DISINFO: Nazi Ukraine poses a threat to Russia
SUMMARY
The widespread dissemination of neo-Nazi ideologies and the strengthening of radical nationalist armed groups, including those in Ukraine, pose significant extremist threats. These trends are supported by external forces that encourage crimes against Russia, such as sabotage and terrorist acts. The risks associated with extremism in Ukraine extend to neighbouring countries and regions, with Ukrainian neo-Nazis strengthening ties with transnational criminal groups. The Ukrainian crisis is being used by unfriendly states to wage hybrid wars against Russia and to incite aggressive Russophobic sentiments globally.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine is a Nazi state, as well as a puppet state. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This myth has actively been used by pro-Kremlin outlets since Russia's 2014 attack on Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea. Ukraine is a democratic country with a Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose own family suffered under the Holocaust. While some far-right groups exist in Ukraine, they do not represent the government or the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Labelling Russia’s adversaries as Nazis is a widespread pro-Kremlin disinformation technique, and has been used by Russia to justify the invasion of Ukraine by portraying it as a “denazification operation”.
Russia invested years in preparing the information landscape before initiating military action, with the ‘Nazi Ukraine’ narrative serving as a central element of its disinformation strategy. Pro-Kremlin narratives also frequently allege a resurgence of Nazism in Western nations. Learn more about the reasons behind the Kremlin's obsession with Nazism in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled "Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest" and "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Ukrainian Nazis kill civilians, that Ukrainian neo-Nazis offer human sacrifices to pagan gods, and that EU and NATO are backing neo-Nazi values in Ukraine.