narrative that “Ukrainians struck first” is actively promoted to foreign audiences. The kremlin seeks to blur responsibility for the war and portray russia’s actions as “forced.” russia is attempting to mislead the international community by shifting responsibility for the war onto the victim of aggression.
The reality is simple and unambiguous: it was russia that launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022. It is the russian army that systematically carries out terrorist attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, leaving thousands of civilians without electricity and heat. russia is the aggressor, and it is russia alone that can stop this war.
