Russia Circulates New False Claims About Ukrainian Attacks on Civilians

Russian propaganda outlets have launched another coordinated disinformation campaign falsely accusing Ukrainian forces of deliberately targeting civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to a March 11 report from Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation.

Ukrainian officials identified that Russian state media are actively circulating a new video featuring a Belgorod resident who claims Ukrainian drones are “terrorizing civilians.” The narrative quickly gained traction after being amplified by prominent state outlet RIA Novosti and subsequently distributed through affiliated platforms including Mail.ru.

In one particularly vivid account published by RIA Novosti on March 12, a woman alleged that a Ukrainian drone had waited in ambush before striking her vehicle as she returned home from work. A similar story appeared on Mail.ru, citing Russian official Rodion Miroshnik, claiming that a drone had “mockingly” pursued an elderly woman walking with a goat in the village of Alisovka.

Ukrainian authorities note that these reports offer no independently verified evidence to substantiate their claims.

This latest disinformation effort represents a continuation of a well-documented pattern in Russian information warfare. The Center for Countering Disinformation has repeatedly identified similar operations in recent months, including manufactured claims about alleged Ukrainian military abuses in Myrnohrad and Kupiansk.

“These fabricated stories serve a dual purpose,” explained Dr. Olena Kovalenko, a disinformation researcher at Kyiv’s Institute for Strategic Studies. “They’re designed to portray Ukrainian forces as indiscriminate aggressors while simultaneously providing cover for Russia’s own well-documented attacks on civilian targets.”

The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast, has frequently featured in Russian propaganda narratives since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Its proximity to the Ukrainian border makes it strategically significant in the conflict and a frequent focus of Russian media operations.

Security analysts point out that the timing of this campaign coincides with intensified Russian military operations in eastern Ukraine, suggesting it may be intended to divert international attention from Russian offensive actions.

The latest case fits within a broader Kremlin strategy of using fabricated legal narratives to shift blame onto Ukraine. Similar tactics were employed in a recent “tribunal” report accusing Ukrainian forces of atrocities in Pokrovsk – a frontline city that has faced months of devastating Russian attacks.

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation emphasized that this supposed tribunal has no legal standing, relies exclusively on Russian officials and unsubstantiated claims, and emerged only after Russia had conducted extensive military operations against the city.

“This represents a familiar pattern we’ve seen throughout the conflict,” said Michael Carpenter, former U.S. National Security Council director for Russia. “Russian forces commit documented violations against civilian populations, then immediately launch disinformation campaigns accusing Ukrainian forces of the very same actions.”

The phenomenon was particularly evident in Mariupol, where Russian propaganda attempted to sanitize well-documented abuses even as its own material captured deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Media watchdog organizations have noted that these narratives often target both domestic Russian audiences and international observers, particularly in countries where access to diverse information sources may be limited.

As the conflict continues into its third year, disinformation researchers emphasize the importance of critical media literacy and independent verification of claims from conflict zones. They recommend consulting multiple sources, checking for corroborating evidence, and being particularly cautious of emotional narratives that lack specific, verifiable details.

The Belgorod drone stories represent just the latest chapter in Russia’s ongoing information warfare strategy, which continues to evolve alongside the physical conflict in Ukraine.