Propagandists spread the message on social networks that Ukraine is killing civilians while Russia is trying to rebuild the destroyed places. Allegedly,Russia wants to return the “liberated” territories of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region to peaceful life, and Ukraine is trying to cause a humanitarian catastrophe on their territory. However, in reality this is not the case.

Analysts of the EU vs DisInfo project drew attention to the message. They emphasize that Ukraine does not kill civilians and defends itself against Russian aggression. In addition, Russia annexed part of the territory of Ukraine, which violated international law. Moreover, it was Russia that destroyed many Ukrainian cities, such as Mariupol. Russia continues to shell civilian infrastructure even in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Thus, the propagandists want to justify the aggression against Ukraine and the annexation of Ukrainian territories. In addition, by spreading the word that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly use Western weapons against civilians, they also want to blow up the process of transferring international aid to Ukraine. Similar messages could be seen in Russian propaganda before, in particular, the narrative that the 2022 “referendums” on the annexation of the temporarily occupied territories to Russia were held in order to allegedly bring peace to them.