Disinformation

Calls to appease Putin in Ukraine ignore the lessons of history

By Arman Mahmoudian

While the desire for peace in Ukraine is perfectly understandable, mounting calls to appease Putin by handing him a partial victory ignore the lessons of history and would almost certainly lead to more war.

How Putin’s fear of democracy convinced him to invade Ukraine

By Michael John Williams

Putin's decision to launch the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was rooted in his longstanding fear that the emergence of a democratic Ukraine could serve as a catalyst for the collapse of his own autocratic regime.

Russian War Report: DFRLab confirms increased Russian air force activity as Kremlin strives to achieve air dominance

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

Russia intensified its air power in recent weeks across airfields in Crimea and Rostov Oblast. Elsewhere, Russia continues to pressure Bahkmut.

Russia’s invasion one year on: Ukraine is stronger than ever

By Vitaly Sych

Vladimir Putin expected a short and victorious war that would extinguish Ukrainian independence and force the country back into the Russian orbit. One year on, Ukraine has never been stronger, writes Vitaly Sych.

A parallel terrain: Public-private defense of the Ukrainian information environment

By Emma Schroeder with Sean Dack

The report analyzes Russia’s continuous assaults against the Ukrainian information environment, and examines how Russian offensives and Ukrainian defense both move through this largely privately owned and operated environment. The report highlights key questions that must emerge around the growing role that private companies play in conflict.

Russian War Report: DFRLab releases investigations on Russian info ops before and after the invasion

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

On the week of the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the DFRLab released two new reports on narratives tracked used to justify the war both pre- and post invasion.

Invasion anniversary: Does Putin still have a pathway to victory in Ukraine?

By Peter Dickinson

Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is widely seen as one of the biggest geopolitical blunders of the modern era, but as the war enters its second year, could the Russian dictator still have a pathway to potential victory?

Undermining Ukraine

By Roman Osadchuk, Andy Carvin

From the very start of the war, the Kremlin emphasized demoralizing Ukrainian audiences and destroying their will to fight. Building on daily monitoring of the Kremlin media ecosystem, this report analyzes Russia’s attempts to undermine Ukraine by targeting local, regional, and global audiences since February 2022.

Narrative warfare

By Nika Aleksejeva, Andy Carvin, Eto Buziashvili

In the weeks and months leading up to Russia invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Kremlin and pro-Kremlin media employed false and misleading narratives to justify military action against Ukraine, mask the Kremlin’s operational planning, and deny any responsibility for the coming war. Dive into a full accounting of the road to war.

Our experts decode the Putin speech that launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Vladimir Putin’s February 24, 2022, speech launching a war of aggression in Ukraine was full of false, misleading narratives that Putin, official Kremlin channels, and pro-Kremlin Russian media outlets had been circulating since 2014. Experts unpack the narrative themes that Russia used to justify the war.