Taking advantage of the raging protests in the U.S. and the EU, Russia is preparing another move to compromise Ukraine in the eyes of international community.
Against exposures of Russian involvement in all major destabilizing efforts, from cyber-penetration of Bundestag websites in Germany and coronavirus hospitals in the Czech Republic to fueling violence and looting at U.S. protests, Russians are now trying to offer a false trail to shift suspicions away from themselves, the Information Resistance OSINT group reports.
This false trail, obviously, could be an infamous boogeyman story about "Ukrainian nationalists "partaking in and even almost "supervising" protests.
Online resources of the unrecognized "republics" in Eastern Ukraine, are massively spinning a claim that Ukrainians with combat experience are allegedly set to be deployed to support protests on foreign soil.
Read also"Foreign adversaries" targeting U.S. over ongoing unrest – media
It's not the first time Russian propaganda is playing a game by this plot. Last year, photos were span across social networks and media outlets of Ukrainians who allegedly took an active part in the protests in Hong Kong.
"Having seized from the fallen Soviet Union the baton of global chaos architect, Russia exploits any destabilizing events happening on foreign soil," the report reads. "Also, Russia shifts on others the blame for fueling unrest, just like Russian media did when they accused Ukraine of 'exporting the Maidan' to the rest of the world."
Four Ukrainians, covered with unequivocal tattoos and sporting peculiar T-shirts with the inscription in Ukrainian "Who is behind the murder of Katia Handziuk" (the activist whose brutal murder for anti-corruption efforts sparked outrage among activists and drove some to the streets to protest government inaction) then starred in Russian media reports.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui then claimed "reliable" data on the "Ukrainian trace” in the Hong Kong protests, accusing the Ukrainians of sharing their "experience" with Hong Kong protesters. It was the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine who had to issue explanations over the stunt done by just four Ukrainian nationals.
Today, now that NATO has just included Ukraine in the Enhanced Opportunity Partnership, another campaign could be launched to compromise Kyiv in the eyes of international community.
"Cameras are just waiting to capture at the protest rallies in the U.S. and the EU some young people with peculiar tattoos or distinctive T-shirts with Ukrainian inscriptions looting stores or just being part of the violent crowds. So if anyone wants to tar Ukraine, this is the perfect opportunity amid global public focus on the ongoing rallies across Western democracies," the report reads.
Read alsoJournalist debunks fake report alleging Ukrainian fighters took part in Libya hostilities
These actors could be both aware and oblivious of being exploited by Russia. "Most of the times though those who are being manipulated tend to remain blind to what's really happening," the author wrote.
"Also, it can also be that there'll be no need to send anyone anywhere as Russian assets from among all sorts of ultra-radicals and neo-Nazi scum could simply use in their act some distinctive objects attributed to Ukraine or simply put pseudo-Ukrainian graffiti on some walls – like Russian Wagner PMC troops clumsily did as they were retreating from a Libyan town," the report concludes.
