On November 15, two Polish citizens died when a missile exploded in Przewodów, a town near Poland’s border with Ukraine. Kremlin propaganda and its disinformation network seized the moment to push a narrative. Poland circulated screenshots of a fake Facebook profile posing as the mayor of Lublin city hall, alleging the missile incident was a provocation by Ukraine. Weeks earlier, the Russian information apparatus used a similar tactic, blaming the United Kingdom and the United States for the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions, referencing forged messages purportedly between former British Prime Minister Elizabeth Truss and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
These examples are part of the first pilot report on threats described by the Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) program. The report, released by the EU’s foreign action service, highlights how Moscow’s strategies are designed to sow confusion, erode trust in media and institutions, and create distrust around the war in Ukraine. Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, warned that the aim is not only to confuse experts but to reach everyday citizens and diminish their confidence in credible information. He urged that this threat must be taken seriously as a matter of public safety and democratic resilience.
Goebbels strategy
The head of European diplomacy underscored that Russia treats intervention and manipulation as a central instrument of warfare. The battle extends beyond the battlefield into the realm of knowledge, aiming to win the hearts and minds of people. The warning echoes the tactics once deployed by Nazi propaganda mastermind Joseph Goebbels, though the modern arena has expanded far beyond his time. In today’s environment, falsehoods can spread rapidly and reach anyone, anywhere. The new density and velocity of information mean that repeated misinformation can take on a life of its own, intensifying its impact.
Since the East StratCom task force was created in 2015 to monitor Moscow’s messaging, the team has tracked more than 15,000 manipulation attempts. Some of these cases are included in the latest analysis on manipulation and interference with foreign information (FIMI). The report describes a pattern of behavior that is mostly non-legal but potentially harmful to values, democratic procedures, and political processes across hundreds of events that occurred in the recent months.
According to the findings, Russia has aimed to keep focus on war events in Ukraine while supporting the invasion in many incidents. The analysis also reveals an increasing use of manipulated imagery and video, with diplomatic channels and social media platforms like Telegram playing active roles in the ecosystem. Russian diplomatic channels are frequently used to facilitate FIMI operations, a method that is also observed in other global contexts.
Identity fraud
European experts note that Russian actors have grown more sophisticated in impersonating international organizations and individuals to attack Ukraine or imitate media outlets in order to convey false messages. The EU has already restricted content dissemination on several Russian platforms, including Sputnik, and continues to explore further actions. The information environment covers multiple languages, with nearly 30 languages identified in related incidents, 16 of which were EU languages.
The overarching aim of these activities, backed by substantial budgets, is to distract and distort reality. Analysts point out that Russia has invested far more in manipulation than in countering it, with millions allocated to sustain a disinformation ecosystem. This poses a threat to liberal democracies, as distorted information can erode public understanding of current events. The EU’s plan includes establishing a center for information analysis and exchange to counter foreign intervention and improve information resilience across member states.