DISINFO: Fueling the proxy war in Ukraine only depletes the West’s own stocks of air defense systems
SUMMARY
No matter how many and what kind of air defense systems NATO plans to donate to the Kyiv regime, Russia will continue to pursue its military objectives while grinding through those weapons. Fueling the ongoing proxy war in Ukraine will leave the West facing depleted stocks of its own air defense systems.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war against Russia and the inevitability of Russia’s victory, which have been permanent features of pro-Kremlin disinformation since the start of the invasion. This disinformation message aims to undermine international support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s aggression by portraying this fight as hopeless.
Ukraine is not fighting on behalf of any foreign government or organisation. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. The country's sovereignty has been violated only as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.
Data shows a direct correlation between international supplies for Ukraine’s air defences and a higher ratio of interception of Russian missiles. This disinformation story appears to be a direct reaction to the announcement by several NATO countries of further commitment to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences, trying to frame it as useless.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Western military aid to Ukraine only will cause more suffering, that Western weapons supplies to Ukraine are exacerbating the conflict, that the West kills Ukrainians by sending them weapons they don’t know how to use, that the US is prolonging war in Ukraine to benefit from weapons sales or that the weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are actually useless.